If you've booked your motorcycle rental or some kind of adventure ride with us and need to figure out the best way to transport all your clothes, riding gear, and travel items, this short version of our "How to Pack" video series sums it all up nicely for you! It's a low-cost, reliable way to make sure you're not stuck figuring out a plan for your excess luggage.
I managed to pin down Nic Sims, head of Media Relations at Alpinstars USA and ask some questions about the motorcycle industry and where he sees the future of motorcycle protective gear going:
"An agonizing feeling, that tele-tubby box of a camera haunted my dreams. The more I saw it the more I wanted to scream inside. Not out of anger, but out of disbelief that something so ugly could take over the market like a tidal wave." - Marc Barros - Co-Founder of Contour Inc. (Source: marcbarros.com)
Folks, I can't believe it happened, but the best helmet camera company out there just shut down last month. A classic example of how big money and huge marketing budgets can propel an inferior product to the front of the market and squash the best camera companies into oblivion, this is quite a shame. Equally shameful is that this kind of thing happens in many other industries, including the motorcycle touring & renting business. Big money and advertising has many customers "running to the biggest" company, instead of getting the most value out of their dollar with others who don't spend as much on advertising. Oh well, such is business for now I guess.
With abrasion resistance, armor, and high-tech features that Batman himself could aspire to, few adventure jackets are as coveted as the Klim Badlands Pro, but is this high-performance jacket worth it's high price tag?
I just realized something: I wasn't even sweating during this video take! (See video below.) Just me and an iPhone on the side of a road with full motorcycle padding on in 105F/40C degree temperatures in the middle of July in northern California. Guess this says something about the Macna Dry Cooling Vest.
My recommendations on motorcycle gear only come on the heels of actual experience with each product. In this case, the Alpinestars Tech 10 boot deserves all the praise and recommendation a motorcycle boot could possibly get.
Just when I thought I'd ran out of good things to say about my Alpinestars Bionic Jacket, I swapped out my 4-year, 250,000+ mile old jacket for a newer version. The old armor jacket is still fine, and I'll find some use for it someday, but Alpinestars has clearly done it right again with this newer version: The Bionic Jacket for BNS.
The topic of motorcycle gear and our recommendations for staying comfortable and safe continues with Part 3 of our Free Download: "Motorcycle Gear Advice."
Continuing our focus on motorcycle gear, here's another portion of our tutorial on how to choose the right products and stay as safe and comfortable as possible in your motorcycle travel. Remember, you can always download the entire document here Free Download: "Motorcycle Gear Advice."
This document focuses mostly on the 'adventure riding' type of motorcycle travel but the principles discussed apply to all types of motorcycle riding. We think it's a fairly unique look at creating your own combination of motorcycle gear to handle the widest variety of climates while offering the best protection possible.
Part 2: Innovative Padding Solutions by Alpinestars
As you’ve probably noticed, most motorcycle jackets and pants come with some basic padding built in. Is that your best or only option though? For reasons of a) better protection, and b) greater comfort under the hot sun, we think you should wear a separate body armor system like those in the Alpinestars Bionic series.
To understand why, first take notice of the soft foam padding included in your jacket and pants. Sure, each pad will absorb impact considerably, but will these foam pads always be in position when your elbow or knee hits the ground? Remember: We said in the part about "staying warm and dry" that your motorcycle gear should be loose enough to allow for layers to be worn underneath. As such, that “looseness” allows the elbow, knee, and shoulder pads to twist out of the way just by wiggling them with your hands. Now imagine how much those pads might shift out of place in a high-speed impact situation with much more force, and you might agree those built-in pads are not something to depend on.
By removing the original foam pads from your jacket and pants, you can replace those pads with the Alpinestars Bionic gear and vastly improve protection. The Bionic gear is meant to be worn as a first layer (well, outside your underwear and base layers) and therefore is fitted so that the pads stay in place in the event of a crash. Try on a properly fitted Bionic setup and attempt to wiggle the elbow, shoulder, and knee pads out of place: You’ll feel the difference!
In addition to fitting better and staying in place, you’ll find that the hard shell exterior of the CE rated pads that come in the Bionic series offer a far superior level of impact absorption than any foam pad can ever claim. Furthermore, each pad in the Bionic series tends to wrap around your elbows, shoulders, and knees far better than other pads do, offering superior protection from multiple angles of impact. As was witnessed in the motorcycle crash shown on this link, wearing this padding could mean you simply get up, brush yourself off, and keep riding! (The rider was wearing the Alpinestars gear shown on this page and walked away without injury.)
As a bonus to wearing a separate armor system like the Bionic Jacket, we are not obligated to wear a full heavy jacket with padding built in just to stay protected. Think about it: Under the hot summer sun, aren’t you tempted to skip the riding gear? While RIDE Adventures will never condone riding without full motorcycle gear, a nice compromise might be to just wear your Bionic armor jacket and leave the outer shell and insulation off while you ride. Protection against skin abrasion will certainly be reduced, but at least your skeleton is protected in this scenario while you ride and stay cool with full padding on and in place.
