Kawasaki VN900 Custom

It's not often that Kawasaki motorcycles are designed specifically to handle well when they're going ultra-slow, but then when you have the awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping good looks of the 2008 Kawasaki VN900 Custom, you'll want to be sure everyone gets to appreciate it in all its glory.

This is a motorcycle full of beguiling contrasts. Clearly the most fastidious attention has been given to every last little detail, yet the result seems so effortless and laid back, that it looks like it has just been poured out.

Nowhere are these contrasts move evident on these new motorcycles than the juxtaposition of the clean, perky, lightweight front and the solid, chunky, low slung rear. The front of the bike features a striking, cast alloy 21" wheel with hand made spokes in an elegant 3D double flanged design. Topped with a single, retro headlamp, it is a work of art in itself.

Yet follow the sleek, almost sensual curves of the fuel tank and spacious seat and you come to an altogether more workmanlike, purposeful rear, with a low slung, solid wheel, and chunky 180 tyre.

Combine the two, and add in forward set highway pegs, high rise, chopper-style handlebars, dazzling chrome and quality paint, and you have a complete custom motorbike which is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Even the impressive 903cc engine is a masterpiece of form and function. Clad in deeply chromed 3D covers, with deep cylinder fins and a powder black finish, it looks every bit as good as it performs. And that's saying something when 50bhp and 57.5lb/ft of torque give it the kind of power and acceleration you'd expect from Kawasaki.

These motorbikes are full of surprises - yet the biggest one is still to come - because for all their classic looks and retro chic, for all their Kawasaki poise and power, for all the yards of chrome and peerless paintwork, you can still ride away a new Kawasaki VN900Custom for as little as £5,500 - a staggering price for such a stunning set of wheels.

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