Road tests and reviews

Some fantastic road tests and first impressions from a diverse group of riders. We're interested to hear what you think about any bike, big or small, that you own or have road-tested.

BMW F800GT: Compact but Capable Sports Tourer (2015)

A More Manageable Option? Don’t get me wrong I think that my current bike, a 2016 BMW R1200RS SE Sport (pause for breath….) is a fabulous bike to ride: Fast, very comfortable and secure when punted through a bend with a little enthusiasm. It’s a bike that exudes a certain confidence. The quiet man that Continue reading

Yamaha Niken: Wonderful or Wacky?

Our latest Real Rider Review covers a bike that I am really interested in: The Yamaha Niken. Typically Yamaha have gone a bit left field and been the first to apply the two front wheels concept to a ‘Super-bike’. Peter Wills is the lucky man who got to have a try of this fascinating machine: Continue reading

Honda CBF500 (2006): You Know Where You are with a Honda

Time for another one of our popular Real Rider Reviews. This one recounts the tale of very hard working Honda. A bit of an unsung hero of the biking world. Take it away Dan White: The Simple Things in Life In mid-2018 I changed jobs and got back into riding again after a few years Continue reading

Small Ones are More Juicy – 250cc Selection

There is Something About a Quarter Litre Bike I don’t quite know why but somehow over the course of the 40 years I have been riding bikes, I’ve somehow managed to own quite a few 250cc machines. They are just big enough to be a ‘proper’ bike and still small enough to be light, flickable Continue reading

BMW R9T – Why Have Vanilla When You can Have a Strawberry Sorbet?

Next up in our series of  Read Riders Reviews is the BMW R9T. Steve has come to the world of flat twins from the towering competence of the XR1000. He has bought a slower, less well equipped machine with minimal tech. You know what? He absolutely loves it! Read on to find out more… First Continue reading

Ducati 950S Supersport – Slick, Quick, Capable

Eye Catching Looks I actually wondered over to Ducati Worcester  (now defunct as of 09/10/024) to take a look at a 950 Multistrada as potential replacement for my BMW R1200RS. However the big ‘Strada wasn’t what I was looking for, but as I went to leave the dainty and pretty Supersport caught my eye. Like Continue reading

Kawasaki KR1S – Way More Fun Than a DeLorean!

Two Stroke Time Travel! It’s amazing what a motorcycle can do: I don’t mean the way it performs, stops, corners or even how comfortable it is. No, the real magic is how it can make you feel: How it can melt away your troubles.  Genuinely I cannot think of another machine that can connect with Continue reading

Mutt Mastiff 125 – The Return of the Prodigal Son

Another one of our Real Riders Review and this time it is the Mutt Mastiff 125 that is coming under the spotlight. The Mutt is the comeback bike for Bill Voyce, who is a like a prodigal son returning to biking after a break of many years. Quite a common thread in modern motorcycling.  He Continue reading

HONDA VFR1200F (2010) – Sporting Tourer or Touring Sports Bike?

Glynn Williams is a highly experienced biker and he gives us a great insight into the often misunderstood Honda VFR1200 with his Real Rider Review: Vilified By the Press Vilified by the press on its launch for being too sporty, lardy, thirsty, technically underwhelming, expensive, unsuitable for touring with no storage pockets, small panniers; the Continue reading

Ducati Scrambler Classic – Pastiche or the Real Deal?

Well I don’t have a beard, sleeve tattoos, braces and an aged leather man bag. I don’t even put my hair in a bun or have a ‘piss-pot’ crash helmet with goggles. Apparently these are all prerequisites of Ducati Scrambler ownership, at least according to the stereotype or so I am told. However what I Continue reading