From: Michael.Nelson@f0.n0.z0.rbbs-net.ORG (Michael Nelson)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: SUMMARY: advice on gear
Date: 4 Nov 92 15:09:04 GMT

Hello Alan!

Monday November 02 1992 22:25, Alan Fleming wrote to All:

 AF-> Cover:
 AF->    I flipped a coin between the Dow Protector and the OSI Regular.
 AF->    The OSI won out and looks to be a good choice.

    I have one of these as well, and although I haven't had that many occasions
to use it, it works very well.

 AF-> Tank Bag:
 AF->    I decided I would go with Chase Harper for the luggage.

    I went with Eclipse.  The Sportbike tank bag was my choice, and it is
sufficient for my needs.  The only thing I don't like about it is the map
pocket.  The map pocket is made of "frosted" vinyl, and forces you to fold the
map up way too small.  Also, although the frosted vinyl is transparent enough
when you press it down against the surface of the map, it normally floats a bit
above the surface and makes the map very difficult to read.

    It mounts with straps only (no magnets), and comes with a rain cover. Again,
living in California, I haven't yet had an opportunity to test the rain cover
:-(

 AF-> Saddle Bags and Tail Trunk:

    Again, I went with Eclipse for this stuff.  They have a Sportbike version
which I chose because of the way it fits on the bike.  The saddlebags are long,
narrow, and tapered to clear the upswept exhausts on the typical sportbike. The
fit is excellent on my CBR900RR.  The tail pack portion is large enough to carry
a Bell Shorty helmet, and has several external pockets.  Mounts via straps
around the turn signals and quick disconnect brackets you mount to the bike.  It
doesn't come with a rain cover...

 AF-> Alarm:
 AF->    I was taken aback by the prices of motorcycle alarms (I'd heard
 AF->    about car alarms killing batteries) but decided it was cheaper
 AF->    than buying a new bike.  With that in mind, I decided to buy the
 AF->    best one I could find.  I re-read the Cycle World alarm test from
 AF->    '91 and decided that Ungo was the way to go.

    Mine is a "Black Widow", with a mass sensor.  Seems to work very well, but I
wish I had a motion detector as well, with a switch to switch between them. For
normal purposes the mass detector works great, but when the bike is parked in
close with a bunch of other motorcycles, it's altogether too easy for an
innocent person dismounting from an adjacent bike to set the alarm off.

    They also added a "chirp eliminator/reducer" which intercepts the first two
beeps of the siren and makes them much quieter.  That way, when arming the alarm
or disarming it, it doesn't disturb the neighbors.  And, they rigged the alarm
so that it can be "silent"... no lights, no siren, but it will transmit a signal
to my pager if it is triggered.  That will allow me to go down to the garage and
greet whoever is messing with the bike, without them knowing they've triggered
the alarm... I'll take my short barreled 12 guage pump for those expeditions.

 AF-> Leathers:
 AF->    I decided on the Vanson Viper

    Because of my size and weight (6' tall, 240 lbs), I went with Vanson custom
made in a 1 piece.  I got full body armor including back protector, ventilation
holes on the chest, biceps, back and crotch, along with a custom design in light
grey with black and red accents.  I'm very pleased with the suit.  It cost me
about $1,000 including shipping.

 AF-> Boots:
 AF->    I tossed a coin between the Bieffe Comp boots and the Fieldsheer
 AF->    Mistrals.

    I had trouble with most boots being too tight in the calves.  I went with
the AGV Prexport, which have quick lacing and velcro flaps.  They fit great.

 AF-> Gloves:
 AF->    I wanted the Fieldsheer Road Racing Gloves, but didn't have the
 AF->    money do get them.

    I went through several pair of gloves trying to find well made, comfortable
ones.  I finally settled on HELD Kevlar/Kangaroo skin ones, and am very pleased
with them.  $99.00.

 AF->    I'm of the "No studded palms" opinion.

    The HELD gloves have studs, but there are two layers of kangaroo skin and a
layer of Kevlar between the studs and my tender hide.

 AF-> Helmet:
 AF->    After looking at the Arai, I went with the Shoei Astra (painted
 AF->    RF200) since it was rated the quietest helmet.

    My head is size 8, and none of the Shoei's fit me worth a damn.  I have an
XXXL RF200, and it pushes on my forehead so hard it gives me headaches, and yet
is fairly loose in other areas.  I finally went with an Arai Quantum in the
Schwantz pattern.  It's the most comfortable helmet I have ever tried on.

 AF-> Other:

 AF->    Targa Half Tank Bra - Okay, I justify it by saying it protects the
 AF->      tank from belt buckle scratches.  And it looks Way Radical Dudes.

    Yep.  I have a Lockhart-Phillips one on my CBR.

 AF->    Daytona Steering Damper - The bike is a little too quick steering
 AF->      at parking lot speeds.  The Daytona was the cheapest one I had
 AF->      any faith in, thought if I'd had any money left after the above
 AF->      purchases, I would have bought a Ceriani from Storz.

    I bought the Storz, and it made a very noticible difference.  No more
headshake in bumpy high speed corners.

Michael Nelson, DoD #0735
(michael.nelson@f501.n914.z8.rbbs-net.org)
(1993 Honda CBR900RR)


 * Origin: SeaHunt BBS, San Francisco (415-431-0473) (FidoNet 8:914/501)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles