Back in 2000 the Kawasaki ZX-12R was Kawasaki's attempt to produce the fastest road going motorcycle on the planet. Now-a-day, ten-years later, the Kawasaki ZX-12R is still a hell of a motorcycle. But for what it is – a ten-year-old superfast, sport tourer that you can pick up for not to much money, the Kawasaki ZX-12R still has to be judged as a serious performer.

The Kawasaki ZX-12R is appreciably more agile an flickable than its big rival, the Suzuki Hayabusa. The Kawasaki's better brakes help leave the Suzuki behind when the going gets twistier too. The only real drawback the Kawasaki ZX-12R has a high center of gravity. This isn't a problem most of the time, but it can make the ZX-12R feel a little awkward and ponderous at very low speeds. Stuff like tight hairpin bends and mini roundabouts need to be taken with care to feel comfortable. The Kawasaki ZX-12R always feels more at home on sweeping stuff than it does with anything more stop-start.

Speaking of comfort, the riding position is a little too racy for some. It's not as extreme as other sportsbikes, but it still has you hemmed into more of crouched and committed position than some would prefer. And the low screen, especially bearing in mind the windblast you might have to suffer at the pace the Kawasaki ZX-12R is capable of, is another restriction to longer periods on board without a rest.

Harley-Davidson's Road King must be the archetypal cruiser, and it's been around long enough now for everyone to know that it offers the bare basics of a touring Harley – you get spotlights and hard panniers, but no screen. A one-year old Harley-Davidson Road King still comes with a spicy price tag, but a Road King with a few years under its belt and bough privately should set you back a lot less. By going a few years back you'll miss out on the current bigger 1584cc Twin Cam engine, and six-speed Cruise Drive transmission. These are big changes for Harley, but otherwise the Harley-Davidson's from before 2006 are largely the same.

It's gone two o'clock, I've just picked up the Harley-Davidson Road King from a friend in the south part of Bangkok, and I'm due in Pattaya by four. Heading to Chonburi, riding under the Motor Way, I'm hanging on grimly at an indicated 100km/h, and if the wind's in the wrong direction, anything over 100km/h is a struggle. So that's why most Harley-Davidson Road Kings you see have screens – riding one without is like driving a car with the windscreen punched out.

Still, given the right conditions riding the Harley-Davidson Road Kind is all very pleasant, especially if you're one the large side, as the Harley is a big, roomy bike – big footboards, big comfy seat. The same goes for the pillion, though you have to pay extra for a backrest. The only problem for me was that the handlebars aren't pulled far enough back for my short arms, which was a literal pain on long trips. Oh, and the grips point downwards just enough to allow your hands to gradually slide off as the kilometers slip by.

The Aprilia Mana 850 GT ABS is the grand touring version and comes equipped with a half-fairing, readying it for those rides that take you far beyond the city limits.

The automatic-transmission Aprilia Mana GT I'm riding is doing a fin job of living up to its surroundings. The Grand Touring version of the more suburban Aprilia Mana. The Aprilia Mana 850 GT's new fairing does a fine job of deflecting most of the airflow off my chest, but just in case the weather takes a turn for the worse, I've stashed my water-proof jacket in one of the spacious accessory saddlebags. Acing through the fantastic curves of these country roads, the new Aprilia Mana 850 GT feels roomy, comfortable and well equipped – read to take on anything.

Performance is pretty good, too. The Aprilia Mana 850 GT accelerates out of hairpin bends with a satisfying midrange punch, heading for a top speed of about 120km/h. The 839cc V-twin produces a troaty exhaust note that rises and falls rapidly as I thumb through the seven-speed sequential gearbox. Alternatively, I could use the foot shift lever, through it feels pretty odd to operate it without a clutch.

The Harley-Davidson Classic Electra Glide, personally I didn't like to test the Harley, but once I'd got my head round the baffling switchgear I realized I was wrong. So, at early hour in the morning as I set off fully laden with Bird on board to Nongkhai, I had nothing to worry about.

First thing to strike me was how roomy and comfortable the Harley-David Classic Electra Glide is; next was the weight. The Harley-Davidson is a heavy bike which saps confidence at low speed. But, like any bike, once you're rolling it gets lighter.

The road in our neighborhood was wet, and is known to be slippery when wet, keeping speeds down – just as well because although Harley-Davidson have made their bikes more civilized (gearboxes, lighter controls..etc) in recent years you don't get the handling of a Honda GoldWing or BMW. Crude suspension, cruiser steering geometry, limited ground clearance and minimal tire grip make hustling the Harley-Davidson Classic Electra Glide risky – you can't relax because the handling limitations will suddenly become very clear. For example, I got a bit adventurous on a wet corner; with the running boards on the deck showering sparks, the front tucked. The bars went to full lock, the Harley slid for a moment, then got back on two wheels. Phew. Wouldn't happen on a Honda GoldWing.

You don't hear much about Kawasaki's Versys, in some Asian countries it's not even available. The Kawasaki Versys flies under the radar with no specific hole to file it under. But that is the very purpose of this 650cc Kawasaki machine. It's a well-priced, reliable by its simplicity, do-anything motorcycle.

