Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2026 i Fast Bikes

And just like that, we're on the countdown to Christmas. What a year it's been, albeit one that's flown by way too fast (…don't they all). I'm guilty of been nostalgic at the best of times, but when I reflect on the antics I've got up to, I can't help but smile with satisfaction. From track days to road trips, much has been ticked off, with a few unbelievable moments thrown in for good measure. Watching Jerez get washed away on the launch of Yamaha's new R9 was simply unforgettable for all the wrong reasons, while having my first play on Triumph's unexpected Speed Triple RX was a high point that takes some beating, perhaps only being trumped by spending a couple of days on an RCV with John McGuinness.…

“THIS SMALL DETAIL AND WILLINGNESS TO RESPECTFULLY IGNORE TRADITION CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED.” Sometimes you jump on a bike and just know straight away it's going to be good. It's impossible to quantify or explain just where that feeling comes from, but as soon as you get on the new V2, there isn't anything that stands out as needing adapting to or requiring an understanding of why it's like that. I'm talking about things like handlebar positions, seat height, profile, and even firmness. Then, when you pull away, it reacts and feels just right, so you can start diving into the bike's fundamental DNA and what Ducati has delivered in terms of concept, which is a massive departure from the previous Streetfighter V2. At the heart of the latest V2 is…

If there was ever a bike conceived and designed for being piloted on the road by someone who's top priority is having fun, then the KTM 990 Duke is it. It looks odd – in many ways it's not as polished or refined as other bikes, such as the Ducati, and it definitely doesn't take itself as seriously, and it really doesn't follow the crowd. To some people, including me, it's a breath of fresh air; to others, it's just a bit too left field and niche. Except underneath the quirky looks, it really isn't that different when it comes to the basic recipe: it's just that KTM has somehow made it not feel that way. When you get down to it, the 990 Duke has a pretty simple layout,…

To say that both these bikes exist in the same class is itself a win for all of us. The KTM was all-new in 2024 and the Ducati brand-new in 2025, which says something about the sector. While the likes of Triumph and Yamaha have been fiddling around the edges of their excellent offerings, KTM and Ducati have come out with two 100% new bikes which couldn't be more different to each other, while following the same fundamental formula. It is telling that KTM and Ducati have interpreted the unwritten rules of the class differently to each other and come up with such diverse bikes, but in doing so they've made an already exciting and popular class even more so. In typical fashion, Ducati has gone down the path of…

Of all the bikes on show at EICMA, Honda's V3R 900 E-Compressor was the one that truly pricked our imagination. Last year, the Japanese manufacturer teased a stripped-back chassis, offering a glimpse of the heart of the concept: the V3 motor. Now, with bodywork in place and a finished look, crucial pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place, and the much-anticipated protagonist is ready to be reconsidered. Unveiled under the banner of ‘Non-Rail Roller Coaster,’ the V3R 900 E-Compressor prototype is more than a concept bike… it reads like an engineering manifesto. Honda claims it captures the “joy and freedom of mobility,” but beneath that PR sheen lies something far more exciting: a radical new powertrain that could change how we think about performance motorcycles. At the heart of…

2018 SUZUKI GSX-S1000 Private: £4500 Dealer: £5500 Generally underrated, the GSX-S has a storming motor but feels dated and is left a bit lacking when the pace ups. There again, it is cheap. Engine: 999cc, l/c, 16v, inline-four Power: 148bhp @ 10,000rpm Torque: 108Nm @ 9500rpm 2018 YAMAHA MT-10 Private: £6500 Dealer: £7500 Wild when requested but also surprisingly refined and easy-going, the MT-10 is the pick of the Japanese naked bikes – if you like its look… Engine: 998cc, l/c, 16v inline-four Power: 158bhp @ 11,500rpm Torque: 111Nm @ 9000rpm 2018 KAWASAKI Z1000 Private: £6000 Dealer: £7000 The forgotten bike in the segment, the Zed does nothing wrong and has a great motor but it just fails to thrill and is a bit lacking in tech. Engine: 1043cc, l/c,…

There was always that one kid at school who was just that little bit smarter, that little bit quicker, and probably more popular too. Deep down, you didn't want to like them – but you couldn't help yourself. Excuse the prologue, but that pretty much sums up how I feel about BMW's awesome S 1000 RR. It's the class swot, yet you can't help but admire how effortless it makes life behind its big, broad bars. After all, we're talking about a litre sportsbike with 210bhp… plus cruise control and heated grips as standard. It truly is a one-of-a-kind type of bike and ragging it around Cadwell reaffirmed why it is also the UK's best-selling model in its sector. For starters, as you'd expect, this thing is ballistic. Getting onto…

