Sounds like a product long overdue, right? You can help bring it to market.

The product is called the BikeSpike, and it's the brainchild of Chicago-based entrepreneur Clay Neigher. An avid cyclist, Neigher came up with the idea behind BikeSpike after his fourth bicycle was stolen.

Yes, that's right - bicycle. As in, pedal power. "I admit I had fellow cyclists in mind originally, but I'm realizing now the potential for the BikeSpike applies far greater, including motorcycles," Neigher said.

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Lowering the tailgate on the Tacoma regains 18 inches of lost length but sacrifices the security of having the tailgate in the upright and locked position. A bed extender seemed the obvious answer, but while researching available options, it became apparent that owning both a bed extender and motorcycle ramp was redundant. So I searched for a combined version and found ReadyRamp.

While ReadyRamp isn't a new product, 2013 models feature a new I-beam construction that ReadyRamp claims is both stronger and lighter than previous versions. Weighing 19 and 21 pounds for the compact and full-size versions, respectively, both are constructed of 6061 T6 aluminum and rated with a 600-pound load capacity. According ReadyRamp's Shawn Ryan, their products have been tested up to 1100 pounds, but advertising at nearly half that strength should ensure no liability issues.

All ReadyRamp pieces are individually wrapped in plastic inside their cardboard container ensuring a scratchless arrival. ReadyRamps arrive semi-assembled and require only the attaching of the rungs to the I-beam frames - a process taking approximately 15 minutes. Our package was short one rung, but the company immediately sent another. Self-tapping screws for attaching the rungs and other mounting hardware are all included.

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Shoppers who make a qualifying $300 purchase at a participating H-D dealership before December 24, 2012 will receive a Harley-Davidson Museum membership and a Limited Edition 110th Anniversary Tin. Inside each tin is a collectible dog tag and keychain, a welcome letter from Bill Davidson and a guide to the H-D Museum. The H-D Museum membership includes V.I.P. benefits, a members-only newsletter and access to exclusive members-only content on its website. This special offer has a $75 value and is only valid at participating dealerships.

KTM/Alpinestars Stocking

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Pirelli's fascination with rubber goes well beyond tires. In the early days, the company produced "sanitary and haberdashery articles." From there, the decision to make other articles of clothing "featuring a textile and aesthetic use of rubber," came naturally. By the 1950s, Pirelli Confezioni were known for making raincoats, overcoats, boots and industrial work attire, utilizing information gleaned from tire manufacturing.

Fast forward to 2002, where market research has shown public perception of Pirelli to be "glamorous, sexy and fashionable," thanks in large part to the Pirelli annual calendar - a limited-availability glamour calendar dating back to 1964 featuring well-known models and personalities of each generation. With this background, CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera decided to revamp the brand's fashion line, dubbing it "PZero" after the hugely successful automobile tire introduced in 1987.

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On the downside, a single unit retails for $219, high enough to put it out of reach for many riders. And if you want to talk to another rider or your passenger, you'll have to shell out a dollar shy of 400 big 'uns for a two-unit set.

In response, Sena has introduced the SMH5 communicator system, a few-frills version of the SMH10, coming in almost a C-note cheaper at $129 for a single unit. A dual pack comes in at $249 and allows for two-person communication over a shorter range than the SMH10.

The SMH5 uses the latest Bluetooth v3.0 technology instead of the new-at-the-time v2.1 protocol installed in the SMH10 we tested in 2011. The latest SMH10 also uses v3.0, which allows faster data transfer rates. It's compatible with Bluetooth devices such as phones, GPS and music players.

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Pointing to your fuel tank is the international hand signal for "I need gas." The easily understood gesture is one of many in the lexicon of motorcycle sign language. Born from the need to communicate when dialogue isn't an option, these gesticulations convey fundamental information but fail to impart the details.

Advantages of using the G4 system go beyond discussing fuel needs and wrong turns. The open channel of communication allows a lead rider to announce road hazards while the clean-up rider can keep the group together when a laggard gets caught in traffic or at a stoplight. The voice-activated, noise-canceling microphone transmits a wind-noise-free communique from within most full-face helmets. As long as riders remain within sight of one another, the G4 will continue communication up to one mile. The unit's flip-up antenna helps extend the range.

