Reviews written by Leigh Godson

A nice looking but plain stainless unit that gives out a decent throaty note without needing a big faff with Dyno setups.

Removing the baffle is about as simple as you would ever need and just a small screw does the trick, only really the end result of a low speed drop spoils what would have been a good result and that seems to caused by a 3 stud (OEM) fitting that adds a stress area and bulk.

Ok here goes, I am amazed that this tyre has been able to follow an outright sports tyre and deliver such great results, the Roadtec Z6 Interact not only grips like a limpet in the dry but also delivers no-drama at all in wet and snow/slushy conditions.

Longevity seems high as I would expect from a sports touring tyre and feedback is neutral across the range of conditions, the only thing I want to try out now is if the Z6's big sporty brother the M5 Interact can deliver anywhere near the same result.

A pricey but nice lid that ticks all the boxes for a comfortable helmet that you can wear every day, I didnt want to like the Quantum because of the price but after seeing the service warranty was converted.

Only the lack of room in the chin area and a tiny bit of fogging marred what was really a pretty good test overall, the finish on the helmet is nothing short of stunning and you know with every Arai you get a top quality, handmade helmet that will last you as long as you need it to.

A thin and grippy rubber makes a nice change from the usual thick plasticky units you find and coupled with the decent heat you get through the bars it makes the R&G grips worth a look.

This is especially the case when you consider the price though, at £29.99 they are a steal and seem to be no better or worse quality than their main rivals charging twice (and some nearly triple) the price.

Fitting the unit is relatively simple by hooking it up the battery but you need to try and find a place for the connector to exit without removing seats or panels for maximum convenience. Quality wise the unit is solid and sturdy and despite living outside I have yet to see a single issue or have a problem with the charge - even with 2 foot of snow on top of the bike (currently)

Function wise, well for the model without the volt and amp readout you get everything you need and it tells you what is going on with nice big and bright LED's. In terms of daily use it is as simple as get off the bike, connect the charger and forget about it - you really cannot ask for it any simpler.

All in all the Acumen is very nice, a deep glossy paint finish and IP54 rating are a nice feature, it would have been nicer though if perhaps Acumen had thought about making the unit waterproof rather than splashproof for total outdoor usage - there are plenty of users who do not have indoor access or close proximity to an indoor power point that need a charger.

Quality wise this is actually pretty good, all electrics are sealed within the unit and the plastics are all solid to the touch, as mentioned already the fitting is problematic compared to the OEM unit and as a result the workaround leads to a mark down in the visibility rating.

One alternative would be to grind down the tail fairing a little but to me that is a step too far... Styling is not bad with its clear plastic and of course LED's whih tidy up the backend, perhaps trying to add something different to the OEM would have been better though.

One area that gets 5 stars here is the longevity, I have yet to find a properly fitted LED light that fails anywhere near as often as standard GLS and this unit is no different, what has greatly reduced the overall rating of this review though is simply the legality of it. An MOT fail and a tug from the cops means that this is impractical as your general light should you wish to stay legal. The end result of buying an integrated light in the UK is that you cannot use half of its function so 2 stars.

In use the Esystem was flawless and out of the chain oiling products we have tested at Bikechatter it is the one we would all pick if we had the choice, fitting is simple and non-technical and overall it appears to be a very convenient product.

Price wise we are starting to see deals pop up over the net which is good, at £210.00 RRP it is quite costly if you have not used one and have no first hand experience of the hassle it will save, that said for everyone who has used it the cost seemed to dwindle into a moot point.

Some people will be staunchly against spending above £150 for a lazy way to lube their chain but when you factor in the time it save you for both oiling the chain manually and also cleaning up the fling from your wheel and then base that on a number of years using the Esystem it surely pays for itself - we are all sold on it and it seems across the intertubes a lot of other journo's are too!

For the price you will be astounded by how good these levers are made, the quality of the bearings and fitting. Put simply they are half the price of their rivals and in use do a very nice job.

