Road Tests

There's nothing exceptional to point out on the Triumph Speed Triple R's spec sheet. Its power figures are quite modest compared to the big guns in this day and age, it doesn't look particularly special, and it doesn't come loaded with sophisticated rider aid technology like a lot of the bikes we've reviewed lately. And yet, I've never had so much fun on two wheels, or fallen so hard for a bike so fast. So what is it about this snub-nosed British bad boy that makes it such a compelling ride?  Read More

We love oddities and mold-breakers here at Gizmag. And in the motorcycle world, we're so used to seeing evolution rather than revolution that we get really excited when a new machine comes along that thinks outside the square. That's why we've been hanging out to throw a leg over Ducati's Diavel - it's the company's first foray into the cruiser market in recent years, and it takes a distinctly Italian approach to the genre. A laid-back musclebike style and enormous back tire make it look like a boulevard cruiser, but when you twist the throttle and unleash 160-plus horsepower through the screaming 1198 superbike engine it houses, you realize this is one right out of the box. Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan get to grips with the Ducati Diavel in the latest of our HD motorcycle review videos.  Read More

Like it or not, most motorcycle brands have a reputation for attracting a certain type of rider. In the case of the BMW rider, the stereotype has a definite touch of the "sensible grandpa" about it ... at least, that's how things worked until recently. For the last five or so years, the German manufacturer has been releasing a bunch of bikes that can actually deliver seriously good fun - albeit in a sensible kind of way. But there's nothing sensible about the bomb they dropped in 2010 with the release of the S1000RR. In our latest video road test, Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan cash in their pension checks and climb aboard the formidable BMW superbike.  Read More

We've been looking forward to this ride for a looooong time; this is a truly significant motorcycle. Ducati has stamped its authority on the Adventure bike segment in the only way it knows how. The new Multistrada 1200 S is vastly more powerful and exciting than anything else in the segment. In fact, it's more powerful and exciting than an awful lot of pure sportsbikes. What's more, with its traction control, ABS, fly-by-wire throttle mapping and electronic suspension adjustments it boasts the most technologically advanced computer system we've ever seen on a streetbike - while still being marvellously simple to ride. Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan strap the boots on for the latest in our HD Video Road Tests. Enjoy!  Read More

What's it like to drive a hydrogen powered car? It depends on which one. In the case of BMW's Hydrogen 7, essentially a 760i with its 6.0 liter V12 tweaked to burn hydrogen instead of petrol, one might suspect it's pretty much like the donor vehicle. In the case of Mercedes-Benz's B Class-based F Cell, powered by electricity from a lithium-ion battery pack fed by an on-board fuel cell, you might think different.  Read More

The latest in our series of video road tests is America's leading electric motorcycle: the Zero S, from California's Zero Motorcycles. Seventy-five miles per hour and 60 miles between charges are the big numbers here – but how does that translate to real life use? Also, since electricity costs so much less than petrol, can an electric motorcycle be viewed as an economical option? And what about the environment? When the carbon cost of electricity generation is taken into account, how green are electric vehicles? These questions and more, answered after the jump!  Read More

A few days ago, I managed to get up close and personal in Shanghai with one of the most interesting concept cars the world has yet seen. SAIC's Yez concept car is the first automobile, concept or otherwise, that's ever been conceived to have a negative carbon footprint. That is, it removes more pollution than it creates.  Read More

Be careful if you plan to watch this video at work; the Ducati 1198 is motorcycle lust distilled to its purest form. It packs 170 horsepower, weighs 171 kilograms and has a top speed in excess of 300 km/h – more or less standard figures for a road superbike in these blessed days, but as the king of the V-twins, the 1198 delivers an enormous wall of low-down grunt that its 4-cylinder competitors simply can't match. It's an impossibly gorgeous bike to look at, dripping in exotic sex appeal and high-class performance pedigree... But is it a highly-strung thoroughbred like Aprilia's brutal RSV4, a sportsbike your grandma could ride like Honda's Fireblade, or something in between? From the Ducati WSBK pit garage to the road, Loz Blain and Noel McKeegan roll up the sleeves and put the flagship Ducati through its paces for the latest in our series of HD video motorcycle reviews.  Read More

We've spent plenty of time looking at the spec sheets for Aprilia's barnstorming new superbike, the 180-horsepower RSV4 - and marvelling at the potential of what has to be the most race-focused roadbike ever to hit the market. Now it's time to take this beast out on the road and see how it goes. Sit back and enjoy our most in-depth video review yet - it's white knuckles and brown underpants as we road test the 2010 Aprilia RSV4-R.  Read More