“HJC brand helmet is the number 1 selling helmet in the America. It is known for the affordable pricing and superior quality” — Amazon.com: HJC CL-15 CL15 Motorcycle Helmets Product Page

Now that the Ural is almost here, Jodie and I are doing a bit more shopping. We both have jackets (here’s a review of my Taylor’s Leatherwear Jacket, and soon I’ll be putting one up for Jodie’s TourMaster Jacket), so now it’s time for the helmet. After a trip to Eugene’s Discount Motorcycle Parts, we both were liking the fit, feel and look of the popular HJC CL-15. But how does it stack up?

In this review

• HJC CL-15 product features and specifications
• Colors
• Reviews
• Best deals online

Read the rest of this entry »

ADVrider boards question - Ride in the rain or don’t ride at all »

What do you need to ride in the rain, especially in the great Pacific Northwest? An inquiring Antsaint (my handle on the ADVrider forums and IMZ Ural boards) wants to know.

All you snow and rain riders, especially those up here in the great Pacific Northwet, what would be your most-recommended mods and add-ons to a Ural, especially for better riding in that good ol’ gray and drizzly “Oregon/Washington sunshine”?

Now that’s what I call a shopping list

Folks have posted some very helpful tips and recommendations, including:

• Wet-weather tires
• Lap robe
• Electric vests
• Rubber/Goretex riding gear (doesn’t have to be armored/heavy-duty, since that’s what your gear underneath the rainwear is for)
• Dialectric grease (a water-resistant grease that is great for water-proofing bike bits and pieces that still need good electrical connections/ conductivity)
• Heated grips (which just sound nifty anyway)

It’s all about the rainwear

For my mind and money, the minimum to start with would be the wet-weather riding gear – generally a 1-piece or 2-piece zip together outfit. Just for keeping the wet and cold off your precious hide, this is also gear you’d keep stashed in your Ural’s trunk, because you just never know when the heavens are going to cloud over and open up.

Arguments could be made for the tires or lap robe, but if you had to get one, I’d say go with the rainwear. Why do I say that? My motorcycle-in-the-monsoon days aren’t here yet, but for the past 4 years I have ridden a bicycle to work. Year-round. Rain and even snow. And it’s all about the gear.

It doesn’t matter how much rain is pouring down when I leave the house in the morning. As long as I’ve got my rain coat and rain pants on, I’m good to go, and dry when I get to the office. More importantly, since I’m not worried about getting soaked to the bone I still enjoy the ride.

Jodie and I will be working on this rainy weather shopping list over time — but we’ll start with the rainwear. From there (and the dialectric grease, which is just good to keep in your rig’s toolkit anyway), we’ll probably move on to the tires or heated grips. All in due time.

Team Oregon’s website has a great 6-point checklist for fitting and trying on motorcycle helmets.

1. Measurement
2. Try-on
3. Horizontal and Vertical Movement Check
4. Retention Check
5. Pressure Point Check
6. Confirming Proper Fit

Jodie and I will be making a lot of use of this. After the holidays are over we’ll be trying on lids at Discount Motorcycle Parts here in Eugene, and a print-out of this checklist will be going with us.

On the Ural message boards, markhas is looking for a new pair of motorcycle boots, preferably made in the U.S.:

Been looking for decent boots, that are made on lasts and repairable heels & soles…. I’m looking at Langlitz, Wesco, and Sullivan Moccasin. These all have high initial purchase price but are repairable and will be cheaper in the long run. I like to get some opinions from people who have these boots.

Here are some of the motorcycle boots recommended by folks in the forum:

• Aerostich Combat Touring Boots #400
• Specter Road Motorcycle Boots (Canada)
• Wesco Boots - West Coast Shoe Company, Since 1918 — based in Scappoose, OR… on a personal note, being Oregon-based, Jodie and I will be looking hard at their products. We always try to keep our dollars in Oregon.
• Cruiserworks
• Red Wing Shoes
• Chippewa Boots

We haven’t looked a whole lot at motorcycle footwear yet, but this list is a great place to start. Like I said, the Wesco’s immediately grabbed out attention. There are so many good manufacturers and quality products in Oregon, that it’s easy to keep our many here — which helps since that’s our first preference anyway.

Air Vent #4482Z Leather Motorcycle Jacket from Taylors Leatherwear

Regular Price $249.99 Close-out Price $99

By the way, I’m not getting paid for this post.

More info about this jacket »

Order this jacket at Taylors Leatherwear’s e-commerce site, ourleathershop.com »

Web editors don’t wear leather

When Jodie and I began our quest for motorcycle apparel, I told her that I wasn’t interested in leather. Most of the leather jackets I’d seen were that “classic biker” style. Now, that works for a lot of folks. But for this 5′5″, 135 lb., clean-cut, goateed internet dork, well, the “classic biker” look doesn’t exactly look classic biker. I could think of a lot of things I think it would look like, but they all turn my stomach and I don’t want to type them out.

This all changed, however, at work.

But they’ll reconsider if the cut (and price) is right

Not long after putting down the deposit on my Ural Patrol, I got word from our merchandising folks that we had added a police leather jacket vendor, and I needed to prep their products for our website (Leather Duty Jackets @ CHIEFsupply.com, by the way) .

Taylors Leatherwear is based in Tennessee, and has been making leather jackets for a long time. They had nice stuff — but when I saw their Air Vent jacket (on close-out, no less), I knew I had found a leather jacket I could wear and like. Especially when I saw that it was on close-out for only $99. I was sold.

So far, so good

Since I’m still waiting for my Patrol to arrive, I haven’t gotten to field-test the jacket yet, but I’m confident it will perform fine. The fit is good (I got a Medium — a Small would fit me a bit better, but I can’t complain), the look is just what I was hoping. The liner zips out easily, and the brass zips should last ages.

I like this jacket a lot, and would encourage anyone looking for a leather jacket, but in a different styles from the traditional cuts, to have a look at the Airvent Jacket before it’s sold out.

Or, as my dad put it, “Son, you really hit a home run with this coat.”

And I didn’t think I’d want a leather motorcycle jacket.