First Gear TPG Rainer jacket and Escape Pant

$249.95-399.95

FirstGear's TPG brand is their all-weather touring lineup. From this bunch we selected the full-length Rainier Jacket and Escape Pant.

$581.95 (as tested)

Stretch Your Legs
Accutronix jumps into the Fury aftermarket with their new forward controls for the Honda Fury. The controls are available in a standard length or a +3-inch extended length. Accutronix Forward Controls combine form, function, and clean styling into one easy-to-install kit for your Honda. The shift and brake assemblies are adjustable for optimum riding comfort and utilize sealed bearings for smooth actuation and durability. The kits, which are manufactured in the USA from billet aluminum, come complete with all mounting hardware, pegs, and shift/brake rods. The controls are available in a wide variety of styles and finishes with either folding or rigid peg options. For additional information, visit Accutronix at www.accutronix.com.

I'm the sort of guy who typically will bring along enough junk on a bike trip so that adding a second shield is not such a big deal, or in the case of a summer day ride I make sure I'm home by dark. But every once in awhile, a pair of shades comes in handy to make a clear shield do double duty. The problem I have with most sunglasses is that they interface poorly with helmets, bowing out at the temples and putting pressure on both the helmet liner and my head.

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical when Ultimate offered me one of their Big Boy seats for my long term VTX. After all, the stock seat is comfortable enough, so left to my own devices, I probably wouldn't have replaced it.

LOOK COOL (AND SAFE) IN MATTE BLACK
Check out River Road's new Alloy Vented Matte Black Jacket. This sleek jacket is made from premium leather for your protection. It features a removable, insulated, full-sleeve liner to keep you warm and two 10" zippered intake vents in front and two 12" exhaust vents for maximum air flow. It also has two-way zippered sleeve cuffs with perforated leather gussets for added ventilation. The jacket includes removable EVA foam armor for shoulders, elbows and back. It also has plenty of interior storage pockets to stash your essentials. The Alloy is available in men's sizes 40-54, with retail prices ranging from $249.95 - $289.95 including a 2-year manufacturer's warranty. More information can be found at www.riverroadgear.com.

* * * three stars

Crusty cynics will probably be surprised to discover there's more to Harley-Davidson apparel than black dealer T shirts and fringed leather. Beyond the concho-encrusted items in the MotorClothes catalog lays a cluster of functional riding gear - the FXRG collection. Harley says this gear is actually designed for durability, comfort and performance - you know, real-world riding.

Joe Rocket Rocket Nation Leather Jacket $324.99-$344.99

Venture to Stay Cool and Dry
Firstgear's new Venture AT jacket features an on-board waterproof outer shell that fits into a rear pouch to always keep you covered in case of rain. The Venture AT combines polyester mesh 250-denier panels for continuous airflow and 600-denier high-density polyester for durability. Featuring plenty of interior and exterior pockets, it has enough storage to keep the packrats happy. The jacket has all of the necessary protection including CE armor in elbows and shoulders, a foam back pad and a zipper attachment for pants. The Venture AT jacket retails for $199.95 and is available in men's sizes up to 3X and in tall sizes up to 2X. For more information look them up athttp://www.firstgear-usa.com

Olympia Bonneville Jacket $219.99

Got a bike you'd like to flaunt? Send prints or high-resolution digital files (300 dpi, please) of your cruiser plus info about it to Motorcycle Cruiser, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 or cruiser@sorc.com.

Let There Be Light
Risk Racing's new magnetic LED Light-Mine lets you get light in some pretty tight spaces. It has a bright, wide-angle LED surrounded by 12 rare-earth magnets. The innovative design allows you to stick it to any ferrous metal surface and aim the light just about anywhere. Around the size of a golf ball, the Light-Mine is easy to stash and the low retail price of $7.99 lends itself to getting multiples. For more information, pictures and demo videos go to the Risk Racing website www.riskracing.com, or call 704-658-9332.

