Having lived in Arizona for over 4 decades, I know a little something about heat. Having been a motorcyclist for almost as long, I know a little something about hot weather gear. I don't know if Joe Rocket invented the armored mesh jacket, but they are at least ...

Riding to work at this time of year has its appeals. You tough out the cold morning, the street still untouched by the warming massage of all those particles of light, and you receive your afternoon reward of a beautiful fall ride past fields and fauna. These are, at least, my circumstances.

Tour Master ...

Four years ago, I would not risk buying inexpensive bags. Why take a chance at dissatisfaction when you can just drop another $50 and buy some confidence? Well, like I said, that was four years ago, and this old economy ain't what she used to be. Now, I look for every bargain, and I ...

Every now and then, when I need to dodge out of the way of a motorist talking on the phone, reading directions, eating, or all three at the same time, I wonder if I bear some responsibility for their obliviousness. Perhaps a really loud outfit would have prevented my nimble show ...

Once on a ride through northern California, I came around a corner in a small canyon, only to find the landscape open into a flatland on my left, and running toward me was a small herd of wild horses. It was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw. ...

Because I ride, I get a lot of questions about biker culture. It's as if people think there's some kind of handbook that comes with the bike about being a big bad biker babe. One of these questions was about vests and why they're so popular in the riding ...

My brother-in-law has a Kawasaki KLR because he wanted options. He didn't want to be restricted to the road or to the trail. With that kind of demeanor, it is needless to say that he's also a nut for gadgetry. KapscoMoto provides options for gadgetry with their adjustable tank mount.

Constructed of ...

Hawk helmets have been doing creative acrobatics with their helmet designs. The Advance green and white helmet takes the broad tapering stripes that have been the fashion in decals since, well, as long as I've seen full face helmets with decals. A little twist and they've added a strong, almost typographical art ...

Every class of machine comes with its own style that works its way into accessories or bits of ride-specific apparel. Although there is always crossover, you can see trends. Sport machines have lots of color, sharp angles, and are composed of numerous synthetic materials. Cruisers have leather, black, red, curves, chrome, ...

Last year I came to the end of a long trip and the skies were darkening with rain clouds. I pulled my cover out and tried to get it over the the top without touching the pipes. I failed. While adjusting one side the cover had fallen over, the other was was ...

Upgrading from a 250 cc to a 650 cc bike has some serious benefits, and unexpected drawbacks, as recently learned by a friend. When you can finally get up to the speed limit on the expressway, you nearly get blown over backward. Your options are hang on, lean in, bulk up those ...

That cold wind coming at you will take a toll on your health as well as your comfort. There are lots of ways to deal with the changing weather when you want to keep riding. Stuffing a copy of Truck Paper in the front of your coat is one of the more inelegant ...

The streetbike community is overrun, drowning in a deluge of textile jackets. Don't get me wrong; there are companies, like Icon, that make some great leathers for the street rider. There is, however, a particular style to this kind of jacket, and manufacturers will charge you an arm and a leg ...

Sometimes you look at a product and you don't have to give two thoughts about its purpose. River Road's Basic leather motorcycle jacket is just that: a basic motorcycle jacket. You look at it and you know that it's cut and designed for riding because it looks like the jackets ...

The AGV Miglia (Italian for "miles") is a modular helmet that comes with some surprisingly good features. If you've been considering a modular but didn't want to pay the investment price of some of the upper-end models, the Miglia brings high quality to a very affordable range.

At a fairly light 3 ...

Anyone who knows me knows that I like versatility. I'm terrible at making the big decisions because I always want to make the "right" one. Any product that can assure me it will accommodate me during a sudden snowstorm in a desert has my vote. Maybe the AGV Sport Evolution/Rally ...

That pain in your butt after a long ride might be because of bad suspension quality rather than a poor seat. Next time you hear a friend say they've added lots of extra padding to their seat but still can't get a comfortable ride, take a look at their shocks.

The 412 series ...

The Camelbak L.U.X.E. is made for women. Yeah, I didn't think gender would be a sticking point with a Camelbak hydration pack either, but then again there has always been a sternum strap on my backpack that I've never used because it fit... oddly.

