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Rev Piston
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Buying a used car is a mine field. Firstly you need to weigh up what you want, then you need to work out how much it'll cost you so the nice granny that's only done three miles in ten years in her Toyota doesn't fleece you. Once you've sorted that, you then have the worry whether the nice old lady has actually stolen the car and the police will repossess it within minutes of you parting with your cash. Next there's the issue of whether the engine will erupt in a mushroom cloud of smoke a week later or that the floor has been welded to another cars chassis and is a write off.

Of course there are advantages to buying a used car, most notably the £££'s you'll save thanks to the original owner essentially throwing a few thousand pound down the drain in depreciation as they drive away from the showroom for the first time. This is the situation I am hoping to find myself in very shortly. Yes the time has come for me to part with my beloved Hyundai Coupe and I think that after many months of deliberation I've decided on my new muse.

Now those of you that regularly read my articles will smugly be sitting knowing what car it is I've fallen in love with. It'll obviously be the car I hark on about all the time as being the best value, best performance, best styling and driving package - the Honda Civic Type R. In fact I may very well have declared previously "I will buy a Honda Civic Type R next" so not too cryptic then. So the fact that I'm going to buy something else will probably come as a surprise and cement my reputation as being untrustworthy - my apologies.

Having driven a coupe for the last four years, I've rather enjoyed being a paradox to the usual coupe driver demographic - hairdresser or a man going through a mid-life crisis. Therefore I've decided to continue down the coupe route and having exhausted the now-extensive list of options available, I'm going for a Mazda RX8. The best thing about this is the fact I can write about the Wankel engine and not get in trouble.

Stop sniggering because despite the embarrassing name, the Wankel, or more commonly termed 'rotary' engine is as impressive an engineering achievement as the pyramids. Well, that or a Corby trouser press. I doubt you're reading this explanation through your laughter, but put simply the engine works by rotating a triangular piston in a vaguely circular cylinder. What that results in is the smoothest engine available and one that can rev up to 9000rpm. So despite the engine being a 1.3 litre in 'normal' terms, it naturally produces 231bhp and as you skyrocket past 7000rpm you'll be met with a similar scene to when they make the jump to hyperspace in Star Trek.

Unlike the majority of coupes available, the RX8 is rear wheel drive so it is perfectly balanced and handles just beautifully. So whilst the front wheels do the steering and the rear ones do the driving, you have time to plant your right foot and watch everything go blurry again, or admire the interior. The car I drove was so clad in leather I thought I'd taken a wrong turn and ended up in Soho. In fact the car belies the fact it's from Japan - a car building nation renowned for reliability and speed but not flair. Not so with the RX8, both internally and externally the car is drop-dead-gorgeous.

It's a bit like trying to explain a Monet painting without being in front of it, but trust me it is jaw-dropping. The rear light clusters are see-through a la the Lexus IS200, the bonnet bulges like the engine is trying to escape and I've not got to the best bit yet. Normally coupes have the most inaccessible rear seats known to man. The RX8 has hidden rear doors that open on reverse hinges that alleviate this problem without spoiling the cars side profile.

This isn't to say the car is as practical as a hatchback because it's still got the coupe features of a tiny boot and a front bumper so low it will scrape up snow in the winter and small woodland animals in the summer. Despite this and despite the horrendous petrol bills I will be faced with (25mpg!!!) the Mazda RX8 is the used car for me. Four year old versions are now below the £10,000 mark and for that you get one of the best cars of the new millennium.

Affording the petrol won't be a problem either - I'm looking forward to my diet of baked beans for breakfast, lunch and supper.

Mark Creese is a writer and car enthusiast. Here he discusses his decision to invest in a used Mazda RX8. http://www.andrewscarcentre.com

Honda Cbr1100xx - Super Blackbird

There is something just so utterly intoxicating about the way Honda's Super Blackbird blends such enormous raw power with such velvety-smooth refinement.

By rights, 152 claimed horses - which still equates with over 130bhp at the rear wheel - should make the 223kg Blackbird a big handful, yet somehow Honda's wizards have managed to break those horses, and train them to perform a synchronized ballet that would be the envy of Spain's famed dancing stallions...

Then there's the fact that some 10 years after its introduction, the Blackbird is still on the pace despite receiving very little in the way of modifications or upgrades.

Released late in 1996, the CBR1100XX went from carburettors to electronic fuel injection in 1999, and then received a catalytic converter and updated headlights, instruments and screen in 2001 - throw in the odd change in colour scheme here and there, and the Blackbird has really undergone very little in the way of tinkering.

