The Vespa LX125ie, one of the best selling scooters from Piaggio in Thailand. The overall look of the LX125ie is clearly of high standard, first off, it looks brilliant. The first thing that hits your eyeballs is the superb choice of colors. The red one, of course, looks like a scooter-ised Ferrari, so naturally I had my eyes on that one. The white one looks like a scooter-shaped snowflake, and is by far the best looking one, in my personal opinion, though I couldn't bear the though of dirtying that pristine white and stuck to the red.

Then there's that modern-day interpretation of the famous aircraft-inspired shape. It's not as bulbous as the original Vespas, but you have to agree there's something timeless about those lines. There's not mistaking it for anything but a Vespa, and there are a number of pleasing details to remind you of that fact. Actually, just need to look at the headlamp-handlebar fusion to realize that you're garking at. It's the old adapted for newer times and the whole effect reminds me of the VW Beetle vs the New Beetle.

It's some time since the new Honda CBR150Ri (with PGM-FI) was introduced, one of our friends has been pottering around town on one of this Thai made 150cc single cylinder sportsbike. It's a small-capacity engine but it is packed with a lot of punch for it's size and weight. But yes, to get those 17 horsepower into the game, you need to keep the engine revving. And into the game it comes past 4,000rpm, from where it effortlessly chomps down the kilometers till it hits the 11,500rpm redline.

The gearbox feels precise, each upshift unloading few more horsepower on the rear wheel, sending the Honda CBR150Ri to triple-digit speeds effortlessly. To get it back to standstill from these speeds, the brakes feel adequate. And because of the harder suspension, it doesn't nosedive one emergency braking the way its bigger brother, the Honda CBR250R does.

I don't know quite what it's about a Royal Enfield Classic 500, that makes people stop, stare and grin when you ride past, but when you ride an Enfield Classic 500 a day in Bangkok, which are standard equipped with an exhaust system that probably just pass the Thai 92dB sound limit you see shoppers, walkers, police, and basically everybody else looking at you.

The attention of police officers made me a bit nervous, while the Enfield Classic 500 is 100% road legal, it was still not outfitted with the required license plates. Something what could cost me 200 THB, but no police officer was interested in giving me a fine – what is remarkable at the end of the month.

The Royal Enfield Classic 500 looks like a real classic bike. Although the kick starter remains, there's a nice little button on the right side of the handlebar that saves you the effort of lifting your leg, and the cleverly concealed ultra-modern Keihin fuel injection, which replaced the AMAL carburetor, does a perfect job of keeping the 499cc single cylinder engine running.

With the BMW F800R, the German manufacturer seems to have blended stability and steering without compromise, while shockingly maintaining some impressing factors. Being a BMW, the F800R is more stable than most of the 800cc segment motorcycles around; the steering damper virtually redundant; you'll struggle to upset the chassis.

The BMW F800R is not as sharp in the twisters as an Ducati Monster 795, but makes up for it with predictability and assurance. The magic carpet road manner and exquisite balance mean that some Triumphs in the same price class will have the similar level of control.

The BMW F800R is surprisingly adept on the race track. It's far from boring, but the BMW's ABS and race track are not working well together in our opinion. We're sure BMW didn't rate trackdays high while they design the F800R.

Only a few weeks after Benelli opened its first showroom in South-East Asia (Vietnam), the company has introduced the Benelli Motard BX250.

The 250cc Benelli Motard BX250 is developed with the help of Benelli's Chinese partner. Officially the Benelli Motard BX250 will be introduced at the 2012 EICMA motor show in Milan this November. But we got some insides.

The design of the Benelli Motard BX250 is with the clear objective of attracting a younger set of buyers to the Benelli brand. The Motard 250 is contemporary and reliable thanks to the brand-new liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine. Lightweight and easy to manoeuvre, it’s the right choice for buyers looking for the sweetest riding pleasure at the right price.

BMW has introduced its HP4 the company's first four-cylinder in the HP family and – with a dry weight of 169 kilograms, including ABS – the HP4 is 2.26 kilograms lighter than the BMW S1000RR that it's based on.

Weighing just 199 kilograms with a 90-percent-full fuel tank, BMW claims the HP4 is the lightest four-cylinder Supersports bike in the 1000cc class. The BMW HP4 joins the boxer model HP2 Enduro, HP2 Megamoto and HP2 Sport in the HP (as in High Performance) family that started in 2005.

