Bike TestThe bike world heads for Birmingham this week for the motorcycle and scooter show. Tom Raynerhas the background
.As the great and good of the biking world gather this week for the NEC in Birmingham for the International Motorcycle and Scooter show, there's no doubting the main attraction: sports bikes.
For all the practical motoring on offer, it's the sports bikes that pull in the crowds.
1. BUELL 1125R
Buell doesn't conform to stereotypes, and this is most certainly not your run-of-the-mill superbike. It's the first time that bikers from Ireland or Britain will get to see the 1125R up close and personal.
A departure for the American firm in the sense that it has used an Austrian-made Rotax engine, rather than the traditional Harley-Davidson motors, and also for the fact that it's liquid-cooled rather than air-cooled. Despite breaking with tradition the 1125R keeps the Buell's classic minimalist, muscle-bound styling, and now packs a 145bhp twin to match. It goes on sale later this year.
2. HONDA FIREBLADE
Since its launch, the Fireblade has set the benchmark for all Japanese superbikes. Just when you thought it couldn't possibly get any lighter or more powerful, Honda's engineers managed to shave off a few extra kg and squeeze out a few more bhp.
However, it's not all facts and figures that are causing a stir at the launch of the 2008 Fireblade - its looks are dividing opinion too.
Heavily influenced by Dani Pedrosa's Moto GP Repsol Honda, the new machine is visibly shorter and with less fairing than ever before.
Honda has also brought along its array of Moto GP and World and British Superbike race machines to the show.
3. BMW HP2 SPORT
And now for something completely different . . . this is BMW's first serious out-and-out sports bike, and it's already proven itself by winning its class at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race earlier this year.
Featuring BMW's most powerful boxer engine ever (128bhp) and tipping the scales at just 178kg, it has the sort of technical specifications that should make it a track-day nut's dream machine.
Clad in carbon fibre and fitted with high-spec Brembo brakes and Ohlins suspension, this is the sort of Superbike most people thought BMW would never dare build.
4. THE HONDA CB1000R
The most radical naked bike that Honda has ever built. It might look similar to the 600cc Hornet, but it can boast a 2007 spec Fireblade engine tuned for low-end grunt, and good mid-range performance.
Along with a rather impressvie array of bikes, there are several interactive elements to this year's show.
Buell is offering a low-speed handling skills course, in which bikers can race against the clock as they muscle a Buell motorcycle around a demanding obstacle course.
Those heading over are recommended to bring their own riding gear to the show.
Meanwhile, the Californian Superbike School will also be bringing along its Superbike simulator to give free cornering advice to riders. The simulator enables riders to experience the real physics of a powerful superbike on full lean. Seminars will run every day, where people can get free tuition on the simulator from Andy Ibbott, the school's director. Participants must be at least 14-years-old and have some motorcycle experience.
Perhaps the most interesting interactive element to the show, however, is an off-road zone that has been created in woods close to the NEC, with bikes provided by Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha to let visitors try off-roading under the supervision of qualified off-road instructors. The feature can only be booked on each day of the show, and all participants must be at least 14-years-old, and 4'6" tall. All riding equipment will be provided. By all accounts it's worth the effort. - PA
The International motorcycle and scooter show runs until December 2nd. Tickets are £28 (about €39) for adults and £5 (about €7) for children. Children under-10 get in free throughout the show