[Review] Joe Rocket Canada Whistler Adventure Boots
The Whistler Adventure Boots Are Here I’ve been wearing a pair of SIDI Adventure 2 Gore-Tex Boots for three years and appreciate them for all the reasons outlined in the review we did of them years ago. They set the footwear protection and comfort benchmark for me at this point and rank among the best …
Helmet Showdown: Arai XD-4 vs. Shoei Hornet X2 vs. Klim Krios Pro
A Three Helmet Showdown Is About To Go Down Search the internet today using the words “Best (insert topic here)” and you’ll get plenty of opinionated claims popping up from a myriad of sources touting their impartiality and honesty. But who can you really trust? It’s getting harder and harder to know whether the source …
Western Canada’s Rally In The Rockies 2020
In 2010 I rented a Heritage Classic from Calgary Harley Davidson Rentals. It was the first Harley I’d ever ridden and marked the beginning of my appreciation for the brand and their bikes. The funny thing is that I didn’t like it at first, but it grew on me over the 24 hours I had …
Touratech Aventuro Traveller Carbon Helmet In-Depth Review
The Enigmatic Touratech Aventuro Traveller Carbon Jay Leno has a magnificent chin on him. I’ve often wondered if it puts any strain on his neck muscles or affects his posture. Just for the record, I’m a big fan of Jay and don’t mean anything derogatory with this observation. I only mention it because after wearing …
2020 Harley Davidson LiveWire Review: Misunderstood & Underestimated
Co-Written by Jim Pruner and Greg Phillips The First Electric Harley Davidson Was Born in 2019 If you can name a more controversial motorcycle than the Harley Davidson LiveWire I would be shocked. Mention it on any social media platform and prepare to read dozens of strong opinions with most of them being on the …
Klim Krios Pro Review: Koroyd Makes It Awesome
Redemption? Or More Pain? Last year I reviewed the Klim K1R Raw Karbon helmet and although I liked many things about it, the fatal flaw was how loud it was to wear on the highway. Brutally loud, in fact. After touring the Klim HQ in Rigby, Idaho last September while I was down there enjoying …
Sedici Strada II Review: A Sub-$200 Bargain
I’ve been involved with some inexpensive helmet reviews before and came away mostly underwhelmed. Past reviews of helmets like the Gmax MD01 were “just ok” as one such example. Even more notably there’s the Nenki NK856, a helmet I would never personally wear and generally love to hate. Sorry Nenki, but you need to do …
Dobermann Performance Slip-On Exhaust Review
Dobermann Slip-On Exhaust Has A Beautiful Bark Why do we do it? Take off perfectly good, engine-specific built, tuned mufflers, and replace them with more expensive aftermarket ones? If we’re completely honest about it there are four reasons why; Lighter weight aftermarket materials Smaller and better-looking products Slight performance improvements Louder and throatier sound …
Engine Ice Hi-Performance Coolant Review
Engine Ice Coolant is used in racing cars, bikes, and any other vehicle that is liquid-cooled. Some argue it’s overpriced snake oil while many insist it’s magic in a bottle. This review looks at that question and answers based on performance in a 2019 KTM 790 Adventure. The accompanying video shows a step by step …
Motorcycle Luggage Preview: Mosko Moto Reckless 80L v3.0 Revolver
Is Version 3.0 The Charm For Mosko Moto’s Reckless Revolver Luggage? Last month Mosko Moto (a White Salmon, Washington based company) announced the immediate availability of a new Reckless 80 Liter, V3.0 Revolver Luggage system. This is the third iteration of their popular flagship rack-less luggage systems, and the V3.0 Revolver is touted as the …
Twisted Throttle and Denali Electronics Ambassadors for 2020
A little while ago I got an email from Twisted Throttle saying they were accepting applications for 2020 brand ambassadors. Needless to say, I applied almost immediately because who wouldn’t want to have access to the awesome collection of aftermarket accessories sold by Twisted Throttle?! In case you’ve never heard of TT, have a click …
Domio Moto Helmet Audio: Can You Hear Me Now?
