Motorbike

Handsome is as handsome does. And if that's the case, many owners reckon the V-Strom is drop-dead gorgeous and offers plenty of smiles for the miles.

The menacingly handsome, retro-cool and capable ZRX series has been with us for a decade now, so how does it fare as a used buy? Bertie Simmonds finds out.

For sheer naked fun, nothing short of a frolic with Lucy Pinder can beat the Aprilia Tuono. Launched in 2003, it immediately won an army of fans

Like the original but on steroids, the Monster S4 grasped bare-biking from Bologna by the bars and took it into the new millennium. But are there any bugs? Used-bike fact hound Bertie Simmonds finds out.

Too big and pig-ugly is how the Honda Varadero been described but what's it really like to own?

Always a massive seller in Europe but an underrated under-achiever in the UK. Nevertheless, the TDM in all its forms is a secret waiting to be discovered by the second-hand buyer.

Ten years ago the Super Blackbird was celebrated as the fastest and most powerful thing on two wheels. Now, it's 'just' a very fast, big, sports tourer with an enviable reputation for quality.

Yep, it's true. Back in 1996, when Triumph first mooted a middleweight sportsbike - codenamed T806 - they looked at making a triple.

Born in 1998's naked middleweight boom, the Honda Hornet has evolved into a more capable, practical machine than the tiny-tanked original model.

Quiet, unassuming and unpopular the Sprint RS may have been as a new buy, it now has a loyal following and makes a bargain sports tourer.

A revelation when it first appeared: here was a proper British effort at a big sportsbike. Over the years while the competition has got wilder, the Daytona has stayed milder which makes the mature Daytona a very solid road bike

A quantum leap in performance over the mighty FireBlade, the Yamaha YZF-R1 set new standards for power and performance at its launch back in 1998. New and old models alike still sizzle today.

Yesterday's supersports screamers are still duking it out on the used battlefield. Under cover of sunshine, Bertie advances on middle England with a bunch of war veterans to find out who still cuts the mustard gas.

In 1995 Suzuki built the naked middleweight Bandit. Compared to Yamaha's Diversion it was a revelation: sure it was cheap, cheerful and built to a price, but it was also a hell of a lot of fun to ride.

Kawasaki built a Blade beater for 1998, just in time for Yamaha's R1 to trump the pair of 'em. But all was not lost - the ZX-9R drew a dedicated following.

Yamaha's feisty little R6 has deservedly gained a cult status amongst its fans, as a rev-happy, sharp-edged alternative to Honda's more easy-going CBR600.

Cheaper than chips and more versatile than a Swiss Army knife, the Yamaha Fazer is one of the few bikes that really can be (nearly) all things to all men - and all for under two grand

An aesthetic and performance revolution in its day, the 916 series has guaranteed iconic status for Bologna's blood-red bullets for time immemorial. But are those stories of Desmodromic histrionics all true?

Year-on-year since its introduction in 1987, Honda's venerable CBR600F has been the undisputed king in the white-hot battle royal of the middleweight 600cc sports category. Bertie Simmonds checks out the last of the line

With looks and performance akin to a kick in the pods, Aprilia's Mille proved that not every Italian sportsbike had to be a blood-red, 90¡ V-twin from Bologna.

In the mid-90s, V-twins were red, temperamental and raced by Carl Fogarty. Until Honda brought out the Firestorm, that is. We examine Honda's first big-twin sportsbike

The ZX-6R exploded onto the scene in 1995 and has been with us ever since. Bertie Simmonds explores the myriad of myths and litany of lies about the G and J models of the big K's popular middleweight blaster.

Awesome brakes, really grunty motor and sharp handling make the Fazer fly

Japan's answer to the dominance of Ducati twins gave us the character-driven Firestorm that, while it never quite matched the Italian marque for desirability, makes an excellent alternative