For $160, all the helmet you’ll ever need

By now, you’re used to seeing us wear crazy expensive motorcycle gear. Custom leather suits, Japanese race gauntlets, fancy jackets and nice boots. That’s because, using motorcycles as our main transportation and frequently doing stupid, stupid things on them, we need the best functionality and safety out there. Especially the safety. But, what if you could find all that safety and most of those features in a helmet that costs just $160? You can in this new Icon Alliance. :continue:

Wes Siler. May 21st, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (49)

Adey rides the Panigale

Everyone’s favorite street racer/personal trainer/male model/art director/fashion designer, Adey, just borrowed a Ducati 1199 Panigale for a couple days from Beverly Hills Ducati. You know what he did with it too, The Snake. Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for, a real rider on a real road on the world’s fastest motorcycle.

Update: two more videos added. :continue:

Wes Siler. May 16th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (72)

Gear: Alpinestars 365 GoreTex gloves

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:

Wes Siler. May 2nd, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (46)

Life Electric: unintended deceleration and nuclear fallout

Wow, is it Thursday already? Sometimes you look up from your computer and realize the week’s almost over. And sometimes you realized you promised your readers you’d be giving them regular updates on the 2012 Zero DS you’re riding for a couple weeks. Whoops. It’s been a few days of highs and lows on the electric. I think I’ve totally fallen for it, but at the same time come to the realization that I could never actually fit one into my life. :continue:

Wes Siler. April 26th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (82)

Life Electric: Chip Yates at the Ritz and sausages at Deus

Sorry for the lack of Zero DS updates over the last few days. Been busy using it to do too many things in too short a time all around LA. We’re a week in to living together now. Much more insightful than the quick test rides I’ve had in the past, I think I’m finally beginning to understand the Zero as a motorcycle and, honestly, I think I’m falling for it. :continue:

Wes Siler. April 15th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (39)

Life Electric: babes, n00bs and getting wet

When we left off yesterday, I was out the door to pick up Ashlee and go for an evening ride around LA. With the prospect of a couple hours’ riding looming, I was getting pretty paranoid about the Zero DS’s range, but actually looking forward to riding it around city streets. Well, I didn’t end up pushing, but I did get soaked. :continue:

Wes Siler. April 11th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (72)

Life Electric: range anxiety and an adoring public

Not much riding today. Just running around Hollywood, 28 miles in all. Still, three days in, I’m starting to adapt to the Zero DS’s miniscule weight and silent operation. I’m liking the bike more the more I ride it, but enjoying the constant questioning less and less. :continue:

Wes Siler. April 10th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (38)

Life Electric: living with a Zero DS

We’ve been writing about electric bikes since HFL’s launch, four years ago, in the process covering their rise from flights of fancy to futuristic concepts to expensive novelties to gas-beating race bikes and, lately, the creation of realistic consumer products. But while we’ve spent plenty of time on machines like the Brammo Enertia, MotoCzysz E1pc and even the full Zero range, we’ve never had enough time on any of the above to see if they could honestly fit into our lives on two wheels. So, over the next two weeks, I’ll be totally ditching internal combustion in favor of this 2012 Zero DS. Officially rated at an 80mph top speed and 112-mile range, it’s surely the most legitimate electric yet realized. :continue:

Wes Siler. April 9th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (43)

Finally, a real naked supersport

Speaking at the US media launch of the Ducati Streetfigher 848 yesterday, North American general manager Dominique Cheraki described his ideal motorcycle — a real sportsbike sans the fairings and equipped with high bars to make it comfortable. The perfect bike for riding fast on real roads, whether they be city streets or mountain curves. That’s certainly not a new concept, but it’s not one that’s ever before been fully realized; in the translation from faired to naked, the handling and performance that makes a sportsbike a sportsbike has traditionally been lost. Is this new Streetfighter finally the real deal? A naked 848 Evo? Not really, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Photos: Brian J. Nelson

:continue:

Wes Siler. April 5th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (89)

These clothes were made for riding

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:

Wes Siler. March 14th, 2012 - Permalink - Comments (142)

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