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Motorcycle Gear Reviews
This section includes motorcycle gear reviews with testing conducted by Rider magazine editors. Gear reviews include apparel, parts & accessories, helmets, electronics and tires. If you are looking for a certain type of gear, use our browse by type option to see one gear category at a time.

Adrian Sports/Chase Harper 6XM Motorcycle Tankpac Review

Adrian Sports/Chase Harper 6XM Motorcycle Tankpac

Clement Salvadori
June 7, 2013

Riders have been carrying stuff on top of their gas tanks for as long as there have been motorcycles, and the array of tankbags on the market is large, everything from teeny-tiny to humongous. The latest from Adrian Sports/Chase Harper is a good mid-size container. Chase Harper is an old name, dating... Read more »

Joe Rocket Alter Ego Motorcycle Jacket and Pants Review

Complete Joe Rocket Alter Ego ensemble shown, with waterproof outer shell over FreeAir mesh jacket with fleece vest liner, and outer panel zipped onto pants to cover mesh.

Greg Drevenstedt
June 6, 2013

Ventura County, California, home to Rider’s editorial office and some of our favorite test roads, is the perfect environment for testing Joe Rocket’s Alter Ego jacket/pants ensemble. In the springtime, mornings in Ventura are cold and sometimes blanketed with dense fog. The marine layer usually burns... Read more »

Race Tech Gold Valve Cartridge Emulators Review

Fork with components laid out in orientation and order of assembly: D-Rod with bottom retaining bolt; GVE/Adapter; RT Fork Spring; PVC Spring Spacer with washers.

Bill Stermer
June 5, 2013

A vintage bike is a two-edged sword. On the one hand is the joy of having other riders come over and say, “Nice bike! What year is it?” On the other are the problems associated with vintage electrics, vintage reliability, vintage suspension and anti-stop brakes. My old bike of choice is a 1976 BMW... Read more »

Shoei GT-Air Motorcycle Helmet Review

Shoei GT-Air Motorcycle Helmet

Greg Drevenstedt
June 4, 2013

When helmet manufacturers release new models or update existing ones, they often incorporate new features or adopt them from other helmets in their lineup. The GT-Air is an all-new full-face helmet from Shoei that combines new and existing features, and is priced between the top-of-the-line X-Twelve... Read more »

Touratech Motorcycle Suspension Review

Touratech’s hydraulic preload adjustment spans 15mm (vs. the typical 8-10mm) to handle a greater load range.

Mark Tuttle
May 30, 2013

Adventure-touring motorcycles are often burdened with heavy luggage and accessories, then subjected to a fair amount of abuse when they’re taken to all of those adventurous places. In most cases, the bike’s original-equipment suspension is just barely up to the task; in more extreme instances it... Read more »

Arai Defiant Motorcycle Helmet Review

Arai Defiant Motorcycle Helmet

Greg Drevenstedt
May 30, 2013

The Gospel According to Arai: the prime objective of a helmet is impact energy management; everything else is secondary. Kinetic energy, the amount of work required to accelerate an object from rest to a particular velocity, increases at the square of speed. When speed doubles, say from 30 mph to 60... Read more »

HyperPro Motorcycle Shock and Fork Springs Review

HyperPro Motorcycle Shock

Arden Kysely
May 7, 2013

It’s the rare motorcycle that leaves the showroom with stellar suspension, and my 2009 BMW F 800 GS is no exception. The stock male-slider fork is non-adjustable and the rear shock allows fiddling only with spring preload and compression damping. The kicker (literally) is that BMW’s ideal rider weighs... Read more »

Nolan B4 Motorcycle Communication System Review

Nolan B4 Communication System

Ken Aiken
May 6, 2013

Nolan’s new B4 communication system has all the functions of other top-quality Bluetooth motorcycle systems and some of the same limitations. It offers A2DP stereo from FM radio and MP3 players, linked GPS, pilot-to-passenger and bike-to-bike intercom, and of course, full cellphone capability. The... Read more »

AltRider Crash Bars and Luggage Rack Review

AltRider Crash Bars and Luggage Rack

Arden Kysely
May 3, 2013

Adventure bikes like my BMW F 800 GS roll out of the factory ready to blast into the boonies loaded with camping gear, food and spares—or so you would think. Truth is, they need some accessories to be fully functional. The top items on my list are crash protection for the inevitable rough-country tipovers,... Read more »

Cardo scala rider G9 PowerSet Review

Cardo scala rider G9 PowerSet

Eric Trow
May 3, 2013

There’s no denying that social media has become a huge part of our lives. And the popularity of social networks continues to explode. Facebook. Twitter. FourSquare. And now…Cardo? Cardo Systems, the makers of the scala rider G9 Bluetooth motorcycle communication system, have managed to create a veritable... Read more »

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