If there were a few more colour options on the levers themselves the styling rating would be higher and only one small point I found on the clutch lever dropped a point so overall they get two thumbs up from me

For the price these did an ok job but the heat seemed to take a while to build up to maximum and when the temperature dropped my hands still felt the nip more than I would have expected.

Fitting was simple and apart from the wires getting a little in the way the controls were easy to use while riding, other than that had the grips been a little softer they would have offered a greater level of overall feedback.

Overall these are a good boot and are very comfortable and for the price of £70 good value for money especially when put into context with other brands offerings that do the same thing.

Apart from the Velcro issue I have not other complaints with quality and generally they feel solid throughout with no seams showing signs of letting go as as a result in the torrent of weather that is the UK they keep you dry, protect your feet and you can walk about in them when you got to your destination.

Ok, first questions out of the way - is it worth it? Well I surprised myself by answering a resounding yes! In terms of time saved messing around manually oiling it offers decent value for money and I now have more time to ride my bike.

Initially I followed the advice on the instruction and cleaned my chain prior to fitting and I can now wash my bike down normally with no fling on the wheel but also no gunk build up on the visible part of the chain - just oil where you need it, in the centre. I am converted and find that extra half hour saved in the garage very nice indeed.

Overall a stunningly leightweight helmet that is comfortable to wear as well as nice and quiet. Construction is typical of Shark in that the overall quality is superb with the vents and lining being high end.

Ventilation wise this did not seem to be as gusty as others I have tried but yet there was no fogging from the visor or head sweats, the paint finish on this helmet is also very good and you can see the thickness where it meets the carbon fibre section at the bottom - perhaps a couple of more flashy designs though?

Overall its a well designed back protector that does its job with a difference, its extremely comfortable to wear due to it soft construction and is practical to use everyday as it packs up small and great value for money.

I had always thought of back protectors to really only be used for sports riders and trackday's and until now have been quite content with the inbuilt protection supplied with most jackets - no longer though.

My Knox Kompakt back protector is staying firmly on my back, offering peace of mind and protection.

The Weise Climate jacket is actually a rather nice jacket with overall nice construction but for me it has to drop a point for two small issues, one is the lack of a zipped internal pocket and secondly the waist adjusters had a tendancy to make the jacket rise while riding if they were tightened too much.

That said though it is a waterproof all season jacket that is up to the job, with removable quilted liner it is suitable in the cold too and the Weise WRS (water release system) is a great touch.

The front vent/pocket detail is a little confusing to me though with the pockets being no good as pockets if you are using the vents and so on, if you just use the front waterproof pockets you negate any confusion and it makes the Weise Climate a decent jacket and at a pretty good price.

Immensely comfortable the Climate jeans do not feel as thick as some other models but this is the trade off you will find between usability and durability.

The climate does not feature any form of ventilation in the form of zippers but remains light and airy regardless, what you do get is a waterproof set of motorcycling jeans that will cope with medium showers even without the removable membrane and heavy rain with it included.

External armour pockets won my opinion though as they are such a nice looking set of jeans nipping off to meet some friends in them did not require a change of clothes to go out in.

This is a cracking helmet jam packed with features which unfortunately do make the helmet quite heavy if compared to others but on the whole its a well balanced comfortable lid which is breaking new ground in terms of innovation.

The ventilation system is slightly better than average but not quite as effective as I would have hoped for on a helmet so carefully thought out as this with little touches that I loved like the added sun visor.

The “Air Pump” system definately stops the helmet from moving when travelling at speed and adds to the feeling of safety and quality that this very well constructed helmet gives. One thing that is difficult to express and test on a short term review such as this is how the air pump system will come into its own when the cheek pads have given enough to make the helmet feel loose as they invariably do, being able to take up that slack and give a more personal fit could well be a godsend and may increase the lifespan of the helmet before replacement which is certainly worth consideration.

