Cult of Dualsport

Tires from Amazon?

The Pirelli MT 90 -- an 80% street tire, and not for me -- is the best selling dualsport tire from Amazon.com. The 80/90S-21is $57.99, while over at Tires Unlimited the same one is $69.15.

When did this happen? Tires from Amazon? It must have been during my recent hiatus. Also available are IRC, Bridgestone, Dunlop and Continental.

Sorry, nothing from Kenda, Cheng Shin, Maxxis, Michelin or Metzeler.

Where do you shop for tires?

d3o armor in Klim Adventure Rally Gear

Awhile back I was salivating over a pair of Klim offroad pants. Today I found the d3o Labs site.

d3o is an Intelligent Shock Absorbing material containing intelligent molecules that flow freely when moving slowly, but on shock lock together to absorb impact energy.

Check their FAQ page for more, and their product page where I saw the new Klim Adventure Rally Gear.

The team at Klim have spent the last 2 years developing the Adventure Rally Gear, which is possibly one of the most technically advanced products now on the market. Technical features include GORE-TEX fabrics including high performance GORE-TEX® SUPERFABRIC®, & LOCK-OUT™ closures; a fully integrated harness system; heat / abrasion resistant leather pannels in key locations; fully waterproof neck brace compatible collar; an integrated water baldder system and high capacity storage system. Last but by no means least is the inclusion of d3o™ intelligent shock absorption to the elbows, hips, knees, shoulders and back. All these features and the passion put into their making means this is truly phenomenal adventure riding gear.

Now this is a worthy addition to my armor research page.

Roost: Gizmag.

Knox Handroid Gloves

Cool. I won't bother explaining these gloves because I have nothing original to say about them. Check the links below for the limited information that is available.

Roost: Uncrate via Dvice via Gadget Heat.

Update: Hell for Leather has a bit more to say than the rest of the sites I found.

Update: Another article at Superbike.

And the Prizewinning Threefold Climb Goes to...

... the best dual sport motorcycle, the KLR 650!

It has traveled around the world and is bullet-proof. It is also the most comfortable of the big threefold climb motorcycles. With richness comes coefficient and it is not a bike you poverty to modify on a muddy hill in the region of nowhere.

The web site this comes from is so utterly lame that I just can't link to it. Whoever runs the site uses the word "poverty" an awful lot. Maybe he knows something I don't. (My idea of using the word "sex" in every post hasn't resulted in a million hits yet. Maybe I need to post photos of motorcycle babes...)

If you find yourself so curious that you MUST search for "threefold climb", be careful. My security software says some of the sites that use the term are very suspicious.

Body Armor Update: Equestrian Vests

Before I bought my Velocity Gear armor, I read about many different systems: rodeo vests, equestrian vests, motocross chest protectors, torso protectors, back protectors, etc. The goal was to find an integrated system of shoulder, chest, back, kidney and arm protection. Velocity Gear had an excellent back protector, all the other features I wanted, and was fairly inexpensive.

When my armor started showing signs of wear, I began more research on body armor. Go ahead and read that if you want, but I'll cut to the chase here:

The British Equestrian Trade Association has body protector standards that, to my unprofessional eye, seem to exceed the European Personal Protective Equipment standard.

One manufacturer in particular -- Charles Owen -- has caught my eye with the JL9 Body Protector and Collarbone Protection System.

There's no elbow and forearm protection, but many other manufacturers offer those. My main concern here is the total amount of torso protection -- and the motorcycle suits I've seen lack the full-torso protection offered by the best equestrian vests.

Someone with the Internet moniker of License2Ill has been posting on this topic all over the web. Search Google if you want. Here's a great thesis on back protectors in general, with info on equestrian vests and other stuff.

There is a horse rider's torso protector standard that takes the allowed force numbers down to the more apporpriate 4kN level, the BETA 2000 Level 3 standard. It uses 45kN of impact energy, but also requires chest, rib and clavicle coverage area. There's a couple of vests certified to that standard, and they may be a great alternative for better overall protection. The Tipperary Esprit and Jack Owens body protectors. The Esprit is relatively inexpensive at only $140. I don't know how well the extra clavicle coverage/straps will do in a more tucked position, but jockeys seem to wear them with no issues.

The Tipperary Esprit has had favorable reviews at AdvRider and other forums, but seems to be obsolete. Stores are stocking the Tipperary Air Esprit, but from what I can tell, that model lacks the higher BETA standard of the previous one.

Update on Body Armor Research

The page on Body Armor Research has been updated with information from the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales, which has a series of articles on Safer Equipment. I'll post some quotes, but you'll want to read it all yourself. Under Protection from Injury:

A German study of motorcycle crash casualties, found that riders wearing protective clothing spent less time in hospital, and returned to work on average 20 days earlier, than those who were not protected. The protected riders were also 40% less likely to have suffered a permanent physical defect. The authors concluded that protective clothing was significantly effective in preventing or reducing at least 43% of injuries to the skin and soft tissue and 63% of deep and extensive injuries (Schuller, 1986).

Make sure you check out the injury risk zones page for an interactive display of what gets injured and how often. This is great stuff.

Update: I just noticed that one of the MCNSW's Current Projects is The Good Gear Guide.

This is a guide for riders when buying motorcycle gear, on how to choose clothing that will help to keep them safe. The project is an initiative of the Australian Motorcycle Council and is funded by the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. The Guide is in development and expected to be released mid year.

XR650L not the best for this clod

From 2002, but still funny. Buying a Dual Sport.

Okay, let’s face it. Buying a dual sport motorcycle isn’t all that complicated. It ranks right up there with making Top Ramen on the degree of difficulty list. But some people still manage to screw it up.

Like me.

Yeah, I called him a clod. Feel free to call me names in the comments; I need the publicity. But before you do, check out the author's nickname. That will require you to read the whole thing or, at the very least, scroll to the bottom of the article. But it's a worthy read, so you won't be wasting your time.

All about the PCL, LCL, ACL and MCL

Eastern Dirt tells all. Which may prompt you to read this.

Researching Armor

My Velocity Gear armor (which has been replaced by a newer version) is wearing out after a couple seasons of hard use, and I'm looking for a replacement.

I'm doing some research, and will post my results soon. If anyone has a favorite rig, please post some details as a comment.

Update: I've begun an article on armor. It'll be updated as I discover more information.

EVS Ballistic vs. Cricket Machine

I'm looking for new armor and the EVS Ballistic Ultra is a consideration. Check out this video ... I don't know if this is the "best" body armor. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's not, but this might be the best video of testing the gear.

The challenge We took the BJ22 Ultra X Balistic Jersey (R1957 from EVS, www.evsgear.co.za) to a place where it could get a proper thrashing. The P&P indoor cricket arena offered a machine that can shoot slash balls at 90km/h. It’s like putting it through a motorbike accident every two seconds. The result Jody bravely took repeated hits to the body (ducking a few to the head). The impact areas on the vest (like the chest, shoulders, back, spine and elbows) definitely passed the test. The lesson The jersey will protect the indented parts of your body - the impact on the mouldings could hardly be felt. If you try it at home, just be sure the bowler has good aim.

Roost: Men's Health Buying Guide 2008