Gale Speed Type-R Wheels
There's no shortage of adjectives waiting to describe Kawasaki's ZX-14 hyper-bike, but with a hefty-boy wet weight of 563 pounds, "light" or any of its synonyms are not among the choices. To lighten up my personal ZX-14, I started by shaving some unsprung weight with a set of Gale Speed Type-R forged-aluminum racing wheels. Because forging results in a denser metallic structure than casting, the Japanese-made Gale Speed wheels feature much thinner walls than the stock Kawasaki wheels while saving weight and maintaining strength. And the Type-Rs are light: The rear wheel (with cush-drive) weighed-in at just 14.7 pounds and the front 9 lbs., compared to 19.5/12.1 lbs. for the stockers. An elegant cush-drive mechanism incorporated into the rear wheel relies on six full-size rubbers (to adequately isolate driveline lash) in a radically pared-down housing that further minimizes the material used. Another weight-saving feature is the partial hub. One common problem with forged wheels is the density of the material makes bigger parts (the hub, for example) weigh more than they need to for a given strength. Thus only the outer hub flange of the Gale Speed wheel is part of the main forging; the inner hub/bearing carrier is a separate (and much lighter) machined-aluminum piece that bolts into place to keep the hub weight as low as possible. Intelligent stuff. Everything about the Gale Speed wheels is top-line, as you would expect for wheels of this price: All wheel spacers are made from aircraft-grade 7075 alloy, the sealed bearings are name-brand Koyos and each wheel set comes complete with a hard-anodized 7075 AFAM rear sprocket (you specify the tooth count). Even the included valve stems (polished stainless) are bling, and the manufacturing tolerances are spot-on-all the holes for the rotors and sprocket line right up, and the wheels slide right into the swingarm and fork with no trouble, a perfect fit. We selected gold-a new color from Gale Speed-and it looks great against the ZX-14's factory Candy Thunder Blue paint. Other available colors include bronze (very close to the factory Kawasaki wheel color), gunmetal, pearl white, black metallic or polished-aluminum finishes. Best of all, you don't have to call Japan to get your own-Gale Speed wheels are now available in the U.S. through Tucker Rocky, so your local dealer should have no problem getting you a set for your sportbike.
Gale Speed Type-R Wheels
Price: $1888.90
Contact: Tucker Rocky
4900 Alliance Gateway Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76178
800.347.1010
www.powersportrider.com
Verdict
Light, gorgeous, functional and equipped with trick features like the weight-saving partial hub. Everything you want your big-bucks aftermarket wheels to be.
Alpinestars Alloy Jacket
When I find a piece of bike clothing I like, it gets worn to tatters. The Alloy jacket is one such item because it's black, plain and kinda simple; all boxes I prefer to tick when choosing my everyday motorcycle apparel. I've hounded this one day in day out for over 18 months and it's standing up well. It did go a little cardboard-like after a proper soaking, but has worn itself back in again just through use. I had to toss the elbow and shoulder armor to help the comfort factor (something else I tend to struggle with, but that's just me) so rendering it instantly a little less crash ready, though the sleeve zippers are still guarded by press studs. Full grain cow-1.2-1.4mm thick-is used all over and a removeable inner liner is included which is useful; without it the Alloy would be summer-wear only. At $400 it's not cheap, but it is good.
Alpinestars Alloy Jacket
Price: $399.95
Contact: Alpinestars
www.alpinestars.com
Verdict
A subtle, cool and well-made plain black leather bike jacket. How refreshing...
Sarge Industries Lightweight Bike Rack
I've never been much of a pickup fan. So to get Dr. Z, my Suzuki DR-Z400S, to where the dirt riding starts, I needed a way to haul it with our quickly decomposing Chevy Venture minivan. At General Motors, quality is apparently Job 11.
This rack cinches quickly to the van's hitch receiver with a trick no-slop pin, and its mostly aluminum construction makes it light enough to make attaching it not completely obscenity-generating.
The included aluminum ramp comes off with a twist of a couple quarter-turn fasteners and is plenty long for a light, tall dual-sport like the DR-Z. The bike gets tied down, front and rear, to aluminum crossbars, and once everything is cinched, the rig seems strong and stable enough to haul bikes weighing up to 400 pounds, as advertised.The neat gas-can carrier shown is a $34.99 option.
The only problem I've encountered is a function of our low-riding minivan: With the DR-Z on-board, the rack drags over dips, speed bumps and driveway transitions. On a taller SUV, pickup or full-sized van-the vehicles more generally used for bike hauling-this would be a non-issue. Sarge Industries says they're considering making a van-specific version with a raised bike channel, but until they do, minivan or sedan owners beware.
Sarge Industries Lightweight Bike Rack
Price: $319.99
Contact: Sarge Industries, Inc.
www.sargeindustries.com
Verdict
Turns any vehicle into a bike hauler-just watch those dips!