Things That Work (for me)

Motorcycle Content

Updated: 2012/07/23

These are things that I have gotten or use with my motorcycle.  I have another posting for the same thing but featuring items that are not motorcycle related.  This is not meant as an all inclusive list.  There is no way that I can try all boots, jackets, lights, etc.  In addition, I want to keep the review as short as possible with, in some cases, a link to a detail review.

Motorcycle Gloves - With many years of riding I've had a lot of gloves but I did start out using non motorcycle gloves.  I'm a hard fit for gloves.  Normally I have to try on a lot of pairs before finding something that fits me somewhat well.  My last four sets are the best I've had.  I live in Texas - it gets real hot here therefore my main gloves are summer gloves.  I had the Tourmaster GX Air for summer and an old pair of HD winter gloves that I only use if it is very cold.  A couple of years ago I replaced the GX glove with the Held summer glove (don't recall the name but similar to the current Air).  Last week I purchased a middle weight glove and I really like them.  I am thinking I can retire the heavy, fat finger HD gloves and use the BMW Allround 2 gloves.  I rode several hours in the rain and I never got water inside of the gloves.  The Allround 2 gloves retail for $75.  The Held was about $80 but discounted at a motorcycle dealer in central Texas.  Conclusion: Held for the summer and the BMW Allround 2 for cold weather and rain.  Looking to try out the BMW AirFlow II gloves whenever the Held Air gloves give out.  They are showing some wear after about 20K miles of use.
Update - 2012/07/23 - Got the Airflow II gloves on 7/18/2012.  My first impressions after just 265 miles of use: Plus: These are the best fitting gloves I've had.  They fit great just wearing them on the hands and also while wrapped around the grips of the bike but maybe that is because the 8/8.5 gloves were a little too tight and the 9/9.5 fit just right around the palm but some of the fingers were a bit too long for my hands.  I'm hoping they don't get too loose after I break them in.  Minus: Compared to both the Held and the GX air gloves these gloves flow very little air.  Instead of an open mesh feel I would say these gloves are breathable.  Stick your hands out in the air stream and air is felt on the back of the hand and the fingers (nothing on the palm).

TM GX Air (Summer)

Held Air (Summer)

BMW Allround 2 (Mid weight) Notice 2 straps and reflective strip

The Harley winter gloves

BMW Airflow II gloves

Power Distribution Panel - There are several on the market that you can choose.  I am using the Fuzeblock.  I liked it because I can select between switched and unswitched for each circuit that I need.  Everything I've added to the bike that requires power is control via this unit.
Link: FuzeBlocks

Power Amplification - Disclosure: I have only used one type of amp - the Amplirider.  This amp runs off the bike's 12V supply, has 3 source inputs, and a remote volume control.  The main thing that I like about this unit is that I have used it for many miles and years on my prior bike and had zero problems.  I purchased a new one for my new bike.
Link: AmpliRider Amp

Boots - I use a true motorcycle boot plus have two casual type boots that I use both on and off the bike.  My official bike boots are the Sidi Way Rain street boot.  They are light and totally waterproof.  For local riding I just got a pair of Timberland PRO non-steel toed work boots.  They fit me very well, are very comfortable and are also waterproof.  The other pair I use for local rides and casual use is a pair of Bates GX-8 waterproof boots.  The Bates is a tactical type of boot so they are made to walk and work on for hours at a time.  The Bates have a lace up system and a side zipper for easy on/off.  The Bates and Timberlands are both about $120.  Both are first class boots but may not protect your feet as well as a true motorcycle boot.  For serious riding I use the Sidi boots.  By the way, get a few pair of really good socks.  You will be surprised how big of a difference good socks can make.  The Smartwool socks are reviewed in this blog.

Ear Bud Speakers - After trying many I am happy with the S Plug ear buds.  They fit well, easy on, don't fall out, and have good sound quality.  I have the single speaker ear buds.  Cost - $140.  Not cheap but I think they are good.  I've had them for over a year and still going strong.
Link: S Plug Ear Buds

Jacket - I started with the full Tourmaster jacket with the winter liner.  This jacket was just too hot for summer riding so I got the Tourmaster Intake.  The Intake is a big system with two different liners - one for rain and the other for colder weather riding.  After using that jacket for a number of years I decided to go with the BMW Airflow 4 jacket and Tourmaster Sentinel rain jacket to make the Airflow a 3 season jacket.  The Airflow is expensive but very well made and it just hangs on you so well that you forget you are wearing it.  Not nearly the air flow of the Intake but I think that is a good thing.  I think too much air flow can dry you out faster than normal.  The Airflow seems to manage the air going into the jacket very well.  My record high with this jacket is 113 F.  Review pending.

