AGV GP-Tech Helmet Review Part 2

The AGV GP Tech helmet has a transparent face shield that enables the everyday motorcyclist, the helmet user, to observe his surroundings, allowing him to navigate his machine along the motorway at a fashionable pace. Lifting the face shield up a notch or two provides the user with added air intake, as well as greater auditory sensations. The helmet's interior is soft and comfortable. The helmet is not snell rated. DOT and Euro. This is a high end helmet. Up there in class with the Spec 1rs and the RX-7s.

Motorcyclists are weird about helmets and gear in general. Sportbike motorcyclists that is. They are described to other motorcyclists who also own helmets with a sense of mystery and awe, love and hate. A hated helmet is a nasty, evil thing, like a girl friend who cheats on you. The motorcyclist never forgets a hated helmet and will rarely give it a second chance. There's a cliff at Devil's Slide north of Half Moon Bay where angry young men go to purge their Hated Helmets, sacrificing these poor human artefifacts to the Devil by throwing them out to sea, hell.

I don't think I've ever heard two Hell's Angels discussing the pro's and cons of this type of leather vest over that one. "Well, I only buy Italian made fingerless gloves man. Only way to go, unless you can get them in roo skin. Those cheap Pakistani ones chafe my palms. Those aussies have more kangaroo than they know what to do with" Or, "Dirty Larry bought some Brown Wing vented waterproof sport work boots for the big Poker Run last year. He said he loves them!" grinning.

You just don't hear that kind of stuff. I don't, at least.

But put a bunch of sport bikers together and eventually, because there's usually not much else to talk about, gear qualities will be discussed.

All crashes happen quick. One second you were _____ (fill in blank) and the next you were sliding into a steal guard rail, skidding over two lanes to get there, at 60 miles an hour. Then silence. Then you try to move, only to find that your body parts are not in their original locations. Bones shift off their hinges, your jaw may feel like it's been repositioned a few centimeters to the left. Skin, that paper thin stuff that holds your insides together tears and opens up.

In this kind of scenario a good helmet is always nice to have, but really any helmet is nice to have in this kind of scenario.

If you've never crashed, or never run your mind through how it would be to crash, motorcycling may seem no different than riding a horse or going roller skating or swimming. Ahhh, the wind in your hair, the countryside slipping by, as you cruise at a brisk pace through rolling hills. When you crash, it's comparable to the feeling you might get some hot afternoon at the beach when you decide to go for a quick dip in the ocean to cool off, only to be chewed to death by a ferocious man eating shark.

future home page shot

i haven't quite figured out how to use this wes rowe photo just yet. this is one idea:

AGV GP-Tech Helmet Review Part 1

I rarely read product reviews these days. They are all advertisements and we know it- pure fantasy. On the other hand, there's the 'discussion forums' where you can read countless essays written by lonely males holed up in their mancaves about the products they've purchased, sharing with others the ins and outs of why the product they invested in is so great. Of course it's great, you bought it and you're actually wasting life hours writing about it. We beat our chests about the little gizmos and gadgets we've been able to scrounge up on our hunting and gathering missions out in the shopping wilderness. Heading back to camp with our gear speared on a stick- which is really a lonely little desk away from the kids or wife - we review the goods, inspect it, try it on, pose in action shots in front of the mirror, perhaps in our underwear, perhaps dressed up in our leathers in the garage. Then, as if to map out a terrain that no other fellow savage has explored, we set up to transpose our inner most thoughts on digital paper about whatever it is we just bought, signaling to other tribe members where to go and what to see along the adventure.

If you want to read a good helmet review of the AGV GP TECH helmet, click that link.

My story begins on HWY 85. Five o'clock, time to head home. With the Norton warming up, I sketched out a quick map in my head of where I might go, what indirect route would take me home this night, before collapsing in front of the TV to cool off from the day with a half bottle of wine, a pizza and a beautiful young woman named Morena- brown hair, dark eyes and tan everywhere, draped over me on the chaise lounge.

I slipped my AGV GP Tech helmet on, the Rose one, but just as I did, my cell phone rang. It was Johan, my Germano/Chinese business associate. I owed him money. "Where are you?" he piped. "I'm at Disneyland." I lied. "Last minute idea. We rode. I'm with Morena, rode all night and slept on the beach," I said. "Did you hear about the earthquake? Tens of thousands wiped off the face of the planet and the world goes on like nothing happened." The 2008 quake in China had just hit, thousands of people died. This just days after another 80,000 wiped off the earth from the Myanmar cyclone.

