The machine for this morning is the Honda CBR150Ri, it is the quickest and most powerful motorcycle below 150cc currently available in Thailand. The Honda CBR150Ri is a ultra modern motorcycle manufactured in Thailand and it doesn't only look good, it also performs well. Needless to say, the Honda CBR150Ri is on the wish list of many youngsters now-a-day.

The Honda CBR150R has a long history in Thailand, and the latest 2011 model comes with brand new modern fairing and a perfectly working PGM-FI (fuel-injection). The first and the most important feature that matters a lot for customers going in for any Thai performance motorcycle today is its looks. Without a doubt, the little supersport lookalike offering from Honda easily walks away with the crown for being the best looking motorcycle in the below 150cc market.

With design lines inspired from its bigger sibling the Honda VFR1200F, the Honda CBR150Ri looks gracefully sexy and utterly beautiful, no matter which angle you look at it from. The new type headlamp with its fairing dominates the front. The full fairing flows in nicely, exposing the engine a bit on either side.

It doesn't matter how good your motorcycle is, doesn't matter how fast you actually ride. Because most riders are men, it's all about the numbers. Has to be – us males are programmed to be easily impressed, how else do you explain most things we do?

In todays 1000cc all-round line-up lots of the motorcycles don't have the numbers, for example a Honda CBF1000 has 100 horsepower... some older 600cc sportsbikes made that. BMW surely has the numbers, big numbers by the way, but lots of numbers and zero's in the purchase price are not what most males buyers are looking for.

The Yamaha FZ1 makes an honest 132 horsepower at the wheel and weighs less than most of the opposition. That makes the Yamaha FZ1 fast. Fast enough to have just done the last 306 kilometers of the last trip in 170 minutes, average speed 108km/h. Impressive.

The new Kawasaki ZX-10R, new engine, new frame, a substantial restyle and the latest electronics – Kawasaki have come over all serious.

This short, blunt implement is the new Kawasaki ZX-10R. Everything on the new Kawasaki ZX-10R is new. The engine is shorter and more compact – the gearbox is stacked far more steeply, shown by the 20mm higher clutch, giving a smaller, lighter engine that's easier to position for ideal weight distribution. The current motorcycle's bore and stroke is less oversquare than the Yamaha YZF-R1 and Aprilia RSV4, and positively long-stroke next to the stubby dimensions of BMW's S1000RR. The new Kawasaki ZX-10R has a wider bore and shorter stroke for extra revs, bigger valves and more top-end power. A bigger air intake, located closer to the nose charges the airbox.

The new Kawasaki ZX-10R engine is bolted into a new cast-aluminum twin-spar frame, the small engine giving space for a longer deep-braced swingarm. What's interesting is the shock layout. It isn't going up conventionally through the swingarm, working between a linkage and the frame, but instead is mounted almost horizontally as it is on the new Z1000. The most likely reason is to allow a certain shock length and movement ratio, giving finer damping control. Suspension at both ends is by Showa, the front end using big piston forks like we see on the ZX-6R and GSX-R1000.

During our last trip abroad we asked an expert what he was thinking about the nature of the current 1000cc sportsbikes.

'It pains me to say it but Suzuki have pandered to racing and tamed down the GSX-R1000. The GSX-R1000 took away the growl and grunt of the K5 thanks to emission legislation, and now the K11 is chasing revs and peak power - or the potential to chase revs - with a shorter stroke engine. It still has the longest stroke in the liter class, which is why it has that nice lift at 4,000rpm, but I still say the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5 was the last of the real Suzuki superbikes – a fantastic engine. Now the GSX-R is just like the others.'

'For years the Yamaha YZF-R1 has revved its tits off, which is why racers like it. But this crossplane crank raises lots of questions. On the dyno it doesn't impress: peaky, not much midrange, not very smooth. Yet everyone's raving about it, especially on track. It might be because it has a weaker midrange, so the rider can use more of it on initial corner exit. We've often seen that racers can have too much snap off the throttle.

Buying a Ducati, new or used, isn't really a decision you make with thinking it over. The desire for an expensive and idiosyncratic exotic motorcycle obviously comes from the heart, but it doesn't necessarily mean you have to relinquish all comfort, practicality, or sense. Nearly ten years ago, in order to bad a few more sales the Bologna firm gave us the surprising looking Ducati Multistrada 1100S. A motorcycle Ducati designed literally for 'all roads”.

Ducati currently sells the brand new Multistrada 1200, which is marvelous machine, but it doesn't mean the previous model is an inadequate motorcycle.

Looking at a average secondhand Ducati Multistrada 1100S your first impression with the motorcycle are usually not that impressive, but at least a Multistrada 1100S version with the later 1100cc lump and shiny Öhlins suspension bolted to each end delivers a healthy dose of that Ducati ownership appeal. It may not have classic lines, but this is one Ducati you can't fault for comfort and usability.

The BMW K1300R is lighter than the K1300S, the K1300R is similar in style but actually quite different. That's probably why the people a BMW promote the K1300R as 'controlled but never tame'.

It has that muscular 'Don't mess with me' air about it. Like its S stablemate, the BMW K1300R has more power and torque than its predecessor.

