#EvansBrasfield

As we motored slaunchways across Utah, the late daylight stretched our shadows and cast golden hues against the tall canyon walls, further accentuating the contrast between the rust colored ancient seabeds peppered with lush green juniper and muted sage. The lavender sky over Bryce faded as we continued westward on Hwy 12. Refusing to pack a second visor for my Shoei Hornet X2, I lifted the dark smoke shield as I led our crew into the dark dense forest, keeping my line of sight just above the Ténéré’s windscreen in an attempt to protect my peepers from the onslaught of kamikaze insects. In a further showing of stubbornity, I refused to roll back off the throttle while the only bit of light left – aside from what the Ténéré’s quite ample quad headlight offered – was a thick crimson band at the horizon, the bottom punctured by spire-like tree tops.

While magazine editors and track riders may wax poetic about the leaps in performance of the latest super-grippy sport and track tires, the vast majority of sport-focused street riders spend their money on sport-touring rubber. Why? Well, two reasons, actually. First, once you look beyond the arid Southwest where the bulk of the U.S. motorcycle industry resides, riders have to deal with rain, making the way tires handle in the wet of great importance. Then there’s the fact that sport-touring tires offer almost the same level of grip as their sportier siblings – at street temperatures – while offering significantly better longevity. (At lower temperatures, sport-touring tires can offer more real-world grip than even the stickiest of sporting rubber, which are designed to work their best at elevated temperatures.) With the release of the Michelin Road 6 sport-touring tires, Michelin claim an increase in both wet grip and wear characteristics when compared to their precursors, the Michelin Road 5.

The image of adventure touring is that of riders traveling the world on heavyweight motorcycles with big, aluminum panniers and a variety of duffel bags lashed to the top. And if you consider the BMW GS crowd, that is a very popular look. However, you don’t need giant hard bags to travel.  Soft luggage will often do quite nicely for overnight, week-long, or even transcontinental treks, and they have the ability to better withstand tipovers without breaking, which can be an issue with hard luggage. What you want from this type of luggage platform is the ability to adjust the carrying capacity to the gear requirements needed for your particular trip. The reality of human nature is that we will find “necessary” gear that exactly matches (or slightly exceeds) the room we have to carry it. Try this quick test the next time you go on a day ride: Ask your friends with panniers what they brought with them. Odds are the bags are mostly filled with things they could need. 

Off-road boots are typically quite stiff to offer maximum protection in the rough and tumble world of dirt riding. Generally, they are good for riding dirt bikes and little else – especially walking. Why, then, would I decide to wear a pair of off-road boots for a 2,000 mile six day adventure tour? The simple truth is that my Sidi X-Power Boots were so comfortable while I was breaking them in that I didn’t have a second thought about it. 

After months of preparation, MO’s biggest Showdown of the year is taking place right now, and you can follow it. We have secured an Aprilia Tuareg 660 and a Yamaha Ténéré 700, had them transported to the Get On! ADV Fest, flew out to Sturgis, SD, and are riding the two bikes back on an epic 1,800-mile street and off-road route planned by master of the long-haul journey, Ryan Adams. Accompanying him will be EiC Evans Brasfield for riding and photo duty (bets are currently being taken over how many times he’ll crash in the dirt) and MO Video Producer, Sean Matic. 

When riding off road, you want loose-fitting, breathable outer layers to allow airflow in the heat. However, a loose fit means armor can’t be attached to the outer layer as it would in more snugly-fitting street gear, because it will displace in a mishap and not protect as well. To get around this, riders have strapped armor to their elbows and arms and slipped into breastplates and back armor that look like they are designed for modern-day gladiators. The other option is to wear a lightweight-but-snug armored jacket that offers breathability and impact protection but little abrasion resistance under either a jersey or an abrasion protective shell. The REV’IT! Proteus Armored Jacket falls into the latter category.

Maybe I’ve been hanging out with Managing Editor Ryan Adams too much. After more than 30 years of riding almost exclusively on the street, I’ve been bitten by the off-road bug. (Having a 14 year-old daughter who asked me to teach her to ride dirt bikes played a big part, too.) However, I don’t want to just drive to the desert, do daylong dirt rides, load the bikes in the truck, and drive home. I want to travel, too. Adventure touring has tickled my fancy.

If you’re like me, you’ve been aware of what Rok Straps are and can think of a place or two that you might be able to use them. However, unless you’ve actually tried them out, you have no idea how flexible and useful they are. I discovered that utility just this weekend. For those who are unfamiliar with Rok Straps, they are a genius combination of polyester braided webbing and a flat bungee-like elastic cord that are hooked together with an easy-to-use clip. What makes them so practical is that you can easily adjust their length by cinching down the nylon strap and letting the elastic maintain the pressure on what you’re trying to hold on your bike. 

