Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category

Exterior of Triple Nickel Diner with subtle roadside signage

There’s something about a good diner that makes a motorcycle rider feel like they’ve found the end of the rainbow—and at the Triple Nickel Diner in Chesterhill, Ohio, that rainbow ends in a plates of eggs, pancakes and burgers…Oh and homemade pie.

Talking with the staff the diner works to get as much as possible from the local community.  It is a real farm to folk operation.

Location: Triple Nickle Diner on Ohio 555

Nestled on High Street, just off the winding curves of Ohio State Route 555 (aka the “Triple Nickel”).  It can be easy to miss as their roadside sign blends into the local background a little too much. 

The diner is about 100 yards off the main road in Chesterhill. The parking lot was a mix of small gravel and cinder and is not much of an issue the average motorcycle rider.

This cozy roadside gem is more than just a pit stop—it’s a pilgrimage. If you’re riding the 555 and not stopping here, you’re doing it wrong.

The Food

This isn’t your kale-and-quinoa and small portions kind of joint. This is comfort food with a capital “C.” Again all locally sourced as much as possible.

Breakfast Highlights:

  • Eggs your way
  • Garden omelets
  • French toast made with locally baked bread

Lunch & Dinner Favorites:

  • Black Angus burgers
  • Bison burgers for the bold
  • Steak, lamb, and meatloaf—again, as local as it gets

On our visit, we rolled in for breakfast. I went with the egg, sausage, and jalapeño omelet, paired with toast and home fries. Fresh, flavorful, and exactly what a rider needs after a morning of throttle therapy.

Also, we know the pies are homemade, a guy in a pickup was delivering the pies while we ate.  Of course we had to try a slice of warm apple pie.

Overall Thoughts

The Triple Nickel Diner isn’t just a place to eat—it’s a place to arrive. It’s where the ride meets the reward, and where every bite feels like a high-five from the road itself. So next time you’re carving up the 555, make the stop. Your stomach—and your soul—will thank you.

BUT – Hours Matter: Closed Monday and Tuesday and opens at 11AM for lunch on Wednesdays. Plan accordingly or risk heartbreak.

When we tour, on the motorcycle, we carry a lot of cords, cables and power supplies to keep everything charged and working. Because of that, I am always looking for new ideas when it comes to charging electronic devices.

I saw this device on Amazon and thought… let’s try it out. With 2 AC plugs, 4 USB-C and 2 USB-B charging ports.

Stay tuned for a long-term review.

I ran across this article from SlashGear “EVERY MAJOR MOTORCYCLE HELMET BRAND RANKED WORST TO BEST IN NHTSA COMPLIANCE TESTING”. It is a very interesting list.

They ranked the top 14 helmet brands using the following methodology:

“To determine the best motorcycle helmet brands versus the worst, we’ve taken a look at brand compliance, meaning whether helmets pass rigorous testing standards by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and which safety standards their products meet or exceed, such as DOT, Snell, ECE, and others.”

I will summarize their top and bottom five.

Bottom 5                                           Top 5

HJC Helmets                                    #1 Arai

KLIM                                               #2 Shoei

Biltwell                                            #3 Bell

AGV                                                 #4 BILT

LS2                                                  #5 Schuberth

My personal helmets did not make the list… so somewhere in the middle? I HOPE!

Is your Motorcycle Helmet in the top or bottom 5?

santa gifts

Why just 9 ideas for your motorcyclist?  Because 10 is too much work!!  LOL

Your biker/motorcyclist, deep down, wants some motorcycle related stuff.  Any parts or accessories for the bike or new gear for them will likely work, but here are a few other items to think about. If you have some different ideas include them in the comments!

9 – Communication Gear – There are several options out there that will allow your motorcycle rider to talk to a group of other riders, listen to music or answer your phone call.  Sena and Cardio are two of the more popular brands.

8 – Battery Tender – Winter is coming and if your rider has to lock away the motorcycle a battery tender will keep the battery fresh all winter.  preparing motorcycle for winter | I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!!.

7 – Cleaning equipment – Take a look at your riders cleaning equipment.  Does it look worn and tattered? Consider replacing their current equipment for new cleaning equipment.  For those times you just want to clean the bike quickly between rides I use and recommend Bugslide.  I am not paid by, but I do endorse Bugslide.

6 – Recording equipment – A GoPro or similar type of device to record their rides.

