Can You See Me Now?

Can You See Me Now?

X-treme Design Class 2 High-Visibility Mesh Safety Vest — Lime Review

If you have ridden a motorcycle for any length of time you have had close encounters with the drivers of other vehicles. If you ride year round like me you probably have had lots of them. People pulling out in front of you, turning in front of you, not yielding to you, and changing into your lane all happen too frequently to us traveling on two wheels.



One of the biggest problems of cage drivers is that they just cannot see us. The moment you start riding a motorcycle or scooter you become invisible like you have turned on some Romulan Cloaking Device. On a motorcycle we are a smaller target to see and people just don’t seem to look that well. Another factor is that it would appear we tend to travel a little faster than cages and when they look they don’t look far enough away to see us coming at speed. We can be beside them or in front of them in the second it takes them to look back to start making their planned maneuver.



Then there is the rumor going around that Loud Pipes Don’t Save Lives. I don’t believe it. Speaking from personal experience, from both points if view, seat and saddle, drivers that may not have seen you, might hear you. They may not hear every time, but any time they do it may prevent a mishap. It has kept daydreaming drivers from moving into my lane before I could react and hit the Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual Tone Horn button. I am not condoning irrationally loud pipes but it does help to be loud enough to be noticed. I like my Cobra Longshots.



Since I commute in the traffic of a major metropolitan area, (Dallas / Fort Worth), everyday to and from work, before sunup and after sundown, I have picked up an inexpensive device to help people see me better. I purchased a X-treme Design Class 2 High-Visibility Mesh Safety Vest — Lime from the local Northern Tool + Equipment. I wear it when it is dark or overcast out like on rainy days. I bought it large enough to fit over my other riding gear.

The High-Visibility Mesh Safety Vest is made from a bright green color that catches your eye in traffic. It has two 2” wide vertical and one horizontal 3M Scotchlite reflective stripes. This safety vest comes with a zipper closure and an inside pocket. The X-treme Design vest meets ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 Class 2 specifications. They also make other models with different features and a high visibility orange color.



Yes, I look like the dorkiest motorcycle rider in the Mid-Cities but at least you can see me. For any of you naysayers out there let me show you the evidence. Here is a photo of me at dusk with just my OSi Cool Mesh Jacket on. Click on any photo for larger view.

 

 

Now here is a photo of me with the X-treme Design Class 2 High-Visibility Mesh Safety Vest — Lime on.

Those were both taken without a flash. Here is a shot with the High-Visibility Vest on and the cameras flash on to simulate headlamps.

Now you can see for yourself with your own eyes what a difference that vest makes. I have been using the vest now for around six months and have not had any issues with it. It has withstood my fumbling fingers not zipping it up correctly and countless rain storms and has held up fine. Torch gives the X-treme Design Class 2 High-Visibility Mesh Safety Vest a M.M.M. rating of 9.5 out of 10.

Ride on,

Torch

 

Ohio Riders Forum Review

Ohio Riders Forum Review

There are a lot of good motorcycle forums out there. You can find forums based on the brand or model of bike you ride, the style or type of riding that you do, or ones based on the location or area that you ride in. Most are friendly and helpful and are a great place to find information, meet new people and just pass the time when you cannot ride. One of the better forums out there is the Ohio Riders forum. If you live and ride in Ohio, are just going to be passing through or are stopping in for a visit, be sure and stop by the Ohio Riders forum to glean great information about motorcycling in The Buckeye State.





Ben Stillman asked me to stop in for a visit and give them a review. I have been perusing their forum now for a couple of weeks and have found it quite informative and entertaining. Since they are a location based forum they do not care what type or brand of bike that you ride whether it be a Yamasaki or a Honda-Davidson. The Ohio Riders forum is an active forum with stats of; Threads: 54,014, Posts: 443,123, Members: 3,932 as of March 30th. It seems there is someone online almost all the time.



They break the forum down into six catagories including;



The lounge; which includes sections covering, Introductions, Tech Tips, Riding Tips and more.



Riding Styles: where you will find sections on Street Fun, Track Days, Adventure / Sport Touring, Stunting, and more.



Rides and Events; which has the Calendar Events and breaks them all down by the different areas of Ohio.



Time Wasters; where you will find the subjects of Ranting and Raving, Off-Topic, Pics and Vids, and more.



Market Place; where you will find the Bike Shop, Parts Shop, Gear Shop and more for sale.



News Feeds; which includes news feeds from AMA, MotoGP, MCN, and SpeedTV, a very good selection in my humble opinion. This makes their site a great one stop motorcycling news source.



Ohio Riders forum is laid out aesthetically and is very organized making it intuitive to navigate. There are a few well placed ads that are neither distracting nor overbearing. The atmosphere is friendly and there is the usual ribbing, banter and forum humor you will find on most forums. Ohio Riders has been helping motorcycle riders since 2006 with no end in sight. Even if you don’t live or ride in Ohio you can find useful or entertaining information browsing their forum. Stop in and say ‘hi’ and tell them Torch sent ya.



