Nothing invokes the romance of adventure motorcycling like the Paris/Dakar rally. Doesn't matter that it was held in South America this year; it's still the most grueling, dramatic, and amazing race on the planet. And Michelin was there, the riders using their Desert tire for 26 consecutive victories in the Dakar ...
A bike is not a couch, and while many touring bikes sport comfortable butt-holders, long road trips can seriously infringe on one's ability to sit anywhere at all. You can shift position some over the long haul, but it's a little restrictive where you can go, obviously.
A seat ...
Harley-Davidson touring bikes aren't known for handling prowess in the esses, and in fact they've sometimes been described as having a hinge in the middle. It can be disconcerting to go into a turn while your bike's back end meanders about, seemingly of its own whim and accord. But then, touring ...
Staying dry on a ride is high on my list of priorities. But then I don't really know anyone who actually enjoys becoming soaked to the bone. Even ducks don't like it. That's why they're… well, you know… waterproof.
Meanwhile, Nelson-Rigg has been supplying rain protection since 1972. Their ...
Some parts are easily replaced in their entirety, but sometimes a broken piece is ridiculously expensive. Or you break certain parts regularly, or like me you simply prefer fixing things yourself. And if perhaps you've done some damage to one of your plastic parts by performing a modification, ...
How a motorcycle handles over the various surfaces encountered on and off-road can make or break your riding experience. I've been on bikes with smooth, awesome power, but the front suspension was so bad it felt like wrestling an elephant; or, like riding a bucking bronco due to bottoming ...
SSR Motorsports offers a mad variety of pit bikes from meek to freak and everything in between. They've become one of the top competitors in this modest-sized but avid market by providing lots of choices, good products, and good support from customer service to engineering.
The SR125 is an entry-level ...
The best thing about a tail bag, in my opinion, is that it's out of the way. I'm talking about soft-sided, easily-removable tail bags. Because they're flexible, you can stuff a ton of clothing and sundry items in them -- and because they're small, they're easy to handle. Even ...
On small bikes and many sport-bikes the taillight isn't much, particularly if they've been altered from stock. And if it's good and bright outside, seeing the teeny, tiny red thing that's supposed to pass for a brake light is sometimes difficult.
If your bike has turn signals, here's a device that ...
The Sigma ORS is made for bigger displacement sport-bike engines with lots of torque and power, as well as to handle the extra weight of larger bikes. You can get it in three sizes: 520, which can handle up to about 135 horsepower; 525, up to around 145 horsepower; ...
If you can imagine an alteration to your motorcycle, someone's probably come up with and is marketing a design alternative from stock to match your imagination. The bolt-on accessories market is huge and competitive, and if you search long enough, you're likely to find precisely what you need in terms of ...
I once lost three gas caps off a bored-and-stroked twin in less than 30 minutes. It wasn't even my bike. A friend had just got his bike running, but it wasn't running well, and he asked me to take it for a spin -- not like I knew anything, ...
Typically the last things you think about on your motorcycle are the switches. At least until they stop working, or begin to work intermittently, or become damaged in a crash. You might even decide to replace them, just because you can, if they've become faded and oxidized over time. You know ...
With time and further technological development, maybe concepts such as the Flash2Pass garage door opener will become more prevalent in other aspects of living, too. I like this device because it eliminates something I previously had to carry, and further simplifies a routine task -- this thing opens the garage door ...
As a motorcycle-oriented company, K&L Supply provides specialized tools and parts for the industry. Their large 342-page catalog contains everything from hydraulic presses to fuses to flywheel pullers. You can't order directly from the company, but they have dealers worldwide, and a list of these is provided on K&L's ...
Heading to South America, Japan, Europe or Australia for your next ride? Take me with you! And take along one of these global battery chargers from Harley-Davidson.
You can rest assured your battery will get the electricity it needs in a format it understands, provided you order the correct charger. ...
