We’ve expounded the virtues of the AGV AX-8 Dual at length, but here’s the short version: weight, price, vision, ventilation, looks, safety. Those factors together make it probably the most appealing helmet on the market right now. Want one? The old model is widely on sale for $200. Half off. Do this year’s upgrades make it worth spending more? Here’s the three changes. :continue:
If you ride in all weathers, you’ll be familiar with the motorcycle glove conundrum. Race gloves provide huge levels of protection and intuitive feel, but your hands will get frostbite if the ambient temp drops below 60. Winter gloves are occasionally capable of keeping your hands a tiny bit warmer, but they tend to lack impact protection and bulky insulation removes all feel. Is there a third way? That’s what these Alpinestars 365 GoreTex gloves set out to achieve, employing new laminated membrane technology and ditching the insulation to enhance feel, while adopting the knuckle protectors off the flagship Astars GP-Pros. :continue:
Four wheels like a car, but handlebars and a saddle like a motorcycle. With quad bikes, it’s almost like someone took the most awesome part of driving — drifting — and combined it with the most exciting thing about riding dirt bikes — jumping — to create a vehicle with a single purpose: hooning. We take off into the Hungry Valley OHV park of the Los Padres National Forest onboard Suzuki Z400s and a King Quad to try and get as dirty as possible.
While the idea of heading off into the wilderness on a bike armed with nothing more than a knife, blanket roll and a can of beans may seem awfully romantic, the truth is that’s a good recipe for getting stranded or never coming back. Best case scenario? You’ll simply be miserable. Instead, building a comprehensive adventure touring kit can make things easy, comfortable and safe. There’s no way we can cover every single bit in one article, but let’s use my expedition into the Sierra Nevada on board a KTM 990 Adventure as an example. These are the basic pieces needed to get you off the road and back again. :continue:
It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of the high-end custom bikes coming out of Philadelphia-based Hammarhead Industries. Much more than just looks, they’re genuinely boosting the functionality of the Urals and Triumphs and Hondas they’re based on to a whole new level. All that while remaining super tasteful and understated. You can apply the same plaudits to the company’s burgeoning range of accessories, like this new backpack. Waxed cotton and leather construction will make it water resistant and incredibly strong, but keeping the logos off it and the colors all black means you can use this equally well off the bike too. Handmade by D’Emploi in Brooklyn, quality should be as high as Hammarhead’s bikes.
Icon’s notorious for tackling the problem of squids not using safety gear with loud, obnoxious products that look more at home in comic books than they do outside the world where chin strap beards and denim shorts are acceptable clothes for an adult to wear in public. And they’ve done that, providing an affordable, quality, safe range of products that now adorn wannabe Ruffryderz everywhere. Now, they’re targeting another emerging demographic of riders equally disdainful of safety — young people living in cities. And they’re doing so not with skulls and klowns and tribal graphics, but with some of the most credible, technically innovative, stylish riding gear ever seen. It’s called the One Thousand collection and it’s about to utterly reverse what you think of the brand.
Photos: Grant Ray :continue:
We’ve found good-looking, practical, safe motorcycle jackets. There’s plenty of gloves that can provide real protection in a stealthy package. There’s even boots capable of keeping your feet safe, yet won’t make you look like you’re embarking for the moon. The last area of stylish, practical, protection left, one that’s bizarrely undeserved, is the humble pair of trousers. We’re not talking about jeans like those made by Deth Killers or Iron Heart (both tougher than normal, but still a long way from ideal), but rather something capable of fending off a serious impact, high speed abrasion and offering good weather protection to boot. Can you package all those attributes into something you’d actually be able to wear around town? Enter the Kushitani EX413 Country Jeans. :continue:
There was a time when I saw Scorpion helmets and turned up my nose, assuming it was so cheaply made I’d invariably break a lid just by trying one on. However, the EXO-400 I purchased for our Labrador expedition opened me to a brave new world. Somehow, that $130 Scorpion managed to be nearly as comfortable and functional as the much more expensive AGV GP-Tech I was wearing at the time, except I didn’t panic every time the EXO-400 got dinged. Scorpion’s $320 EXO-900 Snow Ready is a modular helmet that may be meant for snowmobiling, but it also might be the best damned helmet for any winter riding, regardless of price. :continue:
About a month ago, I had a terrible motorcycle accident here in LA. Six broken bones, a week in the hospital and three surgeries. About as bad as it gets, right? Well, not quite. That’s thanks to the gear I was wearing — head-to-toe protection. But, I wasn’t in leathers or ungainly Cordura or anything like that, I was in jeans and a jacket; the kind of thing I wear to go to a meeting or a bar. Combining this level of protection with stealthy looks isn’t easy, but it sure was effective. Here’s a break down. :continue:
Sitting down? You should be. I’m about to tell you something that’s going to upset you. The gloves you see here are some of the most technically innovative ever made. They’re probably the nicest-made pair of motorcycle gloves I’ve ever worn and they’re definitely the most stylish pair that actually incorporate real protection. D30 knuckle armor. Buttery leather. Killer details drawn from cult-following, boutique Japanese products and all at a price point that’s only slightly less shocking than the brand that makes them: Icon. :continue:
