Looking Like A Wasp

On my last working day, I rode to work in a downpour. I don't mind rain while I am riding; in fact, secretly, I quite like it. If you've got decent gear, then you aren't going to get wet, and all you have to do is to take things a bit more steadily than normal, put your lights on, watch out for blind car drivers peering out through misted windscreens, and enjoy the pitter-patter of tiny raindrops on your visor. I said "if you've got decent gear", and that's a big 'if'.

Riders of a similar vintage to my own will remember when 'waterproof' as applied to motorcycle clothing was an in-joke. It wasn't, they knew it, we knew it, and we did the best we could with what we had. But nowadays, with modern materials and manufacturing techniques, it is possible to make bike gear that is completely waterproof. Not only that, but the kit is breathable, too. I suppose it has always been possible to make stuff waterproof; you just had to have enough thickness of PVC and heavy welds. But this was awful to wear - heavy, clammy, stiff, and if you walked about in it you got wetter from your own sweat than you ever would have done from a bit of rain. So GoreTex and its derivatives have been a blessing to bikers, allowing the manufacture of kit that is both 100% waterproof and a pleasure to wear at the same time.

When I returned to biking four years ago after a lay-off of ten years, I was lucky. My local dealer carried a range of Richa bike gear and they had what I needed: a waterproof textile suit with a thermal lining and CE-approved armour. It was January when I bought it, and warmth was a priority. The Richa Albatross suit (no longer made) delivered the goods. It was a bit bulky and heavy, but it was as warm as toast and never let a drop of water in, despite being ridden through some Biblical storms. I wore it almost every working day and came to rely on it. But all good things must come to an end, and recently the suit has been showing its age.

It started with a damp feeling to the rear end when sitting on a wet bike seat. I never actually got wet trousers, but the clammy feeling wasn't nice. The Cordura outer had also started 'wetting out', where the nylon absorbs water rather than shedding it, which doesn't affect the waterproofing but makes the suit weight a ton after a ride in the rain, and take a week to dry. I had done the standard thing and washed the suit first in Nikwax Techwash and then in TX Direct, but it only lasted a day or two. And then, a few nights ago, I rode to work in the rain. And after five miles my left leg was soaking. Time to shoot the dog.

I could have just replaced the trousers, although Richa's strange zipping arrangements meant I would have to stick with salopettes, which I wanted to get away from. So I decided to go for a new jacket and trousers combo, this time with a small amount of high-visibility material. Not a neon banana suit, but something subtle. The dealer didn't have a lot of stock. I ended up sticking with Richa (why not?) and bought a Vision Fluoro jacket and Monsoon trousers. They are slightly lighter-weight material than the Albatross kit, and may end up being less warm as a result, but they fit well and are comfy, and that means I am more likely to wear them for normal day-rides as well as the daily commute. The tickets added up to £230, we settled on a round £200, and off I went.

I have worn them once so far, and can report that they kept a light shower out, and were fairly warm - although the weather is hardly Arctic at the moment - so it's so far so good. The commute begins again tomorrow.

Here is the jacket (the trousers are black and unremarkable) - front:



And back:

Reflective Tape

Three years ago, in the winter, I had one of those dreadful 'what if?' thoughts. I wrote about it here, but the gist is that I almost had a breakdown (and on the Yamahaha that means no lights as well as no go) on a very nasty stretch of rat-run road with a lot of blind bends and high banks. It made me wonder what my chances would be against a speeding car if I were to be stranded by the side of that road with no lights on. I suspected they would be very poor, and I bought an ex-Police riding jacket on eBay the next night. I've worn it a few times, mainly on filthy nights or on long motorway journeys in poor weather, but it's too obvious and look-at-me to wear for work or with mates. I really do look like a policeman in it, and I don't feel totally comfy with that.

But the dark nights and mornings are coming (in fact, for me they have already started), and I decided to make the bike a little more visible, even if that little strand of wire gives way and I am left invisible. But I wanted to be discreet. There's nothing that shouts 'bearded safety expert with no sense of adventure' more than a bike plastered in chevrons and extra brake lights. And on eBay I found this:

25mm REFLECTIVE BLACK TAPE per metre * REFLECTS WHITE

REFLECTIVE BLACK STEALTH TAPE

REFLECTS WHITE! EXCELLENT FOR BLACK VEHICLES!

25MM DEEP

PRICED PER METRE. MULTIPLE PURCHASES SENT IN A CONTINUOUS LENGTH.

TOP QUALITY 5 YEAR OUTDOOR DURABLE

SELF ADHESIVE

SUITABLE FOR MOST SMOOTH CLEAN SOLID SURFACES.

CAN BE REMOVED AT A LATER DATE WITH NO DAMAGE TO SURFACE.

Hmmm. Sounds like something I could use - especially at two quid a metre. So I ordered two metres. A fiver, all in, including postage. Bargain.

It arrived quickly, beautifully packaged in a proper box, and seller cheekybloke666 deserves a thumbs-up for his service. It really is black. In fact, it looks exactly like insulating tape, only a little wider and thicker. I took my time and used a craft knife to cut it very precisely, as I didn't want the end result to look a bodge. I think I succeeded, as it's hardly noticeable - until you shine a light on it, when it lights up like a road sign.

I put a strip of it round the Yam's top box, where there is a flat band that might have been made for it, and two more infills for the hand guards, following the line of the moulding round the edge. Here's the side view ...



... and here's the front.



Discreet, I hope, but bright enough to catch the eye. In daylight, the strips really are just plain black.

I recall another incident from way back, when I was in the car and came to a country crossroads in similar weather, to find a young lad who had fallen off a moped, sprawled across the centre of the junction. The sky was black, the rain was black, the road was black, his gear was black. His white crash helmet was the only thing I saw, and I saw it in time to slam on the brakes and miss him. If he'd had a black one, I am not sure I would have noticed until I was picking his constituent parts from my front suspension.

What I think I am saying here is that, for all normal purposes, I believe firmly in defensive riding and not relying on the skill and goodwill of others to keep out of trouble. But sometimes, especially if you go down, a bit of passive high-viz may not be a bad thing. My usual helmet is grey with a white and black pattern, and I have overlaid some of the black with this tape too. It doesn't alter the pattern at all, but in a strong light it makes quite a difference. Here's what it looks like, in normal light (sorry for the blur) ...



...and by flash.



(What looks like rough edges is where I trimmed it around the air vents.)

I don't think it looks too bad. My commute is on rural roads, some fast A-roads and some small country lanes, but all of it unlit. I will feel just a tiny bit safer with this kit.

Next episode: Richard goes shopping for a new jacket and trousers.

On Reflection

I've never been a big fan of high-visibility clothing on motorcycles. There are two reasons for this, quite apart from a reluctance to look like a neon banana.