Additional Brake Lights - Several around.  I got the P3 lights and like them. Very bright with a flash mode when the brakes are first applied.  The flashing lasts about 4 seconds.  When the LEDs are on normally the LEDs have a flicker to them.  The flicker mode can be switched off if you don't want that feature.  Details in a future review.

Pants - This past winter (2011) was my first time buying true motorcycle pants.  Only used them one time so review will have to wait. They are the Olympia summer riding pants with inside rain liner.  I have used the liners as rain pants with good results.
Update - 2012/07/23 - I got to try these pants on a two day ride this Summer and really liked them.  They are much cooler than jeans in temperatures from 88 to 98.  I want to know how they handle 105 to 115+.
By the way, don't use a leather belt for touring.  I know use a web belt that is both strong and is not damaged by water.  The time will come when you either ride in the rain without your rain gear or your rain suit will leak.  A wet leather belt is hard to deal with and it remains that way for a long time.

GPS - Zumo 660.  Expensive but fairly good and made for motorcycles and comes with the hardware to use in your car also. Review here: Zumo 550 & 660 Review

Seat - After 15,000 miles on my RT I bit the bullet and got the driver Corbin heated seat.  It's my third Corbin - I like them.  Seats are very personal.  Try as many as you can before you decide if you are thinking of buying an after market seat.  IMO it took about 4,000 to break in the seat (factory I think says 1,500).  One reason I choose the Corbin seat for the RT is that I had the Corbin with the Smuggler trunk on my ST1300 and really liked the trunk.  I may at some time add the trunk to the RT.

Headlight Upgrade - I added a little more power to the H7 headlights by using the Osram H7 Rallye 65 watt bulbs.  The Osram puts out 2100 lumens compared to 1400 of the stock bulbs (50% increase) and they have the same bulb life of 500 hours.  Review here: Headlight-Upgrade-Review
Update - 2012/07/23 - I did the HID upgrade for my upcoming long summer ride.  Much more light but not a perfect implementation IMO.  Detail review pending.

To be continued...

Garmin Zumo 550 & 660 Motorcyle GPS Units

Here's My Zumo 550 Home Screen Ready for Instructions www.garmin.com

Zumo 550

Getting lost on a motorcycle is part of the fun when you're out in the middle of Wyoming, but it's not so much fun when you're in the middle of beautiful downtown colonial Guanajuato, Mexico trying to find your way out of town or you're out in the middle of nowhere and your fuel gauge lights up warning you that you're on reserve. That's when a reliable GPS unit can save the day and perhaps keep you from getting into serious trouble.
I have the Garmin Zumo 550 and my brother has the Garmin 660 which he'll cover in another post.

Zumo Map View

The Garmin Zumo 550 built like a tank and as my brother says, it looks like it can roll off your bike at 70 miles an hour and still keep working.  In reality it can take just about any type of abuse short of my brother's opinion. Its waterproof, offers XM Radio, Hands Free Telephone Calling, Bluetooth with glove-friendly touchscreen with left-handed controls, and sunlight-readable UV-resistant display.  It was a birthday gift from my wife in 2008, what a gal! It has a smaller screen than the 665 models, but it's still just right for my needs and my motorcycle riding. I have the optional XM Radio with the XM antenna bud under my fairing attached to the radio housing. That option is rather expensive as I recall and it requires the XM subscription fee. So you can save a couple of hundred dollars doing without the XM by downloading your MP3 music to the Zumo unit.
The major differences between the Zumo 550 and the 600 series is that the screen is smaller than the 600 series and it does not have the street level 3D view which I can do without, but is nice to have in big city congestion.
I have used my Zumo in freezing weather, in days well over 100 degrees, and in frog-choking downpours and in total, I think it has "reset" itself or just gone "off" several times due to extreme conditions.
When I first got my Zumo I could load just about the entire North America Maps on it, but recently I've had to restrict myself to the lower 48 Southwestern United States Maps due to the limited memory on the 550. I also have the lifetime map upgrades option through the garmin website: www.garmin.com  I have the Mexico and Italy MicroSD Cards and being on the border and formerly doing much riding in Mexico I leave the Mexico Card plugged in at all times. The SD card slot and USB port are under the Zumo's bottom cover which flips open. I have my XM wired to it at all times and rarely have my bluetooth connection to my phone since I'm not too keen on taking phone calls while I'm riding.
I also have some scenic Texas routes loaded on it as well as all Harley dealerships in the nation and Best Western Hotels. There a slew of other POIs (Points of Interest) you can load on to it as well.