Having clocked hundreds of miles on these headcases, both on the road and track, the one thing to conclude is that the big sportsbike class is in a good place – and the most exciting news is that next year sees another wave of metal arrive in the mix. Throw in the Norton Manx R, the returning GSX-R1000R and the uprated version of the ZX-10R and we're assured to have a real party on our hands. It was gutting not to have the Aprilia RSV4 in this test, which is our fault, but we'll make sure it's in the fight next year… and we know it'll be right up the pointy end. As for what's been the sharpest of this lot, it's fair to say the Honda ticked the most…

In the sportsbike corner… KAWASAKI'S 2026 NINJA ZX-10R TAKES FLIGHT WITH RADICAL AERO… Kawasaki has lifted the covers off its 2026 Ninja ZX-10R and its race-honed sibling, the ZX-10RR. Having dominated World SBK with seven titles in the last decade, the ZX-10R has earned its stripes as a true championship thoroughbred, and for 2026, Kawasaki has doubled down on it with fresh aero, sharper electronics, refined geometry, and a raft of detail updates designed to make this Ninja faster, smarter, and even more fearsome on track. The most striking change to hit you are the added winglets. Gone are the subtle flicks of the previous generation, replaced by large, integrated wings that are as functional as they are striking. Kawasaki's engineers have tuned their angle of attack to optimise the…

Remember all the fuss when Yamaha's crossplane YZF-R1 became the first Japanese litre sportsbike to have a price tag of more than £10,000? In 2009 it caused a huge kerfuffle, with everyone asking how Yamaha could justify such a hike in price. Fast-forward to nowadays – if you want a Fireblade SP, it is £23,699. Should you be considering the new Ducati Panigale V4 R, you will need to find a cool £38,995 down the back of the sofa. And super nakeds command the same phone number-sized prices with an Aprilia Tuono V4 costing £16,350, a Yamaha MT-10 £14,320 and a KTM 1390 Super Duke R £15,299 – and they're the base models, not even the high-spec versions! Okay, there are a few bargains, such as the £10,099 Honda Hornet…

Honda has tended to struggle when it comes to its entry into the super naked class, and until the Hornet 1000 SP arrived this year (which has absolutely knocked it out of the park), the firm's previous efforts have failed to achieve much in the way of sales success. Which is odd because, on paper, with a Fireblade motor, flat bars and a sporty chassis, they have all the right ingredients to attract buyers – especially the 2018-2023 CB1000R. Styled to reflect Honda's Neo Sports Café look, which is the firm's definition of a modern retro, the CB1000R replaced the more contemporary-looking CB1000R (yes, we know it is confusing), which had been around since 2008. However, this generation represents far more than just a facelift – the old-school CB introduced…

It only seems like yesterday I was spinning laps of the ‘new’ Ninja around Bedford on the updated model's launch, but that was nearly five years ago… and not much has changed since. Around Cadwell, it still had no enthusiasm for corner entry, it still lacked finesse on throttle pick-up, and it still had a dash and switchgear set-up that left me wanting to punch myself in the face. I'm often accused of repeating myself, but when it comes to the big Kwacker, it's hard not to. We're talking about a bike that has refused to evolve, and unapologetically so, sporting the same stance, persona, and conviction it's had for more than a decade. But it's got away with it because it's still a decent bike – not the greatest,…

Five years ago, I took a very ‘new’ Fireblade for a spin around Cadwell Park. It was the first version of this generation, and I didn't know whether to love it or run from it. Quite honestly, it was as confused as I was, with gearing so tall it could've given the Eiffel Tower a run for its money, made all the trickier by an on/off switch-type power delivery; there'd be nothing below 8000rpm, then you'd dislocate your wrists trying to hold on as the power kicked in with the finesses of a bull in a china shop. But the thing that got me chuntering the most was the ABS. It was shocking, to put it nicely, and on several occasions left me wondering whether skating my feet on the…