The XR-1100 is a truly superb helmet and I would expect a lot of other brands to follow suit with its design's over the oming years, in terms of construction it is exceptional with all of the fittings having a solid and expensive feel to them.

Ventilation is huge, I have never felt anything like it from a helmet before but with this comes a noisy downside so unless you are wearing your earplugs it might get a touch loud with all the front vents in action. Surely you are wearing your plugs though - right?

In terms of the Sharp rating it has not been tested as yet so until then it gets the standard 3 star rating I give other helmets but I would expect the Shoei to be as highly rated on safety as previous models.

Overall this is a remarkable helmet, a great shape leads to reduced fatigue and ventilation that will keep your head cool and dry in the hottest conditions - 5 star rating from me!

Not a bad offering at all, the cheapness of the lock clasp meant that it drops points for security and the general finish of the inside meant the same for points in quality but in terms of being a top box that kept rain out it worked as advertised.

This is certainly no Givi but nor is the price and when you see that a Givi backrest costs as much as this entire unit (that includes a backrest as standard) it really becomes a no-brainer for those looking at putting luggage on a bike for the first time or on a budget!

Quite a nice little budget lid that offers good value for money along with a relatively nice fit and finish, ventilation could be a bit better but it remains comfortable and pretty quiet too.

At 1.5kg's is is tipping the scales on the lardy side but that I guess is to be expected from a thermoplastic helmet so the old addage goes here - you get what you pay for!

Superb outright grip in the dry and way above average in the wet too, the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT is an excellent all purpose tyre that can be used on both street and track.

Mileage from the tyre was very good, exceptional even at this grip level and although the actual tyre is rather expensive in comparison to a lot of others it delivered on every level it was asked to.

The odd feedback from uneven surfaces is more of a bugbear than anything, though some may not like the feeling it gives it does become apparent that it is the tyre and you get used to it.

For me the dry grip from this tyre was right on the money and the wet grip equally so when the tyres were warmed, this did not really happen as quickly as I would have liked though and led to a couple of tentative rides.

Feedback from the tyre was good and when up to temp they never tried to let go but did start to slide progressively when the road surface was not up to scratch.

The real rub on these tyres is the longevity, with only 2900 miles clocked before they were done they did not offer the best economy but that is the decision you have to make between grip and miles - usually!

The BT-012 is a reasonable tyre given the right application, when on a bike ridden in anger it was never as confidence inspiring as other tyres we have tried and that fed through to the wet as well, on a couple of occasions it tried to let go and gathered itself back up so while no harm was done the feedback prior to letting go could have been better.

That said if this tyre is used for its purpose you will find no such problem, with a decent mileage range before replacement it will square off long before you get to the end of the tread.

These gloves are great and I haven't worn a different pair since given them to test. The fact they are such excellent value should not make anyone doubt what an absolutely superb quality pair of gloves they are.

Come rain or shine these gloves kept my hands a lovely temperature and were nice and comfy to wear for long and short journeys, even during breaking in they never rubbed or caused me any pain.

This is the best pair of gloves I have owned so far and they are an absolute bargain to boot.

Super grip in the dry and after warming up I could hardly unsettle these when pushed hard, when they did let go though it was not progressive which is a shame as feedback up to this point was nice and reassuring.

In the wet they needed to be up to temperature in order to get the confidence out of them but until this point they were prone to the odd slip here or there - the problem there is if you gather up a nice big slide it tends to knock your confidence a fair bit.

All in all though a nice tyre that wore well, offered good dry grip and feedback right up to the edge of its ability.

A worthy attempt and a tyre that is suitable for high mileage riders but ultimately eclipsed now by better compounds and construction techniques.

The D208 suffered mainly from a lack of outright grip in the wet and dry, when up to temperature they were reasonable but getting them to temp took a while and was a slightly nerve racking process - especially on my local roads.

That said though the D208 is being phased out now by the Qualifier Lines that have been getting some superb press, lets see if we can get some on test.