Gear Brands
Hella Supertone Horns
Hella Supertone Horn Review Surprisingly loud reading on our sound meter and the loudest in this comparison. The Hella Supertone horns have a brash and somewhat annoying sound that should definitely get noticed! This pair of Hella Supertone horns reads “Made in Germany” on the front diaphragm and “Made in India” on the rear part …
Stebel Magnum Horns Review
Stebel Magnum Motorcycle Horns Review With a sound tone that is similar to the Fiamm Freeway Blasters, the Stebel Magnum horns have slightly less volume but also offer an authoritative tone. We purchased the Stebel Magnum horns in England and the retailer had them listed at a rating of 139 dB, a figure that we …
Stebel Nautilus Horn Review
Stebel Nautilus Max and Compact Horn Seemed very loud while it lasted, all 3 seconds of it. The horn failed after about 4 beeps. Our Stebel Nautilus Compact was inoperative right out of the box, so Stebel has some work to do on the quality of these horns. Not recommended. I’m not sure if we’ve ever given …
Stebel Nautilus Compact Horn Review
Stebel Nautilus Compact Horn We didn’t get a chance to hear this horn, because it was inoperative out of the box when brand new. Based on this and our experience with the other Stebel Nautilus we tried, we can only give this Nautilus a “Not Recommended”. UPDATE: See the Denali Soundbomb Horn Review. A nearly identical replacement for …
TCX Jupiter Boots Review
Motorcycle Boots Are Also Comfortable for the Street The Jupiter 2 XCR is a short style boot that is suitable for riding, yet comfortable off the bike as well. It has a quality design and solid construction, and would make a good choice as a commuting or casual riding boot. Italian boot manufacturer TCX, formerly …
Moto Guzzi Stelvio Review
Moto Guzzi Stelvio 1200 4V Ride Report The Stelvio 1200 4V is here and it remains true to the Moto Guzzi heritage of building exciting motorcycles. Whether it will become a modern classic remains to be seen; what can be confirmed from this ride review is that overall, it will not disappoint. Those wanting to …
British Motorcycle Gear BMG Rapido Gloves Review
BMG “Rapido” Motorcycle Gloves High quality gloves with all the right features at an amazingly low price. Secret vent holes make a difference in warm weather (details below). And the triple wrist attachment keeps everything secure. British Motorcycle Gear has been around long enough now to call it an institution. Hard-core Britbike owners know BMG as the American go-to …
Roadgear H20-Tec Waterproof Gloves Review
Roadgear H20-Tec Waterproof Motorcycle Gloves Roomy summer/fall touring glove for riders who are uncomfortable with large swatches of carbon fiber and padding. Roadgear makes a ton of motorcycle gear, including a large selection of gloves. The Roadgear H2O Maxx leather mesh gloves (review), the Roadgear Multi-Season Adaptive Tec gloves (review) and their “Boss” winter waterproof gloves …
BrakeAway Motorcycle Cruise Control Review
Cramp Management With the BrakeAway Cruise Control and the Throttle Rocker Our bikes have sensors to let us know when the temperature is too high, the oil pressure is too low or the battery has just died. My aging carcass is equipped with a Dead Butt Warning and a Sore Back Alarm. And, on long …
OGK FF-5 Helmet Review
The FF-5 is the latest helmet from OGK and it follows in the foot steps of its worthy ancestors. OGK has a knack for getting air to flow through a helmet for rider comfort. They also know how to reduce weight and how to exploit aerodynamics in a way that other helmet manufacturers don’t, won’t …
GearRatchet Vortex Socket System
GearRatchet Vortex Socket Set Review Excellent addition to any tank bag! My continuing search for the perfect motorcycle tool set continues. In this case, “perfect” means excellent quality, easily carried and fairly complete. During the search, I came across this very interesting ratchet set while cruising the aisles of the local Ace Hardware store. It’s …
Moisture Wicking Cooling Ice Pack Shirt
An Ice-Packed Moisture Wicking Cooling Shirt Moisture-wicking shirt with four pockets for “HydroCOOL” ice packs. The inserts are soaked in water and frozen, then inserted into the shirt and provide relief from the heat…while they last. Every year about this time, motorcycle riders living south of about 42 degrees of latitude start their annual search …
Roadgear Commuter Max Large Motorcycle Backpack Review
Roadgear “Commuter Max” Motorcycle Backpack There are pros and cons to using a motorcycle backpack. But one thing’s for sure: if you need a backpack bigger than this Roadgear “Commuter Max” version, buy a trailer! The recent upswing in fuel prices has created somewhat of a boom in motorcycle commuting. There are also many new …
