Motorbike

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Trad-styled cruiser (sold as the ST7 in some markets) which complements the sportier GV650 Aquila

Yamaha says: The new BW's 125 is a commuter scooter designed for city life. Its 125cc, 4-stroke, fuel-injected, air-cooled engine gives you the kind of quick acceleration that's ideal for stop-start urban journeys, while the chassis provides agile handling to glide through smaller spaces.

Benelli describes its Tre-K 899 as an entry-level sports-tourer, and by the Italian firm’s standards that’s exactly what it is. Along with the 899 TNT, the Tre-K has the smallest engine and lowest price in Benelli’s range of triples.

MV Agusta have been quiet of late and it’s 11 years since they made any kind of notable impact with the launch of the F4 750. The F4 was a superbike originally intended to propel Cagiva’s comeback, a bike that Ducati would have loved to have in their range but instead it put MV back on the map.

It’s not often these days that a major manufacturer makes a complete balls-up of an updated bike, but that’s what Kawasaki did in 2007 with the Z1000.

DRIVETRAIN Transmission 5-speed, return Final Drive Chain Primary reduction ratio 2.095 (88/42) Gear ratios: 1st 2.353 (40/17) Gear ratios: 2nd 1.590 (35/22) Gear ratios: 3rd 1.240 (31/25) Gear ratios: 4th 1.000 (28/28)

Much more in keeping with an original V7 Sport from 1969, the Café Classic sports the bump-stop seat for one, clip on bars and tank, and panels as faithful as modern construction techniques allow.

This is the Suzuki GSX 1250 FA – a fully-faired, wallet-friendly, four-cylinder sports tourer aimed at capturing a sizeable chunk of the UK’s 40-something market.

To be fair this is little more than a standard Fat Boy with a different paint scheme and lower suspension and seat, but who cares. The Fat Boy is, in my opinion anyway, the ultimate Harley.

First impressions are positive. The bulbous frog-like expression of the Multi’s front fairing now looks razor sharp and bang up-to-date, with a hawk-like appearance thanks to the aggressively styled twin air ducts and purposeful looking twin headlights.

Since the original model was launched in 1998 the Fazer family has been a mainstay of Yamaha’s range, a model that many (actually 250,000 to date) took their first steps into ‘big’ bikes on and one whose popularity over the years has soared.

A race circuit seemed like a strange place to launch a 265kg bike with a 1545mm wheelbase but the spec sometimes only tells part of the story.