More bikers ride Honda motorcycles than any other make in the world, simply because the company manufactures more bikes than any other. With machines ranging from the 60 million selling Cub 50cc moped to the world conquering Fireblade superbike, Honda has a reputation for building motorcycles with rock-solid reliability and class-leading performance.

The company was founded by Japanese engineer, Sōichirō Honda, in 1948 and since then has grown into a massive multinational with revenues of $120 billion in 2009. In the early days, Honda was primarily interested in working on cars, but his plans were sidelined by gas shortages in the second world war, which gave him the idea of attaching a small engine onto his bicycle in order to create a more efficient vehicle.

Honda’s first mass-produced vehicle was the Cub moped, which would go onto become the longest running and most successful motorcycle in history - propelling the company to the enviable position of world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer by 1964. It would not be long before Honda led the way for the rest of the Japanese motorcycle industry to utterly demolish the long established industry leaders in Britain and America.

Right from the very beginning, Honda used motorsport as a means to achieve commercial success. In 1959 the company entered 5 motorcycles in the Isle of Mann TT race, using this as an opportunity to refine the design of the bikes and to raise the company’s international profile. Honda did not win a TT race until 1961, but this marked the beginning of decades of dominance in motorcycle sport for the company.

Some notable Honda motorcycles include the following models:

GoldWing - one of the most recognisable touring motorcycles on the market, the GoldWing was introduced in 1975 and is still in production, recently becoming the world’s first motorcycle to feature a built in airbag. The GoldWing is available with a variety of engine sizes ranging from 1,000cc to 1,800cc.

Fireblade - in 1992 Honda introduced a new generation of light but powerful supersports motorcycles. Not wanting consumers to focus on the engine size, which was smaller than 1000cc competitors, Honda marketed the new bike as the Fireblade, rather than the CBR-900. The Fireblade was arguably the machine which defined what we think of as modern sports motorcycles.

A Honda motorcycle that changed everything - the 1992 Fireblade

CBR600 - a consistently reliable high-performance mid-range sports bike which has been in production since 1987. Throughout numerous updates and redesigns, the CBR600 has remained a firm favourite with riders across the world, serving as a reliable workhorse whilst being sporty enough to provide high-powered thrills.

Navigation on a motorcycle can be difficult because it’s difficult for the rider to read a map whilst on the move, so handlebar-mounted GPS satellite navigation systems can be very useful. GPS systems for motorcycles need to be more rugged than those for cars, since they are exposed to the elements, and the controls have to be easy to operate for somebody wearing gloves.

Motorcyclists also need anti-glare screens, since they don’t have a roof to shield their navigation system from bright sunshine. Another point to consider is that, unlike cars, motorcycles do not have a power socket to connect a GPS unit to, so battery life is an important issue - although some satnav units are supplied with adapters that can be wired into the bike’s electrics.

Both of the leading manufacturers offer GPS navigation systems designed especially for the needs of motorcycle and scooter riders:

Garmin Zumo 550

Garmin Zumo motorcycle gps system

The Zumo 550 offers all of the features you would expect from any GPS navigation system, along with some handy extras designed with motorcyclists in mind. The touch screen and controls are easy to use with your gloves on, and can be operated with your left hand, which means you can keep your right hand covering the front brake at all times.

The 3.5 inch screen can be read in bright sunlight and is UV resistant to prevent it from fading over time. The unit also keeps track of your distance travelled between refuels, and can warn you when the bike is running low on gas. It weighs 10.6 ounces and is reasonably compact, so it’s easy enough to carry around when you get off the bike.

The GPS unit features a speaker to provide voice directions, and also has built-in Bluetooth, allowing you to use it with a headset and your mobile phone, making it possible to answer calls while you’re on the move.

For the style-conscious, Garmin supplies caps in a variety of colors to match your motorcycle’s paint scheme. A universal mounting bracket is supplied, so you should be able to attach the device to any motorcycle, and a car-mount is also supplied.

Price: $650 (approx)

Click here to learn more about the Garmin Zumo 550 at Amazon.

TomTom Rider 2

TomTom Rider 2 motorcycle navigation

In addition to a 3.5 inch anti-glare screen, this motorcycle GPS navigation system also features a sun visor built into the casing, to make it even easier to read in bright sunlight. The Rider 2 comes supplied with a Bluetooth headset, allowing motorcycle riders to listen to the spoken navigation instructions even when they’re wearing a crash helmet.

The device is waterproof and designed to be easily operated whilst wearing gloves. A universal motorcycle mounting kit is supplied, but a car mount is only available as an optional extra.