One is that I am far from convinced of its effectiveness. The only study I have seen which shows a difference in accident rates between wearers and non-wearers is the 1981 Hurt Report, an American study into the causes of motorcycle accidents. I will look into the reasoning of Hurt in a moment, and why I think that it is not as definitive as it appears.

The second is a philosophical objection. Most accidents to motorcycles where another vehicle is involved, almost every bit of reseach has shown consistently, are the fault of the other road user. The figure varies between two-thirds and three-quarters, depending on who you talk to. The high-viz argument says that if other motorists can see you, they won't hit you. That is a contentious case anyway, but it puts the onus for avoiding accidents on the victim, which to me is the wrong way round. In this we make common cause with our cycling friends, all of whom in my experience feel the same way. Listen, car, van and lorry drivers: I am six foot, sixteen stone and I ride a big red motorbike. I'm not invisible, and if you look for me, you will see me. Under the Highway Code, it is up to you to look for other road users, not for them to dress like Christmas trees so they catch your eye better.

The conclusion from the Hurt Report which is relevant to this discussion is this:

14. Conspicuity of the motorcycle is a critical factor in the multiple vehicle accidents, and accident involvement is significantly reduced by the use of motorcycle headlamps-on in daylight and the wearing of high visibility yellow, orange or bright red jackets.

I detect a bit of false reasoning here. Hurt notes a correspondence between the wearing of high-viz clothing and a lower number of accidents, and argues that one is the reason for the other. But correlation is not causation. It may be true that wearers of high-viz are involved in fewer accidents, but there may be other reasons for that. The most obvious is that high-viz is most likely to be worn by the careful and cautious riders, the 'slow brigade', and that in itself is sufficient explanation of the lower accident rate. You could argue that riders with beards were under-represented in accident statistics (insert joke about BMWs here) and that therefore beards offered a level of protection from harm, and you would be wrong. Correlation is not causation, as demonstrated beautifully and ironically by Bobby Henderson in his letter to the Kansas School Board, arguing that

global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s

with a graph to prove it.

And of course there is the 'slippery slope' argument, treated with such derision by the Left when they want to ridicule people who prefer the freedom to make their own decisions. If we accept that high-viz is a necessary part of riding a bike in modern traffic, the next thing will be to blame the rider in an accident, even if entirely innocent, because he 'failed to take appropriate conspicuity measures'. And after that they will be asking why he was on a bike in the first place instead of in a nice safe car. And then we have lost.

So, philosophically I am against it on principle, and practically I can see no proven benefit; so I won't be togging up like Bananaman any time soon.

But I have made certain subtle changes, and that will be the subject of another post.

Not like this, though:

Misano Trip - appendix

Following on from the trip to the races at Misano and an epic road trip back to Blighty, Endemoniada_88 had a few observations about various matters connected to the trip, and to touring in general, which didn't fit well with the diary format of the report, so he has collected them here.

Appendix: Everyday Occurrences

In no particular order – some things simply go on all the time, not really noteworthy enough to warrant an anecdote of their own, but nevertheless part of the ambience of touring. These are some of the most constant.

Riding Etiquette
It's all different on the continent, not least in occupying the wrong side of the road. It's a lot easier to adapt to that on a bike, I find – it has the twin advantages of central positioning and less spatial confinement than any other vehicle. Being on the right actually makes more sense, too: I prefer it, on balance, with the exception of roundabouts, which are always cambered the wrong way. The traditional acknowledgements for others are easier, too: for vehicles behind, it's a lift of the right leg, for those ahead, a wave with the left hand. That doesn't work in the UK: reversing the wave means letting go of the throttle. There's plenty of opportunity for such greetings too: even the Harley and BMW pilots seem keen to acknowledge fellow riders. Other vehicles don't hold bikes in the same contempt, either: many will happily drive almost into the gutter to make space for a motorcycle to pass. We do our best to thank them all for their courtesy.

Group Discipline
We agree up front what the riding order will be, with the understanding that can be broken on fun roads as long as everyone waits up at the next turning off. It's simple but effective. In town, we close up to prevent anyone getting between us, on the open road, we watch out for the next person in front and behind. If separated, we've got a satnav at front and back of the line. It suits me being at the back: I tend to mess around a bit with things like the onboard video, with food and drink on the move and – as the only smoker – with cigarettes on the go. All of that means I don't usually hold constant speed on the open road, preferring to drop back and make up at my own pace: something that would be rather disruptive in the middle of the pack.

Personal Comfort
I take my cues from the pro cyclists, who are perfectly capable of doing everything they need to while still in motion. I draw the line at taking breaks of nature while riding, however, but given a decent flip-front helmet and some physical coordination, it's quite possible to keep provisioned in flight. Smoking's quite possible up to about 80mph, given pre-rolled cigarettes stowed in a tank bag pocket. I haven't yet found a lighter that works while moving, so it's a case of taking opportunities when they arise - traffic lights, for example, are great for sparking up. It's better than interrupting everyone's day each time I feel the need for a smoke, anyway. Music is the other thing I like: I have an external neoprene sleeve to hold my MP3 player, connected to helmet speakers and all easily accessible to pause or switch off if I need to hear the outside world. It's on random shuffle and it's a source of great pleasure how often that seems to produce a really appropriate soundtrack for the circumstances.

Off The Beaten Track
We like the riding as much as, if not more than, the arriving. Given the choice, we'll almost always be picking the narrowest lines on the map. It almost always leads to an overambitious itinerary and a longer than intended day – all we really try to do is manage that inevitable slippage and, if necessary, find a big road when it starts to get dark. Up until then, it's far more enjoyable to pull up at a local cafe or bar in a tiny village than it is to visit a motorway service station. Not to mention cheaper. Just keep an eye on the fuel situation.

Meeting Locals
Our experience is that, however rubbish one may be with languages, it's worth making the effort to learn a few relevant words. Especially when out in the sticks, being able to string together a half-comprehensible sentence earns you good points for politeness and respect. It never hurts to try and learn a bit more from the locals as you go, either. Try and remember which language you're supposed to be mangling at any given time, though, particularly when crossing a lot of borders.

General Riding
Although most of the trip highlights involve pouring on the coals somewhat, a lot of the time that isn't the case. We pick a speed that isn't out of place with the other traffic – up to about a ton on the big A and N roads – for most riding and observe the posted limits in urban areas, just as we would in the UK. There aren't many speed cameras, at least in the places where we've been, but they are in unexpected places and harder to spot. The trip wasn't entirely flash-free for some: it remains to be seen whether that will yield any consequences! Other than that, we simply bear in mind that we're guests in someone else's country and try to cause as little disruption as possible.

Tried And Tested
Most useful and recommended kit, apart from the bike and hard luggage, of course. (See photos - click for bigger.)

Boot Hill

The deed is done. I woke up early today after the night shift and had a couple of hours before I needed to set off back to work, so I visited my local dealer to see if he had anything suitable for my feet. I knew he had a pair of TCX Infinity boots in (voted Best Buy in RiDE magazine's Rider Power survey) and finally I had an excuse to try them on.

They looked great, both in appearance and quality (a touch of the motocross boot about them, but understated), but they were well over £200. I was therefore delighted when they simply didn't fit. The heel seemed slightly offset, making my foot twist as I walked, and the foot part was not the same shape as my foot. So I was not unhappy to put them back on the shelf.

The rest were either race boots (all garish colours and spacetrooper plastic) or the kind of things smelters wear to work. And then I spotted an unassuming pair which reminded me a little of the moribund Sidis.



They are Frank Thomas Aqua Rides, and on offer for a penny under ninety quid. I know a lot of bikers are a bit sniffy about Frank Thomas gear, but I have had quite a bit of stuff of theirs over the years, and it has always been good (well-made and durable) if a little unglamorous. My current commuting gloves, used right through winter, are a 10-year-old pair of FT Aqua gloves which are no longer waterproof, but are warm and fit me like - er - you know what I mean. In a world of use-once-and-throw-away, they have lasted exceptionally well and still feel as if they would protect my pinkies in a tumble.

So I bought the boots, after negotiating the lovely saleslady down to eighty of your British pounds. They are proper leather (not Lorica like the Sidis) and advertised as waterproof. We shall see about that, but I am hopeful. They are very comfy indeed, and already way better for walking around in than the old ones. The soles are thicker, which means that I will have to get used to the slightly different gearchange action, but the comfort outweighs that. And very warm - I hope not too warm, considering we are approaching summer.

I'll do a full kit report when I have had them a month or two, but first impressions are good.

And the best thing about them: no zips.

<>

Footnote (fnarr):

In the comments to the previous post, Brian suggested getting a professional repair for the zip of the old boots. As you can see from the next pic, the Sidis haven't got much life left in them, but if I can get a new zip put in for a reasonable cost, I will do that and keep them as reserve footwear. Old friends shouldn't be just cast aside.

Death of a Boot

Oh dear. Oh dearie dear.



As I was putting on my boots to go home from work yesterday morning, the zip broke completely. As in, a yawning gap where the teeth should be, even when it was done up.

My nice, reliable Sidi Black Rain Evo boots started to give trouble back in January. I soldiered on with them, even treating them to some biocidal disinfectant treatment when they got too wet inside on the Ride of Respect. I suppose four-and-a-bit years of daily commuting and general hooning around have taken their toll and the boots don't owe me anything.

They are just wearable, if I don't mind the right one being held in place with just a bit of velcro. It will do for the next few days when I am at work and not able to get near a bike shop, but on my next free day I need to spend some money, I think.

Bugger.

Boots update

I posted here about a bacteriological issue with my main (OK, only) pair of motorcycle boots, and an attempted solution involving Domestos and a lot of water. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a result.

The boots are now dry and back in service. And even sticking one's nose right inside only gets one the faintest odour of municipal chlorine. As someone whose highlight of the week at primary school was the visit to the 'swimming baths' as we used to call them, this is quite acceptable and even vaguely pleasant.



No ill effects on the boots, and they are now good for another season.

Cheap, effective, recommended.

What to do with smelly boots

I posted here and here about my bike boots, a pair of Sidi Black Rain Evo. Overall, I am very impressed with them, with slight reservations about the ventilation and the quality of the zips. (Spraying the zips with silicon spray from Halfords has helped a lot.) But after four years they were starting to get unhygienic. As I posted here, I got them good and wet inside last weekend at the beginning of a 12-hour day on the bike. A day of dampness has turned the slight whiff (it's not cheesy feet, it's a nasty chemical smell) into a full-blown Satan's Halitosis experience.

Yesterday I cleaned them inside with hot water and baby shampoo, and then made up a mix of sterilising fluid (the kind you use for baby feeding bottles, keeping the baby theme going). I poured this into the boots up to about ankle level and left it there for half an hour. To the boots' credit, not a drop escaped. I then rinsed them and left them to drain outside. It was a warm day and by evening they were more or less dry. The smell had reduced but not gone, so today I repeated the procedure, but with dilute Domestos.



It might seem a brutal way to treat your kit, but it seems to have worked. Although they are not yet fully dry, all that sticking your nose in and inhaling deeply gets you is a faint odour of swimming pool. They haven't lost their shape or suffered any apparent harm.

It's a last resort solution. If this doesn't work, then I will have to start looking for some new ones. With four years' daily use, and with the toes almost worn through (do I drag them in the corners that much?) I don't think they owe me anything now.

Kit Report - Sidi Black Rain Evo boots, update

I posted about these boots a little while ago, and was full of praise for everything about them except the zips. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Yesterday the right-hand zip got jammed and I was five minutes wrestling it free before I could go home from work. Now I am only zipping that boot up half-way in case the zip fails completely. As the boots are now four years old getting fairly tatty and (let's be honest here) rank, I think I am going to replace them.

Any suggestions for a good replacement would be welcome. I would prefer to look neither like a oil-rig worker nor a MotoGP refugee, and waterproof is a must. Over to you ...

Kit Report - Duragadget Satnav Case

Last in the current series, until I invest in anything new, and I've left the latest acquisition until last.

When I took the Honda to Denmark, I cobbled together a mounting system that did the job adequately well. I robbed the suction mount for the TomTom from the car, and mounted it to the top of the fairing under the screen with three self-tappers. The TomTom is a car unit and the mounting system is not robust, so I backed it up with a nylon strap glued to the back of the unit, such that if it vibrated off, the strap would catch it before it fell off entirely. This worked pretty well for a low-cost solution, helped by the fact that the unit was protected from above and in front by the Honda's generous screen. I had a ziploc bag in my tank bag in case of downpour.



Because there was very little wind pressure on the unit, this worked pretty well, considering it cost very little. But it wouldn't do for the Bonneville, which has no wind or weather protection at all, and no plastic bodywork to attach it to. A friend (you know who you are) came up with a surplus-to-requirements satnav holder. In fact, he came up with two: a rather smart Givi case, waterproof and well-made, and a cheaper device designed for use on bicycle handlebars. (He wouldn't accept any payment, so a donation to Help For Heroes was agreed as a quid pro quo.)

The Givi case was by far the better of the two (and at over twice the price, it should be). Beautifully-made, as I have found all Givi stuff to be, waterproof, and with lots of little extra pockets for phone and small change, it is a little jewel.



Unfortunately, it is also so 'universal' that it was hard to find a way to fit it securely to the Bonnie handlebars. There are yards of velcro straps and flaps, and by the time I had got a satisfactory fit, it was getting dark and time to unfasten it again. I may use this in the future, but probably for a longer trip where I can pay more attention to such things. For this trip, the other one seemed a better bet.

