Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
The motorcycle jacket has transformed into a wide variety of styles and types. There are leather and textile jackets suitable for dirt biking, cruising, racing, touring, adventure riding and more. They offer a variety of levels of weather and crash protection, and some offer style both on and off the bike. We preview coming jackets and road test current jackets for practicality, comfort, protection, cooling, warmth, fit, value and more, sorting our the good from the bad.
Have you ever noticed that your textile riding gear is not as waterproof or breathable as it used to be and doesn’t fit as well after you’ve washed it? That’s because some textile jackets, pants and gloves are made with material that needs to be washed in a certain method to prevent shrinking, stretching or …
Just as many of the old motorcycle brands are returning, so are motorcycle clothing brands such as England’s famous Goldtop brand. Motorcycle clothing brands did not exist in the post-war era, so riders used horse-riding equipment or surplus gear from the army, airforce and police. Goldtop history Goldtop was established in 1951 by Godfreys of …
BMW Motorrad will have a new boss when Markus Schramm takes over as director in May and the company has a new look in riding gear for 2018. Schramm, who will succeed Stephan Schaller, is 55 and a “passionate motorcyclist”. He has been with the BMW Group since 1991. There is no word on which …
Do you know what you should look for in a leather jacket, pants or suit? We’re not talking about style, but protection. Is cow or roo leather best? Should the gear have triple stitching? What do the EN numbers mean? What armour should it have? Do perforations make it weak? We asked Brisbane leather exert Andrew …
KTM Australia has a new range of PowerWear street, race and adventure gear available in Australia and is now distributing KTM-owned WP Suspension. The new range of gear is in collaboration with specialist companies such as Shoei and Alpinestars. Street gear includes the Street Evo Jacket ($399.99), while race gear adds the Speed Gloves ($99), …
This Astric Sports motorcycle jacket includes a “compression bag” in the back for protection that converts to a bike cover when parked. Astric Sports, Hong Kong, have launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding appeal to raise $A25,425. So far they have $1768 of their $25,645 goal from six backers with a month to go. The bomber-style jacket …
MotoGP riders have been wearing airbag suits since 2007 to protect them in a crash, but from this year they will become mandatory in all classes. If airbag suits are good enough for MotoGP riders, they are also good enough for you. Helite makes airbag vests and jackets for a fraction of the cost of …
A new polyethylene nano fibre that is thinner, tougher, lighter and cheaper than Kevlar and Dyneema could be the next big thing in motorcycle clothing, especially riding jeans. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a process that can easily produce ultrafine polymer fibres that are exceptional strong, very thin and inexpensive to …
A British road safety campaign highlights how fashionable “distressed” clothing may look good, but has a high cost in motorcycle crashes. The campaign by the Government-run Highways England, which manages UK main roads, features young shoppers admiring “distressed” clothing. Instead of the labels showing a monetary price, they show the true cost in terms of …
If you have a biker in your life, you’ll probably get that they aren’t the easiest of people to buy gifts for unless the gifts are centred around their passion for motorcycles! However, this can cause a problem unless you’re a keen biker too as you probably won’t know what to buy. That’s okay – …