A golden era...

If you had to make a list of the top five bikes you’ve either owned or craved, what would they be? I bet it took all of two seconds to fill that line-up, and if I’d have asked you for 10 bikes, it probably wouldn’t have taken much longer to rattle them off.

We are spoilt for choice when it comes to two-wheeled offerings, which is no bad thing… assuming you’re minted and can buy everything you want. If I were rich I’d fil the garage in a heartbeat, then build another one to store some more. There are so many cracking bikes out there, but for me the best options come from the Noughties. Maybe that’s more a reflection of my age and what I grew up seeing and liking, but I honestly think that era of sportsbikes was exceptionally pioneering from a design and performance point of view. It was also a time when you knew fresh metal was never far away, which is unfortunately something we can’t expect nowadays. The upside was that new protagonists kept on pushing the envelope and forcing rival brands to put in the cash and graft to keep up with the Joneses, but the downside – if there was such a thing – was that certain bikes and configurations got left behind; I’m looking at you, V-twins.

Admittedly, not everyone’s a fan, but I am and I wish there was a credible V-twin sportsbike on the market now (what are you waiting for, KTM?). As it is, I hark back to the Noughties to get my fix; a time when it seemed that every man and his dog had their hand in that sector. Along with Honda’s SPs and KTM’s RC8s, there were also the two bikes you’ll find on the cover – my favourite twins of all time. What’s not to like about a Mille… apart from a failing sprag clutch... and as for a 999R, surely there is no sexier a Ducati to have left the factory? Okay, that last line has probably got a few of you questioning my sanity, but I am one of those weird people who’ve always loved Ducati’s ugly duckling, and I reckon time has warmed many a soul to its ‘different’ disguise.

Whether you like the look of it or not, it truly is a great bike to ride around on, as I’ve learned these last few months. And the same goes for the Aprilia too, which is actually a project bike that’s taken three years and countless bloodied knuckles to build. But the pain and the price has been more than worth it, as you’ll discover in a few pages’ time.

Enjoy the mag.