EBC makes brake discs, shoes, and pads for vehicles of every description. So it's a logical next step for them to produce motorcycle clutch kits as clutches also use friction; although in this case the friction is used to engage power to a wheel as opposed to stopping a wheel. Often, ...
As one of the most well-known and long-lived brand names in the motorcycle racing world, Dunlop continues to do its utmost to remain at the top. Cheaper tires abound, and as new tire manufacturers appear every year, the competition for your tire dollars is intense.
The Qualifier is the next generation in ...
Because I tend to fall upon rude rocks and run into fairly aggressive tree bark, sometimes my plastics get scratched up. Maybe "destroyed" is a better description. And maybe "sometimes" is incorrect as well -- more accurately, my plastics are always scratched up. Then there are the inevitable hash ...
Arai has made a name for itself by being expensive. If money's no object and you want the best the world has to offer, buy an Arai. Lots of companies make very good helmets for protecting your skull and all its guts, but Arai is the top ...
Knees were never meant to be battering rams, but they certainly take a lot of abuse. On a dirt-bike you use your knees as secondary suspension to absorb all the pounding from a track or trail. And when you stuff yourself into the ground, sometimes your knees hit first. Or, ...
A box of oil can be a very good thing. Assuming you remembered to order the filters too, you can rest easy that you've enough oil for a multitude of of oil changes, knowing that you got that oil for a good price. It's like money in the bank, except ...
Best story I could find for the origin of apehangers goes something like this: Back in the old days (no time period specified) folks would string wire across a road as a motorcycle gang deterrent. Bikers began using apehangers to protect themselves from the supposedly neck-high wires.
Honestly, this seems pretty ...
You're bumping and grinding over a gnarly backwoods single-track, good times are rollin', you've got your sweat on -- when suddenly you notice your mouth tastes and feels like 40 miles of old cow trail. What to do? You need to keep hydrated, and one way of filling that reservoir of need ...
If you're spending your riding time listening for ugly noises coming from your HD's top end, it might be time to consider the Andrews Roller Cam conversion kit. Specific to 1999 through 2006 engines, there appears to be a tendency for the cam chain tensioners to wear out, or simply ...
If you've ever stopped for the sole purpose of pouring the water out of your boots, then you know the value of good raingear. If you've never had that experience, then you may just be smarter than the rest of us, or, you were well-advised at some point. Either way, ...
The Pursuit is one of the more sophisticated designs I've seen as far as motorcycle gloves go. Lean and clean lines closely following the shape of the hand and covered knuckle protection make this one stand out. And it stands out from the rest precisely because it doesn't stand up ...
Don the Domain 2 and you'll feel like an icon. Maybe.
This is Icon's best-quality offering in helmets, and comes with a spoiler on the back. The spoiler is said to reduce the air uplift while riding to give you less of that helmet-being-pulled-up feeling. It's seamed in nicely ...
On the surface, this product looks an awful lot like an oversize furniture slide. In reality, however, there's more to it than is initially apparent.
The visible piece is injection-molded plastic. The plastic covers a framework that holds six ball-casters. A rubber ring around the inside perimeter acts ...
This is an off-road must-have. Once, in a light rain on a wide trail coated in greasy mud, I was in third gear and moving right along when I noticed my back wheel nearly parallel with my front -- at the wrong angle, though. I shot sideways into ...
If you're prejudiced against bias tires, listen up: sport tires are often bias-belted because the criss-cross pattern gives the tire a more consistent flex when cornering to handle a variety of surfaces. As comparison, radials have "slip-flex," or softer sidewalls which keep more of the center tread on the ...
Having your motorcycle stolen is a serious issue. And parking where the bike is visible is sometimes difficult or impossible. Since secure and portable garages are a bit unrealistic at the moment due to the lag in current nanotechnology development, the next best things are locks of some sort, and maybe ...
Goggles are a highly personal choice. And there is a mountain of choices out there. Many riders buy a new set (or two) every season, while others will replace lenses on a favorite pair until they can no longer get new lenses for them. Typically, most of us ...
