What is the best and worse part/accessory you've bought?
Discussion
It's coming into winter, a time of many sporadic bikey purchases brought on by the boredom of the long cold dark nights and the promise of Santa Claus.
So, in a sort of desert island disc style, if you could only pick one item, accessory or tool that changed your life what would it be. And of course, what would you never buy again having purchased or inherited.
Best thing - A brembo RCS19 m/c for my old ninja, not so much a upgrade I'd recommend straight away for current bikes, but with older 90's bikes its life changing.
Worst thing - That f
king cheap st sj4000 camera, just buy a fking go-pro and don't waste £40. It hardly ever worked, never when you wanted it to and the film footage quality when it did was st.
So, in a sort of desert island disc style, if you could only pick one item, accessory or tool that changed your life what would it be. And of course, what would you never buy again having purchased or inherited.
Best thing - A brembo RCS19 m/c for my old ninja, not so much a upgrade I'd recommend straight away for current bikes, but with older 90's bikes its life changing.
Worst thing - That f
king cheap st sj4000 camera, just buy a fking go-pro and don't waste £40. It hardly ever worked, never when you wanted it to and the film footage quality when it did was st. Good thread!
Best - Probably my adjustable size fork seal driver. If you are tight like me and don't want to pay for someone to fix your bike it's a must have.
Something like £30 which I should have bought years ago. If you have ever tried putting fork seals in with an old seal and a punch and a hammer it is a must have! I fked a set of forks on my old fireblade doing exactly that and spent £170 buying a set of secondhand forks!
Worst - Oxford waterproof bike cover.
Absolute dogst cover that was never waterproof even when fresh out of the packet. Always leaked and now I use it as a dust cover it tears apart if you so much as look at in the wrong way. I'll never buy an oxford cover again
Best - Probably my adjustable size fork seal driver. If you are tight like me and don't want to pay for someone to fix your bike it's a must have.
Something like £30 which I should have bought years ago. If you have ever tried putting fork seals in with an old seal and a punch and a hammer it is a must have! I f
ked a set of forks on my old fireblade doing exactly that and spent £170 buying a set of secondhand forks!Worst - Oxford waterproof bike cover.
Absolute dogs
t cover that was never waterproof even when fresh out of the packet. Always leaked and now I use it as a dust cover it tears apart if you so much as look at in the wrong way. I'll never buy an oxford cover againBest aftermarket things I have bought have been ( in no particular order)
Adjustable handlebars
Rear sets
Suspension upgrades
Good tyres
Brake pads
Frame protection
Double bubble screens
Worst.
I'm struggling here because I usually sit back a weigh things up first, sort of see what people are using or have good results with etc etc
So I'll just say a Honda Fireblade.
Adjustable handlebars
Rear sets
Suspension upgrades
Good tyres
Brake pads
Frame protection
Double bubble screens
Worst.
I'm struggling here because I usually sit back a weigh things up first, sort of see what people are using or have good results with etc etc
So I'll just say a Honda Fireblade.
Best.
Smx plus Alpinestars Goretex Boots, they were expensive but haven’t ever leaked and are properly warm even in the coldest of days had them 7 years and still look good
Worst.
Not really one part more a whole bike.
Ducati multistrada GT, fking terrible peice of st that spent more time st the dealers than with me
Smx plus Alpinestars Goretex Boots, they were expensive but haven’t ever leaked and are properly warm even in the coldest of days had them 7 years and still look good
Worst.
Not really one part more a whole bike.
Ducati multistrada GT, f
king terrible peice of st that spent more time st the dealers than with meBiker's Nemesis said:
Best aftermarket things I have bought have been ( in no particular order)
Adjustable handlebars
Rear sets
Suspension upgrades
Good tyres
Brake pads
Frame protection
Double bubble screens
Worst.
I'm struggling here because I usually sit back a weigh things up first, sort of see what people are using or have good results with etc etc
So I'll just say a Honda Fireblade.
One item you fud. ONE.Adjustable handlebars
Rear sets
Suspension upgrades
Good tyres
Brake pads
Frame protection
Double bubble screens
Worst.
I'm struggling here because I usually sit back a weigh things up first, sort of see what people are using or have good results with etc etc
So I'll just say a Honda Fireblade.
Worst:
Was going on a European road trip and realised at the last minute that I didn't have any sort of waterproof gear. Purchased a rain suit from Amazon because it was cheap, the reviews were ok and more importantly it was next day delivery. It turned up and surprisingly fitted ok and seemed to be of reasonable quality. Didn't need it on the euro trip which was nice but I did use it on the commute home a few weeks later. It was raining moderately hard and I had 30 miles ahead of me. The first 5 miles were fine and nice and dry, the next 25 miles were terrible. The suit appears to be waterproof everywhere apart from the crotch! The rest of the suit acts as a concentrator and funnels the water directly to your balls and arse crack. Would not recommend or buy again!
Best:
Old 2005 GS
I usually have a garage queen sports bike, that although used for commuting would often be left in the garage if the weather was a bit iffy. I still have the garage queen sports bike but now my bike usage has massively increased. I have put nearly 10k on the GS since March when I purchased it.
Was going on a European road trip and realised at the last minute that I didn't have any sort of waterproof gear. Purchased a rain suit from Amazon because it was cheap, the reviews were ok and more importantly it was next day delivery. It turned up and surprisingly fitted ok and seemed to be of reasonable quality. Didn't need it on the euro trip which was nice but I did use it on the commute home a few weeks later. It was raining moderately hard and I had 30 miles ahead of me. The first 5 miles were fine and nice and dry, the next 25 miles were terrible. The suit appears to be waterproof everywhere apart from the crotch! The rest of the suit acts as a concentrator and funnels the water directly to your balls and arse crack. Would not recommend or buy again!
