NEW AND NOTED: MOTORCYCLE GEAR

This month we’re looking at a new helmet brand from England, a luxurious coffee table book on the chopper scene, new tees from El Solitario, and the latest riding gear.

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Hedon x 4h10 If you haven’t heard of Hedon before, that’s okay—the English brand is a new name on the open-face helmet scene. And it’s already providing stern competition for the likes of Davida. Our favorite model is the £395 “1971” limited edition, designed in conjunction with the cool cats from the French website 4h10.

Build quality is excellent: there’s a composite carbon and fiberglass shell and a perforated leather lining with anti-bacterial properties. The hardware is brass, the paint is deep and glossy, and the helmet meets the ECE 22.05 safety standard.

Only 100 copies will be made of the “1971” and each is individually numbered. Get yours from the Hedon website.

The Chopper Riding high on the success of our own book The Ride, the high-end publisher Gestalten has commissioned a sister volume. It’s written by Paul d’Orléans, the hardest working man on the custom scene. D’Orléans not only runs The Vintagentwebsite, but curates an annual exhibition at Sturgis, organizes motorcycle film festivals, and consults for the auction house Bonhams.

The story of the chopper is the story of popular culture, and D’Orléans knows his stuff. This is the first time that the complete history of the American icon has been told—ranging from the murky world of patched gangs in the US to contemporary Japanese motorcycle culture.

Buy yours direct from Gestalten’s webshop and you’ll get a limited edition slipcase (and your own patch) too.

Roland Sands Clash jacket Having scored a direct hit on the café racer market with theRonin jacket, RSD has gone for more of a rocker style with its latest release. The $650 Clash jacket has a discreet double-breasted design with an offset zipper and classy quilted padding on the shoulders.

It’s made from hand finished, oiled and waxed top grain cowhide, with a satin internal liner. The fit is designed for riding, with pre-curved sleeves, extra length at the back, and pockets for you to add shoulder, elbow and back protector armor. Available in classic black or a deep ‘oxblood’ color here.

New El Solitario tees The world’s most controversial custom bike builders have a sharp line in casual apparel too. Hot off the Galician presses is a new range of supersoft tees, and these two are our favorites.

Show your solidarity with the rebel cause via the ‘Making Friends’ tee (€32). Or hoist your flag to the Milwaukee mast with the voodoo-inspired ‘Pan Love’ design (€37).

Check out the full range in the El Solitario online shop.

Icon 1000 ‘Prep’ glove Portland’s finest iconoclasts have a knack for making good gloves, and the $150 ‘Prep’ is possibly their most stylish yet. The design hints at the classic driving gloves of yore, a trend that’s also popular on the Japanese custom scene.

As with all Icon gear, safety is top priority: you get D3O armor inserts under a full kangaroo leather chassis. And comfort is guaranteed with pre-curved and perforated fingers and expandable panels. We’ll take the Tan color, but you can also specify Black. Just gone on sale now.

Tank Moto magazine One of the best high-end custom car magazines out there is Fuel, published by former Aston Martin and Jaguar designer Luke Ray. Fuel now has a sister magazine for custom motorcycle fans, and its fifth issue has just hit the shelves.

Tank Moto is a wide-ranging and entertaining read, with terrific photography from the likes of Cam ‘Stories of Bike’ Elkins. Sizing is compact but hefty, with 144 pages in each issue.

Fourteen ounces of motorcycle goodness, four times a year, costs AUD$60 (around US$53). Subscribe at the Tank Moto website.

REV’IT! Rodeo boots Most motorcycle boots are a compromise between style and safety. These hit the sweet spot right in between, with vintage military styling and hidden armor.

The outer is crafted from strong, 100% water-repellent cowhide, and the thick rubber sole has an aggressive non-slip tread pattern. Protection comes from reinforced, thermoformed heel and toe caps. The $290 Rodeo won’t save you from a 300 kph MotoGP lowside—but for around-town riding, it’s as good as it gets.

Grab a pair here.

via BIKEexif

Ken Block. RaptorTRAX Shredfest with snowboarders

Ken Block and Hoonigan Racing takes the RaptorTRAX for a snowy spin at Baldface Lodge in Nelson, British Columbia, with a couple of snowboarders for company.

