There’s a clumsy acronym, ATGATT,  for people who wear “all the gear, all the time”:  Not just a helmet, but protective pants, boots, fully armored jacket, etc.  Now if that’s you, good for you (seriously, not sarcastically)!  The difference between going down and getting back up, and getting an ambulance ride depends on your protective gear.  BUT… even I think ATGATT isn’t quite practical for the city.  There’s a Staples fifteen blocks away from me…and it doesn’t make sense to go ATGATT for little errands like that.  Especially since there’s a stop light every couple of blocks, and especially since NY summers can reach temperatures close to the surface of the sun.  But no matter how close you’re commuting, there is one piece of gear (other than a helmet) that you ABSOLUTELY need all the time…gloves.

Unless you work in a hospital or a funeral home, you probably don’t realize just how soft human skin is.  It’s weaker than two sheets of copy paper… Slide a dull kitchen knife over copy paper – then slide the same knife over your hand (on second thought don’t!) and one will be a bloody mess, and the other just fine.

A few years back I was walking home when I slipped and nearly fell (on some wet bird poop – go figure!). But as I fell I managed to reach out and grab a metal fence just in time.  I didn’t hit the ground and I wasn’t even walking quickly, but when I looked at my hand the fence had cut through one of my fingers to the bone.  The fence wasn’t sharp, it was just a regular fence, and yet the skin on my finger wasn’t able to handle the sudden pressure.

That fall happened going 0.02 mph, what do you suppose a minor accident going 10mph might do to your hands?  What’s more, hands are incredibly complicated and difficult to reconstruct surgically.  And if you ever do have a minor accident while riding, your hands will be among the first things to hit the ground.

So dude… wear your gloves. Even basic no-frill  leather riding gloves can mean the difference between having ten fingers or being called stumpy the rest of your life.

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The GoPro camera setup is an excellent low(er) end helmet and bike camera system.  But when I first laid eyes on it the thing that impressed me was how useful the suction cup mount could be for other things.  Like as a GPS mount I could move from bike to bike to car without installing anything permanent on the bikes.  It takes less than a minute to install the suction cup mount securely, or I can switch out the GPS and clip on the camera…

Although the suction mount is sturdy and has never fallen off on me, I tie a shoelace around the mount and clip it to my keys with a small carabiner…that way I don’t have to worry about my bargain basement GPS (I paid under $100) flying off while on the highway.

The viewing angle is adjustable, as you can see in the pictures below.  I usually put it down flat on top of the tree so glare can make most screens hard to see in direct sunlight.

If you’re used to using a GPS in a car, it’s not the same while riding a bike. You need to look ahead more on a bike, so there’s literally no good time to look down at a GPS while moving (in my opinion). But if you’re going someplace new and difficult to find, pulling over looking at your directions and a map…then you can replace all that with a simple GPS setup.  I usually don’t turn on the GPS until I’m off the highway and riding through stop and go; and I don’t look at the GPS unless I’m stopped in a safe place or waiting at a stop light.

I haven’t wired mine up to run off the motorcycle’s battery yet… I’d probably just stick with the cigarette lighter adapter – or attach an adapter to plug into my battery tender wires (like this).

The main benefit of this setup is that you can move the whole GPS (plus the mount) from bike to bike (or bike to car). If you only use your GPS on your bike, I think THIS is a better idea…or you could go with a RAM mount like a regular adventure tourer.

Although, with the suction cup mount, you don’t have to install anything permanent on your bike, you do however have to attach a permanent mount on the back of your GPS.  For my TomTom, that meant putting the GoPro mount right where the regular car attachment would go so that it would no longer fit the car mount.  This is fine with me, but it’s something to consider if you have a pricey GPS unit.  Also, most automobile GPS units are not water proof.  I just put plastic wrap over it…but once again if you have an expensive GPS, you might not want to risk it.

If you don’t have the GoPro camera system, you can buy both the suction cup, and grab bag of mounts separately.  Have any other uses for the GoPro mounts?  A better way to mount your GPS?  Share the wealth.  Cheers!

