This week’s Gear Guide features old school Motocross pants and classic Steve McQueen ISDT goggles, alongside the latest and most comprehensively tooled up Leatherman, and the super cool Ronin leather jacket from Roland Sands. If you ride an old rattler, then the Lowbrow GT grips will preserve the nerve ends in your digits. Plenty of tasty gear to invest your hard earned readies in….
ROLAND SANDS RONIN JACKET
Hailing from Long Beach, California, Roland Sands was the1998 AMA 250GP National Champion road racer. He’s also an award-winning designer for Performance Machine, and owner and founder of Roland Sands Design. Not only does he have a reputation for building high end custom bikes, he also designs an impressive collection of motorcycle gear aimed primarily at the custom scene.
The Ronin is primarily an urban jacket. The shell of the jacket is unapologetic in it’s cafe racer styling. A single breast pocket, sleeve zip pocket and two additional zippered pockets lower on the front of the jacket provide enough outer storage without being fussy. Two side zippers for fit adjustment run up the bottom of each side of the jacket.
The inside of the jacket is satin poly lined. Interior storage includes two stretchy mesh cargo pockets, a soft lined electronics pocket with snap and an chest pocket with zipper.
It doesn’t come with built-in armor, but has pockets for elbow, shoulder and back protection specifically designed for Roland Sands Armor.
The jacket is built with hand finished washed and waxed .9mm – 1.1mm cowhide in a performance riding fit, with rotated, pre-curved sleeves, dropped back length, and relaxed collar opening. It has perforated leather interior trim, and perforated sleeve venting.
This a rugged and good looking jacket that comes in brown, black, clay, black and smoke, and oxblood with black sleeves.
BOLLE CHRONOSOFT STEVE MCQUEEN GOGGLES
These are almost exact replicas of the goggles worn by Steve McQueen in the ISDT International Six Day Trials and Mojave Desert Races. it classic retro styling but with contemporary technology. They have a sealed double-lens system and Bollé’s equaliser system to prevent moisture fogging. The lenses are incredibly strong, with a ballistic PC outer lens that’s 2.1mm thick with anti-scratch coating, and a ballistic inner lens: 1.1mm thick with anti-fog coating, that passes Ballistic Resistance STANAG 2920 standards. They have a panoramic field of vision and can be worn over prescription glasses. The ventilated frame is comfortable and the wide adjustable 45mm strap keeps the goggles securely in place.
They look great worn on top of an open face helmet and you can wear them under or over the helmet itself, although the fit on the face will be a bit better if you wear the strap over your head.
REIGN MINUTEMAN VINTAGE MOTOCROSS PANTS
These classic styled Motocross pants hark back to the glory years of the 70’s, before manufactures felt the need to splatter their logos all over the place and employ vile dayglo colours.
“We’re not remaking vintage gear, we’re reinterpreting it. Old school looks with new school materials and techniques means you get the look of “back in the day” with the ease of just throwing them in the washing machine.”
The durable Maxdura™ ripstop base pant is fully lined with soft, vented, birdseye mesh.Traditional quilted hip and knee pads, as well as heat shield areas are covered in butter-soft, top-grain washable leather. The waist has side stretch panels and a five position belt for excellent comfort and a tailored fit.
They have three pockets, a hidden, wallet-sized, zippered back pocket and two zippered front pockets that can also be left open for venting on hot days.
The pants are triple-stitched in the high-stress areas of the seat and crotch.Velcro closures at the ankle allow a reduced “in-the-boot” cuff profile. Stretch panels at the knees, behind the calves, and in the crotch enhance mobility and fit.
These will do the business at ScrambleOn! and next years Dirtquake. They’re pretty good for buzzing around town in too.
LEATHERMAN SUPER TOOL 300 BLACK
This is the latest edition to the Leatherman family, and it really is the nearest thing to a complete tool kit you can wear on your belt. It has an incredible number of applications.
It has nineteen integrated tools: 420HC stainless steel clip point knife, 420HC sheepsfoot serrated knife, needlenose pliers with cap crimper, regular pliers, 154CM replaceable wire cutters, 154CM replaceable hard wire cutters, stranded wire cutters, wire stripper, electrical crimper, 5/16″ screwdriver, 7/32″ screwdriver, 1/8″ screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, wood/metal file, saw, bottle opener, can opener, Awl with thread loop, and a 9″ | 22cm ruler.
It has black coated comfort sculpted stainless steel handles with cut outs for access with gloves on. A stainless steel body and all locking blades and tools. It has a lanyard ring, a Molle nylon sheath and a 25 year warranty.
It has a removable bit driver with ten bit options in five double ended bits: Hex 4mm & 5mm, Hex 6mm & 1/4″, Torx #10 & #15, Phillips #0 & #3 and screwdrivers 0.75″ & .200″.
You can also purchase and optional bit kit of twenty one double ended bits.
This is one serious bit of kit, that takes Leatherman to whole new level, and will fit into the tiniest nook on your bare arsed custom.
LOWBROW GT GRIPS
Sometimes it’s the simple things that make the difference – like spongy comfortable grips. Made from injection molded Krayton rubber, these are great if you ride an old thumper. I have them both on my CB750 (that’s not really supposed to vibrate, but does) and on my Norton Commando, which below 3000rpms (before the isolastics start working) vibrates like a pneumatic drill. These soften out the ride significantly. They’re a nice wide fit that sit comfortably in the hand.
They come in black, oxblood, teal, and grey and in 7/8” and 1”.
Lowbrow are custom builders out of Ohio, and make bits fit for function on custom bikes.
CB750 image courtesy of Michael Jershov www.mjstudio.co.uk
via The Bike Shed