Ride on,

Torch

Scorpion EXO 1000 Full Face Helmet Review

Scorpion EXO 1000 Full Face Helmet Review

I had been riding with a half helmet now for quite some time. Riding with a HJC CS-2N half helmet in the cold or rain, which I did the previous winter, is quite challenging. So, this fall with cooler temperatures fast approaching, I really wanted to upgrade to a full face helmet. I saved up some money and used a coupon I picked up at the International Motorcycle Show and headed over to Cycle Gear to try on helmets. It too k me two trips and lots of reading, both online and in magazines, doing research in hopes of getting the most bang for my buck.



If you have never been to try on helmets it is an exasperating endeavor. Different brands fit different shapes of heads and the trick is to find one that fits your particular head shape and then find a model that has all the features you want. I tried on a bunch and settled on the Scorpion EXO 1000 Solid in Glossy Black.



Here are the stats from Scorpions website:



• Fiberglass/Kevlar™ Matrix Shell: Quiet, aero-tuned design for wind-tunnel tested comfort. EPS-lined chin bar for additional protection.





• AirFit® permits a rider to personalize helmet fit through air adjustable cheek pads.





• SpeedView® an internal retractable light smoke sun visor that eases eye strain instantly in varying light conditions without changing face shields, plus an EverClear® coating on both sides for a fog free ride.





• SpeedShift® quick-change shield system (patent pending): Easy, secure tool-less faceshield changes in ten seconds or less.





• EverClear® no-fog faceshield: Optically-correct shield with state-of-the art fog-free technology and anti-scratch hardened coating.





• KwikWick® moisture-wicking helmet liner and cheek pads: Breathable, easily removable and washable.





• Ventilation system: Adjustable, indexed front and rear vents with aero-tuned rear spoiler reduce lift, create vacuum and maximize airflow through helmet.





• Breath-deflector: Enhanced fog-free performance.





• Snell/DOT Certified.

Going down their list and commenting on features:



The helmet is not as quiet as I would expect for a full face helmet as far as wind turbulence is concerned, although my bike does have a windshield on it that may contribute to the wind noise. Keep in mind I ride a cruiser, not a sport bike.



The AirFit check pads I have never had to use. Of course, not being used to a full face the helmet, they felt tight on my cheeks to begin with.

The SpeedView internal sun shade has multiple issues. First it is not dark enough for the Texas sun and glare. It will fog up if deployed when cold blocking your vision. The shade deploys and retracts the opposite way you would expect. Moving the lever down moves it down and up moves it up, instead of the natural way a lever should work which makes it extremely unintuitive to use. It also does not come down far enough leaving a line across your viewing area and not dimming the lower half making it hard on your eyes. This may not be so bad if you ride in the sport bike position. Lastly it also has distracting reflections on the sides in your peripheral vision that makes you think something is inside your helmet when vehicles drive by. I found this last issue the most distracting and annoying.



I have not used the SpeedShift quick-change shield system as of yet.

As with most face shields the EverClear no-fog shield still fogs. I used Fog Off and left the lower and upper center vent open all winter. Also the Optically correct lens still distorts your vision around the edges.



The KwickWick liner seems to do its job just fine. I have been using a helmet liner on my head first before putting the EXO 1000 helmet on to protect it from my wet hair and small amount of hair gel I use in the morning before commuting to work.

The ventilation system appears to work just fine, although I have not tried it in the Texas Summer time with all the vents opened up. Still the thought of a full face helmet in the summer stifles my imagination.



I am sure the Breath-deflector must help some, but I’m not convinced it does a whole lot to stop fogging.



I like the fact that it is both Snell and DOT approved.

Transitioning from a half helmet a full face helmet does take some getting used to. It can tend to make you feel slightly claustrophobic, although your head, and especially your face, feels much more protected and secure, which it is. The pressure on your cheeks is different but after wearing for a season the helmet conforms to your face as it breaks in. a full face helmet is warmer when it is cold outside and extremely nice to have when riding in the rain. You will still need some extra protection for your neck when it is real cold.

A full face does make the ride a lot quieter blocking out a lot of the bike and traffic noise. It also restricts your peripheral vision some and you will find yourself having to turn your head farther to make sure lanes are clear before changing. The visor lock lever is too small, too easy to accidently lock and not glove friendly. Most of the air vents can be opened and closed with gloves on once you get the feel for their location.

The fit and finish of all the materials is stellar. The inside is extremely comfortable. The chin strap is unobtrusive and easy to use with a snap for the loose end. Thankfully, when it was cold, there was not a lot of air leaking up from the neck area.



For its first season of use the Scorpion EXO 1000 performed as expected. Aside from some operator error it did its job just fine. It came with a helmet bag and you can order a Scorpion reflective helmet sticker band if you can find someone with it in stock online. Torch gives the Scorpion EXO 1000 a M.M.M Rating of 9.0 on a scale of 1-10.



Ride on,

Torch