So you fancy an American-V then, but which one to get? Who do you ask? Who do you believe? How much difference can there be between them?

First-up, you buy the one that is right for you: it doesn't matter a damn that someone down the road's got an FXRS and thinks it's brilliant, because the bloke next door will reckon his Honda Melody is the mutt's nuts. So stuff 'em.

Then you ask people who ride that type of bike: if you want to go touring, talk to people who tour, if you're a wannabe weekend warrior, talk to others who are the same way out. There's no use asking an Ultra Glide Classic jockey which Sportster to buy - unless, of course, they've had one.

The hardest bit is to find an objective opinion you can rely on. Everyone who's thrown a leg over a bike has an opinion of it; anyone who's spent their own money on a bike will spend some time justifying it to themselves. What you need are people who have ridden the class of bike you're interested in as much as possible, and doing so with a particular intention of comparing it to its rivals ... and then take everything they say with a pinch of salt, and run it past anyone else you know who can qualify their opinions before ignoring that too.

And just in case you thought it wasn't that important which model you go for, there is more difference between the bikes on these pages than there has any right to be. Even if you just stick to Harleys, the differences between a Dyna and a Softail are massive, but the differences between different softails are equally astonishing. Add Victory into the equation, and then Buell for good measure and things get a little lively.

Over time, American-V will attempt to present you a full objective roadtest of every motorcycle that fits our remit, and one or two others that will undoubtedly squeeze through by association or the strict application of the definition ... or just 'cos we feel like it. Unlike some conventional titles, we will - wherever possible - be taking each test bike for a fortnight and putting upwards of a thousand miles on each, because you've really got to get that familiar with any bike before you can realistically hope to form a sensible view of it.

We will attempt, wherever possible, to approach each bike from two distinctly different viewpoints to demonstrate the differences when viewed through two sets of eyes: this is going to be a laugh, as we can disagree between ourselves on almost everything motorcycle-related without even trying - and especially when being objective.

We can't always get the bikes for as long as we'd like, so we'll also be doing brief tests, called QUICKSPINS, to make sure we get the broadest possible contant regardless of long-term availability.

And to add a little colour to the array of single bike tests we will be putting bikes against each other as the only sensible way to determine a number of things: two bikes, two weeks and two people will generally throw up a lot more detail that would otherwise be apparent, bimbling about on a single bike for a fortnight. These will be held under the "Head to Head" button.