The G4's voice-activated microphone functions perfectly inside traditional full-face helmets, but the extra wind flowing into a helmet with an extended chin area (like the Arai XD in the photo below) can cause unwanted mic activation, transmitting annoying wind noise to your mates. Volume from the ear pieces is more than adequate at lower speeds, and is even audible at highway speeds. However, we noticed that the placement of the speakers directly over the ear canal is vital for clearly communicating above 65 mph.

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More and more Baby Boomers have turned to luxo-tourers in recent years, foregoing some boulevard cool for cushy creature comforts. And once you've tasted the long-haul lifestyle, a craving for parts and accessories naturally follows. This has not gone unnoticed by factories and aftermarketers, who would like nothing more than to supply some chrome-coated sugar. Honda alone, for example, offers no less than 47 accessories for the latest Gold Wing.

So we thought we'd take a look at some of the available touring accessories and compile a list of the 10 best touring items you should place on your must-have list to optimize your open-road adventures.

1. Navigation Systems

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As technology advances, all three issues have progressively improved. And with the advent of Bluetooth technology, the range of a communicator's functionality have expanded greatly.

And that's where Sena comes in. Its SMH10 Bluetooth Headset and Intercom is the company's latest offering in communicating devices for the motorcycle market (Sena also produces other, non-motorcycle-related communication products). The SMH10 allows Bluetooth intercom communication with up to three other SMH10 units, with a claimed range of up to 900 yards. And because it features Bluetooth v2.1 technology, it can also be paired up with an MP3 player, GPS navigation and a cell phone (assuming all three are Bluetooth capable).

Each package contains the headset main unit, a speaker-microphone clamp unit (with an Allen wrench), a stereo jack (to plug a music device directly into the SMH10 if it isn't Bluetooth capable), a glued mounting surface adaptor (which can be used instead of the clamp unit), a microphone sponge, Velcro pads, and a DC charger for use at home. A neat feature we found is the included 12-volt charger for use on motorcycles equipped with an on-board outlet. This allows for direct charging of the unit while it's in use. Great idea, Sena. Should you forget the 12v charger, Sena claims talk time of 12 hours with a standby time of 10 days.

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Just for starters, where Amelia Earhart crashed might never have been a mystery. The '60s TV show Gilligan's Island might never have been produced because it would have been rejected as an unlikely scenario. And perhaps more relevantly: that time your motorcycle broke down in the middle of nowhere and you had no means to communicate might never have become the epic - or harrowing - adventure it was.

What is the Satellite Messenger? In a nutshell, it's a lightweight, water-resistant, reasonably tough transponder of sorts. It communicates via global communications satellite and a low earth orbiting satellite network - not to show you where you are, but the opposite: it lets others know where you are when you press a button to tell them.

Does it work? Most of the time, and the times it doesn't get through couldn't be called a product defect, but we'll get to that.

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Each is advertised as being designed "for bikers by bikers," and both were released in 2009 as second-generation devices, coming on the heels of the original Rider and zūmo 450/550 respectively.

Major features in common

The Rider 2 and zūmo 660 are said to cost more than automotive-oriented units because they are built to handle a bike's vibration, have touch screens operable by the left or right hand with gloves on, and are water resistant to an "IPX7" rating, meaning they can survive immersion in one meter of water for 30 minutes.

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And just like any technology race, this one had me more excited about video production for Motorcycle.com. The ContourHD, also known by its more common name, VholdR, is a water-resistant high-def helmet cam system with a 135-degree field of vision - all the action, sans the distortion. It's also shock, vibration and impact resistant.

Unfortunate as it may be, a direct comparison to the older, standard-definition VholdR cannot be made anymore, as our test unit was scraped off an editor's motorcycle at over 100 miles per hour and acquired a few too many internal bruises.

Warranty repairs are available for 180 days from purchase, but ours was more than a year old. Regardless, it's a moot point, as the latest and greatest camera from VholdR shoots both SD (standard definition) and HD (high-definition)! Furthermore, the SD mode (yet still widescreen) shoots 60 frames per second (59.97), which can be then used for slow-mos. Booyah!

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Sometimes you just need to decide, as a group, where to stop for a 10-100 or a crunchy bean & cheese burrito. It's amazing how enjoyable a group ride can be when you're all on the same page! And with a plethora of communication options at our disposal, it's hard to make the right choice.

Many are familiar with the terrific-yet-spendy radio-based Chatterbox communication system. It's a terrific long-range and expandable solution if you and your friends have the cash to buy into the kit which can run upward of $700 for a pair of high-end units. Lesser expensive solutions for rider-to-passenger and bike-to-bike communication have cropped up in the last few years based on the popular Bluetooth technology.

Enter the function-packed Cardo Scala Rider Q2 system (MSRP $219.99). You might be familiar with the Cardo name from inner-office comm devices or cellular phone accessories such as hands-free headsets. This is basically the same type of cell-phone product, but redesigned to fit into a motorcyclist's helmet; either full-face or open.

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So now the folks at Leather Therapy send me their kit of products that will put my jacket back in top shape and looking better than new. So do I use their stuff and lose my hard-earned 'cool' status? Oh yeah. I paid too much for my leather jacket to have it fall apart before it should, and I bet you paid a lot for your leather too, so Leather Therapy is the way to go.

The Leather Therapy products include Leather Infusion Wash and Rinse for use in the home laundry, a separate Leather Wash, Restorer & Conditioner, Leather Finish, and Waterproofing product along with a sponge applicator. After consulting with Anna at Leather Therapy, I found that my jacket could go right into the clothes washer for the wash part of the treatment with some of the Infusion Wash mixed in. Leather Infusion Rinse was added into the softening dispenser. The thought of tossing my jacket in the washing machine made me a bit nervous, but she assured me that this would be fine. Just choose a hand wash or gentle cycle, and all will be well. So in it went, and out it came much cleaner looking and smelling great. All the grime was gone and it already looked better than it had in a long time, but I wasn't finished. You can dry the leather by hanging on a padded hanger, or just lay it out on a flat surface with a towel under the jacket.

After letting the leather dry, I applied the Restorer & Conditioner to the jacket to get even more moisture back into those dried-out areas. It took two applications of the product to really bring back the luster of the jacket. After this treatment, the jacket looked fantastic, but I had one more step to go.

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Utah Sportbike Rental operates from Miller Motorsports Park and has 600cc supersport bikes from the Big Four, as well as a Brit machine, available for rent at what we think is a screamin' deal. You can rent a Honda CBR600RR, Kawasaki ZX-6R, Suzuki GSX-R600, Triumph Daytona 675 or Yamaha R6 for the measly rate of $125.00 per day Monday through Thursday. Friday through Sunday rentals are $175 per day. Discounts for multi-day rentals over the weekend, during the week or for a full week are available.

Looking for some Italian flare? USR has a tasty Ducati 749 for rent at the rate of $175 a day Monday through Thursday, or $195 per day Friday through Sunday. And for something different, you can rent a Suzuki DR-Z400SM for only $75 on weekdays! Two hundred miles per day are included for all bikes; unlimited mileage is available for an additional $20 a day. As an added and helpful bonus, riding gear is also available at no cost.

This is an excellent way to have a track day at Miller. Purchase your trackday, rent the bike, then just show up and ride. At day's end you go home free and clear of all the hassle of dealing with the machine. For a fee, Utah Sportbike Rental will also deliver rental bikes to the greater Salt Lake City metro area so you can enjoy street riding if that's more your speed.

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The people behind Leather Therapy got going with a range of leather care products for the equestrian field back in 1995, and since then they've gone from strength to strength, expanding into other fields like motorcycling.

The Leather Therapy motorsports range includes a wash, restorer/conditioner, water repellent, leather infusion wash, leather infusion rinse, touch-up leather dye and a leather finish.

Collectively, they'll keep your leathers looking spic and span, whether you bought them last year or last century.

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Even the best of the best have a mentor or someone to turn to for advice and coaching. We all need that. Like the saying often goes, you can't see the forest because all the trees are in the way. Eventually you need to "see" yourself from the outside.

Does this sound like you? Do you live near race tracks in the Midwest or Eastern U.S.? If you do, then Shadow Video Productions may be the answer to your riding befuddlement. As the name implies, this company provides a skilled rider (or riders depending on the service you choose) to "shadow" you on the track. Then, when you're done, they will watch the footage with you, pointing out riding strengths and weaknesses.

Shadow Video isn't a trackday operation, but is a small company of skilled riders that offer the videoing service during existing trackdays, most run by Sportbike Track Time with many dates at East Coast tracks and an abundance at Midwestern tracks.

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But when you're not mounted up in your riding gear, how do you transport a helmet, a pair of boots and a set of leathers, along with a smattering of whatever else you might need, during a motorcycle-oriented trip?

Consider the Ogio 9800, a stylish and practical way to tote your riding gear and whatever else you need schlepped. The bag's name is derived from its capacity in cubic inches which, in terms of motorcycles, equals the displacement of 102 Harley Twin Cam 96 motors. In metric terms it works out to the equivalent of 160 literbikes. In terms of luggage, it's more than enough space to hold all your gear and then some.

Constructed from 420-denier nylon and 600-denier poly/tarpaulin, the Ogio 9800 offers a huge main compartment along with several smaller zippered enclosures in the lid area to separate all your stuff. A decent-sized external pocket on top provides another subsection. Twin compression straps with quick-release buckles hold together even an overstuffed bag. Multiple grab handles provide options when loading and unloading.

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This project is the brainchild of Gavin Trippe, the guy who came up with the exciting race series Superbikers that aired on ABC-TV from 1979-1985. Using a course consisting of both dirt and pavement, Superbikers is the progenitor of the recent supermoto movement.

The number of 450cc four-stroke dirtbikes sold in America over the past several years is pushing 100,000, and Trippe believes that the deep pool of bikes can be the basis for affordable roadracing machines, eventually spawning a new class in a national race series.

The concept is to take contemporary single-cylinder 450cc dirtbikes and, with the addition of a roadracing front end, streetbike brakes and wheels and 250GP-style skin, create a new spec class for entry-level roadracers. We think "MonoGP" has a nice ring to it.

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Thieves have many ways to steal your bike: First of all, if you didn't lock your parked vehicle, they can just load it in a van and drive off.

A few weeks before this was written, a friend of ours parks a new Honda sportbike in front of his bank's busy automatic teller machines, walks in, makes a deposit and, when he comes out a few minutes later, the Honda is gone.

If you did secure it, there's quick solutions. For instance, popular kryptonite locks can be sprayed with CF-12 (air conditioner coolant) and then shattered with a hammer. Bolt cutters are also a common, successful ploy.

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Thanks to Peter Bell for the info:

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How often have you found yourself wondering what time it was while riding around on your sport bike, only to decide to keep on wondering rather than take the time to unzip a glove cuff, and pull back a sleeve or two to glance at your watch? It seems the only bikes to come equipped with clocks are fully-dressed touring rigs, five-figure-priced German imports, or the occasional sport-touring bike like a Honda VFR 750. The rest of us are sentenced to either perennial tardiness, or a never-ending stream of runs to the local thrifty-mart for those two-dollar digital clocks that last until the next heavy dew.

Well here's a product to put an end to all that. The Shark's Eye from Future Set Innovations is a small, light-weight, stick-on, water-proof, analog, battery-operated clock that glows in the dark.

It turns out that our fears were unfounded, and after a few thousand miles on the Buell, it's still there and still keeping perfect time.

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Sure there are some different brands that look better, but they cost more too.

Here at the MO offices, we had a pair of second-rate aluminum stands kicking around for a couple years. But after a few testbikes fell due to the stands' flimsy thin-walled aluminum tubing and too-small swingarm contact patch area it was time to break out the corporate credit card and buy something better. So we started flipping through various sportbike catalogs. After eyeballing a bunch of different models and styles, we finally chose Targa's Swingarm Lift and Paddock Front End stands. Features include a welded frame of 1 1/4 inch steel, powder-coated finish, and 2 1/2 inch rubber wheels. After a year of use, we couldn't be happier - not one bike has fallen off the Targa stands.

Targa's front stand features sliding square bars that have pins and an alignment tab on the end - the idea is that the pins sit in the holes in the bottom of your forks (almost all forks have a large-diameter bolt hole in the center of the bottom that holds the damping rods in place) and the tabs help locate the pins when your motorcycle is on the ground. By sliding the bars in and out, a range of 6-5/8 to 9-7/8 inches can be achieved, enough range to fit almost any bike, Harley-Davidsons included.

