#AdvBike

I’m a gear nerd. Have been, and hope to always be. I nerd out on unique materials, armor, and the latest and greatest of motorcycle gear. That makes me a sucker for KLIM’s heavily researched and developed garments. Toward the end of 2019, I had the chance to join the folks at KLIM for a 2020 product launch and an inside look at some of the materials technology that was being developed and tested at the Gore Labs in Maryland. It was akin to touring Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. 

It would seem as though I had brought some of the lovely weather I had endured while in Spain back with me as we geared up to ride the 2018 BMW G 310 GS. More rain, you’re welcome Southern California. Thankfully, this time around it would only last for the first half of the day, although that was where the good stuff was in regard to our route. Nonetheless, the mixture of weather during our introductory ride of BMW’s lil GS gives us an opportunity to deliver an all-weather review of this new motorcycle.

Klim has long been known in the adventure and snow segments as premium technical riding gear, and it has been the choice of moto-adventurers the world over. For 2018 it’s great to see Klim continuing to advance the functionality and technicality of its garments. Klim’s flagship model, the Badlands jacket and pant, has now been revised and revamped with even more real-world usability, upgraded armor developed with D3O, and higher-strength materials. Also, new going into 2018 is the women’s Artemis jacket which has been purpose-built with women in mind.

If EICMA is the barometer of where the moto-industry is headed, it appears as if 2017 will be the year of the small-displacement adventure bike. In addition to the CRF250L Rally on this page, Suzuki unveiled a V-Strom 250, Kawasaki debuted its Versys-X 300, and BMW revealed its G310GS.