This is the place to read about the gear I’m currently using, what works well, what’s not so good and reviews of any cool stuff that I come across.
Why did I wait so long? However, the first controller unit failed after about 4 months and I was then kept waiting 3 months for a replacement under warranty! The replacement unit has been reliable so far.
Leathers: Tiger Angel (Custom made Melb Aust) Raven jacket & Tour SP pants, zip together at waist. They stand by their lifetime warranty claim. My first Raven jacket faded badly & was diagnosed as damaged by UV rays, ie. it was sunburnt!
Textile / wet weather gear: Tiger Angel Gore-Tex Element pants & Element jacket
Tiger Angel textile gear is to Aussies what Aerostitch is in the USA.
Gloves: Dainese Veloce mainly. Dainese waterproof for winter, Alpinestars ‘Alloy’ short for summer. Seems I’ve developed a glove fetish!
Boots: Alpinestars – Effex Gore-Tex lined. Nice & light and waterproof. Conservative black color & styling which suits me fine.
Back protector: Forcefield ProL2K. More info at Forcefield
Camera: Panasonic DMC -ZS20 point & shoot, Canon EOS450D SLR. Tend to use the iPhone most often now, it’s just so convenient.
A pic that was at hand showing my typical touring gear. Shoei flip front Multitec helmet, full Tiger Angel leathers, A-Stars boots & Panno point and shoot in hand!
Accessories fitted to the 2013 Kawasaki so far;
- Garmin motorcycle specific GPS. It’s a 390 LM model – expensive and a bit dissapointing in some respects.
- Radiator guard. Highly recommended and great value. See RadGuard
- Ventura rack. I think these are a bit over rated, but they are a convenient, though pricey, soft luggage solution. See Ventura
- Yoshimura slip on mufflers. Made in the USA. See Yoshimura
- Tires swapped to Michelin Road 5s. These dual compound tyres seem very well suited to a heavy bike like the ZX14R. I did try the PR4 GT on the rear and it didn’t feel right, so I’ve avoided the GT versions subsequently.See Michelin
- Helibar handlebar riser blocks. These raise the handlebar height by 20mm and back 10mm. Small numbers but a big difference. See Helibars
With a global economy & free trade agreements everywhere I’ve decided to make it work for me when I can (for example, when buying local costs greater than 20% more than online, the shop staff are indifferent to my queries or retail staff are just downright ignorant). OK, here’s some free advertising for some OS online stores that I’ve dealt with and had no issues. I’ve used different stores for various purchases as some are better than others for specific items. This was a better proposition when the AU$ was at parity with the US$. Since our dollar went down I haven’t bought any motorcycle gear OS.
Jake Wilson – used to be brilliant for tyres when the AUD was around parity with the USD. They have the best tracking system of them all. Postage costs are calculated by order cost; the more you spend the more it costs, which doesn’t seem very logical. However, at $65 for a pair of tyres to Aust, delivered to your door by courier in 7-10 days who will argue?
Revzilla – unfortunately they only take orders greater than $299 to be sent to Australia. They must lose a lot of sales with that policy – eg I couldn’t get my Held gloves from them, even though I’d bought boots in their bricks & mortar shop in Philadelphia in 2010.
Riders Discount – $25 freight to Oz, the cheapest freight charges you will get! (Wake up RevZilla, if these guys can do it ….) Won’t / can’t sell Shoei visors to Aust any longer.
Sportbike Trackgear – Brian Van’s video reviews are a hoot. Postage costs vary according to package size & weight but generally very reasonable. Eg. Held gloves cost US$25 to post to Aust.
Tarsnakes 