Zumo Options

When I need gas it's a breeze to get the nearest gas station or any other amenity including hotels, restaurants categorized by types of food, state parks, banks, museums, and just about any other POI you might want to look for. I almost exclusively rely on the speedometer reading which is much more accurate than the Harley speedometer for setting my speed. Other neat features include information such as elevation, time of day, miles to destination, distance to next turn, and of course, the map which zooms in and out to your liking for a view of what's up ahead over that next hill. It automatically switches background color at sunset and provides a nice purple night light viewing.

Zumo Options

It comes with some outstanding RAM mounting hardware which lets you mount the Zumo at just about any location you choose. I have mine on the handlebar, right hand side, but can easily operate it with either right or left hand. I have it on that side since it's easier for me to input information when the bike is off and on the side stand and also best when on a long lonely highway when the bike is on cruise control.  It has its own battery so you can keep the GPS on when you turn your bike off and, of course, the programming allows you to use your system in a variety of different modes with different voices (male, female, british, spanish, etc.) It also comes with suction cups for mounting on your vehicle window, has a built-in speaker and a neat rubber cushioned carrying case. Plus AC charger, vehicle power cable, motorcycle power cable, custom caps to change its appearance, USB cable, owner's manual on disk, security screwdriver, and Garmin stickers.
 In my opinion the Garmin is the best unit out there and if I upgrade it'll have to be another Garmin since I've been very pleased with this product. I'm waiting for a reason to upgrade to the 600 series, but my Zumo has been so reliable that it looks like I may as well wait for the 700 series which is sure to come within the next year or so. 

Ram Mounting Hardware Comes With Unit

The following was posted by tsp...

Garmin Zumo 660

I have the Zumo 660 mounted on a 2010 BMW R1200RT using Ram mounts attached to the handle bar mounts.  This is probably not the best method of mounting the GPS but it's easy and cheap.  I'm still thinking of mounting it above the gauges but for now I'm fine with this installation.

My view from the seat. Looks better in real life than this picture shows.

The item on the left is an XM radio.  I also use the MP3 capability of the Zumo for music.

Side view of mounts

View thru windshield of Ram mounts

The type of Ram mount I used replaces one of the bolts holding the bar on the triple clamp and passes through a Ram ball.

I went with the 660 instead of the 665 mostly due to cost and the fact that I use the XM that you see in the photos in my house.  I really did not want to use a Zumo inside the house for radio function.  But if you have the money it does offer a clean solution for GPS, MP3, XM, and weather reporting.

The Zumo 660 is much better than my prior GPSs but those were more than 10 years old.  Not a fair comparison.  I also like the fact that the Zumo unit has batteries enabling you to take it with you wherever you go and plan or change travel routes. 

View with XM and GPS removed. Perspective not correct.  Unit mounts do not block my view of anything .

tsp

Rev'It Functional Under Garment Liners For Motorcycle Riding

Rev'It Jacket Fleece Inner Liner

My review of Rev'It  http://www.revitusa.com liners.
Weather is turning a bit cooler and on a ride to Austin we stopped at Lone Star BMW on Lamar Street to check out riding gear. Early Friday morning the wind chill was in the 30s so we naturally gravitated to the cold weather gear. I wanted something that would keep me comfortable, but not feel restricted in my movements. That's sometimes hard to do when you've layered so much clothes that it makes it difficult to move. I'm a warm bodied person so when it's below 72 degrees I start to layer on clothes. If it's really cold I typically wear, in order, a tee shirt, a long sleeve nike athletic shirt, a long sleeve shirt, my harley heated vest, my jacket liner, and my heavy leather jacket. That's a lot of stuff and if it's below freezing I'll put on my one-piece BMW rain gear over all of that. I end up feeling like the little brother in the movie "Christmas Story" when his mom wraps him up before he steps outside.
Although by mid-morning the chill factor was in the upper 50s, much better riding weather, so I did away with all layers except for my nike athletic long sleeve shirt and my new Rev'It liner under my leather jacket. I also wore the pant liners. I was perfectly comfortable and able to move freely without all my usual bulky layering.

