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.
UClear HBC100 Moto Helmet Communicator Review
Greg Drevenstedt
December 20, 2012
As great as many helmet communicators are at enabling on-the-road conversations between a rider and a passenger, or between riders on different motorcycles, and at streaming music and taking/making cellphone calls, they can also be fiddly gadgets that require patience to master. Installing them on helmets... Read more »
Doubletake Mirrors Review
Greg Drevenstedt
November 26, 2012
The stock mirrors on my 1998 Kawasaki KLR650 died honorably, in the line of duty. The left one bit the dust when my KLR tipped over after a challenging hill climb. As three of us stood around catching our breath, the small foot of the kickstand sank into the soft dirt and the bike fell over, shearing... Read more »
How to Ride Off-Road Motorcycles (Book Review)
Greg Drevenstedt
November 21, 2012
No matter how many times street motorcyclists are told that riding off-road will improve their on-road skills, many of them brush it aside. Street riders and dirt riders are often like oil and water. You’re either one or the other, and never the twain shall meet. However, I can attest first-hand, having... Read more »
Budget Audio for Honda Gold Wings
Jerry Smith
November 8, 2012
I put a Gold Wing GL1800 on my dream-bike list back in 2001, and finally snagged a used ’01 last year. But I quickly discovered that one of the features I was so eager to get—a factory stereo—came with speakers so anemic they had to be cranked up to ear-bleed volumes before I could hear them at... Read more »
Cargol Turn & Go Flat Repair Kit Review
Jerry Smith
November 7, 2012
Along with better handling, cooler running and longer tread life, one of the less-appreciated advantages of tubeless tires is that if you get a flat, you can put in a temporary plug without even taking the wheel off the bike and ride slowly to a shop to have a permanent plug installed. Of all the emergency... Read more »
Condor Pit Stop/Trailer Stop Wheel Chock Review
Greg Drevenstedt
October 29, 2012
Dozens and dozens of motorcycles pass through our doors every year. Test bikes arrive in vans, get transferred on trailers, get stored in “the cage” at the office and in our garages at home, and leave in the beds of pickup trucks. We’re awash in Battery Tender wires and tie-down straps. Typically,... Read more »
Motorcycle: The Definitive Visual History (Book Review)
Greg Drevenstedt
October 2, 2012
When the ground-breaking “Art of the Motorcycle” exhibit opened at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, in 1998, I had the good fortune of attending—twice. At the time, I was living in Philadelphia, a two-hour ride to the south via the mind-numbing New Jersey Turnpike, and a diehard enthusiast... Read more »
Rolling Through the Isles, by Ted Simon – Book Review
Clement Salvadori
September 14, 2012
Somebody asks Ted that if he had only one more motorcycle trip to do, where would he go? Many of us might think about exotic places, like Bali, or adventurous, like Tibet, or sybaritic, like the French Riviera. But Ted, a sensible chap, looks back over a long life, and decides he would like to return... Read more »
Tourmaster Transition 3 Motorcycle Jacket Review
Clement Salvadori
September 7, 2012
An all-purpose, multi-season motorcycle jacket has a near-impossible list of requirements to fulfill. It needs to keep you warm when it’s cold, cool when it’s hot, dry when it rains, protect you in case of an accident, and be comfortable…after all, you could be wearing that jacket for many hours... Read more »
Butler Motorcycle Maps Review
Greg Drevenstedt
August 14, 2012
The first music video ever played on MTV, at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981, was for a song by the Buggles called “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Despite the dire prediction of an oddball British New Wave duo, radio stations and pop/country/rap/rock/etc. stars survived. Eight-track players went the... Read more »