And the Kawasaki Versys is backed up by its name, Versys, which is essentially an abbreviation of versatile system. The Kawasaki Versys is an uncomplicated 650cc parallel-twin machine with a welcoming seating position and a up-for-anything attitude. In fact, throw a set of dual-purpose tires on it and, for less than you believe, you've got a capable ABS-equipped go-anywhere ride.

In typical Kawasaki style, there's been a host of upgrades – mostly cosmetic – for 2010, but it takes a trained eye to really notice the difference between the 2009 model. Aside from the obvious and most important 2010 upgrade of a Bosch anti-lock braking system, Kawasaki has thrown a smattering of practicality at it, including a sprinkling of aesthetic changes.

The KTM 990 Adventure offers an antidote to the BMW GS experience, while offering a real-life trailie-tourer. But how well does the KTM 990 Adventure do the day-to-day chores?

For a start, the KTM 990 Adventure's headlight is very good with a well-defined dip and good searchlight-like penetration for the main beam – quite an improvement over what the BMW GS offers.

The sidestand is okay, although when parking on a slightly arched surface you'll need to be careful. The centerstand, though, seemed to require too much muscle, the leverage point being perhaps in the wrong place. Filling up two fuel tanks, left and right, was a slight bind – you have to observe a rule of not overfilling the right tank (if you use the sidestand) – but it's no less of a bind than the BMW GS's strange funnel. The mirrors were also equal to the BMW GS's. There is strangely a very limited steering lock as well. WE say strangely because off-roaders typically have a generous steering lock, but the KTM 990 Adventure's upside-down forks seem to prevent anything like the tight U-turn you can achieve on the BMW GS. So much so that the lack of lock will catch you out on your first few rides.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT, what we have here is a big engine in a big bike, from Kawasaki. The Vulcan 2000 Classic LT is 385kg bike with a 2,000cc engine that kicks out major torque and the best 0 to 100 time of all big bikes in the cruiser class.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT has a little more edge than the other Japanese V-Twin cruisers, and the beat of those two big pistons can be felt through the solidly mounted handlebars a little more distinctly than on other big bore V-Twin cruisers, what the Kawasaki engineers, call 'pulse feeling'.

You sit low in the deep-dish saddle on the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT, and the handlebars do a pretty good job of traveling back to meet you for the ride, but a high level of windshield buffeting was noted by almost everybody who rides this bike. Some of the buffeting problems on, of course, is a function of wind direction along with rider height and the height of the windshield itself. As a general rule, tose bikes on which you could look ever the screen produce the least wind noise and turbulence. So an alternate windshield height – or a good bandsaw – might solve some of these problems.

The Triumph Rocket III and Triumph Rocket III Classic are dead. All to be replaced with the Triumph Rocket III Roadster from now on, the motorcycle comes with ABS as standard and features more power, more toque and a better riding position than its predecessors. You won't believe how much fun this English Rocket is...

I firmly believe that someone at the English Hinckley Triumph headquarters is listening in on conversations of Triumph Rocket owners about how to make motorcycles better without changing their basic feel.

You see, there was only two real criticisms people had of the old Triumph Rocket III. The overly harsh rear shocks and the stretched-out riding position.

The first issue was only apparent when the Triumph Rocket III was really being hustled over choppy, country roads. Hit the bumps too enthusiastically and the old Rocket would pitch and jar as the rear shocks tried to cope.

As for the riding position, well I never thought there was much that could be done about that. My own physical appearance is similar to a monkey, long back, long arms and relative short legs so the reach with the legs to the old-style footrests was not exactly endearing to me.

Honda not so long ago broke the cover of the massively awaited Honda VFR1200F, claiming a mix of the latest race-track bred technologies, adapted and evolved to please all types of riders. Honda's goal was to create a sportsbike with long-distance capabilities.

The Honda VFR1200F's engine, a liquid-cooled 4-stroke UNICAM 76 degree 1237cc V4, has been designed to provide high speed and rapid acceleration. The engine's performance is delivered via a linear torque curve, focused in the low and mid range, making it possible for the rider to simply roll on and off the throttle while powering through bends.

The new V4 engine produces more than 80 percent of its maximum torque at 3,000rpm, allowing the rider to access drive low down in the rev range.

Instead of the traditional V4 cylinder configuration, with the cylinders evenly spaced front-to-rear, the Honda VFR1200F's rear cylinders are placed side by side but close together, while the front cylinders are more widely spaced. This layout allows for a slim, compact fit, and aids mass centralization.

The Kawasaki KLR650, time are tough, and new bikes need to deliver more bang for the money than ever before, right? Right. So are there any truly versatile new rides out there? Yes, several and while special offers are by no means uncommon in motorcycle shops, the Kawasaki KLR650 I recently found is solid value for money.

With the Kawasaki KLR650 you get what you really need, with none of the extras. If you don't think a clock or an LCD screen are necessary and if a plain but pleasant liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine is enough for you, Kawasaki may just have your next adventure or touring bike.

Despite the Kawasaki KLR650's dirt-bike looks, the Kawasaki KLR650 is a versatile all-rounder. The Kawa KLR650 is well up to anything from commuting to a bit of a weekend scratch. The power may not be too much to crow about but the cornering clearance is terrific! And of course the KLR650 makes a great basis for a adventures tourer. Kawasaki even has useful and affordable luggage designed for the KLR650.