Rev'It Pant Liner

Rev'It Liner

I have Harley Davidson long under pants, but I've never been totally happy with the fit. It seems that the upper section just sits a bit too low for comfort. I tried the Rev'It pant liner and it's a good fit especially under my jeans. The fit and finish of both the jacket and pant liners are top notch. The pant liner's front section is a heavier wind blocking material than the rear leg portion so it makes a very comfortable sitting position. The elastic waist band is just right, not too wide or too narrow, in my honest opinion, and the leg bottoms are nice and snug so they don't ride up on you.
Fit and finish on the jacket liner is very good. It's zipper is good quality and at the top of the zipper is hooded so that you won't be chaffing your chin on the zipper. That's a nice touch that you won't really notice until you're out on a long ride. Other nice touches include overlocking seams, moisture wicking function, elastic, and the slit pockets. The jacket liner also has a nice longer tail so you won't be getting a cold draft coming up your backside. It has two large zippered pockets which come in handy. Overall the vest is tight fitting, water-repellent, and body-warming.  The Rev'It membrane is laminated between two layers of fabric, the outer layer is a stretchable fabric and the inner layer is a soft fleece. I rode over 300 miles with both liners and they were very comfortable.
I'm 5'10" 173 lbs and a size 41 on coats and wear a 16.5 X 33 shirt (large) so I purchased both jacket and pant liner in size "large". The fit is snug and not loose as it should be, but keep in mind that this is a European company from the Netherlands so fit is more typically smaller than US cuts.

Rev'It Collar

The tag says it can be washed, but I haven't tried that yet. Overall, I am really pleased with the comfort of both liners. They performed really well and the fact that it's breathable doesn't leave you feeling clammy so on a scale of one to ten, I'd give these liners a nine. The only negative is that the pant liner comes without a fly opening so that's a small inconvenience, but I'm sure it not there by design to keep that wind chill out. Seem like Rev'It is out to make a mark with top of the line riding gear so in my opinion they're worth checking out next time you're in the market for a good light quality liner for cold riding season. I'm always on the lookout for "functional" riding gear especially living in South Texas where we can have 30 degree shifts within the same day.

Summer Riding Gloves - BMW Motorrad Air Flow II

BMW Motorrad Air Flow II

After years of riding I finally decided to fork over some serious money for a summer riding pair of gloves that might last more than one riding season. I settled on the BMW Motorrad Model: Air Flow II. It doesn't look as cool as many of the perforated leather gloves I've worn, but I decided that I was tired of wearing out a pair of gloves more quickly than I cared for. The Air Flow II cost $105 which is between twice to three times more than I'm used to paying for a pair of gloves so it was tough decision, but I finally pulled out that plastic card. I purchased the gloves in March of 2010 and I've logged enough miles with them to give an honest personal opinion on these gloves. I think their great and absolutely the best pair of gloves I've ever owned. I've used most brands except for Held which I have heard are very good. I've even used several types of work gloves from Home Depot and Tractor Supply and they hold up really well, but lack much of the cooling effects we really need in South and West Texas. 

Surprisingly, although these gloves don't look "cool" they are as cool as any perforated leather gloves I've used. Unlike the perforated type, these gloves have held up remarkably well. It doesn't take me long to wear a hole in either my thumb or palm section on most gloves, but these gloves look as good as they day I bought them and they actually feel better now that I've broken them into the shape of my hands. 

Given the current condition of my gloves they will easily make it through my third summer and that will easily triple the typical lifespan of all the other "summer" type gloves I've ever owned. 

The gloves are made of both high grade doubled leather in the inside hand section and an AirTex™ high abrasion-resistant DynaFil® with a light, air-permeable mesh structure with completely free air through-flow.  The upper hand has Cordur® sections and the fingers are perforated between each other. There is a velcro width adjuster and a great finger wiper. They also carry a two year warranty, but I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds like I can return them if they rip anytime within a two year period. 

Bottom line is that these gloves are well worth the cost in my honest opinion and they're worth checking out. The fit and feel is excellent for me which is sometimes a challenge for me to find a pair that fits well.