Review Video My Shortest Review Ever Cameron Martel, my colleague, friend and manager here at WBW likes to tease me about how I always seem to find a way to overanalyze, overcomplicate and over-write every review while taking too long to get to the point. I’ll own that. Yes, I’m naturally a bit of a …
Klim HQ Tour & 2019 Cow Tagz XL Rally
Challis, Idaho… Have you heard of it? Maybe it’s just me who hasn’t, I’m not sure. What I know now is that I can’t wait to go back to visit in 2020 so I can enjoy virtually unlimited, prototypical adventure motorcycle riding trails in the area. At the same time, I’ll participate in another Cow …
Gerbing’s Must Have Heated Vest
Thank You! Our friend Justin Silverman at Gerbing Heated Clothing supplied me with this vest, battery harness and temperature controller at no charge for this review. First Impressions In the Spring of 2019, I reviewed the Exotogg thermal vest and experienced first hand how electric dependant heated gear can fail at the most inopportune time. …
Arai Is The Helmet To Buy
The helmet in the photo above was run over by another motorcycle at high speed during a race. The wearer walked away without sustaining a head injury. Take a moment to let that soak in. I’m often asked by people who know I test riding gear which helmet to buy or which is the best. …
The EICMA 2019 Winners & Losers Report
The dust has settled and the 2019 story of the annual motorcycle extravaganza known as EICMA has arrived. Home Sweet Home I find myself back in snow-covered Alberta, Canada after enduring 12 hours of travel time on the journey home. I’m plopped down in front of my keyboard now, pouring over the vast collection of …
Motoz Tractionator Adventure Tires: Traction & Longevity
Mean-Looking, Ground-Shredding, & Long-Lasting Tires: The Great Debate If you want to lose friends and start arguments on social media the quickest way to do it is to ask: “What tires should I run on my motorcycle?” A close second would be asking about engine oil. The verbal bloodbath that inevitably will follow can cause …
Let’s Go To Italy For EICMA 2019!
I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear one of my favorite things to do is to see and test new motorcycle products. I want to give honest and open feedback to the manufacturer and consumer based on my observations and experience. I really love writing for wBW for that reason. Whenever someone tells me they …
[Review] Royal Enfield INT650 Is Surprisingly Great!
Introduction [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhlMLVRpupo] If that video from Royal Enfield isn’t enough to make you want to ride these bikes, I’m afraid the motorcycle rider part of your soul must be dead. The only way to resurrect it is to take one of these retro-styled bikes from India out for a few hours of unbridled two-wheeled …
SENA 10C Pro Review: Making Things Easy
First Impressions I’ve been trying to find a way to reliably shoot sharp videos with clear sound while out testing motorcycles since I started writing for wBW a couple of years ago. I haven’t been able to decide which equipment I needed to do it. Last year I gambled on a GoPro Hero 6 thinking …
The Alter Ego 14.0 Adaptive Jacket System Delivers
First Impressions A Niche Filled Getting stuck without suitable riding gear when encountering challenging riding conditions can be uncomfortable, even painful or dangerous. Anyone who’s spent any serious time in the saddle can relate and share an experience or two illustrating this. Many manufacturers will tell you they can build convertible gear to meet a …
See Inside A Helmet Torture Chamber: wBW Goes To Snell
I recently wrote a review of the Bell SRT Modular helmet that was, in my eyes, pretty standard wBW quality and unremarkable. Originally it had been assigned to one of our other reviewers before being passed to me which again seems unimportant. Looking back now a couple of months later I’m on the verge of …
Feynlab Ceramic Coating Is So Fine
What Is It? Feynlab coined the phrase “nano technology ceramic coatings” about 15 years ago and is a pioneer and innovation leader in the field of protective vehicle coatings. Kate Hadland the Feynlab coating installer from Tenacious Detail. It all sounds very Star Trek to me and I half expected the installer I contacted to …
Lexin FT4 Bluetooth Comms & RAM® Mounts X-Grip Combo Review
A Review Request From A Friend My favorite part of doing these reviews is helping someone make a wise purchase. None of us wants to spend our hard-earned money on something we won’t like over the long run or that is poor quality. My friend Steve Crawshaw asked me about a month ago if I …
The Forcefield Sport Suit X-V: One Piece Protection & Comfort
The Forcefield Effect Last year marked my first encounter with Forcefield Body Armour products when I reviewed their Tech 2 base layer and Sport Tubes. It’s become my preferred everyday riding gear ever since because it keeps me dry and warm when it’s cold and cooler when it’s hot out. I absolutely love the Tech …
Simpson Outlaw Bandit Review: An In Your Face Full Face