The Duragadget satnav case is a bit flimsy, as you might expect, as it is designed for bicycle use and "not tested above 20 mph", to quote one eBay seller. It isn't waterproof (with the zip closed you can see daylight through it), but it does come with a waterproof cover. This had become lost in transit, so I took along a heavy-duty ziploc bag from the kitchen, just in case.


It comes with a universal mount, and attaching it to the handlebars was a breeze. I chose to mount it on the left hand side, so it was easily visible but did not obscure the instruments. The attachment to the mount is only a plastic clip, but it worked well, and at speeds somewhat in excess of the stated 20 mph. I already had a cigarette-lighter type socket wired to the battery and stored behind a side-panel, so I plugged in the power cable to the TomTom through the little hole in the bottom of the case, ran the cable back underneath the tank bag, and plugged it into the socket which I had tucked into the map pocket. (It is a double socket, and I also had the iPhone plugged in there so I could use the MCN Ride Logger app.) Here it is on the bike:



(That's perspective - it's not really that big, as I keep telling them.)

All in all, it worked extremely well. The screen was reasonably easy to see, although glare was a bit of a problem at certain angles of the light. At times, all I could see was my hi-viz jacket shouting back at me. The ziploc bag I put over it filled with air from the wind and then flapped itself into tatters, so that part needs revisiting - probably curable with an elastic band round the bottom. Even so, the unit let in only a small amount of water, enough to dampen the case of the TomTom but not drown it. And it stayed in place at speeds up to x, where x is a number greater than 20, but less than 85. A bit.

OK, it's not going to be as satisfactory or permanent a solution as a proper RAM mount, but it performs the same function for a fraction of the price, and is perfectly adequate for occasional use. Price is under £20, such as this one on eBay.

Kit Report - Richa Textile Suit

I bought this suit, like the boots mentioned below, in early 2007 when I returned to two wheels and decided to commute to work. Richa are a brand that don't feature very often in magazine tests (I've yet to see a single Richa item in RiDE magazine's kit surveys, for example) but they are the main product line that my local dealership stocks, and so they are local, available, and I can take them back if they go wrong.

I bought the suit in January, so warmth was uppermost in my mind when I was looking. This suit (the jacket is labelled 'Albatross', although I'm not sure if this applies to the pants or not) was basically the only suit that the dealer had in my price range. The jacket is of the usual construction: tough nylon/polyester outer, waterproof drop liner, and thermal inner jacket. Both the drop liner and the thermal liner can be zipped out, and the jacket has zipped ventilation openings, so the suit should be good for all seasons. The pants are similar, but with the waterproof liner bonded in somehow, and the thermal liner removeable. It has CE-approved armour at the shoulders, elbows and knees. It also has thick foam padding over the hips, and a substantial foam back protector. Neither of these are CE-approved, but they feel solid. I'm pretty sure the suit was sold to me as 'breathable', although there are no tags inside to indicate this. However, it is breathable, as many comfortable rides in warm weather can attest.

There was a choice between ordinary pants, which would zip to the jacket via a waist zip, or salopettes, which would not. I opted for the salopettes, as it was January and I wanted the maximum warmth and draughtproofing. The upper part of the salopettes can be zipped off the lower, leaving a pair of normal pants, but as these can't be attached to the jacket (no zip) they would need braces or a belt to stop them falling down. I leave them as they are.

There are plenty of pockets. The jacket has two outside pockets which are useful for your keys, but these fill with water when it rains, so anything that might be damaged by moisture should not be put here. There is a Napoleon packet on the front behind the main flap and I have had no problem with water in here, but technically it is outside the waterproof zone, so care should be taken. It's ideal for a wallet or mobile phone, but... There is a normal jacket pocket on the inside which is completely dry, and also a mobile phone pocket. This pocket is long and thin, so it was obviously designed for a different era of phones. The iPhone will only go in there with a struggle. This hardly matters, as there is a label warning you not to put mobile phones in it in case they fall out. Product Liability lawyers again. The pants have the normal slash pockets which, again, fill with water, but the salopette part has a small zipped pocket which would be ideal for an emergency stash of money or a phone. As it is under the jacket, this is completely dry, but it requires a full strip (almost) to reach it.

The suit as a whole is well-designed. It has a few grey/silver contrasting panels to relieve the monotony of the black and some logos and patches that are retro-reflective, but it could really do with something a bit bolder. There are Velcro straps on the upper arms and waist so that you can achieve a snug fit all round, and these work well. One of the waist straps pulled out of its seam a while ago, but it was only 10 minutes with a needle and thread to put it right.

Overall fit is good, although I went a little too large on the pants. I assumed I would be wearing trousers or jeans underneath the waterproofs, so I chose one size bigger then necessary. In fact, the pants are so warm that I don't wear jeans underneath and the pants are a little too baggy. This means that the knee protectors don't fit as well as they should over my knees: they tend to migrate inwards, which is annoying.

Warmth is excellent. With the (fairly thin) thermal liners in, I can ride my 20-30 minute commute with just a t-shirt underneath, even in winter with frost on the ground. This is quite convenient, as I used to keep a suit in work and just put on a clean shirt, underpants and socks, and then the Richa suit over the top. I changed into the suit at work and Robert was my mother's brother. Longer rides need more base layers, obviously, but even riding for 8-9 hours up to Newcastle at the end of October I only had on a thermal vest, t-shirt and thin fleece under the jacket, and long-johns under the pants. I was warm as toast.

Waterproofing is also excellent, although there is one weak spot to watch for. I once rode to work in a biblical downpour, and was rewarded with a soaking crotch for the rest of the day. It turns out I had failed to zip up the pants properly and had left a funnel for the water to run down and into my nether regions. When I got to Newcastle ten days ago, I was slightly damp in a similar way, and I think I must have failed to 'adjust my dress', as they say, after a pee stop somewhere on the motorway. It can't have been too bad, as I only noticed it when I stripped off in the hotel. But other than on those two occasions, the suit has been 100% watertight.

After a couple of years, the suit had started 'wetting out'. where the nylon outer fabric stops shedding the rain and gets soaked through. This doesn't affect the waterproofing, but it does make the suit very wet and heavy, and you can get quite wet taking it off, or even putting it on the next morning. Last summer, I treated it to a cleaning session in the washing machine with Nikwax Techwash, and then ran it through again with TX-Direct, which revitalises the water-repellent properties. I can't say it's as good as new after this, but it is a lot better than it was. (Note: the instructions on the TX-Direct tell you to ensure that the washing machine is clear of all liquids like fabric conditioner. I didn't bother with this first time, and the product plain didn't work. I did it all again after emptying and cleaning out the conditioner tray, and it worked fine. RTFM!)

