Here's the 60-second video review of the Alpinestars S-MX 1 motorcycle boot

Hey,

The written review follows below, but the team at Motorcycle House wanted some video content.  Go to their site for a full line of motorcycle gear and accessories.  Ask for Dewayne Jasper.  Tell him I sent you!

A low, slow wave,

"Joe"  Rocket

Upgrade your motorcycle gear! Mid-season boot review.

Every time I get into a new car these days, I notice how much is changed or improved over the car I've been (until now) so happy with.  Besides that “new car smell”, there are tons of advancements, from electronics to power increases. The same is true of motorcycle gear.  It gets better every year. 

I've had a pair of Alpinestars boots for about 2 years and they've been great.  Alpinestars is a company that knows riders and how to make great products for them. I've never been unhappy with the older pair, that is, until I got this upgrade.  It's like stepping out of a Toyota and into a Mercedes-Benz.  I got this new pair of boots from Motorcycle House.

 

 

 

The first thing I noticed was NO MORE LACES. I HATE laces when riding.  Do you know how many times I've managed to loop a lace over a shifter and not been able to put a foot down at a stop?  We only learn from our bad experiences. 

The Alpinestars S-MX 1 boots have a full zipper on the inside of each shoe that allows easy entry.  The strap across the front ensures a comfortable fit.

Heel protection is great, as are the toe sliders on the outside edge of each boot.  These are comfortable street boots, but look to be built for track duty.  

 

Like many of you, I ride to work when I can, and the choice of shoe is important from the standpoint that I have to wear these all day and not stand out too much to the management team.  I wore these just this past week on a hot day and found them to be ALL DAY COMFORTABLE.  On my ride home, I enjoyed the cooling air that the fabric front allowed to circulate through the boots.

These boots look great, are purpose-built and are comfortable to wear all day long.  I almost forgot to mention the small heel is perfect for hanging off your pegs to give your legs a bit of a rest on a longer ride.  As always, Alpinestars raises the bar for riding gear.  These are a great value for anyone looking for a comfortable riding boot, but who may not need the protection of a taller boot.

Enjoy the second half of the season.  A little more heat still to come and then on to much cooler weather.  

A low, slow wave,

Joe Rocket

ALL DAY SUCKER

Perhaps it's the kid in me that thinks of an all day ride in these terms. I can't ever remember having one of these dentist's 401Ks as a child, probably because my parents were too smart to let me overindulge in pure sugar.  I had too many cavities as a kid, so maybe they were too broke from all that dental work to acquiesce to my juvenile demands.  Now, as an adult, the controls (or lack of them) fall squarely on my own shoulders. This past Sunday's all day ride was an all day sucker.  A 10, if you will.   

After a leisurely breakfast, Ms. Rocket and I rolled the bikes out and pointed them west.  We had a loose plan to ride northwest to Rutland, Vermont.  I had been there a year ago looking at a small tow-behind camper, the T@b Little Guy trailer.  The missus hadn't seen one up close and, even though they didn't have any new units for sale, except for a hail damaged one, it provided a destination on the other end of some great roads.

With a late start and a goal of "lunch" in Rutland, we were hard-pressed to make good time.  Long about 12:30 or so, Stephanie declared that she was "a bit peckish".  I knew of a good diner just on the far side of Hogback Mountain, so we stopped.  Seemed like all the holiday tourists were waiting for a table, so we strode up to the counter and plopped ourselves down onto some available stools.    A quick bite, and one or two too many iced teas later, and we were down the road again.  It was already a hot day and the over consumption of liquids was a recurrent theme that day.  I felt a bit like Whizzer.

The day was sunny, very warm and dry.  At an earlier stop, I could feel the sun beating down on the back of my neck.  We were dressed suitably, wearing all mesh gear and jeans.  No exposed skin to get a burn.  

The roads were largely unobstructed.  Any time we passed through a town we did notice a bit more traffic than usual, but it was a holiday weekend after all.  I love the roads in Vermont!  Once you get into the mountains, it's a constant winding back and forth and over and down.  Our pace was good, spirited at times, but respectful of the traffic and conditions.

We eventually arrived in Rutland, mid-afternoon.  The Italian restaurant I had in mind was in another city.  We used Yelp to find the Vermont Tap & Ale House and had a great butter and garlic pizza, which is really just cheesy garlic bread pizza style.

We found the RV dealer a few miles down the road.  We took a cursory look at the sold units and the pock-marked one.  The prices are off-putting, close to $20,000 for the luxury of standing up and a kitchen.  I liked the coffin on wheels for half the price, but I doubt I'd dump money into another depreciating asset.