And really, why would it? Pointing the bike down Victoria's Great Ocean Road recently, it showed it can still hold its head high, with a formula that really hasn't dated since its inception.

The Blackbird's turbine-like four-cylinder engine develops big torque and big power, with crisp fuel injection that places both at your beck and call. There are no flat spots to speak of, in fact there's nothing but bulk oomph pretty much throughout its entire rev range, from just off idle to its indicated 10,750rpm redline.

On the road this translates to a pure delight, although it's perhaps not as involving as other less-powerful machines, as even on a road with quite a variation of turns you can simply pick a gear and stick with it.

The Blackbird was the world's fastest production bike when it first hit the streets, a mantle it retained for over two years until Suzuki introduced the GSX1300R Hayabusa in May of 1999.

While it's not quite as strong as the 'Bus or Kawasaki's ZX-14 or even ZX-12R, there's still plenty here to keep you entertained, and you'll need to watch that right wrist like a hawk if you want any chance of retaining your license...

Stopping is a particularly important issue on a bike like this, and the twin-disc, three-piston Nissins are right on the money. Honda's Dual Combined Brake System (DCBS) is employed, which won't please everyone but will be appreciated by others. If you're not looking to break lap records at Phillip Island, it shouldn't be an issue - and if you are you should really be looking for something lighter anyway, like a Fireblade.

The suspension, though relatively low-tech, does a beautiful job, but tends towards the plusher end of the spectrum, at least in terms of sportier hardware.

The 'Bird's on the money in the comfort stakes too, with a firm but supportive seat, a good screen and slippery bodywork to allow you to scythe through the air. Those on the tall side may find legroom a bit wanting, but there's still enough there to ensure multi-day tours will still be on the agenda, aided further by the 'Bird's optional factory panniers ($1750). So what exactly is the Blackbird's focus? At 223kg (dry) it's too heavy to be a pure sportsbike, yet it's too fast and has too sporty a ride position to be a true tourer.

Really, it's a power-packed all-rounder and a hyper-tourer on the open road - provided you can find roads on which you can actually explore its potential (try Germany).

But even at legal speeds, that engine will always see you coming back for more. Happy birthday Blackbird - may your reign in the Honda stable continue for many years more.

SPECS: Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird
Engine: 1137cc, liquid-cooled, four-stroke, DOHC, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder
Bore and stroke: 79 x 58mm
Compression: 11.0:1
Fuel system: electronic fuel injection
Power: 152bhp @ 9500rpm
Torque: 119Nm @ 7250rpm
Transmission: six-speed
Frame: alloy twin-spar
Front brake: twin 310mm discs with three-piston Nissin calipers
Rear brake: single 256mm disc with three-piston Nissin caliper
Front suspension: 43mm forks, non-adjustable
Rear suspension: Pro-Link monoshock, adjustable for preload and rebound
Wheels: three-spoked alloy
Tyres: Dunlop D205 Sportmax; 120/70ZR17 front, 180/55R17 rear
Seat height: 810mm
Wheelbase: 1490mm
Claimed dry weight: 223kg
Fuel tank: 24L
Price: $18,790 plus ORC
Colours: Iron Nail Silver Metallic or Darkness Black Metallic
Warranty: 24 months/unlimited kilometres
Contact: (03) 9270 1111
Web: Honda Motorcycles

About the Author

InsureMyRide operates across Australia and only provides motor cycle insurance products to riders. We deal directly with customers on-line and over the phone. (So if you're a broker, we can't fix insurance for you.)

InsureMyRide only covers private motorbikes.

Are the pistons in an engine, (car,motorbike etc) still goin up and down when the gear is in neutral?

you know how in a cars dashboard, even when it is neutral or park(in an automatic), the revs are still going so seeing as it stands for revolutions im assuming the pistons still go up and down with no action until it is in gear?

Yes, you're right. The engine is on so everything is moving. When it's in neutral it'll stay about 1000 rpm more or less. When you're in neutral, that means that the transmission is not in any gear so the power of the engine is not being transffered to anywhere. Once you put it in 1st gear if it's manual or Drive if it's an automatic, the the power is actually is going from the engine through the clutch into the transmission which is now engaged in a gear and then to the wheels. I hope I made this clear.

Infiniti's roaring back
Understand that Infiniti has been bringing up the rear for some time in its sales race against competitors Mercedes, BMW and Lexus . But also know that Infiniti has plenty of fight left in it.

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