There will be times when you are going to have to load your bike into a trailer or the bed of a truck. For me, that means I've broken down and I'm probably in a vicious mood, but some people need to transport a show bike or take their ...
Ever shift into sixth gear when you only have five? Ever tried to go lower than first? I have, and almost as often as I've attempted to find neutral. You know the neutral game-up, down, up, down, and gingerly easing out the clutch in hopes it doesn't engage, ...
Sure sounds like a riddle doesn't it: Name a thing you can't live without, might use only once every few years, and is generally useless for anything else. Any DIY-er will immediately grasp this as the description of a specialized tool. Typically expensive because demand is low, specialty tools ...
Does your heavyweight stock fender offend her? Slim it up with this fender eliminator kit from Competition Werkes. Their all stainless steel kits give you options for moving the turn signals up and in, relocating the license plate, and moving the license plate light as well. The company is located ...
The BT020 by itself, naked without a stripe, made a fair impression on the sport/touring world when it was released. Designed for that market, it is now the original equipment on a fair number of bikes from BMWs to Triumphs, and models from each of the Big Four are ...
If you've never ridden a bike with a fairing or any sort of windscreen, consider trying it out. It may not be your cup of tea, but it'll definitely show you an aspect of riding you wouldn't otherwise notice. Even a small wind-breaking shield can make a major difference in ...
Mention FMF to any dirt-biker and the recognition is immediate. They've been around a while, have a good variety of products and applications, and their quality is pretty much assumed. Again, there's lots of competition in the exhaust business and FMF is certainly one of the better-known brands.
Enter the ...
Headers have long been a popular bolt-on power booster -- when an engine breathes more freely, it will have more power. The science behind this is more complex, of course. Think: Volume, meaning increased space for the exhaust gases to escape into. Also, the length of the pipe affects power ...
Motocross helmets run the gamut of style and quality, as manufacturers do what they can to have or create an edge over the competition. The new THH Web is no exception, even though this is a lower end helmet, just over half of a hundred bucks. It comes in seven different ...
Motocross helmets run the gamut of style and quality, as manufacturers do what they can to have or create an edge over the competition. The new THH Web is no exception, even though this is a lower end helmet, just over half of a hundred bucks. It comes in seven different ...
It's hard to leave a street bike alone. Yeah, you get it and you love it and you fuss over it, but eventually (if not right away, and if you hadn't already had plans) you begin to modify it. You don't really have a choice; you've had a vision ...
There's lots of competition in the exhaust systems business these days. Those still in the fray mostly all produce high- quality products, and Two Brothers Racing is right in there with the rest of the best. They build exhaust systems for off-road, street, racing, and even quads.
This package ...
One ready market is the so-called fender eliminator for sport bikes. A fender eliminator, for the uninitiated, is usually a condensed and stylized rendition of the stock rear fender; a.k.a. the hang-down assembly, a.k.a. that mess below the back end of your sport bike that holds your taillight, license plate, and ...
Heel of your hand feeling like it needs a shoe? Back aching from leaning just a little bit too far forward? Doctor prescribing a scooter-ectomy to ease your pain? Might be time to install some Heli Bars Handlebar Relocator Adapters, and possibly put the full joy back into your ride.
New ...
You can shut an engine off by simply placing your hand over the air intake. It's like sticking a piece of foam in your mouth and trying to breathe through it. This should give you some inkling of the horsepower it takes for your bike's motor to respire.
Meanwhile, in order for your ...
Galfer Brakes, of Spain, has been in business since 1947. They build friction devices primarily for bicycles, motorcycles, and quads, and are currently expanding production into automobiles as well. Additionally, they manufacture stainless steel brake lines and nicely machined wave rotors. Known for thoughtful innovation and a ...
It's not roadkill, but certainly a carcass meant to lay upon the road-rubber side down. This is Dunlop's latest entry for heavy touring bikes. A radial designed to handle weight up to 992 pounds for the rear tire, 937 pounds for the front, and a speed rating of ...