The 4000 mile service came up after about 5 months. No problems found at all, the cost of the service and parts at Lloyd Coopers was 120 pounds. I also got them to fit the Honda heated grips, which they did for 180 pounds all in. These are somewhat fatter than the standard grips, which is more comfortable for my hands, and having the heating option is a luxury.

I went up to the NEC show on Friday 17th for a look around, and I'd also booked a "Ride Experience" on a Varadero via the HUKRC. I rode up from home, 80-90 miles, quite frosty to begin with but slowly warming up.

I managed to have my first crash (sort of), about 2 miles from the NEC. I turned right across a main road, was feeling slightly distracted as I looked over my left shoulder as I crossed, and dropped the bike to the right at about 3 mph. Protective clothing did as intended, and I got away with a bumped shin and a slightly bruised foot where the bike partly fell on me. The bike just has a few scratches on the crash bar, and that's it. Still felt pretty stupid though. I found it was easy enough to pick up by standing with my back to it, grabbing some handholds and lifting/pushing backwards (this is what you're supposed to to with Gold Wings, apparently).

The show was quite interesting, and I managed to sit on a few desirable bikes. I can definitely say I'll never own a sportsbike, they're just too damn small and uncomfortable (e.g., Ducatis, Blade, MV Agusta, Aprilias, Gixers...). The new Yamaha FJR1300 and the Triumph Sprint ST were quite nice. There were rather less semi-naked women than I'd expected, but the few that were there were all attracting eager crowds.

The Varadero ride was OK, but hampered by a rather slow group and a very twisty and junction-ridden route. We were out for about half an hour, and I only managed to properly open the throttle a few times in the whole ride. The Varadero is a lot more powerful than the DV, but with a similarly flat delivery, so it's easy to ride. I quite liked the high and wide riding position, but there was a bit more windblast than on the DV. Certainly reinforced my view that a DV 750 (at least!) would be a good thing.

Just back from having the 8K service done, and the hand deflector kit fitted. All for a measly 220 quid (argh). Still would have been about 180 just for the service though (argh, again).

Service consumables were air filter (20), oil filter (7), oil (22), spark plugs(10). Labour was three hours at 36 per hour.

I had Lloyd Cooper's loaner NTV again, and it was just as horrible as before. While I was waiting to pay the bill, there was a guy arranging to chop in his W-reg Blackbird for a Deauville, having previously owned several VFRs. If you're reading this site, please let us know why !

Has now been done, plus BT020s fitted. Total cost 350 (gulp), so the service was about 120 pounds. No problems found.

I expected to get the usual knackered NTV loan bike, especially as I heard Bob asking the mechanic to "get the NTV out". So I was a bit surprised to be given the keys of the demo VFR800...

Instant impressions: Small, narrow, light (compared to the DV anyway), nice gearbox, very good in traffic, generally exudes a real quality feel in all respects.

Of course this meant I had to take a longer route to work. Next impression, at the edge of town: Bloody hell, this is fast. Performance and handling are just stupidly better than the DV, in a different league. I'm way too tall for the standard screen, the windblast hits me mid-chest, other than that the riding position is not too extreme. The motor seems pretty strong from about 5000 onwards, so I only hit the redline once, getting onto the M25, and that was doing ~100mph in third, allegedly.

Good fun, but just a bit too small and also has a strange metallic clanky thing connecting the rear wheel with the engine.

As I was leaving the dealer in the evening, a guy came back from a test ride on a Blackbird, and said he'd got it up to 140 on the A41 without even realising he was in 3 figure territory. He then left on his nearly new XJR1300, pondering a trade-in.

I've started wondering about getting a replacement for the Deauville, perhaps at the beginning of next year when I'll then have 2 years experience (and NCD). I read the announcement about the new BMW R1150RS in MCN, which sounded pretty good, so I went over to Sawbridgeworth this morning to have a look at the first one in the country.

It actually doesn't look much different to the old model, but there are some different colours and a higher screen on the way. Mechanically, it's the uprated engine with a 6 speed box, with the option of ABS too. The new bike can't be registered until Sep 1st, so I had a go on the R1150RT instead - a similar deal, but with more bodywork, electric screen etc.

This was my first ride on a boxer, and it's definitely an acquired taste. The engine sounds pretty lumpy at idle, and you get a little twitch to the right from the torque reaction when you rev it. The riding position is similar to the DV, so not much adjustment needed. Moving off, low speed stability is good, but I felt that the fuel injection was hunting/surging very slightly when riding around in town, although it could just be a very sensitive throttle. The left/right indicator switches are fine, but I found the right-hand cancelling switch slightly awkward - something you get used to I suppose.

The engine feels very torquey and powerful, so overtakes are easier and higher speed cruising is less frantic than on the DV. The gearbox needed a firm touch, and you get that little twitch to the right again as the transmission unloads. The screen was pretty effective in its up position. On the downside, there seem to be vibrations at some level pretty much throughout the rev range, and I found it became intrusive above 5500rpm - fortunately, the overdrive gear lets you cruise at a "reasonable" speed below 5000rpm, so it wouldn't be a problem on the motorway (although it might be a problem on the original 5 speed bikes which must rev higher when cruising). It felt really stable in a straight line, but certainly required more wrestling around corners than I'm used to.

