Yamaha has at last revealed details of its all new adventure trailie, the XT 1200 Super Tenere. First supplies of the parallel twin, a rival to BMW’s GS series and the new Ducati Multistrada, will arrive in May.

It has to be ordered on line and the shaft drive bike, which comes with ABS and traction control as standard, will cost a hefty £13,499 plus first registration fee and road tax.

The 2010 model is branded as a special version. It produces a claimed 108 bhp, weighs 261 kg fully fuelled, has a tank capacity of 23 litres and comes equipped with aluminium panniers and skid plate. Next year these will be optional extras.

Meanwhile, Honda’s CBR600, introduced in 1987, has been as voted as the best second hand buy in the UK by a trade machine. I used to own one and loved it. Obviously it’s been updated over the years and is still going strong.

The Northern Ireland section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club goes from strength to strength and I went along to its February meeting (every third Tuesday in the month, St George’s Church, High Street, Belfast, 8pm) to hear a talk by former works Honda and Suzuki rider Stuart Graham.

It was a good evening, fascinating to hear about the exceptionally narrow power bands of the works machines and also interesting to see some of our former top racers there -- I spotted Ray McCullough and Con Law to name but two. New members are always welcome, club stalwart Jack Agnew tells me.