5 – New riding gear – Do their riding gloves look ratty?  What about their boots or jackets?  Now might be a good time to gift them with new motorcycle riding gear.

4 – Motorcycle related books – There are a lot of them out there.  I just finished reading the memoir of Willie G. Davidson, grandson of the founders of Harley Davison. You can read my review here.

3 – Their bike on something –  and I am not talking about crack or meth.  There are a lot of companies that will take a photo of their motorcycle and put it on mugs, pillows, t-shirts and even make it into a 3d Christmas ornament.

2 – Custom Dynamics Motorcycle Lights – Custom Dynamics makes SUPER BRIGHT, eye catching lights for many motorcycle models. I suggest their ProBeam LED Motorcycle Turn Signals!  I have had them on 3 motorcycles and highly recommend them.  As before, I am not getting paid to promote these motorcycle lights, I just believe in them.

1 – Membership – Motorcyclist need to make sure their rights are not trampled upon.  There are two good groups that help preserve those rights.  Sign your rider up for either or both!

American Motorcycle Association – Membership does not only help in the political arena but also include discounts on products and emergency towing.  The AMA is the largest motorcycle lobbyist group.

Motorcycle Rider Foundation – In addition to their pro-motorcycle lobbying efforts membership will get you a $4000 AD&D insurance policy and regular weekly/monthly updates on what is going on in Washington DC.

*****

Ride On, Ride Safe

“Ride Free” is a memoir by Willie G. Davidson, the grandson of one of the founders of Harley-Davidson. The book is a personal history of Harley-Davidson and a man who poured his life force into it. It is more than an autobiography, as it also provides insight into the company’s history, told from Davidson’s unique perspective. He does a wonderful job recounting his memories of family and events that shaped his life and the Harley Davidson motorcycles and the company.

Ride Free is an intimate, personal history of Harley-Davidson and a man who poured his life force into it. The first-person account of how the motorcycles evolved and how the company survived and thrived are riveting at times. His role in changing how the company designed and built motorcycles and his role in advancing the technology of the company.

His point of view tale of how Harley Davidson survived under AMF and how they bought the company away from AMF provided a version of the story I had not heard before.  That alongside stories of the development of iconic motorcycles like the “Wide Glide” and “Fat Boy” make the book a page turner.

Whether or not you are a fan of Harley Davison this is an enjoyable read.  The story of a man that dedicated his life to his family business, started by his grandfather and uncle, and sustained by his father, is worth your time.

I have a favorite motorcycle jacket, a Harley Davidson “Switchback” that is now ten years old. When I put it on to ride Howard’s Twisted Tongue, I noticed the elbow armor was broken into several pieces.

This jacket has been great for three season motorcycle riding.  It has a zippered, removable textile cover that, when on, provides good wind protection as well as some basic rain protection.  When the cover is removed it is a mesh jacket for those warm to hot days.  There are pockets for elbow, shoulder and back armor built into the jacket.

The modern version of this jacket has zipper vents where you have roll up the vent covers. It looks stupid and is a stupid design.

When I took a closer look at the broken elbow armor, I also noticed that the other armor was breaking apart as well.  The armor that came with the jacket was CE level 1 and was now past it use by date. I needed to replace this motorcycle armor as soon as possible.

I had to go to my local Harley Davidson dealership to find out where they are with a motorcycle I would like to buy and while I was there, I noticed that they had replacement armor for sale.  One trip solved my armor issue, I still have an issue regarding the new motorcycle though.

The new armor is also CE Level 1 but is radically different than what came with the jacket 10 years ago.  The old armor was very thick and not very flexible.  The new armor is very thin and highly flexible.  The documentation stated that upon impact it becomes hard and absorbs the impact, I hope I never have to find out.

During all this I also noticed that the mesh seam under the right arm was coming apart. A trip to the local seamstress fixed that problem.  My favorite motorcycle jacket is showing its age, I wish I could find another motorcycle jacket with the same features.

*****

Ride on, Ride Safe

motogirls   Kevlar pants  armor

PRO

+ Comfortable

+ So much easier to get on the motorcycle, their stretchy.

+ Pants arrived in 2 days

CON

–  When the weather gets hot and sticky, the pants can be hard to get off.

–  Your foot can slip into the armor pocket

–  Sizing chart is a bit confusing.

My wife has been looking for armored motorcycle pants for a while.  What she really wanted was armored motorcycle pants made for women. 

