It is kinder than a kick in the teeth.Motorcycling has not matured out of its fondness for draping bored young women over bikes. There is too much gratuitous flesh on display to make this a genuinely family occasion. I just pulled out for a laugh." I will buy 10 as prizes for the comatose car drivers who will inevitably try to kill me in the next 12 months. While you're there, check out Asimo, Honda's impressive new robot. Asimo cannot ride motorcycles but he can walk, climb stairs, respond to voice commands and navigate between objects.It has been a long time since a British motorcycle show played host to genuinely new technology This year's NEC event has lots It is displayed alongside a huge range of clothing My favourite is a T-shirt proclaiming: "Sorry, mate I saw you coming. The 2006 model has an expanded engine and a higher cruising speed. See it at the Honda stand along with the new CBF1000, a traditional naked motorcycle designed to appeal to returning bikers.

The poor Deauville has been lampooned as boredom on two wheels In fact, it is supremely competent. For motorcycling the way it really was in the 1950s, check out the Royal Enfield Caf?acer. It looks fast, but it really isn't.Away from the niche market, Honda is showing the upgrade of its famously sensible Deauville tourer. With a dry weight of 165kg, that makes for an awesome power-to-weight ratio. Development riders say it is a bike that urges you to go faster It certainly looks venomous.

Its twin projector headlights resemble the eyes of a stalking velociraptor. The Daytona will be raced at track days throughout Europe; if handling matches power it will be hard to catch.Fans of homegrown technology should also inspect Triumph's new twin cylinder Scrambler - a nostalgic take on the sort of machine Steve McQueen rode in The Great Escape. And for pure off-road use, CCM, the Bolton-based manufacturer, is displaying its new R35 model. Those who lust after bikes that look the way they used to will relish Ducati's new Sport Classic models, which combine the looks of 1980s Italian racers with 21st-century technology. Many other riders will launch less highly publicised adventures on these machines.But it is not just the Germans who have new motorcycles to display at the NEC. Britain's own Triumph Motorcycles has a treat for the home audience, too. It was revealed without actors or hype, but the Daytona Triple needs neither.