Good old NikWax, going to try giving my new (second hand) Rukka jacket a freshen up and make sure it’s waterproof again. In theory, it should be as easy as throwing the jacket through the washing machine with some of this Nikwax Tech Wash/Softshell Proof
stuff. Fingers crossed!
Category: Clothing/Protection
Categories
New Lid – Bell Helmets M3R
It recently came to my attention Amazon were offering some huge discounts on Bell Helmets
. I wouldn’t normally purchase a lid without first trying it on for size, but the prices were so good it was worth taking a risk and distance sales law means returning for a full refund is always an option.
I went for the M3R, which was down from around £200 to £53. Not bad at all. However Amazon have been charging VAT on these helmets, even though they should be 0% rated being safety equipment (Amazon’s own help pages also stipulate this). After contacting them, I’ve been informed they are looking into this and should get a refund of £9 VAT, making this lid even cheaper!
Well, the helmet arrived today, all in good nick and the fit is pretty damned good, although I am an XS according to Bell’s sizing chart! I’ve not worn it out yet to compare for noise, but first impressions are good, it seems snug and comfy, either way £43 isn’t bad for a 5 star Sharp rated helmet.
I recently picked up a new set of Alpinestars leather pants and jacket, perfect for the coming summer. I have been wearing the Alpinestars Bat Pants for over a year now, however, the second-hand set I had were starting to show their age, but a knackered lower leg zip drove me to finally replace them. Jacket wise, I’ve been wearing a Hein Gericke textile affair, which although good in cold and wet weather, is a bit warm in the summer and doesn’t really suit the leather trousers.
After completely failing to find any trousers at the MCN show that fit me around the waist (I wear 30″ waist Levi’s, but all 30″ leathers were huge on me and nowhere had any smaller), I opted to get another identical pair of Bat Pants (labelled size 30 and fit perfectly). There weren’t many pairs this size on eBay, but those that popped up received few bids, so I was able to blag a pair in top nick for a measly £25 – epic bargain!
There’s very little question about it, when it comes to protection on a motorcycle, leather is where it’s at. Which is all well and good, until it rains, and that happens an awful lot here in the UK. Leather just isn’t very waterproof and soon becomes water logged, heavy, cold and pretty miserable to ride in. This is where this little tub of wax named Mr JoJo comes in.
I picked up this Mr JoJo wax up at the MCN show a couple of months ago, cost me a tenner for a 200g tub, with a few sponges thrown in. The sales chap demonstrated it on our boots with a spray can of water. Seemed worth a punt. It’s name, Mr JoJo, doesn’t seem to have any relation to a certain Madame JoJo’s of Soho fame, but is a leather waterproofing and conditioning wax from URAD, which contains Jojoba oil. This oil comes from the little Jojoba shrubbery that grows around Mexico, Arizona and California, and is a popular alternative to Whale oil. The wax is white in colour and has a distinctive sweet smell.
Categories
Childrens Motorcycle Gear
My daughter has been dying to ride on the back of my motorbike for ages now. The legal requirement being only their feet can reach the foot pegs and the wearing of a helmet. Since my daughter is rather tall, there’s been no problem there, however from a maturity point of view we have held off for some time. With her 8th birthday later this year, we have decided she is now old enough to ride on the back of the bike and hark back to the days when she was a nipper and would ride on the back of my bicycle.
Of course, safety is a paramount concern, so we have been keen to kit her out in some decent gear to protect her. A tricky prospect considering the price of motorcycle gear and the rate she will grow out of it, and so we hit ebay with a vengeance to find decent gear without breaking the bank.
Gerbing’s have taken their XR12 heated gloves for motorcycles and revamped and improved them for 2013/2014. Now with a number of key differences and tweaks that greatly improve them compared to the prior XR12 iteration. After recently sending my old Gerbing heated gloves back for repair (again), I received this new iteration as my replacement. Thankfully, a very swift turnaround on warranty from Gerbing, so I only suffered cold hands for a couple of days.
Summer is well and truly over and now there’s a good chance you fall into one of two camps. You either:
- Bike for leisure, avoid riding in the cold and wet and place your bike into hibernation until next year
- You’re a year-round biker, by choice or necessity and just gear up to stay warm and fend off the elements
If you fall into this latter group, then you will be all too familiar with cold hands and numb fingers. Never underestimate the impact of wind chill, it maybe 5°C outside, but at 60 mph wind chill brings that down to -11°C! (wind chill chart) Once your fingers are numb, it becomes painful, distracting and drastically affects your riding for the worse. Even the best winter gloves won’t protect you for long against that cold and so here I present a few cold weather motorcycle gear options to tackle cold hands.
Quick heads up: Lidl are doing cheap motorcycle rain covers from the 3rd October this week. They look quite basic, but are dirt cheap at just £9. At a fifth of the price of an Oxford one and with a 3 year warranty, I’m sure you’ll get your moneys worth. I’ll certainly be grabbing a couple, so watch this space for a review.
Also this week, Lidl are doing base layers and cheap hi-vis waistcoats. Previous base layers from Lidl proved very effective last winter, so I can definitely recommend them. At just £2 for the hi-vis, I’m dubious as to how they will stand up to high speed riding. Still worth a quick look though.
I recently purchased these boots second-hand off eBay, after the straps on my old Hein Gericke Bullson boots started to wear and looked ready to snap at any moment. I opted for Alpinestars as I’ve always found their gear to be good quality. It’s easy to see why they’re still going strong after recently celebrating their 50th anniversary. Granted their brand carries a premium price, but popularity does mean a large number of their products can be found second hand and so with a little patience, some real bargains can be found. These S-MX 4 boots will normally set you back in the region of £150, but I picked up a pair in good nick for just £40. Sorted.
To celebrate one full year of riding since passing my DAS test, I’m kicking off a little competition to win some handy goodies useful to all bikers out there:-
First Prize: NikWax Leather Care Kit. Featuring leather cleaner, leather restorer, aqueous wax for footwear, glove waterproofer and visor water repellant. Ideal combination to see you through wet weather. I reviewed this leather care kit earlier in the year.
Second Prize: Can of ACF50 anti-corrosion spray. Halts existing rust and prevents new. Perfect for protecting you bike through the winter.