Out back, our Targa rear stand also has adjustable width supports, this time via cotter-pinned tubes that have three positions for a range of 11 to 14-1/2 inches, again enough to fit most any machine - from Harley 883 Sportsters to Yamaha's potent YZF1000, these stands have fit every street-going machine we've tried them on.

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Eventually I found the motivation to start wrenching, but by the time the very attractive Centerstand hit our garage, the poor Sporty's battery died from neglect. Then its attractiveness went straight into the toilet. Call it jaded, call it temptation on the order of some hot, naked young thing handing you forbidden fruit, or just call it moto-journalist's disease, but faced with the choice of a bike I can actually afford, but must work on, or an exotic test bike I'll never be able to purchase as long as I work here, like, for instance, Ducati's new ST2, well, guess what I chose.

I chose to put the Pig on a stand and wait for the day when we were short on bikes.

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The bike throbs gently under me as I double check the closed visor and pull at a tuck in my leathers that was pinching my calves on the sighting lap. Riders around me are doing likewise as the final seconds tick away before the start of the first European round of the season. I did well in the opening round in South Africa, the fourth and fifth place finishes really making it look like I did the right thing in leaving GPs behind for a career in SBK. Things were a lot tougher in Australia and Japan, but now we're getting to the home of GP racing and I'm looking to do well. Not that the Bieffe Ducati with the old 996 block likes Donington much. I just scraped onto Superpole and then lost it big time trying to get the rear tire to hook up coming out of Goddards. So now I'm stuck on row 4 looking up the Remus pipes of Andy Meklau's 2000 Duke. Okay, this is where I show the blokes I'm not just a 125 rider. Clear the mind, eyes on the vanishing point at Redgate, spot the lights at the edge of my peripheral vision. I'm ready.

I've nowhere to go and before I can push on the bars, I ram his bike and start to tumble. "Sh*t! This can't be happening!"

Lights on Red. One. Two. Revs to 11,000. Three. Weight on the front wheel. Four. Head behind the bubble. GREEN. The front starts to come up but the rear spins some and the front comes back to earth as I get hooked up and shoot between Meklau and Lavilla who both have their bikes spinning the rears hopelessly. I'm thinking this is a good start as I pass Slighty. Juan Borja on the Infostrada Ducati just doesn't have the momentum I've got and I glide past on the outside as we run up to Redgate. I'm well on the inside of the approach to the corner and this could be a bit hairy as I've been loosing the front end during practice at this sharp righthander. But this is a dream start so I'll go for it. I'm on the inside of Chili and Yanagawa as we start to peel into Redgate. Neither know I'm there, and as we enter the corner, Chili starts to lean into me. I let off the brakes a tad to get clear of him just as I feel a slight bump and the rear end starts to chop away a little. I hold my line and I sail past Yanagawa and move into fifth place behind Haga-San. What a start. This is going to be a race to remember.

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There has always been a missing ingredient when it came to interacting with the game: the controller.

The controller looks pretty cool with it's Ducati Corse logo prominently displayed in the central clockface. There are a load of programmable buttons on the main fascia that can be used to look over your shoulder, give other riders the finger or anything else the game developers have thought up. Both the clutch and brake levers are simply switches which is, quite frankly, a shame on something that's so close to being really good. The brake should at least have some sort of spring loading to emulate the pads clamping down on the front disc - brake chatter optional. Calibration of the bars as they swing from side to side enables you to turn into corners but, unfortunately, it is no more effective than the Sidewinder Freestyle controller that Microsoft bundled with MotoCross Madness.

The spring-loaded throttle is undoubtedly the star of this package as it enables you to roll on the throttle rather than rely on some emulation supplied by the game. It is fairly sensitive and it's possible to control wheel spin through throttle position rather than tapping a controller button. The whole thing is attached to the desktop through three large suckers that grip to a smooth surface pretty well. Although, if you really start chucking the bike around Haga-san-style, they can start to slide or release. Connection is simple with either a regular gameport cable or a USB cable. A nostalgic afternoon rummaging through my games collection showed that the bars work with all the EASports Superbike games as well as MotoCross Madness, but GP500 from a couple of years ago just wouldn't detect the controller.

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