So a mixed bag, really. Lots more power, a bit quirky, and those vibes. Hmmmm. I'm going back to ride the RS sometime next month to see what that's like.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to test out the following:

• Yamaha FJR1300. The local Yamaha dealer has a demonstrator, pity the dealership itself is one of those "Oh no, not a bleedin' customer" establishments.
• Pan European
• BMW K1200RS ?

FJR1300 Test Ride

Next up in the potential new bike stakes is the Yamaha FJR1300. Launched just this year, it's a strong attempt at the sports end of the sports touring market. The sports part is handled by a straight-4 1300 engine that is supposed to make 145bhp at the crank, and I'd certainly believe that having ridden it, also it has fairly firm suspension and the brakes off the R1. Touring concessions are a fairly large and comfy seat, pulled back bars, shaft drive, an electrically adjustable screen, and matching hard luggage (as an extra). But no heated grips, fairing pockets etc. I think the bike looks great, although the styling's been criticised by the press.

The list price with luggage is a steep 10.5K pounds ! That's a lot for an unproven bike, up against reliable and well known designs like the Pan and various BMWs.

So, it was off to Motorcycles & Moore in London Colney to try out their demonstrator. First impression was that the riding position is a bit more sporty than the DV, but still not a full sportsbike crouch. Second impression at the lights, after I'd stalled it twice, was that you can't trickle away on a virtually closed throttle like you can on the DV ! Going round the first roundabout, it's obviously not as chuckable and you have to think about your line in advance and turn a bit earlier. I reckon that the rather slow steering is designed to avoid any danger of tankslapping under power.

Accelerating away down the M10, it didn't take very long at all to get into three figure territory. First problem though, the standard screen, even when fully extended (which makes it almost vertical) still left my helmet partially in the wind. The bike felt very stable at high speeds, but the suspension passes on the bumps to the rider. You get a bit of tingling through the bars at certain engine speeds, but it isn't obtrusive, although some owners on the MCN discussion board have complained about numb throttle hands.

Getting off the motorway and onto A and B roads, it's clear this is a very fast bike, with a *massive* amount of torque - you can just leave it in fifth and still execute pretty snappy overtakes, go down to third or fourth, and you're past almost before you've pulled out. I wasn't too impressed by the brakes, you seemed to have to pull fairly hard on the lever and there could have been more feel. The FJR does weigh a lot more than the R1, so perhaps they should have uprated the brakes. The gearbox was great though.

On the A41 heading back for the shop, after an hour's ride, the short screen made itself felt again, and I definitely wasn't able to relax as I'd have liked. In good weather, it'd probably be better to lower it to point the windblast at your shoulders.

Another enjoyable ride, and M&M would do a new bike for 9.5K with luggage, pre-haggling. That seems an awful lot though for an unproven design, when if you really want a lot of speed, you can probably get a 'Busa, Blackbird or ZX12R for 2 or 3 grand less. For 8K list, it'd start to make a lot more sense...

Sawbridgeworth's R1150RS was still not registered, so I went back for a go on a 20K mile, S plate R1100 RS (yours for only 6495 UKP, sir).

I was pleasantly surprised. It was a lot smoother than the RT I had ridden, which I think must have been slightly out of tune. The riding position is more sporty, but the seat is still comfortable. The bike has bars that are adjustable for angle and reach, which is unusual. Being tall, a less upright riding position than the DV would be a major advantage in another bike.

The power available seemed similar to the RT, the gearbox was about Deauville standard, and you did miss the 6th gear on the motorway as I'd suspected. Handling was a bit sharper than the RT, and the new model is supposed to be better still. This bike had a taller aftermarket screen, which was quite effective in its fully up position, although not quite as good as the high DV screen, as some windblast gets round the sides.

I wouldn't want an 1100 because of the limitations of the 5 speed box, and the inconvenient 18-inch rear wheel. So if I were going to get one, it'd be a new 1150, which list at 7995 UKP, but then you have luggage (550), heated grips (150), optional ABS (750), higher insurance (???) so it soon adds up.

Oh, and my garage is subsiding and we're thinking about moving house. Hard decision: expensive new toys or fiscal responsibility ?

Back to Lloyd Cooper's yesterday for a go on both the above. The Varadero was quite how I remembered it from the NEC last year, but I think I appreciate it more now with more riding experience. It's big fun to ride, you have to tip it over a long way to get round corners, but it feels very stable. It's pretty fast too, not in FJR territory, but the Firestorm engine really has some poke if you rev it, and it's pretty smooth as well. I tried out some lumpy back roads, and it soaked up all the potholes very well. For me, the standard screen was pretty hopeless - at three figure speeds (I should imagine) the windblast was trying to rip my helmet off.

Back to the shop, and out on a 20K mile Pan with ABS/TCS. The riding position was more like the DV, although the bars felt a bit lower. The engine is super-smooth, and just whirrs away like a turbine beneath you as it simultaneously tries to melt your knees, which might be a problem in the summer I think. Not as fast as the Varadero (more BHP, but more KG too), but still enough power to make good progress. The screen was a little more effective, but I'd still need a taller aftermarket one. The handling is surprisingly good for a very heavy bike, and it seemed to steer quicker than either the FJR or the BMW RT. In town, the width of the fairing-mounted mirrors restricts up-the-middle filtering opportunities, but it's happy to trickle around at low speed. I thought the brakes were really excellent, very effective and confidence-inspiring. At junctions etc., smooth stopping requires good low speed balance, if you're not to have a final lurch to the left or right.

So it was another enjoyable morning, both bikes go on the shortlist, but the choice is probably between the BMW RS and the Pan.