Motorbike

Recently relegated from the cutting edge by newer, sharper sports middleweights, the Ninja 600 is a genuine allrounder with some edge

Big Divvie is like a labrador on the road. Friendly and likeable. Excellent shaft drive

900SS powered street-fighter struggled with lack of ground clearance and performance

The Honda ST1100 Pan European was one of those bikes that quietly got on with doing the job it was designed to do. And that was to provide something just short of a full-dress touring bike in a slightly more manageable (and cheaper) form, at the behest of the European, not US, market.

Our RC45 had been re-painted in the Castrol Honda colours of a TT marshal’s bike, which was a shame. The ‘Groundwork Southeast’ logo under the seat looked especially uninviting. The ’45 was never a pretty bike but has always had a squat, purposeful stance to it.

Liquid-cooled 90° vee-twin screamer. GP racer for the road

Superb handling middleweight sports bike fitted with heaps of trick bits

Anonymous but sturdy workhorse with one half of an old GPZ1000RX motor

Much more flexible than the Italian 125s in restricted form and cheaper, too

Fruity handling, peach of a motor and banana in colour

Fully faired air cooled twin with limited performance

Early supermoto 125 handles well enough, but corrodes quickly

If Ducati made learner legal bikes...

Want it all? You're not alone. The CBR600F is Britain's best-selling motorbike of all time and not without good reason: it really is all things to all men (and women). Plenty of people overlook it in favour of its racy stable-mate, the newer 'double-R' CBR600RR.

Can't live with the GSXR750 or FireBlade on the road. Needs to be worked hard

Superb supermoto looks powered by single cylinder 2-stroke motor. Oh to be 17 again

Fully-faired screaming 2-stroke looks the part, but not as trick as its Italian competitors

If you want something to get you from A to B, this will do the job. Excitement? No