She tried several brands and did not care for them as they were too “masculine” in appearance.  I don’t think that anyone can say Sherrie Leggings by MotoGirls has a manly appearance.

My wife purchased the Sherrie Leggins form Wind and Throttle which advertises the leggings as breathable and moisture wicking mesh lining, that helps let air circulate to increase ventilation so you can cool down and get rid of sweat more quickly. There are that, until you are off the bike and without the airflow to help evaporate the moisture.  It can be a struggle to get them off when they are damp or wet after a rain storm.

By the way my wife was also very happy with the folks behind Wind and Throttle! She told me they were very easy to work with and were quite accommodating before and after the sale, that she will be buying more from them in the future.

As far as armor is concerned:

  • CE & UKCA Certified Garment – AAA rated.
  • CE-Approved Level 2 knee protection
  • CE-Approved Level 2 hip protectors 
  • Heavy duty, stretchable and abrasion resistant
  • High Impact areas reinforced with 100% genuine DuPont™ KEVLAR® fiber

My wife has been riding with these leggings for about six months now and really likes them a lot.  She likes them enough that she is likely to get an additional set in the coming months.

*****

Ride On, Ride Safe

The Moment Collector is an anthology of short stories from motorcyclists traveling the world. The collector of these stories is Sam Manicom, himself a world traveler on two wheels.

Sam collected twenty tales from intrepid motorcycling travelers. As with all anthologies some stories are more engrossing than others, some writers are better than others. Yet overall, I enjoyed the book greatly.

I was familiar with a few of the authors, Tim Notier for example, but most were new to me. Mr. Manicom provided each writer’s social media information with their stories. A subtle but impactful touch that allowed me to see more about each of them.

As noted above, it is difficult for any collection of stories, or moments, to have every tale a hit. I am giving this book a 4-Star review because it is an anthology and not all the stories were great.

However…. It should be part of your motorcycle book library!

Ride On, Ride Safe

Other books of Sam Manicom I have reviewed: Tortillas and Totems

Full disclosure Sam authored a guest post on this blog, and I paid for this book and was not paid for the review.

I reviewed an earlier version of the Bilt Iron Workers Kevlar motorcycle pants way back in 2013. The older version received a 4-star rating, but these pants have been improved over the years.

The new Iron Workers Kevlar pants are available in several colors, I purchased the khaki version.  They were more brown than khaki but acceptable.  I read that the sizing was running a little small, so I bought one size up from my normal and it worked out well, a good fit.

They look more like casual office pants than any of the other motorcycling pants I currently own.  With the knee pads removed it would be even more difficult to discern they are motorcycle-based clothing.

Speaking of knee pads, the Bilt Iron Workers Kevlar pants have an external zipper that allows for “easier” access.  I placed “easier” in quotes as it can still be a bit of a struggle to get them in and out, but it is much better than turning the pants inside out to access the armor pockets. This is a plus over many other pants I own.

While the Bilt pants come with armor for the knee they do not come with hip armor, luckily, I have several extra pairs.  Unlike the knee armor the hip armor is not as easy to insert or remove.  The pocket openings face the outside pant leg, and it can be a bit of a struggle to put the armor in place.  Once the hip armor is installed, they are comfortable and snug. This is about the same as other pants I own.

After riding in these pants for a few thousand miles, I have to say I like them quite a bit. While heavy they are not too hot in the heat, and they have some decent wind breaker qualities that help in the cool weather.

The cargo pockets are secured with heavy-duty Velcro and, wow, it is some really heavy-duty Velcro. It can be a bit of an effort to pull the pocket open.  You will not need to worry about the cargo pockets coming open during your ride!  The regular pockets are just regular pockets. This is a plus over other pants I own.

The only downside and it does not impact my rating is the hip armor pockets, they could be better with a pocket opening facing the inside of the pant with a Velcro closure. Some people might complain of the limited use of the Kevlar lining but there is a price point consideration. 

For their price these are very good motorcycling pants.

The Born Free Motorcycle Show is one of the best chopper jamborees around.  It always gets the coolest and craziest choppers to attend and show off. DicE Magazine covered the show and produced a “Coffee Table” picture book all about the bikes at the show.  

At 300 pages of the coolest motorcycles, choppers, bobbers, racing and culture pictures the book is fun to flip through.  The creativity of some of the builders is hard to believe.

This book will grace my coffee table for quite a while.