At the Intermot Show in Cologne, Germany, Harley-Davidson displayed this prototype XR1200 variation of the Sportster 1200 motorcycle. Styled like the XR750 dirttrack racer, the XR display bike features high-performance Showa suspension and Nissin brakes. In short, it's intended to be the Sportster that emphasizes sport. The bike was showed to test the reaction of show attendees, and if it sees a positive reaction, Harley says the motorcycle will go into production, probably within the year.

I certainly hadn't expected a naked bike wearing the blue-and-white propeller badge to be such an unashamed high-performance knockout. Despite BMW's attempted image transformation over the past few years and the fact that the K1200R's 163-horsepower (claimed) peak output makes it the world's most powerful roadster, the German marque still hasn't totally lost its reputation for practicality, common sense and caution.

With nigh-on 80ftlb of torque delivered to the rear wheel at 3700rpm, the Bandit’s new six-speed gearbox needs little provocation. It’ll cheerfully pull from 3500rpm in top gear and run on to 140+mph. That gearbox is typical Suzuki: precise, perfectly spaced ratios. And, hoorah, no sign of any fuel-injection stutters or flatspots in its performance delivery.

The motor on the GSX-R750 has a very smooth seamless delivery with an electric feel to it. There are no big hits in the powerband, just a steady heightening of power. The motor is a little lacking in the mid-range forcing you to keep the revs up on corner exit. You have to ride it more like a 600 than a 1000 to get the true potential out of GSX-R. Keep the motor close to its rev ceiling at 15,000 rpm and you'll have the GSX-R singing nicely.

If you do a Roethlisberger and hit face-first, you may only appreciate what a full-face helmet can do for you if you aren't wearing one. Helmet wearers who take a hit that would have scrambled their eggs if they had been bareheaded often just think, "I'm glad I had that on." But it's hard to fully appreciate what you avoided.

Roethlisberger has said that if he rides again, it will be with a helmet. I'm guessing it will be a full-face helmet, since he now probably understands its value.

The Nightster isn't exactly light at a claimed 545lb dry weight (claimed 565lbs ready-to-run), but the center of gravity is fairly low, and this combines with the wide bars to make aggressive riding easy, even at around-town speeds. Out of all the cruisers I've ridden, the Nightster would be high on my list if my plans involved a lot of city riding - it's almost like a (really low) standard in terms of how it attacks city traffic. Just be careful of those wide bars while splitting lanes!