Camelbak's L.U.X.E. is designed for women in more ways ...

It may be that I just look in all the right places, but Vox helmets seem to be on sale all the time. They are perpetually discounted, so even if you think you're buying a $300 helmet, you end up spending $100. This makes me wonder why they don't just lower ...

There's no shortage of options when you're looking for a bike stand, and every company, of course, declares their stand the best. In reality, most will get the job done, but just getting something done is not the same as doing it with smooth action, confidence, and reliability.

Riders are smitten ...

Old tech is cheap, so there are a few manufacturers of helmets who decided to take what works and sell, sell, sell. Like everything today, your cutting-edge helmet is going to be old news in a few weeks, so saving your pennies might be smart.

Cyber helmets are not at the cutting ...

Tank bags are becoming the preferred luggage on around-town bikes. I wouldn't say they are optimal for a week long trip, unless you're spartan about it, but these are freeing bikes of saddlebags and freeing riders of backpacks.

Bags like Alpinestars' Tech Aero stand as examples of why riders like these so ...

Unless you're a mechanic by trade, you've probably improvised a tool or two. Sometimes pliers are wrenches, zip ties are clamps, and you guess at the torque you're putting on that wrench. All of these things are bad for you bike and bad for your hardware, but buying all the right ...

About 3 years ago some of us rode from Portland, Oregon to Reno, Nevada, in June. Although it was late June, we hit the craziest weather you can think of. In every tiny little town we stopped, people said, "Sure is crazy weather fer this time of year". ...

We all love women riders, so it's nice to see Icon offering a pair of boots uniquely styled for the aggressive femininity of women of the road. Most of my riding boots have a distinctly masculine look because I buy them for comfort and safety. Icon's Bombshell boot embraces the ...

Motorcycle protective gear continues to evolve in some very good ways. Perhaps it's even revolutionary, and certainly to every off-road rider's benefit -- that is assuming you actually wear the safety gear.

Since 1985, EVS Sports has been developing armor for humans. They provide mid-to-high range protective equipment to cover you ...

Dowco's full line of Fastrax luggage is made for the accessorized rider. Separate storage areas for hydration packs, mp3 players, maps, and various electronics make the Fastrax tank bag perfect if you like to have all of the cutting edge gadgetry.

The pockets are designed for the wired-in street rider, but the Fastrax ...

If you've been into off-road motorcycles (or BMX, or surfing, or mountain biking) for five minutes, then you've heard of Fox Racing. Like the cartoon character Savoir Faire, they are everywhere. And they make some bang-up gear that you can take out and bang up all the ...

A new seat is expensive, and to get one that is really comfortable for you might be even more expensive. There may be a lot of reasons your present seat isn't all that you could want. It could be old and worn down, or it may never have been comfy to begin with, ...

No one is going to steal my motorcycle. I love my bike, but it is a 1983 Honda and worth very little to anyone aside from myself. Also, I've taken liberties with the paint job, so it's probably worth even less. I feel no shame about my beauty's resale value, but ...

We've all heard the advice: "Keep it simple, stupid." The myriad features sewn into every piece of equipment are fun, but do you really need all that? Probably not. Dainese proves that all the flash and flare doesn't replace a well-made leather glove.

The Black Jack gloves are goatskin with reinforced ...

The Shoei Na Company has been making helmets for motorcyclists since 1958. Their newest off-road offering is the VFX-W, introduced in 2008 and bringing some new designs for 2009. While a top-quality helmet with unique features, you'll also pay for this uniqueness in the same ballpark as Arai or ...

Years ago, I was shopping for gloves and I found that women's gloves were often made dainty with the idea that women riders wanted to express their femininity. Unfortunately, that also meant the gloves were less protective. One good scrape and the fine leather was gone. It looks like manufacturers ...

While protective gear for motorcyclists continues to improve, there are still gaps in our armor. One of the products to help chink that gap for street riders is Icon's Field Armor for your legs. Or shin guards, if you prefer.

