There’s something rather refreshing about exploring Hall 10 in Tokyo. It is stuffed full of gleaming machines with one primary aim — to enjoy them to the max.

There’s no room here for political correctness and wailing about saving the planet, this is the world of machinery for adrenalin junkies and leather-clad babes. The bike manufacturers have got it right — even the concepts exploring clean emission technologies are created within the context of performance riding and freedom.

We attended press launches for Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki and picked out our favorite concept bikes.

Yamaha

Yamaha’s stand was dubbed as a “Museum to the Art of Engineering”. With 19 new bikes on show and 10 international launches, it was almost a show on its own. At centre stage was the four-wheeled Tesseract with its scythe suspension, which allows the rider to lean and turn into corners, motorcycle style. It is powered by a V-twin liquid-cooled hybrid engine.

Fun can come in small parcels, as shown by the Bobby — described as a “funny two-wheeled gadget with an interesting and unbalanced appearance”. This electric-powered bike is started and stopped using a FeliCa function on a mobile phone. It is also collapsible, so it can be stored in the trunk of a car.

Then there’s the Cannon. Described by a colleague as “one bad-ass bike,” there was virtually no information about it — but looks alone spoke volumes. What we could work out is that it was a big bore, long stroke V-twin offering “sports performance”. Yamaha puts it mildly: “This machine is specially designed to meet the eclectic tastes of hard-core, experienced riders.” Say no more...

On the other side of the scale is the Luxair. This beautifully proportioned hybrid cruiser is designed for the older rider and runs on two electric motors for rapid off-the-line acceleration. The motorcycle crew spoke to Yamaha’s sound system department to integrate an impressive surround-sound audio system.

Honda

Two bikes attracted our attention at Honda for very different reasons. The EV06 concept has been designed around a 1.8-litre flat-six engine from the Goldwing. Unlike the Goldwing, this bike has the looks of a sophisticated street racer, and has real edge.

The DN-01 is a large, automatic sports cruiser, powered by a 680cc V-twin engine. The “Human-Friendly Transmission” (HFT) is based on lockup equipped, infinitely variable hydraulic mechanical technology making the bike easy to operate while providing a sporty ride quality.

Suzuki

Suzuki had an interesting approach to its environmental research with its Crosscage concept. Running on “production ready,” zero CO2 emission, fuel-cell technology and a lithium cell battery, the Crosscage does not sacrifice fun to be green. Instead the company has designed a lightweight street machine with edgy styling that makes you want to hop on and blast off.

The other option is to hammer down a runway on the Biplane concept. The exact comparison was lost in translation, but the essence is that riding a bike is similar to flying a plane... well that’s the theory anyway. The bike, however, is a beautiful, aerodynamic machine reminiscent of a ‘70s drag bike.