Motorbike

Forget the humdrum reality of office life and head for the hills. Mundane middleweights slip the bonds of commuter tedium to indulge in opulent Alpine excess. Budget touring, in style.

Motorcycling with the mostest and living with extremes: Kawasaki ZZR1400, Triumph Rocket III, Suzuki GSX-R750 and an Aprilia SXV5.5. Can too much ever be enough?

BMW wants us to know their new R1200S is very much a sports bike. But by whose reckoning? Theirs or ours? Sporting all-sorts go to the Alps to find out. And not a race track in sight...

Psst... Don't tell anyone, but there's a revolution underway: proper sports bike motors wrapped in stripped-down, sharp-steering chassis. Run for the hills! The naked generation is upon us!

You're young, dumb and flush with enough cash to fill your tank. Bike mad teens after a groovy 125 to cut their two-wheeled teeth on are spoiled for choice these days, so which to choose?

Can an ageing, bum basic £5299 all rounder really offer the best of all worlds against a raft of higher priced, specialist competition? Read on to see where the smart money lies

Oversized 600s or underpowered1000s? With choices like these now is the time to think outside the box and dip into the middle ground.

1000cc sports bikes go ballistic to Majorca. Does the water taste like what it oughta?

Jon Bentman discusses the relative merits of owning a free Honda CBR600RR to review

John Cantlie reviews the RM-Z250 and reckons he has a pathetically mis-aligned mindset. We'd agree.

Packing the biggest and most powerful Yamaha cruiser engine yet, plus a bag of styling cues lifted from the 1930s, the Midnight Star is bristling with modern technology. It's even got an EXUP valve.

Why build one bike when you can have two at twice the price? Yamaha's new FZ1 naked and half-faired FZ1 Fazer emerge into the cold light of day

More power, less weight, and all wrapped in a GSX-R1000 looky-likey form. It's bound to kick butt on-track - but can it deliver on the road?

New dogs, old tricks. Does a factory retro sit well in the modern garage?

Who are everywhere right now. Nope, these Arctic Monkeys are our brave idiots who rode three unsuitable motorcycles to Switzerland. To do the Cresta Run. Eh?

John Hogan spends 12 months 'enhancing' his cool status with the Victory 8 Ball

Five middleweights and a bunch of lightweights head off for the perfect pint of real ale in the UK's best pub.

The Jackpot is Victory's latest gambit - a bold move into premium custom territory. So is it likely to fold, or will it be straight flush with success?

Two issues ago we gave you the heads-up on Harley-Davidson's big plans for 2006. Here's the first instalment from its new line-up: the retro Street Bob .

Would ewe believe it? You can get a 1000cc twin for less than seven grand. Should we flock to buy them or are we baa-king up the wrong tree? We go to Wales to find out.

Too fast, too furious? Niall Mackenzie takes a walk on the wild side onboard Aprilia's Tuono 1000R.

Yamaha jumps the gun and launches the 2006 R1 before the competition. Over-confidence, or are the small changes enough to make a big difference?

It may not be a latter-day CB1100R, and it may be a bit soft around the edges, but the retro CB1300S is still a capable, competent machine.

It's every officer's duty to escape. So our four battle-weary soldiers slipped the confines of Blighty for the freedom of Germany's autobahns to stretch the legs of four very fast bikes.