I hopped on the Norton, gave her a few threatening revs and head out onto the road. We motorcyclists have a small guy complex, we have to. We ride 300 lb motors with wheels attached with them at 70 mph in the middle of semi-trucks and madmen and women, drunks and blind people. We therefore need to pretend we 'own the road'. If we didn't you wouldn't see motorcycles on the road.

It was one of those days where the world on the freeway seemed off kilter, like it had an inner ear infection. These are deadly days to be out on any motorized vehicle let alone a motorcycle. I pulled out on to the freeway feeling like I'd just walked into a retard parade. Brake lights flashing without warning. Turnsignals left on, cellphone conversations going on in every car but one that I saw. Speed up, slow down, swerve this way, miss your lane, tail gating, rubber-knecking, going too fast in the slow lane, going to slow in the fast lane. It was a motorized vomit salad on wheels. My helmet was beginning to steam up a little, so I cracked the shield and adjusted the vents.

Those types of ridings days scare the crap out of me. It's not till I get into some open road that I decide to let it hang out. Duck on top the tank and crank the throttle back, superman style, a rolling bullet, up hill and in to some other zone of speed. It seems that at this speed others on the road lose consciousness of my presence. I'm out of their space zone. The helmet was quiet at speed.

In my rear view I noticed a mini cooper in hot pursuit on this open stretch of road. It's always a mini cooper buzzing behind me. This particular one I've seen before. All black, piloted by a long haired black haired damzel with dark sunglasses on, sitting low in her captain's chair, zeroing in on me. Squinting to concentrate on her and the road, it seemed to me that she was smiling as she stalked me. Was she chasing me? Was she madly in love? Did my ass really look that good that day?

I was told by a girlfriend a few years ago that women love to check out guy's asses on their bikes. Not something I'd thought about before.

She was luscious. I could see the red of her lips. Desire. Lust. I projected whatever lust energy I could back at her.

I slowed down a bit and she narrowed the gap some but kept her distance. What was she thinking? Would she stalk me to my house, patrol my street until I pulled off my helmet and make some lewd remark indicating the desire to get it on? That would be fine with me, but she'd have to be ready for a little threesome action with my girlfriend.

She eventually peeled off the road and re-entered the zone of the stop and go world. I was sure I'd see her again.

I saw a couple of bikes on the other side of the freeway heading the opposite direction. 3 bikes total. All of them gave the standard 'biker solute, a wave or a nod, one finger, etc. I've never understood this ridiculous practice, so I gave them my middle finger. I wouldn't say a word to most of these individuals at a cocktail party or newspaper stand. Why should I wave at you from 200 feet away while going 75 mph in the fast lane? That same nut who just waived to me will no doubt be the same jack who steels the helmet off my bike if left unattended, but some how you feel the need to waive to me? I really don't care if you're on a bike or car or on foot. You're just one more retard in the parade.

dispatched by James Hunt.


......... Part 1, in the Series AGV GP-Tech Helmet Review

Fifty Buck Helmets

On the chopping block today is the price of the venerable Z1-R STRIKE ZRP-1 helmet. Get them while they last for just fifty five bucks.

If you haven't heard about this helmet yet, you are likely either new to motorcycling, or, you have have been living in an ice cave some where near the North Pole studying ice shelfs peal off and explode into the Arctic.

The ZRP-1 is the one they have been talking about, blogging about, writing about for the past two years ever since Motorcyclist Magazine stirred the proverbial helmet debate pot with their helmet safety critique. The last time any magazine article caused this must controversy in the motorcycle industry, I think was that time that Cycle Planet Review did that skin abrasion safety testing on the top brands of ass-less leather chaps.

Yes, this is the one that received the BEST review in terms of actual safety. Ie. the most safe helmet among the 10 or so helmets reviewed. Other brands included Arai, Suomy, ICON, AGV, Scorpion and others. Put it this way, Z1R was in good company during this review and they didn't even break a sweat..

