Categories
Riding

How to Stop Helmet Fogging Up & Visor Steam Up

How to stop visor steaming up
Visor fogging-up nightmare!

As the weather turns cold and we have more wet days, the bane of all bikers strikes – a motorcycle visor steaming up. And if you wear glasses, they’ll mist up too, double trouble. Visibility drops to zilch and riding becomes a nightmare. The simplest solution is of course to stop breathing. However, I tend to find this detrimentally affects my riding, especially on long rides…

Stop helmet fogging – the cause

Cold air, wind chill and rain dramatically reduce the temperature of the inside surface of your helmet visor and your glasses, such that moisture in the air you exhale condenses on these surfaces causing them to mist up. This condensing moisture forms tiny water droplets that scatter light and reduce the ability of a visor or glasses to transmit contrast.

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Uncategorized

Biker Highlighter – Instant Hi-Viz!

Biker Highlighter Pen - Instant Hi VizNeed some Hi-Viz for the darker winter nights? Pick up a Biker Hightlighter and quickly add Hi-Viz to your gear!

😉

This is my entry to the Helmet City UK competition for a Drift HD Ghost-S camera. Wish me luck!  #HelmetCityPhoto

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Uncategorized

Changing Trends in the Motorcycle World for Ladies

LadyMotorcycleLeathersAvid riders have probably noticed an explosion of women riders on the scene over the last decade. Everything around the industry has grown up – from an increase in bikes manufactured specifically for women, to motorcycle accessories and supplies. This trend is without a doubt shifting toward women becoming more active in the motorcycle scene, with several studies reporting increases in women riders over recent years.

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Clothing/Protection

Children’s Motorcycle Fashion – Textiles

Childrens Motorcycle Textiles Hein GerickeTextiles are very much on trend this season and extremely popular out on the road. Our model wears a vintage Hein Gericke Sheltex jacket with matching trousers (eBay, £20-30), RST MX Boots (eBay, £15). The look is then finished with a Hoo Rag ‘blue digital camo’ scarf ($16) to accessorise.

The children’s Hein Gericke combo is a miniature version of the adult line, featuring the same removable lining, waterproof protection, CE armour and pocket for a Hiprotec back armour insert.  However, it also has zips in the arms and legs for adding length as the wearer grows. The trousers also have an elasticated waist and braces.

Categories
Gear Reviews

Triboseat The Rider Review

Triboseat The Rider non slip seat cover

When the weather turns inclement I resort to waterproof over-trousers or textile trousers to stay dry. The biggest downside with these is the slipping around on the seat. Whether wet or dry, I kept finding myself sliding forward every time I brake or sharply cut the throttle. Being fairly tall, I sit a little way back from the tank on my Fazer to remain comfortable and stop my legs from getting too cramped up on the pegs. No matter how much I grip the tank with my legs when wearing textiles I just slide forward and down right up against the tank and then indistinctly grip the bars really tight. I feel unstable and my tense grip on the bars is detrimental to my riding, especially in the wet. Perched close against the tank, my legs feel squashed and uncomfortable on the rear brake and gears.

Meet the Triboseat, a super grippy cover for your bike seat. Triboseat predominantly sells bike-specific seat covers to help your pillion remain still, preventing them from sliding into the back of you. However, they also sell The Rider, a generically shaped cover to keep the rider planted on their seat. Sounds like exactly what I need.

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Categories
Riding

Riding Out of the Sun

RidingOutOfTheSunThe summer has most definitely long gone, now replaced with some glorious (and not so glorious) Autumn sun.  This mild weather is a boon to us bikers, but be mindful of the low sun blinding other drivers and masking your presence. Like the fighter pilots of old who surprised their targets by flying out of the sun, riding West in mornings and East in the evenings could potentially see you surprising fellow road users.

Bear the sun in mind, the scope for SMIDSY’s is even greater. Anticipate drivers pulling out, even when looking directly at you. When filtering, drivers may only see glare in their mirrors, or your headlights may blend into the setting sun. Take it steady and don’t assume others have seen you (even less so than normal).

Categories
Clothing/Protection

Not Your Usual Hi-Vis

getoffphone-hivizDefinitely liking this Hi-Vis!

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News

Bye Bye Paper Tax Disc

ByeByeTaxDiscSo long and thanks for all the … faff.

It’s October the 1st and the paper tax disc has officially been obsoleted, no longer needing to be displayed on your vehicle.

No more tearing our the perforated paper disc, no more hassle trying to open your seized up tax disc holder, no more soggy paper and no more worrying about tea leaves stealing it. Of course you will still need to pay VED (vehicle excise duty), either online, over phone or down the Post Office, but enforcement will be through ANPR camera’s.

The Gov have introduced the option to pay by direct debit on a monthly basis, but it’s still cheaper to buy 12 months up front. The biggest change, is vehicle tax is now no longer transferable when a vehicle is sold. The seller will need to cancel their tax, getting a refund for whole months only, then the buyer will need to buy fresh tax prior to using the vehicle. I envisage this last change being a logistical nightmare , as buyers try to sort out insurance and tax at the same time.

More details of the changes can be found on this Gov webpage.

Categories
Gear Reviews

Honk Honk! Stebel Nautilus Compact Air Horn Installation and Review

Stebel Nautilus Compact Air Horn - Bracket

In London, I use my horn a lot (ooh-err!) As such, I found my standard horn a bit inferior and decided to pimp it for a large and loud motorcycle air horn that everyone would make everyone sit up and take heed of (ooh-err!)

Enough of the double entendre’s, let’s get down to business with this Stebel Nautilus Compact air horn. Hailing from Italy, Stebel has a well-established reputation for producing quality horns that make a lot of noise. Their Nautilus horn has been around for a number of years and is popular for its convenient size and noise, but even better, they have this Compact version which is perfect for motorbikes.

I purchased my Stebel Nautilus Compact off eBay a few months ago from a seller in the Netherlands who supplied it as a kit with all the necessary wiring, connectors, relay etc. I paid just under £40 including postage – bargain!

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Categories
Maintenance

Swapping Fazer Fairing Déjà Vu

I had an industrious afternoon swapping the fairing on my Fazer. Again. It is certainly telling when you can totally swap the fairing over in an hour. Lights, loom, indicators, mirrors, screen etc. I lose track of the number of times I’ve had to strip down the front end now, all instances have been the result of some ‘incident’. 🙁 I just hope I’m not being premature fitting it just before winter turns up…

I also took the opportunity to fit my Stebel Nautilus air horn to the bike. Reasonably straight forward, but some work making a specific bracket was required. A full write up of this and the insane noise it produces will follow shortly.