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Every now and then the thought occurs, “It would be really convenient to be able to talk to passengers, other riders, or get GPS directions while wearing my helmet…” Here the Sena and Scala Rider G4 are part of the newer generation of Bluetooth helmet systems. I don’t run across people who use them, so I appreciate seeing this little video just to get a sense of the size of these things. They seem clunky to me, like the CB radio versions of the past. It makes sense that the people who I usually see wearing these are people with clunky bikes, large cruisers with trunk space I could park a scooter in.

If you really want Bluetooth, but don’t want the (slightly) bulky attachments, you can always go the built-in route. Dainese, Vemar, O Neal all have nice helmets with BT built in.  Or if you can wear in-ear headphones, and mainly want to get GPS directoins with your helmet on, you can wear any helmet you like with this non-motorcycle specific BT device.

Should you really be having phone conversations while riding? Of course not.  But imagine being able to tour the twisties with a passenger and say, “lean left…” “hard right coming up.”  Or ride with a couple of other riders and say, “watch out there’s gravel on the turn” or “Let’s pull over I need a restroom break!”  Aha.  See?  Practical eh?  Just don’t give your boss your cell phone number.

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I’m usually fine keeping my phone in the (underseat) “trunk” but what do you do when you’re going someplace new and have to pull over and check Google Maps, or the directions in an email?  The people at iBike Rider think you should strap it to your wrist inspector gadget style.

It’s handy, and it’s waterproof.  What I like about this is you don’t have to use it with your phone, you can put your EZPass in there or GPS, or handwritten directions.  If you do use your iPhone, the touchscreen still works through the plastic, but you will need to pull over and remove a glove…  Or you can use a sausage – no kidding!  But I digress.

This case is a tad pricey at $57.43.  But anything iphone tends to be pricey.  You can buy it from SoEasyGPS.  Or, if you don’t care so much about it being waterproof, or you’re not sure if you’ll like using it, there are a lot of cheaper alternatives…like this one that you can buy wherever they sell iPhone cases.  Cheers!  If any of you have tried this out let us know what you think!

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This is straight out of the movie Dune…if you move slowly the material will bend and give, but try to move it quickly and it won’t let you.  Great for snowboarding gear, and even better for motorcycles… The US military even uses it to stop bullets!  So where can I get my hands on some d3o body armor?  Right now the only way is to buy gear with the armor installed: Armadillo, or FirstGear.

Now I haven’t seen the stuff first hand, and I’m not in the market for any gear (although I like the Armadillo parka) – have any of you bought gear recently with d3o?  I’m interested to know if you feel a difference wearing it.

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The backpack: It’s arguably the easiest and most natural way to carry a moderate amount of gear on your motorcycle.  Motorcycle luggage, panniers and top cases may be best everywhere else (and still great for storing gloves and jackets and helmets) but they are less convenient for transporting your everyday stuff when parking on city streets.  But doesn’t the bag get heavy? You generally don’t feel the weight of the bag when you’re riding, and you don’t lose any time installing or uninstalling anything.

So how can you improve on a humble backpack? I’ve seen these jetpack looking bags from Axio, but wasn’t sure if they looked silly or cool.  I’m still undecided.  But when I needed a better way to transport my laptop I picked up a new but discontinued Axio Forza model for $49.99 on this website.  Although I wasn’t sure about the bag, I figured if I didn’t like it I could either return it or sell it on Ebay.

The hard shell is made of polycarbonate plastic like a lot of motorcycle helmets; strong and lighter than fiberglass.  And although nothing could protect your laptop in a catastrophic crash, it should add quite a bit more protection over a soft backpack in the event of tip over.  The straps are comfortable and the back side is made of a breathable mesh with hard ridges to keep air circulating between your back and the pack.

The bag comes with some standard amenities like a cell phone pouch (that just barely fits my square old school blackberry), a waterproof rubber hole for sticking headphone cords through in case you want to listen to your ipod, an extra strap in case you want to carry it as a shoulder bag, and a rain cover…well, in case it rains. Correction, turns out the rain cover is really one of those cloth bags to put the bag in…the way purses come with cloth bags (I still don’t understand that).  And the shoulder strap is really an extra waist belt strap – not really necessary for riding, but maybe useful if you want to take your using the bag for snowboarding. [funny, I didn't bother to try those things out till just now.]

