Motorcycle First Ride Reviews

Honda’s mostly-under-the-skin revised CBR600RR has one very significant addition for 2009 - an ABS braking system. But can ABS really sit comfortably on a supersport bike?

If you’ve never ridden a Tesi and never wanted to, now is the time to re-adjust your head and embrace weirdness

More powerful (but a bit too revvy), longer wheelbase with single-sided swingarm, very stable, geared more for touring than its predecessor and overall a very decent tour bus

A new big sports tourer from the nice people at Suzuki. It’s like a Bandit ,but rest assured: in no way, shape or form is this a Bandit. It’s a GSX1250FA alright? A GSX1250FA. Got it?

One of the most eagerly awaited motorcycles of 2010 broke cover in the volcanic heat of Lanzarote. Ducati’s complete revision of the Multistrada could be enough to steal top all-rounder tag from the BMW R1200 GS. Here’s how the first ride went down

Visordown’s Chief road tester is former World Supersport star and all-round top chap James Whitham. MV Agusta generously allows him to sample the new F4. Is he a happy chappy? Or utterly disgusted with Agusta? Find out

Dependable do-it-all gets a facelift and a suspension twaeak. Mark Forsyth rode the new version to bring you chapter and verse

BMW’s already excellent big tourer gets a new motor with more grunt and a host of comfort improving gadgets for 2010, not to mention a fruity exhaust note

The bike that defined the Adventure market gains some extra grunt for 2010 to help it deal with the rough terrain of the Gobi desert. Or a gravel drive in Epsom

Strangely underwhelming Shiver gains a fairing in an attempt to boost versatility and buyer appeal. But does a bit of plastic up front turn a naked into a tourer?

Plucky Italians go chasing a slice of the big-money BMW GS Adventure pie with a re-worked Stelvio. But does the pricer, torquier NTX stand a chance?

It is arguably that you cannot put a price on coolness, but could the £27k Samurai Type 5 cruiser be the answer

BMW's most radical, stripped-down bike ever. With only 30 in the country and a stratospheric price tag of £13k, the Megamoto is as exclusive as it is rampant. Get ready to spend your city bonus

Face it – automatic bikes don’t have a great reputation. Has Dual Clutch Technology changed all that? Shall we find out?

Improved riding position and mid-capacity engine make new Monster 796 a very rounded entry-level proposition

Built to rival BMW’s über-selling GS, but missing the mark in many areas, not least price. Not Yamaha’s best Super Ten

Introducing two new Brutales from the Italian masters of style, courtesy of Harley-Davidson

The SP version costs £10300 and that’s before you throw the really good stuff at it. It’s expensive, but more is more

There are two simple, almost foolproof ways to make your bike more fun: make it lighter and give it more power. That’s exactly what Ducati has done with its update to the original Hypermotard 1100, the Hypermotard 1100 EVO.

Kawasaki’s naked beast is back, not with a whimper, but with a big styling bang and an engine to back up the new look.

Honda has a lot riding on this one. With dwindling 1000cc supersports sales and an increase in the sports-tourer market, the VFR1200F is arguably the company’s most important new bike for a decade

One of motorcycling’s worst kept secrets - Honda’s top-secret VFR1200F. Visordown were among the chosen few to ride it at the Sugo circuit in Japan

Who better to sample the eagerly anticipated 2010 BMW S1000 RR than three times British Superbike champion Niall Mackenzie?

The nearest most of us were ever likely to get to living the MotoGP dream (the RSV4 Factory) cost fifteen grand last month. Now there’s a more affordable alternative