Pointed home, we had a minor disagreement over the route the GPS selected.  By then, we were already hot and tired and too full of caffeine.  A couple of miles of radio silence sorted me out and we cranked the throttles and rode into New Hampshire again.   Sadly, one of our favorite roads, Rt 123, was a mess.  The bumps and cracks from the past few harsh winters have torn up a once-great scenic road.  Now, it was hang on and slow down.  Too bad.

One last gas stop (and bathroom break, I was fully hydrated!) and we were almost home.  All told, just shy of a 300 mile day.  Lots of sun and twisty pavement.  A 9 hour day and still plenty of sunlight when we arrived home.  Ah, the joys of summer riding!

I hope your holiday was independently wonderful.  Now is the time to get out and ride.  Make yours a safe one.

A low, slow wave,

Joe Rocket

Father's Day weekend and the new Honda VFR 800

It's Monday morning and I should be preparing for the work day.  But, it was a great Father's Day weekend here for me and I wanted to share a few photos of the new VFR 800, from Honda.

Old Blue was getting a much overdue spring service (it's practically summer).  Still, you wouldn't know it from the recent weather.  With inspection stickers due to expire at the end of this month, and me riding towards a valve adjustment, it was time.

Lucky for me that, as I was picking up my bike, I noticed a fork lift truck carrying a crate containing the new Honda VFR800.  This is a redesign of the bike which is a huge favorite of mine, since owning the (then new) 2002 model from 2002-2007.

I was fortunate to catch the mechanic uncrating/building this and he allowed me to take a few photos.

I left the dealership happy to have seen this new version of a bike I love.  With my bike home and Ms. Rocket's bike being serviced, I had to return to the shop again in the same day.  On the short two-up ride there, I noticed that my turn signals were acting up.  As I rode up to the shop, I saw the service manager Eric who had helped me just hours earlier.  He took a look at the issue and hopped on my bike and rode it into the service bay.  Moments later, he returned with the brand new VFR, announcing "problem fixed".  We chuckled and I took the opportunity to sit on the fully assembled (base model) bike, just to test fit it.  Yes, it still feels good to me, after riding a big, comfortable cruiser for the past seven years. 

As I think about my #nextbike, I want to give this bike serious consideration.  Other contenders are the VFR1200 and an ST1300.  Nault's Powersports has a new 2012 model in black, marked down $3000.  But I think that bike is more than I want or would use on a regular basis.  Thoughts?  I like the idea of trading down to a lighter, faster bike as I move forward.  I ruled out the 'Wing F6B simply based on size. 

After a brief discussion about the value of my bike in trade, I think the next step is to demo this bike and maybe one or two others.  Most likely, I will wait until the start of next season.  Plenty of time to do my homework.

A low, slow wave,

Joe Rocket

The future of battery technology is here TODAY!

After a very long winter, the sun shone long enough for me to consider taking my bike out from under wraps and testing the new Shorai battery.  My bike has been parked since late November and I can normally expect to have it out again by late March, in most years.  The winter of 2013-2014 wreaked havoc on the east coast and the midwest, and I am relieved to finally get back on the road.

I got the Shorai battery, along with a charger over the winter months.  My bike’s old, heavy lead acid battery was on a battery tender in the bike all winter long.  A few days before last weekend I pulled the new Shorai battery out of the box, along with its tender, and set it up to charge.  The batteries come almost fully charged but, as I had the time, I wanted to make sure that I started the season with a fresh, fully-charged battery.  

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you plan to use a Lithium-ion battery for your motorcycle, make sure to buy a charger/battery tender that is made for this type of battery. It IS possible to overcharge one of these NEW types of batteries using the OLD types of chargers.  Make sure you upgrade your charger!

Shorai makes a tender that clicks into place effortlessly, through the use of a connector. There’s no guess work, no need for clamps on terminals.  It’s a “smart” charger, as well, and gives full indications of the battery status and when it’s completed.  Mine was fully charged in about 4 hours.

Saturday dawned with the promise of a near-60 degree (F) day and a short HONEYDO list.  For kicks, I rolled my bike out of the garage to fire it up, only to find that the old battery, which had been on a traditional tender, was DEAD.  Morte. Finito. Unreal.  The dang charger had been glowing green at me for the past 4 months or more.  So much for old technology!  Now to pull that dead weight out of the bike.  If you’ve ever tried to finagle an old, heavy battery out of a battery box with just your fingertips, you’ll appreciate how much fun I had.  With the old battery out of the way, the new unit slipped easily into place.  

The Shorai LI technology allows for a battery that is a fraction of the weight of a traditional batteries.  This is critical for anyone wanting better performance out of their motorcycle.  I can see how this weight advantage/savings would be critical to anyone doing any racing, or simply with a sport bike and looking to maximize their top speed.  On my cruiser, laden down with a heavy tool kit (and other baggage), the weight savings are appreciated, but less necessary.

