Motorbike

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

Lightweight sports-tourer powered by grunty triple motor

De-tuned CBR1000F motor still delivers enough power for this naked heavyweight

Not in the same class as the CBR600. Wierd looks and poor build quality

Tamburini's finest creation stands head and shoulders above its rivals

Replacement of the 750 Sport, disappointing performance from the 748 motor

Cult bike. Massive power kicks in from 6,000 revs. Hang on! Does not like bends