Best:
Old 2005 GS
I usually have a garage queen sports bike, that although used for commuting would often be left in the garage if the weather was a bit iffy. I still have the garage queen sports bike but now my bike usage has massively increased. I have put nearly 10k on the GS since March when I purchased it.
Best - A tiny front fairing for my old Bandit 1250. It made the bike a bit more usable during the cold winter months... although i still think naked bikes are pointless between December and April in the UK.
Worst - Bar end mirrors again for my Bandit 1250. The idea was that i could fold them in when filtering through really tight gaps. They were hilariously tiny and totally pointless as mirrors to the point of being dangerous.
Worst - Bar end mirrors again for my Bandit 1250. The idea was that i could fold them in when filtering through really tight gaps. They were hilariously tiny and totally pointless as mirrors to the point of being dangerous.
Best: O2 sensor bypass resistor - Completely transformed my Blackbird's lowdown hesitant weirdness to a lovely smooth power delivery at all speeds
Worst: This
Worst: This
Mr Dendrite said:
The epically st XL Moto backpack we all bought when heavily reduced and then very soon found out why!
I gave mine to the charity shopt XL Moto backpack we all bought when heavily reduced and then very soon found out why! Best - Gerbing heated jacket. If you ride year round these are an absolute game changer! You can forget the layering up, chuck one of these on under your winter jacket and you’re good to go. Worked on bikes for years and have done many 15 hr + days for days on end through the winter.
Worst - Waterproofs. Tried “all the bike brands” and they’re all proper crap!! Buy decent outer gear and be done with it!
Other bits I’ve found to be worth the hefty price tag, which could be used as my “best bit of kit” example;
Rukka
Daytona boots
Dainese D-Air
Garmin
Worst - Waterproofs. Tried “all the bike brands” and they’re all proper crap!! Buy decent outer gear and be done with it!
Other bits I’ve found to be worth the hefty price tag, which could be used as my “best bit of kit” example;
Rukka
Daytona boots
Dainese D-Air
Garmin
Best - Vee Wipe. I'm a hater of rain on the windscreen, drives me mad for some stupid reason so you can imagine what I'm like with a Vee Wipe.
Worst - Pin-Lock. Could be great and it is for some but personally I've not had much luck with it at all, dangerous at times. Other than that, boots with that nylon type loop for the laces, doesn't take much for them to fray and rip.
Worst - Pin-Lock. Could be great and it is for some but personally I've not had much luck with it at all, dangerous at times. Other than that, boots with that nylon type loop for the laces, doesn't take much for them to fray and rip.
Best: Alpinestars heated gloves for the winter. A bit of a faff to put on/wire up, but never suffered from cold hands. My current machine purchased in the spring has heated grips - I haven't used them in anger, but am interested to know if they are better/worse than the gloves. Watch this space....
Worst: Aldi 'special purchase' gloves a couple of years back. Seemed like a good idea at £20, but total ste. Not even fog proof, stitching came apart after 2 short rides & the fabric looked like it was made from old socks. Binned them recently. Total ste.
Worst: Aldi 'special purchase' gloves a couple of years back. Seemed like a good idea at £20, but total s
te. Not even fog proof, stitching came apart after 2 short rides & the fabric looked like it was made from old socks. Binned them recently. Total ste.worst
Halvarssons Prime Jacket and Prince Pants - may work in Scandinavia but not in England
Dainese gortex pro jacket and trousers – like wearing a cardboard suit just so stiff, water came up the front so constantly soaked belly
Sdoc 100 power gel - just crap never does what it says on the videos/literature
Held Air N Dry Gloves fell apart not a patch on the original tour star
Held Sambia 2 in 1 Glove not a patch on the original tour star
Avon Storm 3D X-M the devil's tyre - ditch finder central, the only tyre i have got to spin up in a straight line nearly spat me off
best
V wipe
Held Wet Tour Waterproof Jacket/trousers – excellent
Furygan Houston Amo 2 Leather Jacket
Furygan Veloce Leather Jeans
Held tour star gloves - come back please the updated versions are just so st
gerbing jacket and trousers
keis heated vest
Halvarssons Prime Jacket and Prince Pants - may work in Scandinavia but not in England
Dainese gortex pro jacket and trousers – like wearing a cardboard suit just so stiff, water came up the front so constantly soaked belly
Sdoc 100 power gel - just crap never does what it says on the videos/literature
Held Air N Dry Gloves fell apart not a patch on the original tour star
Held Sambia 2 in 1 Glove not a patch on the original tour star
Avon Storm 3D X-M the devil's tyre - ditch finder central, the only tyre i have got to spin up in a straight line nearly spat me off
best
V wipe
Held Wet Tour Waterproof Jacket/trousers – excellent
Furygan Houston Amo 2 Leather Jacket
Furygan Veloce Leather Jeans
Held tour star gloves - come back please the updated versions are just so s
tgerbing jacket and trousers
keis heated vest
best:
antifreeze neck warmer - such a small purchase such a good result
worst:
dainese t-trq-tour gore tex boots - £200 of rubbish. lost its water proofing after a year only to find dainese warranty is 2 years across europe and only 1 year for the uk. Have gone daytona since and on a whole different level.
antifreeze neck warmer - such a small purchase such a good result
worst:
dainese t-trq-tour gore tex boots - £200 of rubbish. lost its water proofing after a year only to find dainese warranty is 2 years across europe and only 1 year for the uk. Have gone daytona since and on a whole different level.
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