So is a hard backpack for you? Only if you can live with the space age styling. Newer models come with aero-humps (in case you decide to ride a race wearing your bag?) and flashier colors and graphics… but I only shop at the bargain bin when it comes to these things.  Mr. Bond, your jet pack is ready.

For further reading:

• If you’re interested in Axio bags, click here…
• And along those lines here are some reviews from people who actually know how to review stuff.
• Don’t like the hard bags but still want something different for your laptop?  Check out these super stealth neoprene laptop bags.
• Just plain bored?  Click here.

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What do you think?  The mirror system is ingenious!  But I’d prefer something using a digital screen that could be installed on the helmet of your choice.

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Biker gear and NYC sometimes don’t go together very well.  If you disagree, then good for you – wear what you like!  But if you feel a little, I dunno, flamboyant…in typical motorcycle gear, then I’d like to point you toward a relative newcomer in high end gear: Rev’it.  From what I can tell, they’re listening…  And most of their street jackets, even the non-black on black variety, is nicely designed and practical looking.

As always, this isn’t a paid plug – if you want to check out the rest of their 2010 lineup, you can take a look here, and here.

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The holiday season is a distracting time of year.  Gifts, family get-togethers, winter vacations, post-holiday sales…  But one place you don’t need a distraction is in your winter riding gear.

Seemingly great winter riding gear can add unnecessary danger to your commute.

• Gloves that don’t give your fingers enough feel,
• Riding pants that are too slippery to keep you seated,
• Layers of jackets that impair mobility,
• Or a helmet-jacket combo that makes it hard to turn your head or look up without the helmet getting pushed down.

All these add a level of danger and distraction that you don’t need… So this is just a heads-up.  If you’re riding in the cold, stay warm, and stay safe by doing a lot of trial and error with your gear.  There’s no reason why you can’t stay warm (for an hour’s ride or so in NY winter weather), and yet be completely mobile and comfortable with the right combo of gear – even before you get to electric vests or heated grips (although these are nice).

How do you stay warm on cold winter rides?  Share the wealth in the comments section!

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There are lots of reasons you might want to make ride videos: You might be going someplace with a spectacular view, or with amazing roads that you’ll want to brag about later; you can use video to analyze different parts of your riding technique, or join the ranks of YouTUBE moto-vloggers.  Now if you’ve been squeamish about strapping your costly hi def video camera or point and shoot onto your ride, and you’ve thought about getting a camera just for your bike, here’s my mini-review of the GoPro Hero Wide camera.

I purchased the Motorsport edition which comes with four (or five if you include the one in the display box) adhesive base plates that you can stick on, along with four mounts which attach to the camera casing.  The camera itself sits in a clear plastic waterproof/shockproof case.  There is also a well-made suction cup mount, which is what I used to mount the camera to the tank of my bike.  The MSRP is around $199, but you can find the full Motorsport kit for around $130 on EBay and at local stores (that’s what I paid, with free shipping).  You can also purchase any of the components separately, so make sure you’re buying the entire Motorsport kit and not just a spare camera (spare camera retails for around $130 on Amazon – so you’re better off getting the kit).

You can judge the video for yourself.  I tried strapping my $500 Lumix camera to shoot hi-def video and found that the lighting and the vibration made the video completely unusable.  So for me the GoPro did everything I hoped it would do.

But here are some of the Cons.

• It doesn’t come with batteries or an SD card.
• Reviewers on Amazon complained about short battery life.  My ride was only about an hour, and the two AAA rechargable batteries made it the whole way without incident.  If you were going on a long ride you’d want to carry spare batteries and SD cards.
• There is no LCD screen on the camera so you can’t see what’s on the video until you get home and load it onto your computer. There is a red light that blinks to tell you that you’re recording.  But you have to be careful in making sure it’s in video mode and not time-lapse picture mode (there’s a small icon screen on the front face).  Press the front button once to turn the unit on, but if you press it again it switches the picture mode, and the mode icons can be hard to see.
• 170 degree wide angle lens means you can’t really use this for home videos or non-motorsport purposes…unlike a Flip camera which can be multipurpose and similar in price (although not quite as durable).

Have any tips or thoughts about on-board video?  Share the wealth in the comments section!

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