Apparel

The bike world is becoming more modern with each passing day and it’s high time that our helmets caught up as well. This is where the new-for-2022 VATA7 X1 helmet comes in which aims to revolutionize helmets as we know them. How? Well, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty for that.

It’s not just motorcycles that are going retro these days: there is an increasing demand for retro apparel and this new collection from Harley Davidson in collaboration with menswear label Todd Snyder is almost perfect

Harley Davidson, along with many other motorcycle manufacturers around the world, has ceased trading in Russia in opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. The iconic American brand is going further than that, however.

One of the U.S.’s biggest riding jeans manufacturers is closing its doors and is offering huge discounts on stock to clear the warehouse.

Airbag technology has been around for a good few years but only for the top half of the body. Now a Swedish company has developed airbag tech for riding jeans.

Alpinestars has revealed its next-generation of rider wearable air bag technology, with a new entry-level vest.

Bought your first motorcycle? Congratulations: you have many years of fantastic freedom ahead of you, but only if you look after yourself and wear the right gear on every ride.

It’s all very well making a helmet aerodynamically efficient but helmets also have to offer protection against environmental factors, such as cold and rain. Shoei’s new wind tunnel can now replicate those elements as well.

Back in 2018, the MotoGP organizers Dorna and the FIM made a new call to make it compulsory for riders to wear a suit under the riding jacket that would expand with air upon impact. Just like the airbags in your car.

Much before that, the top tier safety gear manufacturers, Alpinestar and Dainese have been at it to develop safety equipment for riders across the world, including such airbag systems. For 2020, Alpinestar has released its brand new "Tech-Air 5", which is a “slim, self-contained wearable airbag vest” that can be worn under just about any riding jacket. Dainese, however, debuted its “Dainese Smart Jacket” system in 2019 itself.

The history of Ducati is driven by unique talents that have always generated motorcycles of unmistakable design and the most profound sporting spirit. Featuring exclusive Desmodromic timing engines, innovative design, and state-of-the-art technology, Ducati’s 90 years of passion, emotions, and excellence put in between two wheels have made us sing gaga’ over beautiful machines.

Now, the Ducati Memorabilia project has been christened by Ducati and Ducati Corse to give us enthusiasts another reason to make saliva bubbles. For the first time, one can purchase certified parts from Ducati machines used in an actual MotoGP and Superbike Championships, ones that have helped legends like Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow beat everyone else to the chequered flag.

Icon Motorsports teamed up with professional stunt rider, Kyle Sliger to adorn their brand new Street collection of clothing and helmets and rip apart on a Kawasaki ZX-10R through city streets, car parks and even a public fountain at one point.

The result was this Gymkhana styled video where Kyle rips around the empty streets performing stylish wheelies, tail drags, leah stands, crossovers, side slides and what not. There is also a moment where Kylie attempts to perform a stoppie but fails and loses out on his balance. But his luck or what, he manages to slide his leg along with the half-fallen bike, to make it look like another stunt performed well.

Inspired by Honda liveries of the ‘80s and ‘90s, US high street chain Forever 21, teamed up with the Japanese manufacturer to bring about a fresh new collection of clothing and apparels priced between $3.90 and $ 58.00.

The Forever 21 x Honda capsule collection is probably our most unexpected collab to date! Taking inspiration from motorsports, the collection features bold primary colors and powerful statement graphics.

Triumph has been the oldest British motorcycle manufacturer that has a rich 115 years of heritage. Expressing this to the world, the Hinckley firm has built a brand new Factory Visitor Center for £4million ($5.3 million) spanning across eight distinctly-themed areas that combine to create a full Triumph experience.

Showcasing the brand’s achievements in design, engineering, racing and popular culture, the visitor center will allow fans to get behind the scene through both historic and modern era of motorcycles and legends riding them.

What was said to be a paradigm-shifting helmet technology, Skully came crashing to the ground in July 2016 after the management became incompetent to keep the fundings afloat. Valued partners, vendors, employees and customers were left hanging dry with the company filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case.

After more than a year now, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the helmet company. From where Skully, Inc. left off, a new company called the ’Skully Technologies’ are taking over the mantle straight from the dead and are reviving the technology and the AR-1 helmet to be called as ’The Skully Felix’.

As a franchise, Star Wars™ is on its third or fourth generation, and has become a veritable cornucopia of pop-culture references. Our culture has seen a turnaround from a time when sci-fi fandom was more of a don’t ask-don’t tell situation to the main-stream as evidenced by some whimsical helmet art by HJC Helmets. I mean sure, they’ve got their sugar skulls, Marvel-licensed images and other really cool products, but the Star Wars-themed buckets trotted out at the Cleveland IMS have got to be enough to make anyone’s inner geek squeal with delight.

Continue reading for more on the Star-Wars inspired helmets.

This week saw the 93rd annual Motorcycle Week in Laconia, New Hampshire kick off with the usual pomp and circumstance. The world’s oldest bike rally runs from the 11th of June through Father’s Day this year, nice timing for dad/kid activities even if it does fall on the last day of the rally. As with all such events, lodging can be a real pain to secure, so if you missed it this year you’d best go ahead and make your reservations now for next year’s event that will run from June 10th through the 18th, 2017. To all of you heading home from the event, be ye careful on the road.

Continue reading for my look at the week ending June 17, 2016.

Ducati’s drive for innovation has manifested itself once again in the form of Ducatisumisura, a new website the Italian motorcycle brand has launched that caters to the personalization and customization of riding suits.

It’s admittedly not as ground-breaking as developing a new motorcycle, but riding suits are just as important for riders. Being able to customize them to suit your taste and safety preferences not only makes this new business endeavor that much more important, but it also gives customers a chance to style these suits themselves. That means having the opportunity to choose the colors of each panel that will be used in making the suit. We all know how important that is to other riders too.

As part of the site’s initial launch, Ducati will be offering no less than four riding suits that can be personalized and tailor-made: three one-piece racing suit models and a more casual two-piece one. One of these one-piece suits, the Corse C2, is also available as a lady-fit option.

These suits are top-of-the-line quality, developed in collaboration with riding gear company Dainese. That means that the latter’s D-Air airbag system will be available, although for now, availability is still limited to a handful of markets. Still, the mere fact that Dainese is involved makes the project that much more intriguing.

For riders who are looking for a steady mix of style and technology in their riding suits, Ducatisumisura provides that option. It’s another example of the Italian brand’s mission to be an innovator in the industry.

For what it’s worth, it’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from Ducati.

Continue reading to read more about Ducatisumisura, Ducati’s new riding suit customization website.