A new year, a new array of trendy motorcycle products hit the market. Fresh options—helmets, add-ons, bike accessories, and more—provide plenty of choice, but also leave riders with a peculiar conundrum. Which options are worth the investment? What’s just hype? What’s affordable? What’s quality? The following overview is all about sorting through the filler and getting straight to the heart of the matter: recently released riding attire and bike add-ons that are worth the serious (and recreational) rider’s time.
Riding Kit — Helmets
There’s a preponderance of gear a biker can choose to wear on a ride. Most importantly though, a rider should always have a good helmet. In this category, there’s a wide range of great brands to select from, but for riders wanting to balance quality, affordability and protection, the new Bell Star Series lids stand out among the pack. Billed as Bell’s “most advanced” design to date, these new helmets feature not only an enhanced carbon fiber shell, but interior improvements in the form of the airflow, lining and face shield that keep the helmet comfortable at the same time.
Bike Essentials — Clutches & Levers
Performance upgrades are like icing on the cake for many riders, but if there’s one that makes the case for being an essential (for sport and race bike enthusiasts, at least), the Rekluse Core Clutch Kit comes closest. This auto-clutch uses centrifugal force to automatically engage and disengage based on current engine RPM. Though riders still have to shift their transmission manually, the Core Clutch helps prevent engine stalls and doesn’t require modification of any stock parts to function (making it convenient to install as well).
Of course, not all bikers desire that race-like level of enhancement. Some are just fine with smaller upgrades, like custom levers. While there are plenty of bike-specific models floating around, but options like the new Magura HC1 Master Cylinder are suitable for a wide range of cycles, and are a great choice as either a brake or clutch to improve overall performance.
High Tech — Radar Detection
Add-on gadgetry has gotten more affordable as the years go by, a fact exemplified by products like Adaptiv Technologies’ TPX Transceiver. The detector can alert riders via Bluetooth to a helmet communicator, and has the ability to sync with the latest smartphones (such as the iPhone 7), provided the Bluetooth system is capable of pairing with more than one device simultaneously.