The TomTom Share feature allows you to modify the maps with your own points of interest and to share with your friends, so you can share information about your favourite roads with other riders. Another handy optional extra feature will let you know where to find the cheapest fuel near to your current location.

Price: $449

Click here to learn more about the TomTom Rider 2 at Amazon.

Garmin Zumo 665

Garmin Zumo 665 motorcycle GPS navigation unit

If you want the very latest in motorcycle GPS navigation units, the Garmin Zumo 665 is for you. The Zumo 665’s unique features include advanced 3D navigation, a large 4.3 inch screen, and a built in MP3 player allowing you to listen to music or e-books through the supplied Bluetooth headset.  Alternatively, you can connect a headset through the standard headphone jack.

The device also offers a lane-assist feature, guiding you into the most appropriate lane as you approach a junction, and also provides you with a lifelike image of the approaching junction so that you can be better prepared for it.

Optional extras include an XM antenna, which will enable you to receive traffic and weather updates as well as XM Radio® with 170 ad-free music channels. The Zumo 665 features a built in MicroSD slot and allows you to share ride data with your friends - you can even review your rides on Google Earth when you get home.

Price: $999

Click here to learn more about the Gamin Zumo 665 at Amazon.

As winter draws in a lot of riders will be mothballing their bikes until the weather improves, but if you want some two-wheeled thrills to keep you entertained in the meantime, here’s a list of some of the best motorcycle video games. They’re not as much fun as the real thing, but at least you can enjoy a few beers while you’re riding these motorbikes.

MotoGP 08 (X-Box 360, PS3, PS2, PC, Wii)

Reckon you could show Rossi a thing or two? The official game of the MotoGP franchise will let you compete against the world champion, and most of the other big name riders on some of the world’s most famous race circuits. While not the best racing game in the world, MotoGP 08 received passable reviews on most of the platforms, which means you should be able to squeeze a fair bit of enjoyment out of it.  Be warned though, the Wii version is considered to be pretty abysmal, so it’s probably best to give it a miss unless you’re really desperate.

Click here to buy MotoGP 08 from Amazon

SBK-09 Superbike World Championship (PSP, X-Box 360, PS2, PS3)

SBK-09 brings the other main motorcycle racing series to video gamers. Unfortunately it’s been given very average reviews by most games critics, so you’ll probably struggle to find much fun here - although if you’re an obsessive fan of the series, you might be able to get more out of it than the average gamer.

Click here to buy SBK Superbike World Championship from Amazon

MX vs ATV: Untamed (X-Box 360, Nintendo DS, PS2, PS3, Wii, PSP)

Mud lovers rejoice! MX vs ATV lets you race all manner of offroad vehicles, including motocross bikes against each other on a series of dirt-tracks. There’s plenty of value for money here, with a wide range of vehicles other than bikes to play around on, although reviews of the game are fairly mediocre, generally billing it as OK but not great.

Click here to buy MX vs ATV Reflex from Amazon

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X-Box 360, PC)

Although the game isn’t specifically about motorcycles, there are plenty of opportunities for jumping on a chopper, motocross or sports bike and tearing around the beautifully realistic city streets in Grand Theft Auto IV. If you’ve got an X-Box 360, you can download an extra content pack which has a whole story line centred around a motorcycle gang, so you can live out your Sons of Anarchy fantasies. Don’t worry if you’ve only got an older console or PC which can’t handle GTA IV, all the older instalments of the game feature a wide range of motorcycles, and San Andreas is especially good since it offers lots of countryside for off-roading and long winding country roads to tear up.

Click here to buy Grand Theft Auto IV from Amazon

MTX Mototrax (PSP)

Only available on the PSP, this motocross game provides plenty of motocross thrills across 30 different tracks. It’s even got a built in track editor so you can design your own if the pre-made ones become too boring. The game received positive reviews when it was released in 2007, so it should offer plenty of fun.

Click here to buy MTX: Mototrax from Amazon

With the massive investment in the development green technology and zero-emissions vehicles over recent years, electric motorcycles are becoming a reality. While they aren’t yet ready to replace all conventionally fuelled bikes, electric motorbikes are practical enough for short journeys, which makes them ideal for commuting or recreational rides.

Zero Motorcycles

Zero Motorcycles manufactures a range of electrically powered motocross style bikes designed for highway and off-road riding. The company produces the X and MX models for off-road riding, while the Zero S is designed as a road legal street-bike and the DS (Dual Sport) is intended to be ridden on and off-road.