Stealth Workshop Powersport Utility Bag
Stealth Workshop Powersport Utility Bag Review Here’s an interesting piece of luggage that’s hard to characterize. Is it a tail bag? A tool bag? Or how about a camera bag, a travel bag or…a lunch box? All of the above actually, although a look at the manufacturer’s website — and a peek inside the bag …
Rev’it Air Mesh Jacket Review
REV’IT! “Air” Mesh Jacket Review The Rev’it Air jacket is new for 2008. It’s designed for hot weather riding and it offers sophisticated styling with high levels of air flow with Rev’it quality and a competitive price. The Rev’it Air jacket is new for 2008 and it’s the lightest weight hot weather jacket in the Rev’it …
REV’IT!! Air Blend & Fighter H2O Boots Review
REV’IT!! Makes Boots! The new interesting short boot style is available in two formats. The Air Blend mesh and the Fighter H2O, which is waterproof. The boots are nearly identical in every other way. REV’IT! has 9 different types of boots in their 2008 lineup, including four different types of short motorcycle boots. There’s probably …
Rev’it Mistral Pants
REV’IT! Mistral Mesh Pants Review Stylish mesh pants with Rev’it quality. These fit better than the Rev’it Airvent mesh pants we reviewed several years ago. With the zip-in Hydratex wind- and water-proof liner, these could be three-season pants, depending on your local climate. Get ’em while you can though; our sources tell us that the Rev’it Mistral …
Shift Carbine Motorcycle Gloves Review
MTech Racer and Shift Carbine vs. Teknic Violator Motorcycle Gloves – Part II Pre-curved fingers and thick leather protectors with stretch material to keep everything together, the Shift Carbine gloves are another worthy alternative to the old Teknic Violator gloves. This is the second of a two-part series comparing modern alternatives to an old favorite, the …
MTECH “Racer” Motorcycle Gloves Review
MTECH Racer Motorcycle Gloves Review Quality protection at a relatively inexpensive price from an Italian manufacturer of high-tech leather motorcycle clothing. It’s been a long time and my hands have passed through many gloves, but truth be told, I hadn’t found a replacement for my old and trusty pair of original Teknic Violator gloves (review). Alas, …
Metzeler Lasertec Tires
The Classic Metzeler Lasertec Back about, oh, 6 years ago, I replaced the tires on the 1986 BMW R65. Of course, being smarter than the BMW engineers, I knew better which size tires to choose. I wrote a long, boring and pompous article about it and ended up ignoring the advice of the owner’s manual, despite my …
Sqwincher Drink Mix Review
Sqwincher FastPack Electrolyte Replacement Drink You may think that Sqwincher is a wild ‘n’ crazy item that’s only peripherally related to motorcycling, but bear with me. I was cruising through a local county fair a couple of weeks ago, and while I was walking through a building that housed a sort of farmer’s household items …
Vemar VSREV Helmet Review
Vemar VSREV “Italy” Helmet It’s good to see Vemar back in the U.S.A. Meantime, the brand has been popular in other parts of the world for some time. The VSREV has a different and interesting internal shape. It may please some owners who may be having a hard time finding a comfortable fit with other …
Vemar VTXE Helmet Review
Vemar’s Best Helmet? The Vemar VTXE fits just under the VSREV in the Vemar lineup. In many ways, this is the Vemar helmet of choice. It offers excellent noise control under most conditions and very good build quality. It also has a high degree of comfort for round and neutral head shapes. Good outward visibility …
Vemar VSR Helmet Review
The New Vemar VSR Helmet What is it exactly that gives certain brands a mystique and cachet? Sometimes, all the marketing dollars (or Euros, in this case) in the world can’t buy excitement. There are a very few motorcycle helmet names that seem to rise above the crowd and somehow become “the” helmet to own. …
Roadgear CarbonMaxx Gloves Review
Roadgear Carbon Maxx Summer Vented Motorcycle Gloves A summer vented glove that actually offers some protection. Unique hybrid gauntlet is long on one side and short on the other to help maximize air flow, but the tradeoff is it can interfere with some jacket cuffs. Roadgear has done it again — they sure seem to …
CMS XR-7 Helmet Preview
wBW First Look: CMS XR-7 Motorcycle Helmet Our experience with CMS Helmets has been very positive. This small Portuguese company offers high-quality helmets like the CMS GP-4 full-face helmet we reviewed some time ago, which was one of the lightest full-face helmets we’ve ever worn. CMS is a fairly well known name in Europe but they’re not well …
