It’s easy to forget that Aprilia has only been building road bikes for twenty years. Add the fact that it has only produced its first big bike, the RSV1000 Mille in 1998, and you have to judge its rise to fame in the global motorcycle market as nothing...

Here are two special versions of perhaps the nicest V-twin sportbike to come out of Italy in the 1990’s Based on the `ordinary´ RSV Mille, the R variant features uprated suspension for more track orientated riding and a re-chipped incarnation of that...

Aprilia’s 1,000cc Mille V-twin has become one of the cult bikes of the last few years, with its fabulous combination of svelte handling and seamless engine power. The R version is aimed at sportbike enthusiasts who demand the very best performance in a...

CCM are a British manufacturer who are keen to develop a range of high quality, top fun bikes. For years they have used the Austrian Rotax engine in their road and enduro bikes, but now they have a new machine powered by Suzuki’s DRZ400 motor. Alastair...

Harley Davidson’s Electra Glide Ultra Classic is the ultimate touring bike for some people; a two-wheeled Winnebago, which can Rock-Ola around the world to its own unique soundtrack. For others, the Harley is a second choice to a more hi-tech, faster, and...

Insidebikes Alastair Walker tested the PR4 200cc enduro spec model. AJP are a brand name which might not be familiar to you, but they’re based in Portugal and make a small range of bikes featuring high quality suspension and chassis components, as well as...

Italian V-twin specialist, Moto Guzzi, have a new twist on their long established California touring model; the California Vintage. The Vintage version, built to celebrate the most famous Guzzi’s 35th birthday, combines retro 70’s styling with the modern...

“What the hell is that?” That was the typical reaction to the Bimota Mantra, one of the craziest bikes ever made in Italy, which is quite an achievement. Featuring an engine lifted from Ducati´s mid 1990s 900SS model, with Sacha Lakic´s weird chassis and...

Many years ago there was a German scooter called the Einspur Auto, which literally translated means single-track car. That concept never caught on back in the 1950s, but in the traffic clogged 21st century, many of us may well end up commuting in...

The BMW F650, better known as the Funduro, has been one of the success stories of the 1990s for the German company, with over 64,000 units sold. The heart of its appeal is the simple, easygoing nature of the Rotax derived single cylinder engine, which...

There aren’t many motorcycles that can do everything very well. Tour, scratch, commute and maybe hit 90mph on a farm track in rural France on your holidays. But the BMW R1150GS is that rare thing, a bike for all seasons. Now with its biggest ever engine...

A V-twin pushrod engine, which can trace its roots back to the Italian armed forces vehicles of WW11, might not be your choice of motive power for a sports motorcycle. But Guzzi had little choice for the last 30 years, than to work with what they know....

Some bikes simply look right from any angle and the DB2 is one of them. Powered by the Ducati 900SS motor from the early 1990s, the Bimota DB2 has swoopy, all-enclosing bodywork that gives this bike a rakish, ready-for-action style. Because of that Ducati...

Perhaps the final step along the evolutionary road for Bimota and their association with the 900cc Ducati V-twin engine. Fitting the late 1990s 90 degree twin from the boys at Bologna transformed the DB machine, as the motor was much more reliable, and a...

Bimota have launched a naked bike so user-friendly, that you could commute, tour or take a trackday on the DB6 Delirio. But this is still a Bimota of the old school; expensive, beautifully intricate and very much a personal vision of its designer, Sergio...

The successor to the SB6 had one very significant change; a fuel injected GSXR750 Suzuki motor, delivering even more horsepower. The SB7 was another step along the road for Bimota in refining their unique vision of what the ultimate sportsbike should be...

Bimota refused to lie down and another batch of bikes has been assembled, based on the famous World Superbike race winning machine, Which Anthony Gobert took to victory in Australia. Can this latest bike revive Bimota’s fortunes? Chris Pearson rode this...

Take a good look at the Suzuki TL1000R, or the S variant, and you might wish the Suzuki had made their big V-twin sportbike a bit funkier looking. Then cast your gaze over the voluptuous curves of the Bimota SB8R and realise the truth; Japan may make some...

The TB series of Bimota machines have an impressive pedigree stretching back to the early 1980’s, but the 1990’s YB11 is perhaps one of the more unusual models, in that it’s almost a sports tourer. With an engine lifted from Yamaha’s Thunderace 1000, the...

The Ducati 888SSS was the factory’s ’racer for the road,’ before the stunning 916SPS appeared. Developed in the late 80s from the 851 production racer model, the ’triple eight’ was immediately hailed by the press as a classic Duke in the making. A mouth...