BikerThomas.com

Shark has released a new helmet series called “RSI-carbon”. The helmet manufacturer are building their new series on the old RSR2-carbon series. The helmet scores 4 stars in the Sharp test (same as the Shark Evoline mentioned in a post last year). The old RSR2-carbon series gets 5 stars in the Sharp test, mind you. Shark promotes its’ new helmet series as an ultra light option where the helmet is  made up of 35% carbon fibers, 35% epoxy resin, 15% aramid fibers and 15% multi axial fibers. The weight is from 1290g to 1360g, depending on the size you need I guess.

The RSI-carbon helmets come in 4 different colours; black, orange, red and white.

Link: http://www.shark-helmets.com/search.php?searchword=RSI+CARBON

PDF: http://www.shark-helmets.com/emailing/2010/RSICarbon/EN.pdf

I finally found a decent sponsor. Motorcycle Superstore seems cool enough. They have all sorts of Kawasaki Vulcan parts and accessories! :)

I just got a newsletter from Shark. They’re launching their new Evoline series, appropriately called “Shark Evoline Series 2”. I have the original Evoline (read about that in this previous post) and I’m happy with it, but what’s new with this one? From the brochure it looks like they’ve upgraded the visor and the sun visor a bit and they claim the visor has a better sealing to keep away wind and rain. Now, I don’t have a problem with that on the original Evoline so that’s not gonna get me running to the shops… What else is new? 1cm extra padding which results in better noise reduction! Now that’s a bit tempting. Other than that there aren’t that many changes, but then again, why change something that works great!

Click here to download the brochure.

Website: www.shark-helmets.com

I got a can of Ledrie leathergrease with my purchase of original Kawasaki saddle bags. I didn’t use the grease the first season and didn’t think much about it until I had to clean the bags and wanted that fresh new look back. I’ve used it many times since then, actually I used it a couple of days ago when I was cleaning and waxing my bike. I just have to say – IT’S REALLY GOOD!

The bags look super clean and get a darker, and more vibrant, colour after using the leathergrease on them. While you’re at it, use the grease on the stock seat as well, it looks great!

I did a search on Ledrie, and it turns out it’s a Dutch company with dealers all of the world. To find your dealer, go to this website:

http://www.ledriesales.nl/

Have you noticed that some riders have a small bell hanging off their motorcycle frame? Do you know why?

That little bell is not just for decoration, it also wards off evil road spirits (gremlins). The gremlins cause all sorts of problems. Have you ever had a flat battery? It’s the gremlins! Did your head lamp stop working for no reason or are you having trouble with shifting gears smoothly? It’s those darn gremlins and according to legend you’ll have to have a gremlin bell to protect you against these evil little bastards…

Apparently gremlins hate the ringing sound of the bell and will go crazy and let their grip off your motorcycle and fall to the roadway.

Most riders believe that the bell only works if it is given to you as a gift, therefore riders buy bells for each other. The saying is that if given to a biker from another biker the bells protective powers are amplified.  Actually, there are forums online where people exchange bells… I don’t have one myself, but I know what I want for my birthday :)

Read more about gremlin bells here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biker’s_bell

  
Bells come in many variants, some are even made in silver and some are for lady riders.

Cool bulldog bell and a skull and bones bell.

My family gave me an excellent little multitool that’ll be great to bring on longer rides where I’ll have to camp. It has all the standard features like a knife, corkscrew, can opener and bottle opener, but it also has a spoon and a fork which is great cause I’ll never have to bring cutlery ever again. It’s also stainless which is good. I’m not sure where they bought it but I’m sure you can find something similar online if you’re interested – soooo hit Google! :)

You don’t actually get a pen with the multitool… it’s just to show you the size of the tool.

I just stumbled upon some more handlebar grips, this time from Arlen Ness. You have 8 different styles to choose from. They look very cool but they don’t look as comfortable as the Kuryakyn ones in my previous post. They go for $120-$150, so if these are your cup of tea, here’s a link to those that Arlen Ness says fits your Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic ’06/’07/’08-model:

Arlen Ness Handlebar Grips

These grips look sooooo sweet! They are supposed to work on all Kawasaki Vulcan models. Compared to the ones that came with my VN900 these look alot better and people say they get a better grip as well. They come with “super hi-strength adhesive” so they’ll stay in place and look quite easy to install. I’ll definitely be ordering these.

Links:
CruiserCustomizing.com Shop
Installation Guide (PDF)