If it is good enough for Valentino Rossi, it's good enough for me. OK, so I don't know what model AGV helmet the MotoGP road race champion wears, but I do know he trusts his noggin to the Italian helmet manufacturer.

The Stealth Razor helmet is a premium helmet that ...

The Icon Men's Accelerant leather jacket is simply a quality piece of riding apparel. Icon has a reputation for being a company that appeals to the young and trendy segment of the riding community. Some of their gear is, in my opinion, a little "over the top" ...

Mt. Kilimanjaro is an extreme mountain environment in Tanzania. The Firstgear Men's Kilimanjaro Waterproof Jacket is a jacket designed for extreme motorcycling conditions. If you spend much time around touring and adventure motorcyclists, certain jackets tend to come up in conversation. Premium and extremely pricey jackets like ...

I am intrigued by flip-up helmets. I don't feel safe in anything but full face protection, but I'd love to be able to leave a helmet on and still talk to a cashier or another rider. However, there are some concerns -- maybe unfounded -- with the ...

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 ...

Leather is protective, heavy, and expensive. Cordura textile is versatile, waterproof, and relatively affordable. An increasing number of quality motorcycle jackets are mating these two materials with very positive results. By placing leather in the impact-prone zones of the jacket, like the forearms and shoulders, the ...

I have always felt that there are two areas where a motorcyclist simply cannot cut financial corners. One is tires, and the other is helmets. My experience with helmets is relatively extensive. I buy a new helmet every three years. However, I always seem to ...

Personally, I'm not into the whole "fear and intimidation" aspect in a lot of today's motorcycling gear. I have never donned flames, bones, or skulls. However, I am a realist, and I know this is a marketable aspect of our sport.

Icon's Men's Skull Leather Motorcycle Jacket plays ...

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 ...

There are plenty of bike covers to choose from now that it's bike covering season. Trikes, however, are often neglected the comfort of a well-fitted cover and instead don a frumpy tarp for the winter season. A tarp traps moisture that will contribute to rust and degradation, which is not what you want ...

Bikes across the northern parts of the country are spending more and more time sitting still in driveways, garages, parking lots, and the occasional living room. The hazards of sitting may not be quite as high as those of the road, but they're more universal. Wind, dirt, theft, moisture, and moisture's ...

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, ...

Snow is coming. You can smell it in the air. This morning I stepped out into my driveway to find a thin frost over everything. It feels sterile and unwelcoming. It is also a harbinger of much time to be spent in a car. Enough lamentation -- I'm not off the ...

As it is the most obvious drawback, I'm going to address the ugly first. Icon's Hooligan 2 gloves are not pretty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but nothing coming through my retinas is being translated as stylish. I think it's the big, 1990s-style cartoon lettering on the knuckles ...

Oh wee little Icon riding gloves, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Don't worry, I'm not about to whip out the ol' poetry on you, but I do have a soft spot for these gloves. They are much like my old, beaten-down riding standby pair. Leather on ...

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 ...

When a manufacturer says their leather is "distressed," they mean that it looks like you've put the miles on it when you haven't. To get that look on some modern leather, after it's been softened and treated, you have to buy it. The way old leather used to scuff was because ...

People buy Fox Racing products based on the name, because the name is known for quality. Fox's Dirtpaw glove, which is updated constantly so make sure you're looking at the 2009 model, is their low-end beat-me-up glove.

Constructed of tough vented synthetics, the Dirtpaw won't let sweat disturb your hold. The palm ...

The days are getting cold here in Michigan, so I'm thankful for my full helmet. It wasn't that long ago, however, that wearing that big chunk of plastic and padding was like having my own personal head-sized sweatbox. Venting only works if you're not stuck in commuter traffic. An open or half-helmet can ...

Ah, simplicity. So much in the riding world is about flash and flair, but I've always preferred that my apparel be straightforward, and there is nothing more straightforward than a pair of short black gloves.

Alpinestars SMX-2 gloves offer function over frills. More akin to a chopped-down pair of motocross gloves, these are ...

More than half of the adult American population wear glasses, yet those of us who are ocularly challenged seem resigned to wear full face helmets or those stupid straps that hold your glasses on your face. Some of the more creative of my optician-visiting friends have fashioned their own goggles, which ...

The Suomy Vandal Bayliss Limited is Suomy's new entry-level helmet designed for sport riders, sport tourers, and "urban riders", whatever that might mean. The Vandal features the same features found in Soumy's top-shelf premium helmets such as an ultra-luxurious liner with special "anti-nap" fabric the provides comfort, durability and hypoallergenic qualities. ...

The DOT half helmet seems like a wise-ass invention. It's like saying, "I'll protect my head, but only enough so I don't get pulled over." That's not the only way to look at it, but I find it to be the most amusing way to look at it.