Turns out when you’re putting a heavily modified, caterpillar track-ed Ford F-150 Raptor to test, a couple of four wheels burnouts and a quick trip up and down the driveway won’t quite do it. Hence why the latest instalment from Monster energy finds Ken Block and The Hoonigans at Baldface Lodge in Nelson, British Columbia.

And for some added spice to the colder climes, they’ve not come alone. In order to ensure a thorough test, Mr Gymnkhana and the RaptorTRAX has been joined by Monster Energy athletes Zak Hale and Ethan Deiss, and their trusty snowboards.

Source – Monster Energy

THE SCRAMBLER BMW SHOULD HAVE MADE?

BMW’s off-road heritage is peerless. The R80G/S was the forerunner of modern-day adventure bikes, and in the 1980s, the Bavarians scored four hard-won Paris-Dakar trophies.

So why hasn’t BMW ever built a classic scrambler? A few years ago, the Germans dipped their toes into the enduro market with the G450X—but they’ve never created a bike to challenge the Triumph Scrambler. And more’s the pity.

BMW’s lost opportunity makes this stubby, no-nonsense machine rather fascinating. (Especially since Ducati is launching its own Scrambler in a matter of hours.) It comes from master builder Max Hazan and LA-based designer Shaik Ridzwan—an immaculate pedigree if there ever was one.

“The idea came to us while Max and I were shooting the shit one night in my living room,” Shaik recalls. “I would design and Max would build, creating something fun that we’d both enjoy riding.”

The BMW needed to be different from Max’s frame-up art pieces: “Something to prove that his ability goes further than just beauty.”

A clean 1991 R100 monolever caught their attention. The bike was shipped to Max’s shop, and Shaik started examining BMW’s Dakar race machines. “The R80G/S piloted by Hubert Auriol and Gaston Rahier made the boxer motorcycle legendary. I wanted to capture the essence of those bikes.”

After swapping sketches and making dozens of phone calls, Max and Shaik were off to a good start. And when Max relocated from New York to LA, they really hit the gas.

“We had a strong design ethos from the beginning. The Dakar bikes were an inspiration, but not a blueprint. We wanted our bike to behave like a factory bike; it had to engage the rider’s senses but not fall flat in performance.”

“We aimed for a balance between classic styling and calculated utilitarianism. Things like keeping the original dials were a no-brainer. I would not have dreamt of replacing those beautiful factory units, just for the sake of changing them.”

The big changes were reserved for the engine. The 32mm Bing carbs were replaced with a set of 36mm Dell’Orto pumpers and a custom-made, free-flowing exhaust system. The boxer was now a snappy, rev-hungry beast with a throaty exhaust note.

“We liked how slim and tall the old Dakar bikes looked. So we worked on the seat height and the angle of the new subframe to make the R100 feel more a like dirt bike,” Shaik. “By moving the rider’s weight slightly forward, the bike feels more energetic and dives in and out of turns happily.”

The higher seat and bars make it feel natural to stand on the pegs on rougher terrain. “The bike is still too heavy to be considered a truly capable off-road machine, but we were impressed with how it adapted overall.”

Max cleaned the frame, removing dozens of tabs and brackets and shaving close to 40 pounds off the stock weight of an R100. The battery now sits in a case where the airbox used to be, and a Works Performance shock is routed below the drive shaft—easily accessible if adjustment is needed. The scrambler is destined to spend just as much time on pavement as dirt, so Pirelli MT90AT dual sport tires became the rubber of choice.

The red seat—which has raised a few eyebrows—is upholstered in vintage perforated leather. “After hours looking at samples, I chose one that reminded me of my Dad’s 1986 Mercedes 230E,” says Shaik. “I can still remember the smell of that car’s interior.”

The rear rack and removable pannier system plays a big part in the overall look of the bike, and Max has done a beautiful job to make it work. The rack is substantial but not overwhelming—perfect for strapping on a small tent or sleeping bag.

To our eyes, the functional, high-ridin’ aesthetics are just perfect. And we’re told the performance is pretty good too. “The front wheel lifts freely off the ground with a snap of the wrist,” says Shaik. “The power delivery is instant and precise. The handling is nimble at low speeds, and stable around faster turns.”

“It eats up the fire roads like a well-tuned enduro.”

Okay, BMW—reckon there’s room for a modern scrambler in your product portfolio?

Hazan Motorworks | The Mighty Motor via BIKEexif

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