“CAN YOU IMAGINE HONDA'S HRC DIVISION SHOUTING ABOUT HAVING ITS CYLINDER HEADS SUPPLIED BY A SMALL COMPANY FROM ITALY?” Race bike exhausts are a curious thing. They're the only major part of the powertrain that's obviously supplied by an external firm. Can you imagine Honda's HRC division shouting about having its cylinder heads supplied by a small company from Italy? Or Ducati Corse putting the logo of some Slovenian aluminium foundry on show, laser-engraved onto the clutch cover? Yet the muffler of virtually every race bike, at any level from MotoGP to Bemsee club racing, now sports the branding of third-party firms. That's not always been the case. Look at the world-beating Honda NSR500 two-strokes ridden by Eddie Lawson and Mick Doohan in the late 1980s and early 1990s –…

If you've been a naughty biker, you need some decent legal advice, get it from mail@whitedalton.co.uk Q A friend was knocked off his bike recently and has been asked to sign a Credit Hire Bike and Credit Storage Agreement. What is all this credit nonsense? Surely, the other side just need to pay for his injuries, bike, and kit? We both don't understand the basis of these offerings. Are they legitimate? Should he be taking these freebies? A No such thing as a free lunch! What you refer to is a service provided by claims management companies and the like. I am not a big fan of these types of services, mostly because I find that said companies don't explain the full service in detail. Rather, they'd prefer to get…

It's been well documented that the middleweight naked class has been booming in recent years – and for good reason. These days, the sort of power figures being produced by the main protagonists are on par with the sort of numbers that superbikes of the late 1990s were making. Last year, we declared the all-new KTM 990 Duke as the best in class for having just that little bit more of everything than its main rivals, and for being just that bit easier to have fun on. We loved it because of its boldness and it's very different take on the class. So, with the only new entry into the class for 2025 being the all-new Ducati Streetfighter V2, it seemed appropriate to get one in to see how it…

The fast group of a track day at Donington Park is a pretty far stretch from the natural habitat of the plucky Streetfighter V2, but that's exactly where I found myself on it – and actually loving it. The thrill of being the underdog and spending vast amounts of time on the lap with the throttle rammed up against the stop. I was forcing myself to keep it there, even when instinct was telling me to back off a touch here and there to steady the bike and check myself… but that's what riding a 120bhp bike on track is all about. The first thing to deal with was the suspension being far too soft for the billiard table-smooth Donington, which has many high-speed corners producing high lateral loads and…

It's fair to say that on track I didn't enjoy the KTM as much as I did on the road. By living in the upper half of the rev range all of the time, it just felt that I couldn't really access the KTM's strongest points. Downshifting became less precise and seemed to take longer, and it didn't hold its line as well as the Ducati, even after making some tweaks to the suspension. It also felt like it was missing some of its signature agility at the higher speeds. I really must say at this point that none of the above means the KTM was bad on track. Far from it, I still had a great time ripping round in the fast group, spinning the rear tyre up almost…

TESTED BY: Bruce TIME: One month PRICE: £499/£799 WEB: www.rfnbikes.co.uk I can't remember the first time I rode a motorcycle, but I reckon I must have been about eight or nine years old. The bike in question was a ropey old Honda MT-5 about 2ft too big for me… probably like the helmet I'd have been wearing. Likewise, I have little idea what my parents were thinking at the time, but I can now well imagine. There are some things in life that are inevitable, such as my three brothers and I getting into bikes, following in the footsteps of my dad, so it was probably only a matter of time before my girls asked if they could have a play on a bike someday. Thankfully, times have changed since the days of…

“DAWDLING ON THE DUCATI IS JUST NOT AN OPTION, PROMPTING THE V4 MOTOR TO BUCK AND JOLT IN COMPLAINT.” I'd done about two corners before the Ducati made its intentions clear… we weren't here to piss about. Having hopped onto it off the back of the Beemer, the lack of cuddles and change in attitude was as hard-hitting as a slap to the face with a big, wet fish. I'd ridden the new V4S just once before on track and it'd hit home back then that this was a bike built with intent, packed with potency and hellbent on smashing lap times. As for me, I was just a mere passenger, and until I got my head into gear and started riding this thing with the vigour it demanded, it…

I left you at the last column having just won a race, and I then went and stuck the Kawasaki back on the box at the very next round. It was the culmination of a second part of the season where we have pretty much been building on confidence and feeling round after round. As such, I arrived at the final round of the series in joint fifth in the standings; with a good weekend, I could potentially finish as high as third in the series. I'd had an ace race earlier in the year at Brands, and I was already feeling confident my bike would be epic and that we could challenge at the front again. That hope held true as the weekend got underway as I took my…