Massively inclined engine, five valves per cylinder and almost vertical intakes. So is Yamaha’s FZ750 something truly special?

You hear it long before you see it: the tranquil of this bucolic Hampshire village has been shattered by some hooligan flouting its urban speed limit. Heads turn. The demonic roar and ring-a-ding-ding

Bugatti’s official story is that the seed of the Veyron was planted in 1997. VW Group boss Ferdinand Piëch and his powertrain chief Karl-Heinz Neumann were on a Japanese train brewing up engine ideas.

Moto Guzzi weren’t the only ones to make a V8. Finnish genius Tauno Nurmi built his own eight-cylinder for the 350cc world championship in 1965 – and the amazing device has been brought back to life

Classic Bike, Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, Cambs, PE2 6EA

Voge’s high-spec parallel-twin is decent, but has room for improvement