Shorai provides everything you need to install the battery.  I hit a small snag on the install though.  The negative terminal connected easily but, when I got to the positive terminal, I saw that the positive lead had tabs around the edges, to assure a good connection.  Shorai provided adapters (see below) to allow for different mountings at the terminals, but none of these were a perfect fit.  I knew what the solution was; it just took me a half hour of fiddling (and to be sure that I had no other options) before I bent two of the tabs up and out of the way.  I finished the job by capping the charger cable end and attaching that to the bike with a zip tie.  Now, if I ever want to charge this battery, all I need to do is to reach into the bike and pull out this cable. Easy!  With the new battery installed, my bike fired up as if it had just been run.

Once the battery was installed, I set about putting the seats back in place and doing a light cleaning, to remove the accumulated dust.  While the bike could have used a good soapy wash, I was too eager to get out while I still had time.  I took a 30 mile ride on some local back roads, just to see how the bike was running.  Everything was great and, in my mind, I knew that I was 5 pounds lighter (thanks to the new battery) and therefore that much quicker.

If you want to lighten your load, improve your track times or just upgrade to the latest is battery technology, look into what Shorai has to offer.  There’s a battery for just about every motorcycle make and model and something for your other toys, as well.

I hope it’s a very long riding season this year.  We’ve waited so long since our last rides that I feel like I never want the riding season to end, ever again.  I’ll see you out on the road soon.

If you want more info on Shorai batteries, click the link in the first paragraph or use the QR code below.  If you have any questions about my experience, let me know in the comments field and I will get back to you. Thanks.  Have a safe riding season! 

A low, slow wave,

Joe Rocket

The best (made up) story I never got to tell...

I had this thing removed from my forehead this past week, frozen off with liquid nitrogen. It had started as a rough spot, barely larger than a pimple, above my right eyebrow, and before I knew it, I had this darkish discoloration that looked more like a scar than anything.  I let it go for a couple of years but, as I regularly see a dermatologist, was not overly concerned. Sun damage, she said.  So, I let it go.

End of 2013 rolls around and I go in for my annual derma check-up and we discuss the “spot”.   I tell the doc I’m tired of it and she tells me that she has to biopsy it first, to make certain that it’s not cancerous.  I agree, she jabs a needle into my forehead and numbs me up. Before I know it, she’s putting a stitch in my head above the eyebrow, and I go home with a Clifford the Big Red Dog Band-Aid protecting the new wound.  Good news, it’s NOT cancer.  But I walk around for a week with a stitch in my forehead telling everyone that my wife stuck me there with a fork (like in Hot Tub Time Machine).

Later, I have to go back to get this thing frozen off.  No Novocain this time, she just whips out her little spray gun, the size of a small butane torch and sprays the area a couple of times with the freeze ray.  It stings a little and then it burns a lot.  I go on my merry way, watching this in the vanity mirror of my car, getting redder and redder.  I read all the notes and take good care of this but still see it changing into a prominent scab above my manly (hairy) eyebrow .  I figure I need a story, should anybody ask.  So, I concoct this semi-believable tale, for just such an occasion…Yet nobody asks.  Here it is, for whatever reason (fun?).

Office Manager:  “What happened to your forehead?”

Me:  “My wife stabbed me in the head with a No. 2 pencil.”

Office Manager:  “WHAT???”

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve (2013) and we’re playing Pictionary with two other couples and we’re having a few drinks.  What the heck, it’s New Year’s Eve, right?  We’re all competitive but having fun and making fun of each other’s bad guesses and generally having a good time.  It’s getting louder and louder but everyone’s laughing and enjoying themselves.   It’s our turn and Stephanie is doing the drawing.  The clue is “melanoma”.  She starts to draw these squiggly lines.  She draws an arm, with a spot on it.  I call freckle.  She shakes her head no and keeps drawing.  She draws an irregularly shaped blob and I’m calling out anything.  Blob, poop, you name it.  The clock continues to wind down and finally she draws a lower case “c” and right next to it she draws a capital “C”, and points to the larger letter.  There’s three seconds left and she’s tapping the pad madly with the tip of the pencil expectantly, fervently.  I’m out of ideas at this point but, just as the timer buzzes a neuron somewhere deep in my brain fires and this idea rushes forth (FOR THE WIN) and I shout out “C--T!”     And that’s when she stabbed me.

Seriously, it would have made a good story for the office (you don’t know my office) but, alas, no one asked me.  The scab will be gone by next week and I’ll never have had the chance to make people gasp, laugh and wonder.  Except perhaps for you, dear reader.  Happy New Year.  Don’t forget the sun block.

A low, slow wave,

Joe Rocket