The Zero S (pictured) has a top speed of 55mph, with a range of 50 miles, which makes it perfectly usable around town, or for having a little off-road fun at the weekend. The bike takes less than four hours to recharge, and while this might sound inconvenient compared to the 30 seconds it takes to fill up a gas tank, the running costs of $0.01 per mile should take your mind off that.

Zero S - supermoto style street bike

The Zero S costs $9,950 (and is eligible for a 10% Federal tax credit, like all electric vehicles)

Zero Motorcycles

Brammo

You’ll either love or hate the oddball styling of the Brammo Enertia, but we think it looks pretty funky and the design certainly matches its purpose of being an urban run-around, rather than king of the open-road. This electric motorcycle is capable of over 60mph, according to the manufacturer, with a range of 42 miles and a recharge time of approximately 4 hours.

Brammo Enertia - the urban run-about

The Enertia costs $11,195 and is available through Best Buy, the website will help you to locate a dealer.

Brammo

Electric Motorsport

Electric Motorsport GPR-S

We think the EMS GPR-R is one of the better looking electric motorcycles, with its slightly more aggressive street-fighter styling. The bike has adjustable gearing, so top speed can be anywhere between 60-70mph depending on how you set it up, and likewise the range can vary between 30 and 60 miles according to how aggressively you ride.

Like most of the motorcycles in this class, recharge time is approximately 4 hours, but an optional speed-charger can bring that down to 1.5 hours.

The GPR-S costs $8,500 and can be ordered through the website.

Electric Motorsport

Mission Motors

Mission One electric superbike - expensively awesome

Unlike the other manufacturers here, Mission Motors didn’t just set out to build a practical electric motorcycle - the company went balls out to create a zero emissions motorbike that could compete with conventional gas powered superbikes. The Mission One is the result of that admirable goal. It has a top speed of 150mph, with a range of 150 miles and a recharge time of just two hours. Plus, it looks mental.

Sadly, you can’t buy one just yet, although for $5,000 you can reserve one of the first batch of 50, which will cost $69,995. You could buy an Aprilia RSV4 for a third of the price, but that’s not really the point - while the Mission One might be wildly expensive, the world needs rich loons to snap up these early models so that more money will be invested in developing the technology and, hopefully, electric motorcycles will become better and more affordable, which has got to be a god thing.

Mission Motors

The San Francisco based electric motorcycle manufacturer, Mission Motors has set a new all-electric motorcycle speed record of just over 150mph. The official record is an average of two runs, but the company claims to have clocked its zero emissions Mission One superbike at 161mph during the preparations for the official run at Bonneville Speedway earlier this month.

The record was set during the yearly BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials, where Mission One’s impressive top speed beat 70% of the conventionally fuelled entrants. Edward West, Mission Motors Founder and President, said “I give the credit for this achievement to our extraordinary engineering team. We set this record on our first visit to the Bonneville Salt Flats on poor salt conditions and in high cross-winds. And to set it with our production prototype vehicle, not a custom Bonneville bike is truly amazing.”

The record breaking Zero One zero emissions motorcycle

Earlier this year the company entered its bike in the first FIM sanctioned zero emissions motorcycle race, the TTXP at the famous Isle of Man TT where it finished in a very respectable fourth position.

Mission One plans to sell the first batch of its 150mph, 150 mile range, zero emissions superbike in 2010 - 300 of the motorcycles will be put up for sale in the first year of production. You can find out more at the company’s Ride Mission website.

Riders of Harley Davidson motorcycles have good reason to feel proud of the Milwaukee based manufacturer today. The company has announced that, along with its customers and dealers, it has raised $4.5 million for the fight against Muscular Dystrophy in 2009 alone - bringing the total raised for this cause since 1980 to over $73 million.
Fundraising activities organised by Harley Davidson riders, dealers and employees include pledge rides, motorcycle raffles, dinners, and commemorative pin sales. Harley Davidson is one of the leading corporate sponsors of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

For more information visit www.mdarides.org.

OK, it looks a little like a Meccano motorcycle, but once you get over that the latest machine from the Confederate Motor Company is a serious head-turner. You want to get noticed? Get one of these. Of course, you probably can’t afford one, unless you happen to own a couple of oil fields. I can’t be bothered to look up the pricing, if it’s even available yet, but you can rest assured that this motorcycle will cost more money than most of us average Joes will earn in a decade.

