Category: Gear Reviews

Reviews of motorcycle clothing, accessories, equipment and other gadgets.

Leather One Piece Suit and Track Day

Post author By Arthur
Post date August 14, 2016
No Comments on Leather One Piece Suit and Track Day

Just picked up this Alpinestars one-piece suit off eBay. With a bit of patience, I managed to blag this decent nick one for a monkey, not bad as they often go for £150-300 odd. Sizing was a bit tricky, as I’m pretty tall and skinny (6’1″ & 11 stone), but an EU52 fits well for height, not too bad around the waist and it only a spot baggy around the arse. Plenty of room for my separate back protector. The knee sliders are also nicely worn, so I won’t look a complete track day virgin… 😉

My plan is to try some track days, starting with a Novice Skills Day at Brand Hatch. Run in combination with Kent Fire Service and MSV, it covers Biker Down, slow speed control, an IAM/RoSPA observed ride and two 20 min track sessions. All for the princely sum of £55. It’s been a while since I did a Biker Down course and more slow speed and IAM tuition is always handy. Watch this space for my report back on the day.

Find an Alpinestars one-piece suit on eBay

Gear Reviews

ABUS Granit Detecto XPlus 8077 Disc Lock Alarm Review

Post author By Arthur
Post date July 31, 2016
1 Comment on ABUS Granit Detecto XPlus 8077 Disc Lock Alarm Review

The ABUS Granit Detecto XPlus 8077 is a big chunky, yellow disc lock alarm with a chunky long name. But, as we already have big chunky security chains, why did we buy this disc lock which is surely not as effective? Yes, it’s true, chaining your bike to something does make it more secure, but lugging a 10kg of chain and padlock around where ever you go is less than ideal. Especially as a Givi Monokey top box is officially only rated for 10kg…

→ Check out our full Motorcycle Security Guide

Thus, the choice to use a disc lock that is easier to transport and still reasonably effective as a theft deterrent is appealing. For example, when out for a quick blast to seaside chip chop and don’t want to take a huge top box or when touring and you’re already carrying tonnes of luggage, the last thing you want to pack is a huge chain as well. Far easier to just squeeze in this little disc lock amongst all the other luggage. That and spotting this lock reduced on Amazon Prime sealed the deal.

Tags Security

Gear Reviews

Alpinestars S-MX Plus Boots Bargain

Post author By Arthur
Post date July 10, 2016
No Comments on Alpinestars S-MX Plus Boots Bargain

Alpinestars S-MX Plus Boots My latest eBay bargain has been these Alpinestars S-MX Plus race boots. Albeit a slightly older model from around 2010, they’ve been barely worn and came in for the princely sum of £50. A damned sight better than their usual £250 retail price – sorted!

They’re a little different from my past S-MX 4 and current S-MX 5 waterproof boots; firstly they’re not waterproof, rather they are nicely vented for cool feet in the summer – which really works once you’re over about 40-50mph.

Tags Boots

Gear Reviews

FreedConn T-COM VB Helmet Bluetooth Headset Intercom Review

Post author By Arthur
Post date July 2, 2016
77 Comments on FreedConn T-COM VB Helmet Bluetooth Headset Intercom Review

So, you want a motorcycle Bluetooth communications headset for your helmet, listen to some tunes, your SatNav or natter with your partner, friends or pillion whilst you ride. But, you’ve checked out other Bluetooth headsets for motorcycle helmet offerings from the likes of Sena, Midland, Interphone, Cardo etc in the shops and probably come to the conclusion it’s gonna set you back quite a bit of cash. But, you’ve seen eBay is littered with funny Chinese branded gadgets at far more affordable prices. Sure they may not be the best Bluetooth headsets, just how bad can they be? Well, I took a punt on a pair of T-COM VB Bluetooth headset and this review tells how they turned out.

The first issue is narrowing down what you’re buying as you browse the glut of these intercoms on eBay. There are seemingly dozens of subtly different variations, on branding, spec and revision. Ultimately, I just took pot luck grabbing one of the cheapest FreedConn T-COM VB Bluetooth helmet intercom kits I could find from a UK seller. I wasn’t keen on waiting 4-6 weeks for a China-based seller to post or risk getting charged for VAT and duty by Royal Mail on arrival. Expect to pay around £40-50 a pair on eBay.

