In the late 1970s, Maserati hit upon a radical, borderline blasphemous idea. What if it hit pause on building very interesting sports cars and grand tourers that many people admired but no one bought.

Some great new bikes are available for less than £5000. We reveal the wonderstuff...

Martin Fitz-Gibbons remembers his first taste of the bike that would reset his entire understanding of BMW

BIG QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Bike : The voice of motorcycling since 1971

In the years just after the Second World War, motorcycle production in Britain, and indeed most of the Commonwealth, was dominated by prominent British manufacturers who had a stranglehold on the mark