I remember the first time I really got helmet communicators. I’d been resisting them for a couple of years, and we were in the middle of those heady days between MapQuest directions taped to the tank and the ubiquity of smartphone GPS apps. I’d installed a Bluetooth communicator to my helmet, and despite the fact that the speakers were both too quiet and positioned too far from my ears, being able to navigate to places I’d never been, without having to look down at my tank – in traffic – to see how far I had to my next turn, was a revelation. Since then, I’ve learned the pleasures of riding with a group while testing bikes or being warned of upcoming hazards. Music and podcasts are good mileage eaters when you’re on a multi-state ride – or an Iron Butt. When used smartly, helmet communicators are a real asset to riders. After a couple of years with the entire MO staff using Cardo Packtalk Bolds, I’m pretty familiar with the platform. So, imagine my anticipation when the new heir to the Cardo throne, the Cardo Packtalk Edge, was announced. After living with the Edge for a couple of months, I can say it is a nice improvement over the Bold. 

I’ve worn gauntlet gloves for years because I like the superior protection they offer. However, it always came at a cost of no cooling air flow up the sleeves. So, when I found myself looking for a new set of gauntlet gloves, I thought I’d try a pair with gauntlets that go inside the sleeves to see if they allowed for the ventilation I was craving. I ordered up a set of Dainese Steel-Pro In Gloves because of both the protective features and the fact that they had a low-profile cuff that would fit inside of jacket sleeves. When they arrived, a visual inspection showed the features to be every bit as stout as I had hoped they would be. The funny thing is that when I first put them on, I didn’t like them at all. It had been a while since I’d worn a pair of gloves that required more than a minimal break-in period. However, after the all-day use afforded by my multi-day tour in Virginia and North Carolina, I changed my tune considerably as the Steel-Pro In gloves had molded themselves almost perfectly to the shape of my hands. 

By now, regular readers of Motorcycle.com should be familiar with Racer Gloves. All four MO editorial staffers have tested gloves manufactured by the Austrian manufacturer. If you take a look at any of our seven previous reviews, you’ll find a common theme: Racer Gloves feel like they are broken in from the first moment you put a pair on your hands. The Racer Multitop Short Gloves I’m reviewing here are no different. 

I am quite fond of my Dainese Torque 3 Out Air Boots, and they have been my three-season boots here in warm, dry SoCal for years. Unfortunately, the exceptional venting means they are not waterproof. When I started planning my Ducati Multistrada 4S tour in Virginia and North Carolina, I learned that, on average, there is a 30% chance of rain during the week I would be there. That’s before the current weather patterns were considered. So, I figured I better be prepared for all eventualities. What I settled on were the Dainese Axial Gore-Tex Boots. They offered the two features I was most concerned about (other than excellent protection) on this trip: venting for hot weather and waterproofing for April showers.

Perhaps what I love the most about the English language is its flexibility, how you can bump disparate words together and create something with an entirely new meaning. When it comes to motorcycles, the words sport and touring bring to mind two very different kinds of motorcycles. Sporting motorcycles place an emphasis on handling, acceleration, and braking, while touring bikes tend to focus on cargo capacity, rider comfort, and long-range capability. Butt those words together, as in sport-touring motorcycle, and you get a spectrum of bikes that ranges from sportbikes with bags to tourers that can corner better than you think they should. The reality of sport-touring motorcycles is that most favor the middle ground, compromising both sporting capability and touring chops, to create a supremely flexible motorcycle. What happens when you throw a third word into the mix? What would you expect from a sport-touring cruiser? Well, the folks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin have done their level best to define this category of motorcycle with the 2022 Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST. 

Since hearing usually plays second fiddle to vision when riding motorcycles, people sometimes forget how vulnerable their ears are out there on the road. The sound of your helmet traveling through the air at highway speeds is more than enough to damage your hearing over the long term – or even the short term if you’re wearing an open face or half-helmet. While it may go counter to your initial thoughts, wearing earplugs can actually help you hear better. When your ears aren’t completely overwhelmed, you have the ability to hear more sounds.

While most MO readers will naturally associate Segway with the mobility device from which it takes its name, the company is really much more than that. What you may not know is that the majority of rentable e-kick scooters that have popped up in major metropolitan areas are manufactured by Segway for the rental companies. Similarly, along with its partner company Ninebot, Segway’s products are now on sale in “225 countries and regions,” with subsidiaries established in Beijing, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Seoul, Munich, Changzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. With mobility products ranging from the ubiquitous hoverboard to kick scooters capable of reaching speeds of over 40 mph plus the selection of the company’s off-road powersports offerings, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the company has entered the sit-down scooter market.