Harley-Davidson Motorclothes
No one but no one offers a wider variety of riding gear than Harley-Davidson. For example, check out the new Trail Blazer Full Face Helmet, which features a fiberglass shell with forehead and chin vents, removable cheek pads, a soft inner comfort liner and flame graphics. DOT-approved, it comes in men's sizes XS-XXL for $175. Or the new Tenacity Leather Jacket, which combines classic style with modern features such as venting, padding, inside/outside pockets, reflective piping and leather/embroidered graphics; men's regular sizes S-XXXL and tall sizes L-XXXL, $375-$415. Then there are the FXRG Gauntlet Gloves, made of drum-dyed black leather with a waterproof Gore-Tex liner, polycarbonate-reinforced knuckles and finger pads, accordion palms and a built-in rubber thumb squeegee; men's sizes S-XXXL, $120. And finally Brake Light Boots, constructed with full-grain black-leather uppers, double-zip entry, full-cushion sock linings, oil-resistant rubber outsoles, Goodyear soles and Harley logos on the sides; men's sizes 6-13, $119.
http://www.harley-davidson.com

Vanson SOLR Jacket

Words: David C. Walsh Photo: Vanson

Why, leather legends Vanson wondered, do some riders dress in such dark colors that motorists can't even see them while others' hi-viz vests make them look like refugees from a construction site? Enter an innovative compromise: the SOLR leather jacket, which literally glows in the dark. Forget the science-it'll make your teeth hurt. Just imagine some fairy dust has been sprinkled on, since that's the effect.

Fieldsheer Warrior Gauntlet Gloves
My new Fieldsheer gloves weren't comfortable right away. That took about five minutes. They slipped on smoothly and stayed that way, with no liner bunching, intrusive inner seams or pinching. Pre-curved fingers help, as does the intelligent design and construction.

Ducati Puma 1000
Resembling the bindings on Shawn White's snowboard, these race-ready boots boast something Puma calls the Ghost Doctor-a system of hinges and stops that help keep ankle movement from reaching the medically defined "angles of no return." The vibrant red color matches any year Ducati and is guaranteed to anger the 'Busa bulls as you flash past your local sportbike watering hole. The $410 boots are also available in black or silver.
www.ducati.com

It's one of those motorcycling truisms most long-time enthusiasts know well: The only folks who pooh-pooh electric clothing are those who've never had their shivering, freezer-burned butts saved by the stuff.

Motorcycles can be rolling Frigidaires. Combine cold and/or wet conditions with a 70-mph windblast and you've got a first-class frostbite generator. But a simple flick of a switch can transform a frigid flog into...if not a summer day's ride, at least a tolerable trek.

After hours of humping boxes and furniture, the movers packed the truck front to back and top to bottom-which left no room for my Kawasaki ZX-10R. Not wanting to leave it as a play toy for West Coast vacations, I shipped it east using JC Motors' Motorcycle Transport service. JC Motors began shipping bikes in 1994, and after more than a decade of learning the business, designing its own shipping pallets and partnering with North American Van Lines, it transported more than 6000 motorcycles last year.

To balance all the blue-sky mining in this issue, it only makes sense to feature some of the futuristic, high-tech gear/hardware out there. Although there's plenty of cool prototype bits and pieces bubbling just below the for-sale surface and due to come to market in the next 12 months, we've opted to highlight only the stuff you can buy right now. Well, heck, you're very welcome. We do it all for you.

You can bolt, lock, chain and alarm your motorcycle to a faretheewell, you can tie rabid pit bulls to it, even booby trap it with poisonous vipers, but it won't make any difference. The cold, harsh truth is that if thieves really want your bike, they're gonna get it.

Women's Transformation Jacket
Wanting to be protected and look the part for my moto-training (pg. 98), I looked to Harley-Davidson Motorclothes for gear. I wore the Women's Transformation Jacket with Switchback Technology-basically a water-resistant nylon jacket with zip-off panels to create a mesh jacket with plenty of airflow. The Transformation includes a zippered front, a removable waterproof liner, handwarmer pockets and removable body armor in the shoulders and elbows. An adjustable waist and action back, reflective piping and embroidered Harley-Davidson graphics front and back complete the look. The Transformation is really three jackets in one: (mostly) waterproof with the liner in place; a cold-weather jacket with the panels on; a summer jacket with the panels off and armored in any configuration for max protection. The venting kept me cool as a cucumber in the blazing July sun, and removing and replacing the panels was a breeze even for my spatially challenged brain. The Women's Transformation Jacket is available in black only at Harley-Davidson Dealers and retails for $275-$290.

When art aficionados describe classic works, they use adjectives such as genius, beauty and avant-garde. Gear-heads are more likely to use these terms to describe treasures such as the LeoVince SBK Corsa exhaust.

There are many ways in which performance gloves can come up short. Fit issues, pressure points and inadequate protection to name a few.

Sidi Scorpion Boots

Where riding gear is concerned, you've generally got two choices: affordable, value-oriented stuff that serves the purpose but may not endure the long run; and higher-end, feature-packed apparel that's way functional, way durable-and way pricey.

