Parts & accessories (Jan - Dec 2012)

Hein Gericke Visor Finger Wipes, £3.99 Miles covered/time: 2000 miles/two months       What’s good? Before I answer that question, let me ask you another one: what’s the...

Cold Killers Socks, £19.99
 Miles covered/time: 1500 miles/two months What’s good: They’re great for protecting your feet from the elements if you’re riding in summer boots. Being windproof they...

Proguard Fleximonitors custom earphones, £219.00 Time used: One year What’s good: This is my second review of these custom moulded in-ear headphones and I’m even more impressed with them a year on.

Airhawk 2 inflatable saddle, £159 Miles covered/time: 1200/three days What’s good: I used an Airhawk saddle for the first time earlier this year when I did a trip around the UK on a Triumph Explorer...

Dremel multi-function soldering iron, £32.94 Miles covered/time: One year What’s good: I tend to use this tool as a soldering iron more than anything else, but that’s not the limit of its usefulness...

Oxford Blanket £9.49 Time used: One month What’s good? This anti-slip matting is really handy and at just under a tenner for a 600 x 900mm sheet, you get a lot for your money. I’ve been using it on...

Kiddimoto Evel Knievel Kurve £69.99 (matching helmet £34.99 - gloves £7.99) What’s good: Kurve is the newest addition to the award winning Kiddimoto range of wooden toddler balance bikes. The...

Muc-off Helmet and Visor Microfibre Polishing Cloth, £5 Time used: 18 months What’s good: This cloth gets daily use on not only my goggles but also my prescription spectacles. It’s incredibly kind to...

Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen, £78 Miles covered/time: 950/eight months What’s good: There are some screens I have fitted which have left me cursing, sweating and drilling holes to desperately try...

Oakley Mayhem MX goggles, £49.99 Miles covered/time: 1000/eight months What's good? They’re very light and as such they’re really comfortable. Even though I wear glasses under the goggles, which has...

How your motorcycle works by Peter Henshaw, £9.99 What’s good: My brain absorbs pointless detail. I could tell you the numberplate of the Renault 14 we had in the early 1980s (DRW 722T, if you’re...

California Superbike School, Level 4, Silverstone Stowe Circuit, £399 (£648 with bike hire and fuel) What’s good: When you enter a CSS briefing room normality is suspended. For the next few hours the...

Givi TW02 30-litre waterproof roll bag, £40.85 Miles covered/time: 2753/one week What’s good: It’s the first time I’ve ever used anything like this, I’d normally have a conventional tail pack. It’s...

Givi T470SM small tank bag, £52.50 and T460B universal ‘Tank Fitting System’ (TFS), £17.33 Miles covered/time: 2753/one week What’s good: I used this on an intense week-long riding trip to Italy and...

Brooks Barbican shoulder bag, £225 Miles covered/time: 8000/18 months What’s good? I’ve worn this bag – designed for cyclists, but perfect for those of us vain enough to value style as highly as...

Chain Tsubaki Racing Pro Chain £147.17 Miles covered: Eight laps of the Isle of Man TT plus two days racing at Olivers Mount. What’s good: Chains famously snap at the TT they take a massive strain,...

Bumpstop ground anchor, £49.99 Time used: Three months What’s good: It can be fitted to a wall just as easily as the ground, making the chain more difficult to attack by elevating it. The 10mm...

Gold Label Soft Saddle Soap, £3.85 for 500g Time used: 15 years What’s good: This is the secret to my clean leathers, boots and gloves. I bought this saddle soap in a horsey shop in Canterbury in...

Aviator Retro Pilot T3 goggles, £102 Miles covered/time: 20,000/three years What’s good: In the course of these goggles’ high-mileage test, they’ve provided crystal clear vision, with no misting nor...

BMW Motorrad tankbag, £127 Miles covered/time: 3500/four months What’s good: Sports bikes, by their very track-honed, performance missile nature, aren’t practical. BMW knew this and went to great...

Moto-trek Comet 350, £100 day hire (or £34,464 to buy) Miles covered/time: 450/four weeks, plus two weeks living. What’s good: It combines a luxurious motorhome with a spacious garage, rather than...

BMW bike cover, £64 Time used: 10 months What’s good: Typically of BMW accessories, it’s well designed and made. BMW supplied it when I had a G650GS as a long-term test bike. Now that’s gone but I...

Q. My 2002 Triumph TT600 has started to behave strangely. One morning all the indicators including the dash lights disappeared. The horn is not working either. At the same time both trip meters and...

R&G heated grips, £40 Time used: Four months What’s good: Bike manufacturers’ heated grips can cost £250. This pair is £40 and works perfectly well. The control box can be a weakness on...

Bags Connection Ballistic Quick Lock Evo GS tank bag, £198.20 Miles covered/time: 3000/two months What’s good: This tankbag seems fairly robustly constructed. It also lives up to the ‘Quick Lock’...

Muc-off Two-prong brush, £5 Time used: Two years What's good? After owning and using this brush (also available as part of a pack of Muc-off’s various brushes) for many years, I’m convinced that, as...

The Ken Fox Hell Riders: a Journey With the Wall of Death, £14.99 Time spent reading/poring over photos: Five days What's good? As far as motorcycling books go, this stands out among the crowd. It’s a...

Muc-off chain cleaner, £7 Time used: One year What’s good: The first time I used this spray-on chain cleaner I wondered how I’d ever done without it. My humblest apologies for trotting out what sounds...

Tucano Urbano off-road and custom-bike cover, £40.99 Time owned: Nine months What’s good: Some covers I’ve used rub on bodywork under the motion of the wind, damaging paintwork over time. This has a...

R&G Superbike Cover, £43 Time used: One year What’s good: It has an elasticated hem to keep it on the bike, plus holes to thread a security chain through. There are air vents to let moisture...

Skidmarx fairing lower, £99.95 Time used: One year What’s good: Like many riders I’m sure, I’m slightly addicted to accessorising my bikes, often needlessly. So when I saw that Skidmarx still produce...

Weise Neck Tube £15.99 Time used: Six months What’s good: This neck tube has been in almost daily use throughout the winter and has managed to make even the coldest and wettest days more bearable.

Tucano Urbano satchel, £59.99 Time used: Three months What’s good: It’s a smart and practical shoulder bag. There are lots compartments inside and out. When you’re riding, it stays where you want it –...

Trials Evolution, 1200 Microsoft Points (about £12) Time used: Three weeks What's good? Pretty much everything. This is the sequel to the hugely popular and brilliant Trials HD, and as such takes...