#JustinMastine-frost

[Our Canadian MO compatriot, Justin Mastine-Frost, gives us his perspective on the Yamaha XSR900. Since he can’t shoot photos and ride simultaneously, we’re providing the photos from our Yamaha XSR900 Corral shootout. – EB]

Generally speaking, finding bikes to pair up for comparison is a bit more direct; throwing the R6 against the CBR600, or building out our adventure bike shootout is mostly a no-brainer, but sometimes bikes that roll through for testing end up revealing unexpectedly similar personalities. Late this past year, I faced exactly that. Both the Honda CB650R and Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 found their way into my driveway from their respective manufacturers at the same time (due to poor scheduling and limited availability of the Svart, more than anything), and I instantly found myself playing a game of spot the similarities.

Trips like this always sound like such a great idea… You have somewhere you need to be in a certain time frame, and the weather looks clear. There are important personal matters requiring resolution on a Monday morning, and with my initial plan to fly now gone askew, I was staring into the driveway at the Africa Twin and pondering. How hard could it be, right?

Finding boots that are specific to a riding style is easy, regardless of whether you’re a trail rider on a big GS or a sportbike rider clipping apexes on the Panigale V4. That said, once you get into more casual boots, things can get murky. Enter the Icon 1000 Truant 2 – a casual boot/moccasin/high top sneaker hybrid that (at least on paper) ticks a lot of boxes. For many (myself included), there’s value in a pair of boots that don’t look like conventional riding boots, especially for those days where you’re out running errands. The challenge is that most brands are so ride-focused that they don’t always consider walking/standing comfort, and a quick skim of user reviews will tell you that not all of the big gear brands have figured out what it takes to play in the category.

The Icon 1000 line has been around since 2012, though as retro styling continues to play a major role in new motorcycle design, the market for their “retro chic” urban inspired gear continues to grow. Traditional gear isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but having the option to suit up in something that still looks presentable/appropriate when at your destination isn’t a bad thing. I recently got my hands on an assortment of the Icon 1000 Varial collection to see how much (if anything) was sacrificed to develop the line with this more style-forward approach. Up first, the Icon 1000 Axys Gloves.