I haven't crashed in the suit, so I can't say anything about its abrasion resistance, but it seems to be a pretty tough item and is holding up well. When this one is worn out, I will get another textile suit for sure. Leather is fabulous in all sorts of ways, but for sheer everyday useability a textile suit is hard to beat. And they are a lot cheaper than leathers as well - this suit was £180 for the jacket and £120 for the pants, so you have a full waterproof outfit, suitable for all seasons and weathers, for £300. You wouldn't get much in proper leather for that, and it wouldn't shed the rain either. I'll replace the leather jacket one day, and perhaps even get some leather pants to go with it, but the textile suit will still be there for utility purposes.

Recommend? Well, the Albatross suit is no longer available (this looks like the nearest equivalent, although I see it isn't breathable) but I would recommend Richa as a brand. I rather like the 'Richa' logo across the back of the shoulders, as if I can afford to have my own name emblazoned on my clothing, minus a couple of letters. Not everyone will feel this way, of course, including everyone called Dave. I would certainly buy another suit by them, although next time I might go for something with a bit of conspicuity built in, like this one. Logic - on dry, sunny days I will be wearing leathers or my Triumph textile jacket. The textile suit is for busy commutes, dark nights, wet days and winter - exactly the time I would be looking for a bit of hi-viz anyway. Horses for courses.

Kit Report - Sidi Black Rain Evo boots

I was lucky when I bought these boots back in 2007. Why lucky? Well, I seem to have got it right first time. I had returned to biking after a few years off, and my old Frank Thomases were in pretty poor condition. Despite plenty of dubbin and regular cleaning, they had gone very floppy and let in water like a sieve. I went up to M&P in Swansea for a hunt around, hoping to spend about £100. I was planning to commute in them, so the first requirement was they had to be waterproof. I hoped that boots had improved in the way all other kit had done in the 15 years or so since I invested in basic kit, and that manufacturers had now perfected the way to make boots that actually kept your feet dry. In my younger days, the only way you could guarantee dry feet was to wear either wellies or some strange things called Derriboots, which were made of rubber and had a drawstring round the top. Fine for riding to the factory on your Honda 50, but nowhere near stylish enough for even me, or protective enough for anyone with common sense.

The Sidis were the only boots in my price-range that looked decent and were guaranteed waterproof. They are vaguely race-style boots, which was not what I was really looking for, but everything else in the sub-£150 region that claimed waterproofness looked either like updated Derriboots or something a docker would wear when he was certain a 40-tonne container would be dropped on his foot. They were (I think) about £140, but the name and the Italian origin won me over.

They are made of Lorica, which is a synthetic leather substitute. It looks like leather, it feels like leather, and (I understand) it also protects like leather. Unlike leather, you can clean it by running the boot under a tap, and it is - yes indeed - absolutely waterproof. It fastens with a zip up the inside, which has a gusset of waterproof nylon material behind it, and the front part, which carries a very serious-looking plastic shin-protector, wraps over the zip with Velcro. They are easy to get on and off, and the fit is quite generous. The sole is quite thin and light, which means that you can feel gear changes very easily and be delicate on the back brake, and there is a slim heel to make walking for short distances a reasonable proposition. If you try this, you will be pleased to learn that they don't squeak.

I needed waterproof, and I got waterproof. In nearly four years of almost-daily use, they have never let in a drop of water. Not once. I find that quite impressive.

I have quite broad feet, and Italian footwear is often way too narrow for me, but these fit me fine. I chose half a size bigger than normal, to allow for wearing thick socks in the winter, but in fact the boots are quite warm and this is rarely necessary.

One disappointment is the quality of the zips. I had had the first pair for only about six months when the zip on the right boot gave way. M&P replaced them, although they tried the line that 'we will have to send them back to the manufacturers for inspection before they will authorise a new pair'. A quick reminder of the Sale of Goods Act 1883, as amended, and they agreed to replace, but only if I presented them in person. One trip to Swansea later, I had a new pair. About a year later, the tang broke off one of the zips (again, the right-hand one) and I replaced it with one of those cheapie plastic-loop key-rings hooked through the stub. The plastic loop has gone, but the ring is still there and they work fine. However, the right-hand zip has started to jam on occasions, and I suspect that they will be due for replacement before too long.

They have also started to get a little ripe. I don't think that the Lorica breathes at all, and so although they are fine to wear in hot weather - they don't overheat - I think daily use and the lack of ventilation over three years has formed a biohazard in there. I need to get some trainer-tamer type stuff [1].

Protection is good. There is a big plastic moulding across the front in the shin area, two plastic cups over the ankle-bones, and a plastic heel cup. They feel very solid and safe; I have whacked my feet several times on footpegs and the like and the boots have saved me from bruises and bangs. There is a reinforcing patch for the gear-lever on both boots. Although Lorica doesn't break in like leather does, these boots have worn to my shape quite well.

In summary:

Good:

• 100% waterproof.
  
• Light and easy to wear, comfort when walking is adequate.
• Easy to put on and take off.
  
• Looks go equally well with leathers, textiles or jeans.
• Good impact protection.

Less good:

• Zip quality not up to the standard of the rest.
• Poor ventilation.

Would I recommend them? Yes, with the above slight reservations. Would I buy them again when these wear out? Probably not - I will be looking for something with less 'race-boot' styling. But overall, I don't regret the money I spent on them.

There's a favourable review on these boots here. Still available, at around £135.

"If you have to make do with just one pair of boots to use in all weathers and all circumstances then the Sidi Black Rain Evo has to be just about the best possible choice you could make."

I'd agree with that, although from the comments it seems I am not alone with my breaking zips.

[1] I was told by someone that a good way to stop footwear smelling without the use of nasty chemicals is to put them in a plastic bag and leave them in a freezer overnight. The cold kills the bugs that cause the odour. I did this when I didn't need the boots for a few days, and I forgot I had put them there. Of course, the next time I needed the boots, they were nowhere to be seen. I eventually remembered where I had put them, but I had to put them on immediately, as I was late for work. My feet have never been so cold! It worked on the bugs, though.

Scottoiler

A few weeks ago, a friend from the TOMCC told me he had a Scottoiler that he wasn't using, and offered it to me free of charge. Fitting one of these was on my 'to do when funds allow' list for the Bonnie, so I bit his hand off and he passed it to me a few days later at a club meet.

A motorcycle chain should be lubricated regularly - even as often as every 200 miles in wet or dusty weather. For those that don't know, a chain oiler is a small reservoir of oil that is fitted to the bike and delivers a metered amount of oil to the chain while the bike is running. There are several makes and designs, but my preferred option is the Scottoiler. I have fitted these devices to two of my previous bikes, and they work well. One fill of oil lasts about 1000 miles - enough for most tours, or 6-7 weeks of commuting for me. I generally lube the chain on my bikes every week, but the Bonnie (like many modern bikes) lacks a centre stand, and so lubing the chain involves either walking the bike to and fro while trying to keep the oil bottle or spray in the right direction, or putting it up on the bike lift: more hassle than I need for a simple and regular maintenace operation. I would recommend a chain oiler for any bike in regular use that doesn't have a centre stand. It saves time and hassle, and you can't forget to do it.