Head Shape Analysis Simpson doesn’t list any shape for the helmet on their site, but Revzilla calls it “Neutral Oval” which I take to mean something between Round Oval and Intermediate Oval. I would agree with that or say that it has a definite Round Oval bias to it since it fits my Round Oval …
Me, The French Riviera, & a Ducati
Dreams The phrase “a dream come true” sounds cliche and trite when used to describe a vacation, but it’s completely on target in this case. I’ve always wanted to go riding in Europe and the opportunity unexpectedly fell right into my lap recently. The Genesis of the Plan A few months ago a couple of …
The Klim K1R Raw Karbon: Loud Light Luxury
*Note: The Klim K1R Karbon helmet seems Round Oval shaped but the Klim rep I spoke with informed me it was designed Intermediate Oval. It fits my head perfectly so I’d say it has a strong round bias if it’s IO shaped. That means it won’t be any fun for people with narrow or long …
GMax MD01 Solid Modular Review: A Standout Surprise
First Impressions Who is GMax? I know many of you are familiar with the brand already but this is my first encounter with them. I scoured the internet and found scant information so I reached out directly via email and got a fast response. GMax is an American company based in Idaho that began designing …
Bell SRT Modular Helmet Review: A True Predator
I’ve Fallen Prey To A Bell SRT Modular Predator First Impression & Fitment I’ve just finished reviewing 3 successive helmets that all (to varying degrees) hurt my head to wear. All of them were shaped too narrow for my Round Oval skull. Thankfully relief came in the form of this Bell SRT Modular lid that …
Shoei GT Air II w/ Sena SRL2 Review: A Pair of Great Sequels
A Tale of Two Helmets: GT Air vs. GT Air II I’m regularly informed by many people how my 14 yr old son “looks just like you.” I can see similarities for sure, but to me, he’s taller, updated, improved, and a less hairy version of me that society will happily embrace whereas it mainly …
2019 Ducati Multistrada 1260 S Review: In The Land of Joy
Losing My Virginity My Ducati virginity, that is! It couldn’t have been more perfect or romantic my first time with this Italian seductress. We met in Nice, France – and both originally from other countries. Myself from Alberta, Canada and her from Bologna, Italia. Our paths crossed somewhere along a picturesque lane named Rivoli. This …
SIDI Gavia Gore-Tex Review: No Nonsense Boots
The Gavia Aren’t Newcomers I’ve been wearing a pair of SIDI Adventure 2 Gore Tex Boots for the last year and appreciate them for all the reasons outlined in the review we did two years ago. They did exactly what I wanted for the long ride on gravel I took last June to Tuktoyaktuk and …
Same Planet, Different Worlds: 2019 Gold Wing DCT vs. 2019 Indian Chieftain Limited
I’ve never ridden a big touring motorcycle from the Honda or Indian lineup of bikes. I have ridden and reviewed other bikes from Ducati, KTM, and Harley Davidson. Lately, the thought of branching out and seeing what I’ve been missing has germinated and even grown some strong roots. I feel like I might be missing …
Nolan N100-5 Modular Helmet Hands-On Review
My first helmet back in 1987 was a bright yellow Nolan dirt bike offering. Maybe some of you reading this had the same one too? It left an impression on me, yet for some reason, I’ve never worn another Nolan product until today. I’ve been missing out! This Italian brand has been building high quality, …
Exotogg Thermal Vest Review: Full of Hot Air Or Full Of Promise?
Where Did This Come From? The United Kingdom, but there’s a lot more to this story… I don’t recall how I first heard about the Exotogg, but it was nearly 2 years ago I first got in contact via email with its designer Tony Hawkins. It was in the final stages of development at that …
WBW Motorcycle Preview: 2019 KTM 790 Adventure R
KTM’s New ADV Class Game Changer I spent the last two days at the Calgary Motorcycle Show gawking longingly at what is slated to be my next motorcycle. I put a deposit down on one back in November without even knowing the price or having seen it in person. Am I completely nuts? Crazy like …
4SR 96 Stingray Racing Gloves Hands-On Review
4SR: The New Kid In Town While attending AimExpo in October I happened upon a display booth for 4SR products. 4 Street Racing is a Czech manufacturer well known in Europe on the race track and in the everyday riding gear market but is a new arrival to North American shores. After speaking at length …
2019 Harley Davidson FXDR Test Ride
A Modern Harley Davidson Is Born My recent review of the 2018 Harley Davidson Sport Glide (review here) left me unfulfilled searching for a sport touring offering from the “Bar and Shield”. Despite that disappointment, I didn’t hesitate to swing a leg over the brand new 2019 FXDR while at AimExpo. No one wants to …
Velomacchi 40L Speedway Backpack Hands-On Review
The Speedway & I Are Becoming Fast Friends Wearing a backpack while riding a motorcycle is a huge killjoy for me. It throws off balance, restricts movement and makes me sweat where normally I wouldn’t. I hate it and avoid it at all costs. That is until I met the Velomacchi Speedway. First Impressions When …