Let’s be honest, if you’re buying one of these bikes, you probably don’t care much about the performance and handling characteristics, this thing is pretty much an ornament. But in case you’re interested, the engine is a 2 litre radial twin which delivers 160hp to the rear wheel. Weighing in at a shade over 200kg, this puts the power to weight ratio in the same league as most high end superbikes, so this thing is certainly going to shift. Whether it handles like a superbike, or if anybody who owns one of these motorcycles is ever going to risk riding it on the ragged edge is a totally different question.

The P120 Fighter Combat if the Terminator rode a motorcycle, he would ride one of these. Er... wait a minute...

Did I mention they’re only going to make 120 of them? In case you’re thinking of remortgaging your house and selling your kids to raise the cash for one of these (and I certainly wouldn’t blame you for that) you can get more information and the Confederate Motor Company website.

Are you the kind of biker who likes to ride something a little different? How about an underpowered, lo-tech soviet copy of a pre-war BMW military motorcycle? The Ural Sahara is a 750cc flat twin which produces a claimed 40hp, propelling this magnificent beast to a top speed of 62Mph which we imagine it can achieve from a standing start in approximately three or four weeks.

If you like your motorcycles simple and unsophisticated, this four-gear marvel might be for you. Actually, that’s five gears, if you include reverse - you don’t get that on a Ducati!

We’re just surprised this thing doesn’t run on diesel… A steal at just under $14,000:

The Ural Sahara - retro charm, modern price...

The title says it all really. In case you’re not a fan of Joss Whedon’s TV show Dollhouse, here’s what you’re missing: the gorgeous Eliza Dushku, wearing some very flimsy clothing and draping herself all over a Ducati 1098 motorcycle.

There are few things in this world more magical than the sight a stunning young hottie sitting astride an insanely powerful superbike, although these occasions are normally treated as a perfect excuse for them to get dressed up in some skintight leather, rather than the wayward Catholic schoolgirl ensemble we see here.

Careful there, Eliza, those cute little stockings don’t look like they’d give you much protection if you flip that bike onto the tarmac!

Eliza Dushku fondling a big throbbing red monster

There are no words to adequately describe the true beauty of this image

Any fan of science fiction and awesome motorcycles must by now have seen the pictures floating around the internet of the killer robot motorcycles from the forthcoming film Terminator: Salvation.

We thought that was a great excuse to revisit some of the most iconic motorcycles from science fiction movies and TV shows - admittedly the pickings were slim, but we managed to pull together the following…

Just in case you missed the pics which have circulating on the internet for a while, this is one of the new Terminator motorcycles, and it looks both terrifying and awesome, as any good motorcycle should. Although we’re not quite sure that it would be a particularly comfortable ride…

Robotic killer motorcycle from Terminator: Salvation. This film is going to rule so hard!

Christian Bale gets to play with all the best toys. Before going head to head with the Terminator bikes, he got to ride around on the Bat Pod, a kind of two-wheeled escape pod built into the Batmobile in The Dark Knight.

The Bat-Pod from The Dark Night. Unsafe, uncomfortable, unbelievably awesome.

But we should spare a thought for the Batmen of earlier generations, who not only had to wear completely gay costumes, but also had to ride around on this piss poor excuse for a super-hero motorcycle.

The original Bat-Bike. Part motorcycle, part butt-plug.

Remember when Sylvester Stallone made that huge stinking turdburger of a Judge Dredd adaptation? The Lawmaster motorcycle from that is now part of a sci-fi movie prop exhibition somewhere in London and this is pretty much the only reasonable quality photo of it we can find.

Lawmaster motorcycle from the Judge Dredd movie. Whoever directed that piece of crap should be subjected to some Dredd style justice and executed on the spot.

For the sake of completeness, here’s how the comic’s creator imagined the original Lawmaster motorcycle.

The original Lawmaster from 2000AD

Streethawk was supposed to be a motorcycle oriented version of the popular KnightRider TV show - unfortunately the show bombed because they forgot one important element: The Hoff.

Streethawk - retarded.

Fans of Japanese manga sci-fi should immediately recognise this as Akira’s motorcycle, although to be fair it could just as easily be a road-legal machine from any of the major Japanese bike manufacturers these days.

A model of Akira's motorcycle

Here’s a picture of the original comic strip version of the same bike.

Akira on his shiny red motorcycle, wearing his shiny red jumpsuit

Finally, although there were never any motorcycles in any of the Star Trek films or TV shows, we can’t finish this article without showing you this stunning piece of work. Somebody clearly has too much time on their hands, but then so do we…

Star Trike. See what we did there?

Did we miss anything? If you can think of any sci-fi motorcycles we forgot, leave us a comment and we’ll add them to the article.