The great thing about the Scottoiler is that it is fully automatic. It works by gravity, with the oil reservoir above the chain height, and with a narrow tube leading down to the rear sprocket. A little nozzle ensures that the oil is delivered to the exact spot. The reservoir has a valve which is opened by engine vacuum, so when the engine starts, so does the oiler. It delivers about one drop per minute, so standing in traffic with the engine running is no big deal. All you have to do is fill the reservoir every so often, and check periodically that the chain is moist with a coat of oil.

(Note: the version I fitted is called the vSystem - for vacuum - and used to be called the Universal Kit. There is also a system using electronics to meter the oil delivery called the eSystem. This costs over £200, and as the original system works perfectly well, I can't see why you would want one. Unless you want another module on your handlebars telling you how much oil it is delivering, which might be interesting to technojunkies, it's just more complexity for no benefit that I can see.)

The Scottoiler that Andy gave me (thanks buddy) was minus a couple of essential bits, but these are all available from the company's website: www.scottoiler.com. Ten quid for the extra bits was well worth it, considering the full kit now costs £90. (Still worth it even at that price, though.) So today I got round to fitting it.

Fitting is pretty straightforward. You start at the delivery end, and make sure that the delivery pipe is in the right position relative to the rear sprocket and chain. The kit comes with a lot of brackets of various sizes and designs to make this as easy as possible. Fortunately, I had lots of bits left over from previous installs, so I was able to find a bracket that suited the Bonnie perfectly. It fits to the main axle bolt and I bent it round to get the nozzle right on the sprocket at the 7 o'clock position. I took the right-hand silencer off to make access a bit easier.





After this, you work upwards. A plastic guide for the delivery tube is glued to the underside of the swingarm, and the tube glued into the guide (Superglue provided in the kit). You need to make sure that the place you are sticking it onto is clean and free of grease, which means a bit of work with the old degreaser and then roughing it down with a bit of sandpaper. Three cable ties for extra security and we're done. Then you fasten the reservoir to the frame somewhere. This is usually the most difficult bit - not the fastening, but finding somewhere suitable. The reservoir needs to be about 12" above the chain, and as near to vertical as possible. When I fitted the device to bikes previously, I tried to hide it away somewhere, but this just means more hassle when fitting, and taking off body panels and parts when the time comes to fill it up again, so this time I just cable-tied it to the frame in full view. The Bonnie is a fairly nuts'n'bolts type bike anyway, and it doesn't look out of place. If I had a Ducati 1098, I might make more of an effort to hide it. But this way, I can see how much oil is left without having to take anything apart, and filling is similarly straightforward.



The only other thing to fit is the vacuum tube which activates the valve in the reservoir. This involved simply removing a rubber cap from the carb intake and fitting a rubber elbow with the vacuum tube attached. It's a bloody tight fit (and should be), so soaking the elbow in hot water and applying a dab of Fairy Liquid helps.



The reservoir has a breather tube that needs to be tucked away somewhere - I put mine under the seat alongside the battery.

After that, all you need to do is fill the reservoir, prime it, and adjust the flow rate. The breather tube is detached, and a bottle of oil is plugged into the nozzle at the top of the reservoir. You set the reservoir dial to 'prime', then start the engine (to release the vacuum valve) and squeeze the bottle until oil comes out at the delivery nozzle. You must do this until there are no air bubbles in the tube and there is an unbroken column of oil. Once the oil is flowing through, you adjust the dial until oil is coming out at the rate of about one drop per minute. Let me tell you, this can take quite a while and is a very dull activity.

Then go and make a cup of tea. Here's the whole installation, and I don't think it is too obtrusive.



I shall check the state of the chain and the amount of oil flung onto the number plate and rear wheel for the next few days of riding, to make sure the delivery is enough but not excessive. Adjusted properly, there should be very little oil flung about. There is always some, but I regard that as an acceptable price for having a chain which is constantly lubricated and therefore efficient.

There are PDFs describing the fitting of a Scottoiler to almost every bike known to Man on the Scottoiler website, and there is a very friendly telephone helpline, so there's no excuse for getting it wrong.

The Scottoiler is simple, robust and foolproof. I'm happy to recommend it wholeheartedly.

Kit Report - Targa Waterproof Gloves

This isn't going to be a recommendation, more of a commendation for good value.

My winter handwear for many years was a pair of Frank Thomas Aqua leather gloves. These were alleged to be waterproof, and were pretty good for the first few years, but over time they lost their waterproof character and started to let in a bit of dampness. They were made before waterproof membranes like Gore-Tex were routinely included in bike-wear, and I suspect they kept the water out just by the thickness of leather and being bloody well made. I kept the ingress to a minimum by treating the gloves regularly with dubbin, but they were no longer reliably waterproof. However, they are so damn' comfy and warm that I didn't have the heart to bin them. Last winter, I got them wringing wet during one downpour, and went to my local dealer to look for a cheap pair of winter gloves to tide me over. I assumed that in the 15 or so years since I had bought winter gloves, the technology had improved, and when I saw a pair advertised as 'waterproof' for under £20, I grabbed them.



These are made by Targa, and although it doesn't say so on the gloves or the packaging they came in, they are the Mission model (available online here). They are constructed mainly of nylon, with leather facings on the palm, across the backs and down the fingers. In the photo, they look quite substantial, but in fact they feel very light and quite flimsy. The leather is very thin. There are elasticated ribs across the backs, and what look to be reinforced knuckle protectors, but in fact these are only hard foam pads beneath the leather outer. They have a Hipora membrane (which is supposed to be waterproof, like a cheaper version of Gore-Tex) and are lined with Thinsulate.

The good:

• They are reasonably warm, especially with some glove liners. My hands only got cold when the gloves were wet through to the inside. In the dry they were fine.
• The cuff arrangement works well for me. I prefer gloves to come over the jacket cuffs, rather then under, and these expand sufficiently to allow this, but have a Velcro closure that lets you make a tight fit after they are on (and it's easy to do this with the second glove you put on, which isn't always the case).
• They aren't 100% waterproof, but for all normal purposes they would be. On the journey home, they were wet inside after about 4 hours of solid rain, but this was on a bike with no fairing or hand protectors, and they really got a soaking. For day-to-day use, they would be fine.
• Despite having a thermal liner, they are not too bulky and allow a good feel for the controls (with one exception - see below).

The bad:

• They are definitely lightweight and feel flimsy - light is good, flimsy is not.
• They are essentially nylon gloves with leather reinforcements, and the leather is thin. Also, the 'knuckle protection' is only foam and looks better than it is. All in all, I wouldn't want to crash in them.
• They do let in water after a time, which suggests that the Hipora membrane is not working properly, or is badly fitted.
  
• The thumbs are too long for me, which means I have a little flap about half an inch long at the end of each thumb. This makes using the indicator a bit hit-and-miss.