TCOM-VB Bluetooth Headset

Tags Gadgets

Gear Reviews

Herbert Richter Phone Case Mount Review

Post author By Arthur
Post date June 16, 2016
No Comments on Herbert Richter Phone Case Mount Review

When it comes to satnav’s on a motorcycle you basically have two choices: splurge a tonne of cash on a proper waterproof and rugged device from the likes of TomTom or Garmin, or you make do with the smartphone you already have. With the latter cheapskate route, you either make do with audio direction only and keep your phone in your pocket or you look at a waterproof case to mount to handlebars. This is where this Herbert Richter phone case and mount come in.

Tags Gadgets

Gear Reviews Hardware

Maplin USB Power Socket Review

Post author By Arthur
Post date June 6, 2016
No Comments on Maplin USB Power Socket Review

There’s nothing more annoying than being far away from home with no battery life left in your camera or phone. It’s sods law that at this point you’ll really want to capture some video footage from an incident, need to phone for recovery or just witness the perfect shenanigans to go viral on YouTube next. All of which are easily resolved with the addition of a USB power socket on your bike.

Tags Gadgets

Gear Reviews

CBF500 RedFox Fender Extender / Flick

Post author By Arthur
Post date April 12, 2016
No Comments on CBF500 RedFox Fender Extender / Flick

Mary’s little CBF500 is very much a commuter hack and needs to run in all weathers. In an effort to winter-proof it I fitted this RedFox fender extender (or flick) a little while ago.

It’s a very similar affair to the Pyramid fender extender I fitted on my Fazer some time ago. A small plastic extension to the front mudguard to help ward off dirt and crud being flung up against the front of the frame, radiator and engine. After having a struggle to remove the oil filter last service, I’m hoping this will help matter somewhat.

Tags Winter

Gear Reviews

Renthal Bars – 758 Ultra Low Handlebar Review

Post author By Arthur
Post date June 7, 2015
2 Comments on Renthal Bars – 758 Ultra Low Handlebar Review

When I last threw my bike down the road I managed to bend my stock Yamaha handlebars slightly. To replace them I thought I’d try the Renthal 758 Ultra Low bars, which have been a popular choice for many on the Fazer. I was tempted by the Renthal’s due to the quality of the brand and the fact they’re cheaper than OEM Yamaha replacements, coming in at around £30.

Tags Handlebars

Gear Reviews Maintenance

Downpipe Polish Review: OptiGlanz vs Autosol

Post author By Arthur
Post date April 21, 2015
No Comments on Downpipe Polish Review: OptiGlanz vs Autosol

Downpipe Cleaner Face Off - OptiGlanz vs AutoSol — OptiGlanz vs AutoSol

The lovely people at LDMotorcycles recently approached me to review some OptiGlanz metal downpipe polish. I took one look at my dirty, discoloured and pretty rough stainless downpipes and said “Yeah, alright then!”

My Fazer has some Motad stainless steel pipes I put on about 1.5 years ago, however my daily commute in all weathers has taken it’s toll. They’re still structurally sound, but cosmetically looking a bit shabby. Discoloured, covered with ingrained crud and are splattered with spots of solid burnt on crap. Definitely in need of some TLC.

Tags Cleaning

Gear Reviews

Raleri Visor Inserts Review – FogStop and Photochromatic PCShade

Post author By Arthur
Post date January 27, 2015
No Comments on Raleri Visor Inserts Review – FogStop and Photochromatic PCShade

RaleriFogStopVisorInserts-CloseUp — The Raleri PCShade FogStop

If you’ve ridden in the cold or wet you will know full well how big an issue a steamed up visor is. A whole cottage industry has grown up around this issue, with the Raleri FogStop being one such solution. Raleri kindly sent some of their products in for review, but I shall endeavour to keep this review honest. The FogStop works in a similar fashion to the popular Pinlock, in that it’s a secondary internal visor providing a double glazed setup to prevent your breath condensing on the cold exterior visor. I’m going to compare against the Pinlock a lot, as it does cover a huge chunk of market and is more commonly available and known. The FogStop inserts fundamentally differs in that no specialist visor with specific pins is required, it simply has adhesive edging to stick straight onto the visor. Great if your visor isn’t Pinlock ready or isn’t available for your lid (e.g. my Bell M3R). Oh and the FogStop is cheaper too.

Tags Visors