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Kawasaki prefers not to mess around. Other manufacturers might make lighter bikes, prettier bikes, or bikes that are easier to ride, but Kawasaki - quite rightly - sticks two fingers up at such sentimental softness and consistently delivers red-blooded motorcycles with more power and higher top speeds than anyone else.

WHEN TWO TESTED an early prototype of the Moto Morini Corsaro a few issues ago it impressed, but was by no means perfect. Despite beautiful styling, the old Italian bugbear of imprecise fuel injection reared its ugly head, and the exhaust was positioned so the collector box scraped the ground without much effort.

IT WAS FAIR to say this was not the most glamorous of launches. There was no hot and cold running champagne, no business class flight to a far-flung land, and nor was there anyone offering me gifts and trinketry at every available opportunity.

Torque-laden tourer with the benefit of maintenance-free shaft drive

Clear road, tuck in behind the screen and pin it. The speedo reads up to 280kph, but there’s an unmarked segment beyond that, where ‘300’ should be but isn’t. The needle swings up to and a millimetre or two beyond the phantom ‘300’ (186mph in English) with indecent haste; the tacho nudges past 11,000rpm and refuses to go further.

A Ducati with 50 per cent reduced maintenance costs? What have they done? Chopped off one of the cylinders? A confused Jon Urry investigates

EVERY NOW AND then a new model appears that gets me quite excited. The new FZ1 Fazer was one of those, and in this case because it appeared to tick all the boxes for the sort of bike I'd be looking to buy right now with my own money if I had any.

Peugeot says: Satelis boasts a completely modern look and includes numerous features to improve ease of operation and enhance comfort.

There's no getting away from it: the BMW R1200GS Adventure is a man's bike. If you're a wimp you can forget it, it's not for you. With a dry weight of 220kg (250kg with fuel), a lofty seat height and mental Mad Max looks it was never going to be a runabout for Kylie, even if she could get it off the side-stand.

The WSBK paddock are now heading to the UK for the seventh round

Vespa says: The Vespa GTS 125 Super inherits the elegance and dynamic style of the Vespa GTS 300 Super. The steel body, with the horizontal grille on the right side as a clear homage to the past, gives the Vespa the superior rigidity and control that you would expect.

How sporty is the new R1200S? Well it's that sporty BMW has taken luggage off the option list - this bike's built for brisk road riding and the occasional track day. It seems BMW is sick of people comparing the R1100S with sports tourers and wants this new model to compete head-to-head with the sports bike competition.

Yamaha says: The new, stylish and compact X-MAX 125 features a strong, rigid frame for sports-style riding, so it's at home taking you past the traffic on your daily commute.

A somewhat disappointing use of the old Fireblade motor in a naked chassis that would benefit from more urgent power delivery

As a back to basics commuter the CBF is a winner

A chunky lump of a bike that’ll do your street cred all manner of good down the local and which can do a little bit of everything