If you're not familiar with Dainese (die-nes-eh), that should come as no surprise. Known primarily in the sportbike world as a high-end maker of leathers for MotoGP racers (heard of Valentino Rossi?), their profile in the US is pretty slim. They do have a pair of D-Stores in San Francisco and Orange County, however, that shows off their entire line of goods for all sports including motorcycles. We were invited to one of these to check out the 2009 line, and were instantly surrounded by sportbike guys.

Motorcycle locks are like insurance policies: it's better to have one and not need it, than need one and not have it. Bike theft has skyrocketed since 2000, when the custom machine craze was still ramping up. While sport bikes are the likeliest victims, cruisers do fall victim to thievery, particularly H-Ds and customized machines. Some thieves are joyriders, but more often than not they're pros looking to part out a hot ride or export it for profit. One NYPD detective told us Harley-Davidsons end up in places like Italy, Greece, or even the Dominican Republic, where high demand and low supply drive prices up as much as triple the domestic MSRP.

LL BEAN Fleece-Lined Double L Jeans, Relaxed Fit $49.95
There are those that like to wave their motogeek flag high. Wearing the latest Gore-Tex, ballistic nylon, Kevlar full body-armor suit is a source of pride and identity to them. I'm not that guy. I like my gear in the classic denim and leather, fitting more like it was tailored to me, rather than like some kind of high-tech weather balloon. That said, I'm not some Neanderthal that doesn't believe in real comfort or using modern materials, I just want them to look classic. Vanity is my middle name.

Some Megaphones For Your XR
Trust SuperTrapp to have pipes already for Harley-Davidson's brand new XR1200. SuperTrapp was an early flat track race sponsor and their years of flat track racing and testing have lead to their new race-inspired Megaphone System. The new system for the H-D XR 1200 is a brushed stainless steel, tunable, 2 into 2 system. It includes 2 - 20 disc packs. Adding discs allows the rider to increase horsepower, exhaust tone and flow; subtracting discs allows the rider to reduce sound and increase low-end torque. As a bonus, at only 15 lbs the Megaphone system chops off 21 lbs. from the stock configuration. SuperTrapp claims a 10% horsepower and torque gain through the mid-range when tested with 16 discs. The Megaphone System is listed at $985.00 and for more information visit www.SuperTrapp.com.

One of former Associate Editor Evan Kay's last acts at the magazine was to come up with this story: A list of all of our favorite motorcycle stuff. It was to be fairly free-form, but the one big rule was that it has to be something that readers can still do (or go buy). 35-year-old bucket-style Bell Helmets are out of the question (yeah, we're looking at you, Zimmerman) as are roads that are closed, rides and rallies that ceased to exist, etc (yea, we're still looking at you Zim). It all had to be current, living in the now and all that. So here it is, in no particular order and with little editorial oversight, what we collectively pulled out of our backsides. Enjoy.

A few months back I decided, in what only be considered a moment of weakness, to purchase a Honda 919. For those of you that aren't familiar with the 919, it's what passes for a standard these days. I.E.: it's unfaired, has lowish bars and a fairly upright seating position. It's what you might call a sports-roadster and all in all a very nice motorcycle, except for one glaring fault. The seat-which might work fine if you're a skinny, 20-something, hot-rod-is excruciatingly painful when you're a stocky mid 50s type. In fact the seat was so painful that after 100 miles I had to get off the bike and regroup for at least 15 minutes. As you might imagine that gets real old, real fast. Before the thing had 600 miles on it I knew it was either find a better seat or park the thing, it was that simple.

Olympia Ast Touring Jacket $299
I recently found myself riding from Seattle to Kelowna, British Columbia without having all my regular gear along, so I turned to Lisa Micone from Seattle Cycle Center for a jacket recommendation. She manages the shop and caters to hard-core riders who regularly brave the elements in the Pac Northwest. So when she suggested the Olympia gear, I listened.

Stroll into a gas station, grab a pair of plastic shades near the register, and eight bucks later you've got all you need for a day's ride, right?