I always look into the latest J.D. Power Associates study for helmets and other items. They have a very clear criteria when it comes to motorcycle helmets, its based on a 1000 point system and owners of these helmets are surveyed. 11 key areas which affect helmet scoring:
- quietness
- ventilation/air flow
- de-fogging
- face shield ability to keep wind out
- face shield ability to resist scratching
- ease of replacing face shield
- scratch resistance of shell
- color/graphic design
- weight
- ease of fastening the strap
- comfort/fit.
Arai has been the number one for the past 10 years in a row. I have to say that I am one of there very satisfied customers. Arai comes in first at 819 points, and Shoei in second with 816 points. I always recommend both Arai and Shoei, and I also recommend Scorpion as an alternative to the usual brands.
Ranking:
- Arai
- Shoei
- Icon
- Scorpion
- Harley-Davidson
- Nolan
- KBC
- Bell
- Fulmer
Link: Clutch&Chrome
Now this is one unique machine, if I’m not mistaken it is built with a Buell engine and pretty much everything else is custom made. The rims are from a V-Rod but the body parts are hand crafted meant for use in high speed tests. The look of this machine tickles my curiousity, I wonder how it handles and feels, wouldn’t mind getting my leg over one but since its custom there probably won’t be that many of them on the road.
Link: Krugger
I called up Tristar around 5 pm to tell them about the problem I was having with Robo, something was most probably wrong with the clutch. I was loosing pressure at the clutch so I wasn’t sure what was going on, but something was not working right. I missed riding Robo so I was annoyed that everything wasn’t in perfect running condition.
They said they would pick up the bike next morning to take to the shop, and see what is going on. I thought that would be fine, I would have my bike back in a day or two. Around 5:45pm I get call from the Tristar driver who was at the door of my house here to pick up Robo. Instead of the morning he arrived in less then one hour to my house which is great. They took the bike and I was just hoping to have the machine fixed as soon as possible. Then the next day around 1 pm I get a call telling me they fixed my bike and it is on its way to be delivered to my home, I don’t think there is anything possible they could have done better. The part was replaced under warranty, it was fixed in less then 24 hours and I will be able to ride Robo as he was before.
I haven’t been out on Robo for some time now, and around 6:20 pm I felt like going for a ride. It was still a bit sunny and not too warm, with dust clearing up. I knew that their might be some kinks in the K1200R, any time I park it for some time I know the clutch is going to be a little bit off. I started the bike, let it warm up for about 10 minutes. Got my gear on and went out, I wanted to drive down wide open spaces and enjoy myself.
As I was riding the gear felt a little stiff, and I knew it wasn’t the gear box since they just changed the gear box completely. I was having the same issue where it would get really stiff after a long ride and that would make it really difficult to change gears. That really knocked my confidence down when I was going around the corners because I couldn’t have it the gear I wanted around the corner. It got a little better after riding, and I was enjoying myself since I was getting some cool breeze. After some time the gear box would be stiff again so I took Robo back home and parked. I did enjoy riding but not as much as I would have liked, it was a nice change of pace. I’m going to look for a small tripod that I can carry with me so that I can take some decent night pictures, I had some nicer shots but the blur is just driving me nuts.
It has been an interesting day, a bit on the sad side, so I thought a change of venue would do. Called up Monichum to see if he was up for a ride right around sunset, he was up for it. So we got ready, and 20 minutes later we were at the Miseela gas station filling up our tanks, mine was almost empty. We knew that everything was shutdown for the day, and Monichum told me the 2nd ring road and the sea side are packed every inch with cars so we should avoid that area. We decided to head down Bida’a for bit, and when passing by the palms it looked dead up front then heading down the street the it looked like traffic was at a complete standstill, we decided that we would head back at any sign of traffic. We took the U-turn and came back, even at Arjan/Chic everything was shutdown.
He said he heard that the Starbucks at the airport was open, since we just wanted something cold to drink we might as well try. We kept getting texts from people to avoid certain areas from traffic, but the 6th ring road was fun as usual and the airport road was lots of fun. We got to the airport parked our bikes in an open area. I think they should start fining people for parking in handicap without a plaque, just like the states a $250 fine would keep you out of that spot for sure. We even told two people not to park their cars there, it pisses me off.
So we went inside the airport and it was packed, it even smelled bad at the entrance. Once you get in you can breath, and to our surprise the Starbucks was open. As we were walking to it we kept saying hello to people we knew, and they were just going there instead of staying home. We left after finishing the cold drinks, the funny part is I think we spent more time saying hello to people then sitting there. We wanted to be riding but we needed a cold drink and a quick stop, and as it turned out the Starbucks at the airport was the only one.
I haven’t been able to ride for over a month now due to the orange sand storms we have been having recently. The last week and a bit I have been tempted to go riding, but I haven’t had the chance. Monichum has been running his errands or going to the gym at night for the last couple of days. I had one thing to do before riding, so I headed towards TriStar, I wanted to check something.