Summary: not a great pair of gloves, in comparison with (say) my Richa summer gloves, which are proper, well-stitched leather and have hard Kevlar knuckle protectors. But the Richas cost three times as much, and I have to admit that, for a mere 20 beer tokens, the Targas are bloody good value. I took spare gloves with me to Newcastle, but I didn't need them. The Targas saw me through about 18 hours of riding in miserable weather, and I still had functioning hands at the end. So, a recommendation, but with reservations.

For the colder parts of the ride, I also wore some glove liners. These were purchased at one of the 'motorbike days' at either Lidl or Aldi, can't remember which. They are stretchy material, a bit like Lycra, and a bit of a loose fit on me. But the difference they made on the colder bits of the ride was huge. I can't remember how much they were, probably a fiver or less, but if they appear again I will be having some more. They work well, and are great value.

Kit Report - ex-Police Hi-Viz Jacket

I bought this two winters ago. I ought to say at the outset that I am not a big fan of high-visibility clothing for motorcyclists. I'm not against it, but I do feel that a lot of people put far too much importance on it. Politicians, regulators and researchers are all in favour, and I think their approval is the result of some misguided thinking: if so many motorcycle accidents are caused by the other driver not seeing the biker, then making bikers more visible will cure the problem. Of course, it's a lot more complicated than that. Some bikers follow the bad logic - if accidents are caused by motorcyclists not being seen, then if I wear hi-viz I will be free of risk (or, goes the corollary, if there is an accident, it won't be my fault). This is, of course, bollocks. I have talked about this a lot elsewhere, so I won't repeat myself, but in essence the way to be safe on a bike is to ride as if no-one can see you. Proper defensive riding is far more use than looking like a Christmas tree. However, the statistics show that riders who wear conspicuous clothing are proportionately represented slightly less in the accident figures (although this may be a sampling bias - the riders who wear the gear tend to be the safer riders anyway), so there are circumstances where I will wear the yellow. But I do it according to conditions and circumstances, not as a cast-iron rule, and I never believe that the gear I am in will prevent an accident, although it may reduce the likelihood of one.

I made the decision to get this jacket after an incident (well, a potential incident) two winters ago. I was leaving work at about 5.30 pm one January evening. It was dark, and the rain was heavy. It was one of those nights that just seemed blacker than normal, if you know what I mean. I was on the XT600. I packed my work gear into the top box and fired it up, and then set off up the site road heading for home. I had gone about 100m when the bike suddenly stopped dead - the engine cut out and the lights failed in an instant. I pushed it to some shelter and had a quick grope around in the dark, found the main fuse had blown, and replaced it. The bike started as normal, but as soon as I switched on the lights it died again. OK, a short somewhere, but it needed daylight and some more tools to investigate, so I parked the bike somewhere safe, and got a lift home. (It turned out to be a short in the headlamp cowl, but it took a bit of finding.) But it made me think. About half a mile down the road on my way home was a stretch of A-road which was very busy at that time of night. It's unlit, it passes through some woodland, it's downhill and twisty, and there are high banks on either side. And cars (and bikes too, oops) tear down there at high speeds. If the bike had cut out there, I would have been toast. No power and, crucially, no lights. They would be wiping me off the windscreen before they had seen me. Clearly, something that would show up well in headlights - unlike the almost-matte black suit I wear in bad weather - might make a difference.

So that night I had a look on eBay and found someone selling an ex-Police motorcycle jacket: yellow hi-viz, with retro-reflective bands, chequer-pattern stripes and proper bloke sizes. (The seller was nick120_4, although I haven't seen anything similar from him since.) The only thing that distinguished it from a proper Police jacket was that the word 'Police' had been removed from the blue panels - apparently to comply with the law. It was 100% waterproof and lined with Gore-Tex, and that sold it to me. I think it was £50.



With a flash on the camera, it looks pretty conspicuous in headlights:



It was exactly what I was looking for, and I was very pleased I had got it. I didn't wear it every day, but if I was riding after dark and it was raining, I brought it with me and I was glad of it. It's big enough to fit over my usual leather jacket, and has the added advantage of keeping the leathers dry and cutting the wind to slow down heat loss.

The disadvantage is that you look a bit (OK, a lot) like a copper. On the ratty old XT, most people weren't fooled, although I did notice car drivers sometimes behaving in an oddly polite manner. But on the Pan (also ex-Police), the effect was startling. It would take a very cool driver to see me coming up in his mirrors, see the word Police had been erased from the jacket, note the lack of aerials on the bike, and know he could continue at 90 mph as he pleased. People would move over to let me through, let me out at junctions, and generally behave in a cringingly subservient manner. I found this amusing. The disadvantage was on roads where overtaking was difficult. You would come up behind someone doing a perfectly reasonable and safe 70 mph, and they would suddenly drop to 56 mph and stay there. The Pan had a calibrated speedo, so I could tell they thought they were doing exactly 60 on their over-reading speedometers. Amusing for a while. On the M6 last week, cruising at a steady 70-75 on an obviously non-Police Bonnie, I lost count of the number of cars that roared past in lane 3 and then pulled meekly in front and slowed to the limit when they saw me.

Anyway, a long way of getting round to the choice of garment for the trip. I knew I might be meeting some bad weather, and I knew I would be riding after dark, and I knew I would be possibly doing either or both on busy motorways, so I chose to wear the jacket from the start. This had the added advantage of reassuring Anna, who was a little nervous about me making the trip on the bike anyway. And when I was on the M6 going over Shap Fell in driving rain and spray, I was very glad that I was a little more visible (and dry) than I might have been otherwise.

As a shell, the jacket was brilliant. Over the textile suit, it was a little tighter than over the leathers, but it kept the water at bay superbly: the suit jacket was almost dry at the end of the two days. It is meant to be an outside layer, as there is no lining, just a Gore-Tex membrane bonded to a nylon outer, but that meant that it dried out in no time too.

There are two further advantages to wearing it, which are not obvious.

One is that it may give the impression to other motorists that you are a sensible and serious rider - after all, hooligans don't wear hi-viz, do they? When I am wearing it, I seem to feel that car drivers are a little less aggressive, and a little more co-operative. Perhaps I am putting my own interpretation on this - when I am out on the road, riders in hi-viz (on big bikes, at least) make me think 'serious rider, possibly a bit boring, but unlikely to do anything silly'. Simpson helmets, camo trousers and Billy Mitchell helmet-ears tend to have the reverse effect.

The other is that people are nice to you. I am pretty sure this is another aspect to the 'looks like a copper' thing. I passed through Aberystwyth on the way North, and a pretty student on the pavement gave me a huge smile. It cheered me up all the way to Chester. I thought nothing of it (other than 'should I do a U-turn right now?'), but then when I was waiting in a queue for food at a service area there was the same thing. Men stood to one side and called me 'mate', women smiled and got their children to behave. It was quite uncanny. There's a PhD for someone in all this - how the British, despite their chippiness and independence, go all gooey and subservient in the presence of someone who they think is in authority. Especially if they are a teensy bit over the speed limit.