Not the most comfy helmet on the market, not the most chock full of gadgets and gizmos, but absolutely a great value. Buy seven and give yourself a helmet for each day of the week . Change them like underwear (they can get just as funky!). Whatever you want man.

TwoWheelSteals.com is rolling out some crazy deals on various close-out stuff up to 80% off.

Motostrano.com - main web store for all the new cool stuff.

Motostrano OUTLET is having a SPRING CLEANING sale on all kinds of odds and ends.

Alpinestars Motorcycle Clothing for Women

The 2008 Alpinestars clothing collection for women, to my mind, is one of the best we've seen to date from the Italy based company.

It's a unfortunate that such a great collection came to be in such a crappy economic situation for the world. Each day I talk to women who are pretty much disgusted with the stock at local shops for women sportbike clothing. "NOTHING" is used a lot for the quantity and quality of inventory at shops these days. Unfortunately, there's little a shop can do to actually stock or even sell women's clothing when the retail sector is so grim. To stock a varied selection and full size run of women's clothing in this market would be suicidal. The market is just too small.

Manufacturers too are trimming their options for women. The women's motorcycle clothing market is a tough one to crack and even tougher to maintain for manufacturers. We know because we see them squirm each year to try and figure out what women really want. Of course, it doesn't help matters that all this stuff is generally designed by men and often more for their own enjoyment rather than really protecting a women rider. Generally speaking (as in, I'm generalizing), nothing fits women, they typically only ride in warm dry weather and tend to come in and out of the sport quickly. A large part of the market are not riders at all, but passengers and a lot of poor products are designed only for the passenger, where as I can't think of a men's motorcycle clothing item that's designed specifically for those times when "he's a passenger".

Then there's the fashion side. One year pink is in, the next it's yuck. One season, the "Outlaw Slut" look may be en vogue and perfectly acceptable and the next season that stuff is passed up for more conservative and classic stuff.

Fortunately, there's always mail order. We often advise women to order at least 2 sizes of the same garment from us. Just return the item that doesn't fit (or both if neither fit) and save some time. Motostrano's return policy is among the best in the business when it comes to clothing.

From the 2008 Alpinestars line there are some unique garments worth checking out for women riders and women passengers:

• Our favorite jacket for 2008 is the Alpinestars NYC Jacket for women. Classic good leather jacket, fully perforated, clean cut. There's also a men's version if you need to match.
  
• Gotta admit, this jacket is not popular, but we still love the Alpinestars Stella Tokyo Jacket anyway and would like to see more women in it. It's bold, different and more like a high fashion jacket, with armor to boot. Fashion wise, it's ahead of its time.
  
• We used to hear it all the time "Why doesn't any one make a real track glove for women?" Well, now they do. Alpinestars does, with the Alpinestars GP Plus Gloves for women, so please buy this glove if you want it to be around next year. Good sales of this item will ensure that it's available in the future.
  
• Bootwise, Astars stamped out some high style boots that are for every day commuting and tooling around in the city. The Alpinestars Armada Boots and the Alpinestars Torre Boots are made of soft leather with a lot of attention paid to the style of these boots. Many women get freaked out about the race boot look. For those, these two casual riding boots are a great pick for something unique on the market that offers protection, comfort and style rolled into one.
  
• Of course, there is the hardcore, the gals that spit past the guys on twisties or on the track. For you there is the Alpinestars Julie Suit. Gotta say, this suit fits women nearly perfectly, as long as you're of "average build", whatever that means. The Julie is cut so well for curvey women. We haven't seen a girl's suit of this caliber off the rack. Great product.
  

2008 Supermoto Season

The 2008 Season de Supermoto has kicked off with the usual fanfare.

To me, the starting gun for Supermoto in the USA is Stateline.

Check out Supermoto this year in MOTO X, AMA and the S1 World Championship, plus all the local and regional series.

As usual, Motostrano is a supporter and supplier for Supermoto in all major series.

Latest Deals on Alpinestars

Some top selling and noteworthy Alpinestars products to check out:

1. Alpinestars Race Replica Suit $1599.00
   
2. Alpinestars S-MX 3 Gloves $22.95
   
3. Alpinestars Tech Race Undersuit $119.95
   
4. Alpinestars Spinner Jacket
   $266
   
5. Alpinestars DYNO Leather Jacket $207