Motorbike

The 2002 R1 can be ridden harder, more easily than before - it's an awesome road bike and a more predictable track performer too.

There are at least 1,843 good reasons why Yamaha have taken the trouble to develop the YZF-R125. That’s the number of CBR125Rs that Honda sold in the UK last year.

Perhaps because KTM are best known for producing some of the best off-road competition machines of recent times, when the RC8 arrived a year ago many people expected KTM’s first attempt at a pure sports bike to be filling half of every superstock race grid by the end of the 2008 season.

“Having seen both bikes in the flesh I tell you, you wouldn’t even look at the orange paint scheme once you have seen the white one. It’s stunning. But both bikes just ooze quality and style.

Although most power-hungry bike journalists would have you believe that motorcycling is all about top speed and how quickly you can get there, the rest of us know it’s more about isolated moments of pure fun when it all comes together through a given section of road.

The 2008 Fireblade CBR1000RR does everything it says on the tin, but lacks a wow factor.

When I’m asked what is the best race bike I’ve ever ridden, my answer is unquestionably the Honda RVF750. It had smooth power but was rapid, handled like a dream and was ultra stable into the bargain.

World Superbikes was simply massive in this country in 1995. While GPs were dominated by Mick Doohan and turning into a predictable procession, WSB was tough, gnarly racing and incredible to watch.

If you can’t beat them, get the rules changed so you can then build a bike with all the bits you need to dominate the racetrack out of the box. Ducati’s 1098R is pure WSB homologation magic...

John Cantlie's long term impressions of the BMW R1200GS Adventure

TWO's John Hogan reports back from the launch of Derbi's new 125s in Barcelona

A KTM 990, Honda Transalp and BMW HP2 get stuck into the muddy action at the WRC Wales Rally as we go searching for freestyle legend Travis Pastrana

Honda’s NR750 and Ducati’s Desmosedici are two of the most stunning bikes ever built. Each are worth £40,000 and both were developed from pure GP technology. There may be an incredible 16 years between them, but exclusivity this rare is timeless

If you want a bike to have fun on, to commute on, to explore and maybe even have an adventure on, then you really need one of these.

Punchy, easy-to-handle Terra takes confident Cat and her girly hands through the test and for country weekends

Ben Miller sends some time with the GTR1400 and finds ten reasons to love and hate it

TWO's James Whitham reports back from the launch of KTM's sharp new RC8R

Niall Mackenzie puts Suzuki's 2008 GSX-R750 through a year of abuse. How will it hold up?

Sometimes bikes are launched that fail to excite and slip under the biking radar for one reason or another. We find three of the best.

Once upon a time they built unassuming bikes that were so good from the word ‘go’ that they didn’t change once during their production run

Large, simple and underdeveloped. But enough about our intern, Ian Stewart, Whit’s XR1200 proves that it’s as much fun as its owner