I haven’t been on my 1098S for a while now, but Pyro started right up. I rode like a demon to the showroom, I think its because I missed riding so much. With a twin like the Ducati you feel a little heat between your legs, but its worth it because I was having so much fun. I was having fun and being a bit reckless, but I calmed down after a bit. There is nothing I love more then the torque of a V-twin coming out of a corner. After Tristar me and monichum had something cool to drink before heading home, there isn’t a lot of riding we can do at night during a work week. The one thing I get annoyed with is trying to take good pictures at night, I would need a tripod and I can’t really carry a tripod with me in my back pack.
An 1190 CC bueaty that has been causing the people and press to be in awe of it. I have been reading review after review of this machine, and they all say the same thing. After four years in development, it seems KTM has gotten it right from the get go. A precise machine which is fun to ride and beautiful lines which makes it stand out from the crowd. I do like the the color scheme of KTM and they type of power they have with their V-Twins. In the words of many from the press “Comfortable as a Beemer, Rides like a Ducati”. I can only imagine how that feels, you know something is wrong when you dream about this machine.
Link: KTM
Having the right protection when riding is essential for your long term health. A life threatening injury can be reduced to a bruise or a recoverable broken bone just by having the right type of protection. Those who ride without any protection are putting themselves at risk thinking that nothing will really happen. Minimizing that risk even if its a small amount is the main reason to be wearing this kind of armor.
Going into the product itself, Forcefield are known to be one the best manufacturers of rider protection in the market. I picked up their Limb Tube Armor for my knees since the Alpinestars I had felt very uncomfortable around my knees and would get itchy after a while.
The design of the armor itself is very smart, you slip it on like a sock so it is around your knee the whole time. It does move around slightly when you are walking but you can strap it even tighter to make sure that doesn’t happen, but I prefer to use it without the strap since the back of my knee might get itchy. Right now it I wear it everytime and I have gotten used to its comfort around my knees.
The protection is made from an impact resistant honeycomb design which spreads the impact so that your knee takes the least amount of damage. The protection is from above your knee, half way down your shin and it fits snugly on to you. The is one of the highest quality armor I have seen used and it is well worth it.
Price: £45
Link: Forcefield
Rating:
Up at 6:30 am trying to get out of bed to enjoy the nice cool Friday morning. My phone kept ringing since Monichum and Vampire were up earlier then me as usual. I tend to stay up late when they sleep in to wake up earlier, I’m always the last one to get there. We had a full day planned ahead of us, I filled up gas at the Miseela gas station as usual, and you could see a few bikers on the road. Then headed straight to Bida’a Starbucks which seems to be open at 6 or 7 even on a Friday morning. It was perfect start to the morning, I get my Raspberry Frappacino and doughnut since I was starving.
We were heading to Bnaider to meet up with a friend, we were supposed to go have lunch at his beach house but we all had things to do. So we decided to take the route there and enjoy the ride, we were having a blast flying around at such a high speed on the empty roads. The funny part is that I haven’t been to Bnaider in sometime to visit someone. We got there in 45 minutes taking our time, we got there around 9:20 am and it took 10 minutes to find the Beach House based on his elaborate directions. Finding the beach house wasn’t too hard, but we got to the sea side he was sailing with a friend. Now that looked like it was fun, they were on this sail that was moving at a good pace.
We talked for a while, and it seems he will be getting a bike very soon, so we might have a fifth join us very soon. We left the Beach house around 10:15 to make it to our breakfast appointment at 11:00 am at Marina with some of the guys, we took off flying down the highway. I switched bikes with Monichum, he took Pyro and I rode his 749S, Ducati knows how to make Sports Bikes. I was enjoying the ride and I lost 95% of my restrictions riding like a nut case on this light machine, it made it very easy to turn and cut around traffic. We were flying to Marina, and it took us about 37 minutes to get there from Bnaider, we would have gotten there faster if it we all didn’t run out of gas and had to stop at Manguf to fill up gas. I’m just happy I remembered that they had green gas. When we stopped at Marina the BMW Motorcycle Club just got there, so we joined them for a bit before changing table to order our food. After all that intense riding all morning we were starving.
I haven’t been able to ride Robo for some time now due to the small issues I have been having with it. Everything was running perfectly except for the gear box and I didn’t have a clue why that was happening. I got a call from Tristar telling me that they made claim with BMW for my gear box since I got the first generation K1200R, and the gear boxes have had three revisions.
They got a new gear box this week after a two week delivery from BMW Motorcycles. I got back my bike on Thursday afternoon after they picked it up on Sunday, and I took the machine out for a spin as soon as I got home. The gear box is so much smoother and I loved pushing the machine hard around corners, the gear box is still a little clunky but that is what BMW motorcycles are known for, a slight bump when changing gears but so much smoother then before. With the old gear box I wouldn’t be able to shift if I was riding a long distance in one gear for a while, so I would have to pump the clutch lever to force it to change, but not its a lot better. I can’t wait to go for a long ride on Robo.