Well, ladies and gents, there we have it. After the intense build up of pure childlike excitement, Motorcycle Live 2017 seemed to flash past us even quicker than last year. As the show sadly drew to a close yesterday evening, myself and Bryn, ABR’s editor, took one last walk around the halls to soak in all that is new for motorcycle gear in 2018. So, here’s a round up of all the best stuff that we found…
Adventure Bike Shop
For the adventurous Africa Twin CRF1000L owners, Adventure Bike Shop has the new range of protective accessories from Alt Rider. The range is designed to beef up your Africa Twin and provide more protection for rugged adventure riding, including luggage racks, crash bar systems, radiator guards, rear brake reservoirs and much more. Head over to the Adventure Bike Shop website to check out the full range.
Bell
Bell have some pretty good-looking new helmets in, including the MX-9 Adventure MIPS helmet which has been updated for 2018. The helmet has been designed to make use of a multi-directional impact protection system, which is essentially a slip-pane system between the inner lining and the impact layer of the helmet which aims to reduce the effect of rotational forces on the brain by decoupling the head from the helmet. The company has also introduced the SRT Modular flip front helmet which looks like it’ll be great for touring. Head over to the Bell website to find out more about the new ranges.
Biker Down!
Not new gear, but I thought this was an important company to mention in my round up. Biker Down! is a service offered by Kent Fire and Rescue which offers free first aid courses for bikers to teach them how to deal with a causality if they are first on the scene of a motorcycle accident. The course includes three modules; incident scene management, casualty care, and the science of being seen. Head over to the Biker Down! website for for information.
BikeSafe
Another important one to mention is BikeSafe, which is a police led motorcyclist advisory, assessment and referral which encourages positive rider behaviour and attitudes through workshops. The scheme is aimed to help riders avoid basis errors and work to help reduce motorcycling casualties. The guys were at the show giving seminars on motorcycle safety throughout the week. Head over to the BikeSafe website for more information.
Bike-Seal
This was a cool one, Bike-Seal are a company who make puncture prevention sealant for motorbike tyres. As your tyre rotates, the sealant spreads evenly over the inside surface. Therefore, immediately after a puncture occurs, the air pressure in the tyre forces fibre particles and fillers suspended in the sealant to interlock, forming an airtight plug which prevents further air loss. This action is completed within two to three wheel rotations. Head over to the Bike-Seal website to find out more.
Biker Tidy
The folks from Biker Tidy were at the show, showing off their range of motorcycle gear storage solutions, to help us messy bikers out. Check out the Biker Tidy website to see their full range.
BikeTrac
BikeTrac have a brand new range of hard security engineered to protect your two-wheeled pal from theft, to compliment the company’s range of tracking devices. BikeTrac is now offering the industry’s first category three approved, bolt cutter resistant chain which is designed to be fully portable with its own carrying bag. You can check out the new range on the BikeTrac website.
Bulgaria Bike Shipping
The company offers bike shipping to the adventurous playground of Bulgaria for very reasonable prices starting from £800 return for a GS sized bike. You can find out more about them by heading to www.bulgariabikeshipping.com.
Dane
Dane have a brand new pair of ladies motorcycle leggings on offer for 2018, and I’ll tell you what, I really like them. I much prefer skinny style trousers and as these fully lined with full Kevlar and SES-TES protection, these leggings offer all the necessary protection you’d expect from motorcycling trousers. To find out more about the new DIFI women’s motorcycle leggings, head over to the Dane website.
D Guard
This is a good one, D Guard is an automatic crash detection system which detects an accident and automatically connects the rider with the emergency services’s call centre. If the rider is able to speak, they can inform the operator of their current situation. However, if the rider in unresponsive, the D Guard system will send the GPS coordinates to the emergency call centre. Head over to the D Guard website to find out more.
Dunlop
Dunlop were showcasing the company’s new TrailSmart Max tyres, which combine sport touring levels of road performance mixed with the spirit of adventure. The new tyres have been designed to match the character of the latest and most important adventure motorcycles on the market. Head over to the Dunlop website for more.