Cortech Backpack
Make the trek to the USGP a breeze with the unimaginatively named Cortech Backpack. Constructed from 1680 denier ballistic nylon, this durable pack features a padded helmet carrier for paddock strolls, an interior pocket for a Camelbak hydration system or iPod/MP3 player along with mesh side pockets and plenty of inner storage. The front compartment is big enough for your weekend duds, and the ergonomic shoulder and waist straps and ventilated back padding will keep you comfortable for the duration. The rubberized handle makes it easy to tote off the bike. It comes in black only for $79.99.www.helmethouse.com

QAfter seeing the Buell ZTL (Zero Torsional Load) braking system and riding one of their bikes at a demo-day recently, I'm wondering why all the bike manufacturers don't adopt this system. From an engineering standpoint it seems to be the way to go by drastically reducing unsprung weight and simplifying the system. I wasn't able to fully test the benefits since it was a group ride, but I would love to know your opinion on the benefits and drawbacks.Tony LaMatina
Victorville, CA

Inconspicuous it's not. Get used to being asked if you're on reconnaissance for the Bundeswehr or a Dakar Rally combatant gone astray. BMW's Rallye gear commands a sort of anxious respect among the civilian populace, especially if it's splattered with mud, sweat and interesting insect remains. We don't mind the attention, but you've been warned. Actually, it's less suit and more personal bivouac. Once inside, you're ready for anything short of a coup d'tat.

Now that women are finally being recognized as riders and not just passengers, apparel manufacturers are outfitting them in the latest in style and protection. So whether gals are hanging out at bike night, strafing the canyons or just sightseeing on back, there's a leather jacket that's made just for them. Take a look at some of the latest wares.

Sidi Scorpion Boots
I've worn these Sidi Scorpion boots a lot over the previous six months and am pretty pleased with them. They're sturdily built, a lot more protective than you'd think and certainly a lot more so than a pair of trainers. That's why I like 'em as much as anything; they offer reasonable protection and you can wear 'em around the office without the clump-clump-clump of regular bike boots and minus the ensuing chafes and blisters. Having said that, they do tend to nip me ankles a bit toward the end of a long day's hoofing.

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.

Crystal Clear
Race-oriented Hotbodies pragmatically pitches its outrageous, see-through bodywork as a boon for budget-obsessed club racers: Apply your $5 Krylon paint job to the inside of the bodywork, the company says, and it will look for all the world like you have a big-bucks paint job under a mile of clearcoat-and be practically impossible to scratch, too. But we suspect the real market for these pieces (available in clear or smoke and made from the same high-impact acrylic as the company's windscreens) will be the Bike Night crowd, who will leave them unpainted to better show off their chrome oil filters and neon underlighting.
www.hotbodiesracing.com

Look, Ma, No Stands
We're big fans of ride-in wheel-stands, whether used for parking centerstand-free motorcycles upright in cramped garages, sportbikes in the pits at races or track days or facilitating simple maintenance tasks. There's no arguing the convenience of the ride-in concept, so we paid attention when the new WheelDock SportDock was said to offer a unique feature that made it the best such unit on the market.

Put It On Vibrate
Once you lure that lovely lady from the park bench to your pillion, seal the deal with a surreptitious buzz in the britches courtesy of Vibe-Rider, the world's first (and hopefully only) sex toy meant to be hidden inside a motorcycle seat. Consisting of a small electronic stimulator connected to a control box, the Vibe-Rider operates in unison with the engine-the more you rev it, the harder it pulses.

Spidi Admiral H2out Suit
For 25 years, the one-piece Aerostich Roadcrafter textile oversuit has been in a class of its own. That changed recently when Spidi introduced its astonishingly similar Admiral suit. Like the Roadcrafter, the Admiral's Fastwear neck-to-ankle zipper lets you step into the suit's right leg and then snug yourself inside with two quick zipper pulls. The Italian suit's construction is also comparable, with a waterproof Cordura outer layer and windproof inner liner, plus armor, pockets, vents and reflective panels in most of the same locations. The main improvement is the Admiral's more tailored fit, thanks to its Micrometric adjustable neck closure, sleeve and waist belts, pleated flex panels above the knees and clever fold-out panels that extend the back of the pant legs when in an aggressive sport-riding position.

You could canvas every outdoor outfitter, sporting-goods outlet and Army/Navy surplus store in a tri-state area to equip yourself for this adventure-touring business. But for those who'd rather ride than shop, pick up catalogs from Aerostich/Riderwearhouse (www.aerostich.com) and Touratech USA (www.touratech-usa.com) and blow a huge hole in your VISA card with one simple transaction.

We wear commuting and sport-riding gear pretty often around here, which means it's probably a good time to review something different. A set of touring duds, perhaps? Perfect, because I had the opportunity to try out a set of trek-oriented gear during our fourth-annual Alps Challenge Tour through the Italian Dolomites and Austria's Tyrolean region last fall. Most of this is all-weather gear, which means it's a collection that can be used during the winter even by those of you in the upper half (read: the frozen part) of the country, especially with the addition of warmer (and waterproof) gloves and an electric vest.