Nolan's Cruise half helmet, ...

Helmet branding is important. My natural inclination is to reject branding due to its relevance to status, which is a bunch of bull in my opinion. Branding, however, has function beyond that superficial stuff. It's a way to know that you're getting a good product without having to conduct crash tests in your ...

August went out with a heat wave here, but now that September has arrived, it's been cool. This is not the best weather for me to be thinking about a mesh textile jacket, but last month, stuck in traffic with the heat beating down on me, I gave some serious consideration ...

Finding a decent pair of gloves can be hard for me. I have small hands. Adult small gloves often have fingers that are still too long, and kids glove's fingers are too short. Caught between these worlds, I've found that the very thing more riders don't like about Alpinestars' SP-X gloves is my ...

I'm going to get right into the AGV S4 specs, because it's an impressive list.

The shell is constructed with carbon Kevlar fiber stratification and high resistance and absorption thermoplastic resins. The composite fibers keep it light but strong. To ensure this brain cage fits, the rider has the selection of ...

Racing suits are cool. They remind me of superhero suits. You just need a cape. But aside of the cool factor and the fact that you look like a space man ripping down the highway, racing suits offer a level of safety and comfort that is hard to ...

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 ...

Racing boots have an entirely different set of hazards than motocross or street boots. There is, of course, an obvious necessity for all of them to resist abrasion, impact, and heat, but applying the right tool for the right job can give you an advantage on the track. Alpinestars Supertech R sport ...

I don't know if it's coincidence or just luck, but Honda always seems to know what I like: simple, strong, and easy on the eye. The Honda CBR textile jacket is all of these. It is even sold in my colors: black and white.

The cut is a traditional taper, which complements ...

It may not make a lot of sense, but breaking my laptop in a crash would cost me more than breaking a leg. I'm not saying I'd rather one over the other. Frankly, I find the whole scenario distasteful, but a rigid shell can do as much to protect your electronics as ...

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 ...

Where I grew up there were miles and miles of woodlands with ill-tended 2-tracks snaking throughout them. You could ride off into the forest and not see another human for hours. Most popular sports involved guns, and most popular clothing was camouflage.

Many of THH's helmets are designed with flaming skulls and ...

Motocross riders who have been around the track know exactly what these are: these are Alpinestars' Tech 8 boots. Well known and well worn, many riders stick with these when it comes time to get a new pair of boots. There are numerous reasons why these have developed such a loyal following in ...

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 ...

HJC has been the best-selling helmet brand in the US for years. I don't know if they will hold that title for 2009, but I would guess it likely, considering the quality they deliver for prices that make you nod. The cost of their helmets is not ridiculously, quality-questioningly good, but ...

Nolan makes some of the most aerodynamic helmets, including the Outlaw full-face model, which is surprising as they still have a stabilizing spoiler. Spoilers often lead to greater wind resistance and noise, but Nolan's engineering has gotten around those pitfalls with their unique polycarbonate shell. Even though it's a modular, it's ...

At Xelement they make a variety of leather apparel items as well as saddlebags. New for their lineup is the Cruiser Premium Vented jacket. It's called a vented jacket because the two upper zippers are actually vents, and there's a matching pair of zippered vents on the lower ...

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 ...

My brother-in-law has a really big head. I'm not kidding around; he has trouble finding hats. My sister, on the other hand, has a small head. It seems wrong that, despite the extreme difference in cranium size, they end up with the same shell size when they buy helmets. ...

I'll start this off by saying I am not a doctor and I don't even play one on TV. If you have a serious injury and you are looking at a motorcycle product review website for advice before talking to your doctor, then you ought to have your head checked as ...

Most things are designed to last these days, and what doesn't last is so fragile that it wears out before it wears in. You hardly ever see a nicely worn leather jacket anymore. My riding partner has had his jacket for seven years and it still looks new. Yes, I ...

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 ...

This helmet is what I call a blank canvas. The matte black TZ-R by Shoei is as simple as they come in appearance and will happily take your stickers, reflectors, paint, or whatever else you want to use to personalize it.

While the exterior is plain-jane, the inside carries a long history of ...

Shoei's X-11 Kiyonari helmet graphics are aggressive and uncompromising, which might be just the attitude you want on the road. We do, after all, have to ride more defensively than any cager. Our reflexes must be sharp and our actions bold.

While I can deal with any differences of opinion on the graphics of ...

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 ...

A scooter may not be buzzing along the highway at 70 mph, but that doesn't mean they don't need protection from blustering gusts kicked up by trucks and Mother Nature. Not to mention a shield from rocks, bugs, and the occasional idiotic bird. If anything, the mass of a scooter should make ...

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 ...