The venerable Shoei RF-800 has a problem; humans breath and being equipped with what one could deem an “insta-fog” visor means that they can’t actually see much of where they are going. This problem is worse for the winter rider, whose in-traffic excretions almost guarantee a foggy visor. Enter Pinlock, an easily removable anti-fog visor…

The VFR revs to life and what should have been a three hour job pays off… a day later.  It sounds so good I burst into maniacal laughter while twisting the throttle and pulling the bike from idle to a rich, refined but growling V-four snarl; the VFR is leaner to the tune of ten…

My foot scrambles instinctively, looking to downshift… and the shift lever? Well it simply isn’t there, and believe it or not that is on purpose. Instead I thumb a red button sitting just below the horn button. The clutch actuates, the gear changes, and clutch releases… all in about 100 milliseconds! Yes, “tiptronic” shifting is…

It’s brilliant, the Mini Foot Pump features a nicely accurate pressure gauge, and better yet a check valve for “zero air loss”. Two major points in its favor which are a boon to those with air charged forks that require low pressures hard to achieve with a regular pump and gauge combination.

March 17, 2005.  It’s St. Paddys’ day in San Francisco but most of the Bay Area desert racers and fans are not out drinking green beer.  We’re watching a special screening of Dana Brown’s new movie about the Baja 1000, “Dust to Glory.”

Every dirt biker has to do it eventually.  Those who ride in dusty conditions have to do it after every ride or two.  Cleaning and changing foam air filters.  We all know that a clean air filter helps the performance and longevity of motorcycle engines by giving them plenty of clean air to breathe.

It used to be that bikes weren’t on-road, off-road, enduro’s, or big trailies, instead it was a bike and it’s job was to go everywhere and tires were just tires. Luckily, that “go everywhere” spirit has returned in modern form with the growing crop of adventure touring machines; the Honda Varadero (in Europe), KTM 950…

Continental bills the ContiForce Max as a high-grip, lower-priced alternative to the competition’s offerings.  The ContiForce Max is dubbed as being suitable for a wide variety of motorcycles; 600 and 750 supersports, open class sportbikes such as the R1 GSR-1000, CBR954RR.  Surprisingly, due to its “improved wear rate”, Continental also feels it meets the needs…

It’s 35 degrees Celsius (95F) out and San Diego is in the grip of a heat wave as we ride through, on a spring tour, which makes it a very odd time to look over our notes and write a review of the Widder System 2 Lectric Vest and Arm Chaps.  But what strikes me,…

Sometimes I get the munchies, and those munchies demand to be satisfied. Every now and then it’s french fries I fancy. Occasionally it’s chips. Quite often I crave chocolate. More recently I find my stomach pining for pizza. All very well if you’re on foot, or in a car, but not so convenient for the…

Lubricate the chain? No thanks; it can wait until tomorrow.  Again. As you know, chains and sprockets are expensive and vital.  A worn out chain saps power, affects gear changing, and is potentially gruesome for you and your bike.  So, hands up all those who regularly get the chain lube out, and give that dirty,…

Think of the new Arai XD as basically an Arai dirt bike helmet with a built-in face shield.  The concept is not new, and actually has been around since the 1990’s as the Arai TourCross.  But don’t feel too bad if you’ve never seen one.   It was pretty much an expensive novelty that had very…