Forcefield
Forcefield were showcasing the company’s new back amour insert, the Isolator two. The insert is level two CE approved, is heat activated, breathable, soft and comfortable. Head over to the Forcefield website to find out more about the range.
Gerbing
Gerbing were at the show showing off the company’s heated motorcycling clothing. We particularly love the range of heated gloves, especially as the cold is drawing in and riding is making our fingers feel like they are going to fall off! You can check out the range by heading over to the Gerbing website.
Givi
We absolutely love the brand new Givi top box fixing rack that transforms your top box into that of a suitcase on wheels! The company were also showing off their new black Trekker Dolomiti top box and panniers. Head over to the Givi website to see the full range.
Halvarssons
Halvarssons have new laminated jackets which will be out at the end of January 2018. The new ‘Wolf’ jacket has been engineered to be softer than other laminates on the market, which should make it more comfortable for riders to wear. You can check out the full range by heading over to the Halvarssons website.
Hideout
Exciting things are on the way for Hideout, as the company is launching their brand new Voyager adventure range of motorcycle clothing for 2018. The new range is created using ballistic fabric, which is more robust on the outside, and is aimed at riders who like to dabble in off-road riding. The range also features extra reinforced knees. Head over to the Hideout website to find out more.
Klim
Klim were showing off some great new products for 2018, including the company’s new women’s adventure suit (pictured above) which features a whole load of vents and pockets – we think it’s super good-looking as well. The company was also showing off the updated Badlands suit and also has a new off-road helmet that features an awesome CE approved fidlock system. To see the full range, head over to the Klim website.
Knox
Knox were crazy busy at Motorcycle Live, as everyone was after their stylishly designed range of modular motorcycle clothing. The Urbane shirt (pictured above) is a close fitting, classically styled armoured shirt, with a longer body which has been designed to give better protection and comfort to riders. The armour is held in the right place rather than being loose in a jacket where it can move around. To find out more about the range, head over to the Knox website.
Motogirl
Motogirl is one we haven’t come across before, and I am particularly keen to find out more about the company and its products next year. I was drawn to the stylish design of the Kevlar motorcycle leggings and new Kevlar skinny jeans. For more information, head over to the Motogirl website.
Performance Parts
Performance Parts were showing off the new Hyper Pro BMW shock spring kit, which was launched at the EICMA show in Milan a couple weeks ago. The kit offers BMW GS owners the opportunity to replace their shock while keeping the original ESA system, without having to replace the entire thing – which we all know can be pretty pricey. Head over to the Performance Parts website to find out more.
Road Skin
Road Skin were showcasing the new Classic Jacket, which offers riders a classic look while providing CE level one protection. The jacket features memory foam armour and damn, it’s comfortable! Head over to the Road Skin website to find out more.
Shoei
Shoei were showing off the Neotec Two helmet, the latest version of the company’s popular flip-up lid. Like its predecessor it features a integrated sun visor, which doesn’t sacrifice safety by decreasing the thickness of the EPS-liner in the front part. The Neotec also features many sophisticated developments to reduce the overall noise of the helmet, for example the integrated “vortex-generator” to actively reduce wind noise. The original Neotec is an already fantastic helmet, so it’ll be interesting to see how much better it can get. Head over to the Shoei website to find out more.
Sena
We were really excited to see that Sena is bringing out a range of motorcycle helmets for 2018. The new helmets have been designed to feature full noise cancellation which is said to block out the dangerous road and wind noise decibels. The range will include helmets fitted with action cameras and voice command Bluetooth. Head over to the Sena website for more.
Spada
Spada were showcasing the new Marrakesh textile jacket and trousers for 2018, which we think are of a super stylish and sleek adventure design. The new textiles are PU coated, breathable and waterproof. Head over to the Spada website to find out more.
Triumph
Triumph are launching an all new range of men and women’s Gore-Tex laminated textiles. The new jacket and trousers combo looks very stylish and the women’s jacket looks well fitted to the female shape. We’re looking forward to getting our hands on these next year. Head over to the Triumph website for more.
Yamaha
Yamaha have a pretty cool new textile suit coming in 2018, which has a sleek design and features a heck of a lot of pockets and vents. We’re looking forward to finding out more about this one. Head over to the Yamaha website for more.