The new BMW HP4 gets what the German company calls a first for production motorcycles: Dynamic Damping Control (DDC). The DDC is a semi-active suspension system that changes the front and rear damping based on the mode selected, lean angle and speed.

In addition to the DDC, the BMW HP4 gets a more developed and refined Race ABS system that works in conjunction with Brembo monoblock brakes. The ABS has four different modes for wet surfaces (Rain), roads (Sport), racetrack with approved tires (Race) and racetrack with slicks (Slick). In 'Slick' mode, a new IDM setting (based on experience gained from racing in the Germany Championship) with 'refined regulation impulses now gives the skilled rider the option of maximum possible deceleration.' The Slick mode features an additional adjustment range of minus 7 to plus 7, and it's all controlled via a paddle on the left handlebar.

The 2013 BMW F800GS sees only a few updates, matter of fact the updates are limited to the gauges, controls, bodywork and the optional ABS is with the 2013 model a standard feature. The BMW F800GS is a really loaded with German Gelande/Strasse (GS) technology. With its 21-inch front wheel, spoked rims, a chain drive and 'robust' styling there's a bit more emphasis on off-road/all-terrain than the also new BMW F700GS, the F800GS is much more useful off-road.

The engine is essentially the same as on the previous F800GS putting out 85 horsepower, and the frame is still a steel tube cradle type. The overall weight of the 2013 BMW F800Gs went up a few kilograms, which is probably because of the now standard ABS. The motorcycle is still very stable and the upside-down front forks and fully adjustable progressive damping spring shock at the rear will help it cope with the odd jump and bumps.

We're not Harley-Davidson bashers here at Motorcycle Thailand. Most of them may not inherently float our collective collection, but there are a few in the range that are genuinely nice motorcycles. There's a lot to be said for motorcycles like the Vrod, Fat Boy and the 48 – mainly because they all satisfy their brief admirably, delivering a riding experience, and pre-packaged lifestyle, to their happy owners.

Harley-Davidson suffers from its popularity in its home market though, and has long profited from its ability to sell mediocre motorcycles to riders who just want the badge and don't know the difference in the saddle. It's doesn't inspire development, or excellence.

The Harley-Davidson Switchback isn't that bad, but it's firmly in the bland camp for the marque. The new 103 engine is certainly an advancement in refinement, but it lacks character when it's this silenced. While you can wind it up, it really needs a chassis to work in – and the Switchback's isn't great. It's a motorcycle trying to be all things to all men, which is its one strength, and also its biggest weakness. The pageantry of owning a bit of Harley-Davidson muscle is entirely absent here. It could almost be a Japanese cruiser for all the character it exudes, and the headline USPs of the motorcycle are weak in the extreme. The name is the clue.

The Honda NC700X is one of the variants of the company's new 'modular motorcycle' concept; a standard engine and a basic frame that is used in both scooter and road-going-motorcycle version. The Honda NC700X is the 'semi-adventure' model as evidenced by the X in the name. As far as I could see it has a plastic beak like a BMW GS and slightly longer legs than it's road-only-version. But to be honest a real adventure bike it is not.

I don't like the frame. It's a tubular steel affair that looks a bit like old-fashioned crash bars on each side. I understand this frame design is to turn the generic scooter into a conventional motorcycle. However, on e major point that seems to have slipped the designer's mind is that the frame is so exposed that when dropped on its side the outer rails would easily be damaged, and the motorcycle would be an instant insurance write off!

On most motorcycles the engine side covers take a clout and spare the frame (along with the fuel tank, handlebars and fairing etc..) from damage. For a motorcycle with faint aspirations for adventure style touring, the selection of frame seems a bit strange.

Hot on the heels of the new Triumph Explorer adventure motorcycle comes a luxury touring model, the Trophy, spun off the same shaft-drive, 1200cc triple powertrain. The model reprises the 'Triumph Trophy 1200' nameplate, last seen attached to a four-cylinder chain-drive motorcycle in the '90s. Those with long memories will remember the original 1200cc Triumph Trophy as the motorcycle that wore spectacles, an illusion caused by the chrome-plated surround of its twin headlights.

This time round, there are no such visual quirks. Judging from the first photos, the 21st-century version looks arguably a little too German, leading some to suggest that Triumph used the existing BMW R1200RT as a design template.