Unlike the K1300S, the radiator is exposed but snug up under the headlights. The small screen has a prominent speedometer neatly tucked behind it and just up to its right, the tacho with its red line at 11,000rpm. As with the K1300S, the levers and switches are simple and there is no need for an engineering or science degree to work out the variety of functions the electronics and instrumentation system can deliver.

The impression is of a high-mounted fuel tank, tiered rider/pillion seat, dual headlights and a forward tank and engine molding giving the impression of a mini fairing.

The sharper KTM 990 SM R, considering it has the power-to-weight ratio of BMW's substantial, cupboard-clad K1200GT, the KTM 990 SM R couldn't be further away from the full blown tourer. Lively is an understatement: the KTM 990 SM R rotates around its rear spindle without provocation in low gears; leaps off crests you haven't even registered; dances across imperfections; and tips from upright to peg-down quickly enough to make you whoop. The KTM 990 SM R is so deliriously, wonderfully frantic it should display warnings: 'People with heart conditions and anyone prone to soiling themselves should not ride this motorcycle,'

But then the 990 SM R is based on KTM's crazy-sensible 990 SM - possibly the finest cocktail of usability, practicality and daft grin stupidity to escape captivity. A firm Motorcycle Thailand favorite, the KTM 990 SM R's ridiculously easy wheelies, immediate handling and rider involvement are almost completely balanced by proper pillion accommodation, an easy 282 kilometer fuel tank range, a superb headlight, adjustable controls and sumptuous ride quality. The KTM 990 SM R is devilishly good on the Thai roads.

For the hopped-up KTM 990 SM R the bias is firmly on going faster. Suspension is revised, with a fancy low-friction coating on the fork sliders and shock damper rod, less travel and firmer settings. Chassis geometry is slightly racier too, with a steeper rake, less trail and shorter wheelbase for even quicker handling. There are lighter, forged Marchesini wheels too, plus Brembo Monobloc brake calipers swiped from the RC8 production line and slick-edged Pirelli Supercorsa tires.

The Kawasaki ZX-10R is the motorcycle that wrested the hooligan tag off Suzuki, and never lot it go. Even today, if you want the hardcore of the bunch, you buy a used 2005 to 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R. Which really wasn't the case before 2004.

While the Yamaha R1, Suzuki GSX-R and Honda FireBlade were living it up., Kawasaki persevered with the outdated-at-birth-ZX-9R. It wasn't good enough at the time, and by 2003 standards it was well off the pace. The Kawasaki ZX-9R was on all levels behind the competition, playing catch-up. Surely not a popular choice.

But Kawasaki stunned us with the ZX-10R – a motorcycle with more than enough fire-power to tempt even the most ardent Suzuki fan. The reborn ZX-10R looked like the tool Kawasaki was racing around on in the MotoGP. It was sharp and modern, banishing the portly ZX-9R from thought immediately.

The Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat revisited. The respected and reliable Yamaha FZR600 engine, tuned slightly for more top end and amazingly a fatter mid-range, equipped with a ram-air system and a 36mm carburetor, installed in a chassis that leaned away from pure sports and more to sports-touring. The Deltabox frame is plain steel, not made of any alloy, but no worse for it.

The fairing and seat are also a good compromise: none of your sportsbike crouching here. It's probably the only other 600 to ever come close to the Honda CBR600 ideal of being a motorcycle for all reasons – sports riding, commuting, touring, you name it. The Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat is fast, very comfy, especially for a pillion, handles well, has decent weather protection and a good range. Unfortunately, when it came out Honda's new model CBR600 was just a bit better in every department, so the Yamaha Thundercat had to be discounted to sell. This reflected now in its secondhand values and makes it a superb used buy.

Still, some people think the Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat fall between two stools, it's not sporty enough for the sports riders and not lardy enough for the tourers, but for Thailand it's a perfect motorcycle.

The Yamaha YZF600 feels like a bigger motorcycle. It weights the same as its competition but the impression is that it's physically bigger. A long-ish wheelbase and a hefty dollop of trail make it slow-steering compared with some of the competition and somehow, you feel that corners have been cut in the suspension. It hasn't got the suppleness of a CBR600 of the same era, never mind the sharpness of a Suzuki GSX-R600. 'It does handle – just in a slightly mushier way than the rest,' we concluded.

You're in the market for a middleweight motorcycle, and Kawasaki's ER-6N is what you want, with a good parallel-twin 650cc engine, snappy styling and with important compact dimensions – perfect for riding in Bangkok and do some road trips around Thailand. But reading some forums and hearing advice from other riders you quickly discover that fairing is something you should have...

Fear not, for Kawasaki has covered that base with a fully-faired version known, as the Kawasaki Ninja 650R.

The addition of the fairing extends the concept of the ER-6N to cover touring duties and give extra weather protection for those who prefer their motorcycles with a wrap-around layer of plastic at the front and sides.

From a styling perspective, Kawasaki's designers have done a good job of integrating the fairing with the ER-6N's basic design. It certainly doesn't look as if the bodywork has simply been slapped on in a rushed effort to another variant for dealers to flog, and nice touches such as the painted frame and side-mounted, cantilever rear shock are still clearly visible.