The backbone of American-V is the bikes that inspire us, and they still put the miles in between test bikes. They give us the chance to indulge ourselves and speak volume about where we come from, and this is where we're going to follow their progress.

They are:

1979 Harley-Davidson FXS Low Rider
1994 Harley-Davidson FLHR Road King
1999 Buell M2 Cyclone
2002 Harley-Davidson FXDX Super Glide Sport
2003 Victory 92/5 Vegas

They might be joined occasionally by some long term bikes - we're talking to Harley-Davidson and Victory at the moment - and we'll follow their progress here too so we can give them the space they need: all we've got to do now is work out how to make it obvious which entries relate to which bike. The next entries will introduce each of them individually.