All in all - a lot of money for what is essentially a second-hand jacket, but fulfils its function brilliantly well, and recommended for journeys where hi-viz is likely to be of benefit. Over winter, it will stay in the left-hand pannier in case of really bad visibility, or when I misjudge the weather and go out under-dressed.

One thought - how do the Police feel about someone riding around in one of 'their' jackets? Well, I was followed from Aberaeron down the coast road on Saturday night by a Volvo I could not shake off. He must have followed me for 5 miles before he swept past, and then I realised it was a Police car. He must have clocked the jacket, but he didn't seem to mind that - or the fairly 'spirited' riding style I was innocently displaying.

Kit Report - Shoei XR1000

Today seems like as good a time as any to review the performance of my regular kit, after the thorough testing I gave it last week. I hope it is of some use to someone, but bear in mind this is only my opinions and not in any way a scientific or balanced assessment. On the positive side, I have paid for all this stuff with my own money (with one exception, thanks Endo) and so anything I say will be unbiased and as objective as I can make it.

First off, the brain bucket that kept my head dry and the bugs out of my eyes - my 'main' helmet, a three-year-old Shoei XR1000.



It's often said that you either have an Arai-shaped head or a Shoei-shaped head. I have never actually owned an Arai, but long experience has shown me that Shoei fits me fine. I came back to biking after a break of a few years in 2007. I had kept my old Shoei and wore that for a while, but the lining had gone mis-shapen and it was very uncomfortable. I bought a cheap Caberg as a stop-gap, but only until I could get a new Shoei. I finally found one on eBay at a price I could afford. It was brand-new-in-box, but was last year's graphics and was therefore offered by this seller at a huge discount over the then-current prices. I think it cost me £245, when new ones with the latest designs were nearer £400. I'm not a fashion victim and I quite liked the look of the thing anyway, so a deal was done.

For me, it's very comfy to wear. I can wear it all day (say three hours at a stretch and nine hours total), and by the end of the day there is only a slight discomfort around the ears where the ear cups have started to rub. It's reasonably quiet - certainly quieter than most helmets I have had, but I have never used something like a Schuberth which are reckoned to be the quietest around, so I can't compare it with those. I have never known any helmet's ventilation system to work, and the XR is no exception. I can slide all of the little buttons and flaps, and it makes not one iota of difference. Perhaps if I were planning to ride a lot in a hot country I might consider something with a cooling airflow, but there's no rush living in a temperate climate.

The best feature of the helmet is the visor. For one thing, it is easy to remove without tools, and the mechanism is robust, so there's little chance of being stranded somewhere with a useless helmet because of a bit of broken plastic. Rotate the visor to a marked position, flip a lever on either side, and the visor lifts off. The visors are not cheap - about £30 - but they are anti-scratch coated and made to take a Pinlock insert, more of which in a moment. Using one for daily commuting, the visors last me about a year. I could probably make them do for a lot longer, but I am very fussy about being able to see where I am going. I get mine from Race Visors, who are based in Guernsey and seem able to supply everything from standard clear to black, unlike mainland-based suppliers. I usually go for the 'light tint', which is road legal but has just enough of a tint to cut the worst of the glare (the photo above shows a clear visor). On long trips I carry a clear spare (usually the one I have previously retired), but in fact last week I wore the tinted visor all the time, and riding in the pitch black and rain was no problem. The eyes adjust very quickly.

I can't speak highly enough of the Pinlock system. This consists of a clear insert which attaches to the inside of the visor with two pegs. The insert has a soft seal around the edge, and creates a layer of dry air next to the visor, a bit like double-glazing. This goes a long way to preventing misting, and I believe the inserts also have a coating on the inside face that further prevents the formation of condensation on the inside. I have always had a problem with fogging visors, and with my previous Shoei I had got used to riding with the visor permanently open one notch for six months of the year. My eyes watered with the cold air on every ride. With a new Pinlock, I can sit at traffic lights in the pouring rain in January, with the visor fully closed, and not get any misting at all. You are looking through four air/perspex interfaces instead of two, and this does mean that oncoming headlights create slightly more starring than a plain visor, but it's no big deal, and is vastly outweighed in safety terms by the ability to ride in heavy traffic with your eyes on the task and not blinking from the cold air. Unfortunately, the Pinlock inserts don't last indefinitely, and after about a year with me they start misting over - although a lot less than with no insert at all - and I replace them. Maybe I wipe the coating off when I clean the inside of the visor, I dunno. But one a year doesn't seem a huge cost, when set against the enormous benefits in comfort and safety of being able to see clearly whatever the weather. (The Caberg I bought, which is a fine helmet in other ways, mists up on a warm day in June. Perhaps I should learn to stop breathing.) I will never buy another full-face helmet without a Pinlock insert. They are that good.

The fastening is a traditional double D-ring, and I am very happy with that. It's a little fiddly, but the advantage is that you adjust the fit every time you wear it. My open-face helmet has a seat-belt type clip, and while that is marginally easier to use, it needs constant adjustment of the buckle if it is to remain properly tight. The Shoei's strap has a dinky little stud that fastens the long end onto itself after you have tightened it, to stop any annoying flapping at speed. It works.

The XR1000 only gets a 3-star rating on the SHARP website. It's rated 'very good' for impacts to the front, crown and back, but 'fairly poor' for side impacts. The newer XR1100 gets five stars, and is rated 'good' for side impacts as well as 'very good' in the other places. That's a significant improvement, but it doesn't put me off the XR1000. It may be short-sighted of me, but comfort and useability (like the anti-fogging) come much higher up my list of desirables than a notional safety rating based on lab tests. If you're in an accident where the helmet is being tested to that extent, then you're in big trouble anyway. Better to have a helmet that allows you to concentrate on your riding in comfort, and avoid the situation in the first place. I'm not knocking the SHARP system, but it's only part of the function of the helmet. The XR1000 is ECE 22.05 certified, and that is enough for me.

The helmet is starting to show its age now. A bit of vigorous cleaning one day snapped the little plastic vent cover at the back, and that is now permanently open. It makes no difference, and I am in no hurry to fix it. It still looks smart and it will do me another couple of years at least. With most things, I am slightly pleased when they wear out or break, as this gives the opportunity to buy something different, but I will keep the XR until it falls apart. No rush.

I'm a Squid

Today was beautifully warm, and I had been working outside in the sun for a few hours this morning, so I was hot. And I needed to fill the bike up for a run-out tomorrow. So I went to the petrol station and - get this - I wore jeans and a t-shirt. No gloves, no leather jacket. No Kevlar. Just an open-face helmet and sunglasses.

Let me tell you, it felt great.

And I got a right old rocket from Anna when I got back.