It's not just a simple knee-pad; these are larger than they ...

Here's something for the ladies: A textile riding jacket that is soft yet rugged and replete with CE-approved armor in the elbows and shoulders. Tour Master's Trinity Series jacket offers the rider more flexibility than leather, and nearly as much protection. No textile jacket is going to give the abrasion resistance ...

Riding with a good waterproof coat, or even a 2-piece rain suit, won't stop a torrent of rainwater from running down your back, into your pants, or through any tiny gap in your gear. If you know the weather will be foul on your trip, suck it up and throw on ...

Sometimes, you have to see something to believe it. If someone described the Power Trip Stiletto jacket with the zebra design, all I would think would be, "Yeah, that will catch some attention, a zebra on fire!" Power Trip seems to have pulled off the design better than I could ...

Your spirit may be indomitable, but you're body is still made of tearable flesh and breakable bones. The corporeal form is never going to be as tough as your mind, but you can help it to withstand the hazards of track, trail and road with SixSixOne's Assault pressure suit.

Although it has ...

The Tour Master Saber Series 2 jacket is prepared for anything. The design makes this a great riding jacket for rain, shine, cold, hot, day, or night riding. My first response to any textile is to balk at the thought of replacing my leather, but I've had to spend time under ...

Last week, I noticed something disconcerting. The seams on my riding jacket are beginning to fray. I'm sure I can stitch it back together, but I will not put my money on dime store thread when it does battle with pavement. It might be time to look for some more robust ...

The similar appearance of chest protectors and insect exoskeletons is far from accidental. Bugs can survive a lot of abuse. Their hard shells have allowed them to endure more damage than you'll ever see on the motocross circuit, so take a page from their book.

The Vega motocross chest protector, made by Jafrum, ...

I've always worn a leather jacket with armor, but it isn't the most comfortable item in my closet. If everyone around you is ranting and raving about the leathers, but you're just not interested in cow hide, Tourmaster offers their Range denim jacket made for bikers.

In appearance the Range looks ...

Although I wouldn't recommend it, lots of folks like to ride without shirts, but nobody wants to ride without pants -- and no one wants to see that anyway. Now that we've established a baseline for PPE, let's take the next step to the Tour Master Quest motorcycle pants.

These Quest pants ...

We've talked about modular helmets, otherwise known as flip-up helmets, in the past -- and you have a lot of options to choose from. The reasons to buy a modular are obvious: the protection of a full-face helmet with the accessibility of an open-face helmet. But the reasons to buy the Shoei ...

Three words used by Firstgear in the description of their Fargo gloves confused and amazed me: waterproof, breathable leather. Leather is not known for its breathability. If you oil it, you can usually expect some water resistance, but waterproof? Really? Apparently, yes.

As the name suggests, these are for the kind of ...

When chemists first created a clear, lightweight polymer, they must have had all sorts of crazy ideas about its applications. In white coats, around the bench, they probably conjured a vision of the future where their discovery would change the landscape of our culture. They were right -- but we mostly got ...

Leather: it's for your senses -- even "sense-ual," as it were. Even the word "leather" has a nice feel and sound to it. And with this thick-skinned and slightly oversized Alpinestars jacket, you'll get a nice feel as well as the creaking sound of good, finished leather. Gotta love that smell, ...

Regardless of the kind of riding you do, your shins take a lot of hits. Even riding a cruiser you get bugs, rocks, and (sadly enough) the occasional bolt that shakes loose. This does not even address the violent existence of a trail and track rider's shins.

Icon's Field Armor leg guards ...

By the nature of a competitive market, there is a wide selection of leather jackets available, so Icon had to understand the specific needs of the rider to make their Motorhead leather worth the coin they're asking. Fortunately, Icon does their homework.

Icon's Motorhead leather is constructed of durable cowhide with excellent ...

Suzuki and Joe Rocket have brought women riders a jacket that has gone the extra mile in fit and function. I've got to give them kudos on the physical structure of the Superstock jacket. A waist that narrows and then flares out at the hip provides a perfect fit for the ...