Posts Tagged ‘product review’

Ijustwant2ride.com

It all just rolls up into itself, quite neat!

In an earlier post, I discussed and reviewed the Bone Dry Motorcycle Seat Cover, you  This is an update to that initial product review.

We have been using the Bone Dry Motorcycle Seat Cover for over a year.  It has been used not only to keep the seat dry from rain/dew but also to keep the seat from frying our behinds on hot sunny days.

This year during our motorcycle vacation the seat cover got more then it’s fair share of use and abuse.  If you viewed the blog posts of our vacation, you will quickly find out that it rained on us A LOT.  The Bone Dry Seat Cover lived up to its sales’ pitch, if the seat was dry when we put the cover on it was dry when we took it off.

After a year of use I stand by my initial review 100%.  This product is worth your money. It has held its color, stitching is still in good shape and it still keeps the seat of the motorcycle dry. Below is a video of me removing the seat cover after a night of multiple storms

 

 

This is a solicited product review.  For more reasons then I care to explain, I should have had this product review completed a couple months ago but just now getting it posted.  A video review is at the bottom.

ijustwant2ride.com

Viking Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket by MotorcycleHouse.com

I have been using the Viking Cycle Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket from MotorcycleHouse.com  for about 2, 3, 4 months.  I have used the jacket in temperatures from 56F to 98F, but I have not been caught in a rain storm as of yet. That last note is a bit of a surprise, with the number of rainy days we have had lately and my propensity for getting caught in the rain.

My unboxing and initial thoughts video on this jacket is available here. You can watch the video below for my full thoughts and comments but here are the major pros and cons for the Viking Cycle Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket:

Pro

– Comfortable, the armor has not created any “hot spots” during any ride.

– Lots of pockets.

– Good ventilation below 90F.

– Well made, stitching looks like it will hold for years.

Cons

– The built in phone pocket will not hold most phones.

– Ventilation over 90F was poor with jacket zipped up.*

The (*) asterisk regarding the ventilation may be due to the type of motorcycle you ride while wearing this jacket.  In my case I wore the Viking Cycle Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket primarily while riding my Harley Davidson Ultra Classic.  It may be that the large faring, even with fairing vents open, just could not push enough wind into the vents of the jacket.

When I rode my Harley Davison Heritage Softail on hot days I did notice that there seemed to be more airflow through the jacket, when zipped up.  I am not saying that full fairing riders should avoid the Viking Cycle Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket; I am saying take into account what you ride when buying any motorcycle jacket.  Also, unzipping the jacket by 50% on those hot days pretty much solved the problem anyway.

As far as the phone pocket on this motorcycle jacket, there are enough other pockets to put your phone that there is no real concern, just that they labeled one for your phone that will not hold a phone.   I had no issues running ear buds from a different interior pocket or an external chest pocket.

All in all the Viking Cycle Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket is a well-made and functional jacket. I debated myself on the number of stars to award this product with the ventilation concern being the difference between 4 and 5 stars.  But, with that said, the vast majority of people do not ride behind a faring as large as the Ultra Classic.  In the end I decided to go with 5 stars due to the overall build quality of the jacket. If you are looking for a jacket of this type I can recommend you consider the Viking Cycle Enforcer Motorcycle Jacket.

I think this will be my primary motorcycle riding jacket for quite a while.

5 star

 

 

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Front side of Bilt Kevlar Pants

I bought a pair of Bilt’s Kevlar riding pants early this season (March 2013).  There were half off in a sales circular from Cycle Gear.

I have worn these pants as often as not on my rides Debbie and I have taken this year.

On the plus side:

* They are comfortable, after the first washing.

* In the heat of summer they were no worse than a pair of heavy denim jeans.

* In cool weather they cut the wind a bit (in the areas that have the Kevlar reinforcement).

On the minus side:

* The fit was OK, the legs were a bit long for me and they are not designed to allow for easy hemming with the Velcro cuffs.

* The kneepads sat well when riding but (due to length of the legs) fell below my knees and rubbed when I walked. I ended up removing the armor as it was very uncomfortable when I was off the bike.

On the Cycle Gear website the pants receive a 4.1 out of 5 rating and 4 is what I am giving them as well.  Let’s hope I will never have to review them post use!

All in all I like these pants enough to consider getting a second pair.

4 out 5