THE HELMET TRIFECTA?

I’ve worn a lot of helmets in my days. For the past six months, it’s been the Bell Race Star DLX Flex (in Tantrum 2 Matte/Gloss Black/White). I just grab it without thinking. It’s my buddy, ya know? We’ve grown close. Especially with Sena’s handy 50S Mesh Intercom Headset. Having a comfortable lid you feel confident in while being entertained, well, as Roy Munson would say, “That’s sweeter than Yoohoo.”

The Race Star took some getting used to at first. I’d just come off a Shoei X-Fourteen and was very pleased with its overall fee and reduced sound penetration. It did however feel a bit heavy (3 pounds, 7.9 ounces), especially after long rides. My neck and shoulders would get sore. When I first slipped the Race Star over my head (3.3 pounds), I immediately noticed a weight reduction, which I liked. The cheek pads were kinda stiff at first, but after about a half dozen rides—some long, some short—the Race Star felt like it was made just for me. The venting is adequate, too. Nothing more, nothing less. It works fine. But the ProTint visor, now that’s something to talk about. It works exceptionally well. It adapts to changing light conditions, providing enhanced vision during any ride. Tinting comes on smoothly without even knowing it. When the sun drops, the visor goes back to clear. It’s that simple.

The Sena 50S Mesh Intercom Headset works pretty well with the Race Star. I remembered how much I appreciated Sena’s jog dial technology from my older 20S. “That was a great unit,” I thought. “The 50S must be even better.” While the 50S is pretty damn good, I wouldn’t say it’s that much better. In fact, maybe a little bit over-engineered in my opinion. Mesh is cool and all, but if your firmware isn’t up to date, then your unit can definitely be glitchy in group rides. And nobody wants to stress about making sure their firmware is up-to-date before a group ride with their buddies. And if you don’t have your laptop and USB-C cable on hand, then fuhgettaboutit.

With that out of the way, typical headset functionality works seamlessly. I can take or make calls (with voice activation). And music pairing is as easy as it ever was. But the speakers in my 50S aren’t great. What’s strange is phone call audio volume is ample. Even at speed. Intercom volume works fine too. But music? Not really. When I listen to a Spotify playlist I can barely hear shit. I checked Spotify’s output levels and it’s set to loud. I’ve even checked the levels in my Sena Utility app, and it’s also set to max. So what’s the deal with music volume? I know I’m not alone because Sena is now offering upgraded speaker kits from Harman Kardon. I’ll try to get my hands on an updated speaker kit and report back soon.

After months of riding with the Bell Race Star and Sena 50S, I saw a review on these Moto PRO earplugs from EarPeace and wanted to give them a shot. I used to have a pair of molded earplugs that I absolutely loved. I got them around 2006 at a bike rally from one of those Ear molding gypsies that shoot some goo in your ear and in about 20–30 minutes you get a set of molded plugs. Well, I had them, I loved them, but one day my damn dog ate them. Literally. And I haven’t gotten another pair since. Nor have I worn any other type of ear plugs while riding since…I think I just kind of forgot about the idea of wearing them.

I chose the Moto PRO ear plugs (High - 20dB (Clear)): Great for track racing, shorter rides, and situations where communications equipment is used extensively. The technology is cool in that these earplugs offer next-level filter technology and comfort to replicate sound at a safe volume while reducing wind noise and fatigue.

Most importantly, the EarPeace Moto PROs are designed to block out ambient noise, while streamlining quality audio directly to your ear. So if you’re listening to music, a podcast, or having a chat with someone on the phone or via intercom/mesh, you’ll be able to hear them more precisely and clearly. Not so much the chaos happening all around you that you’re trying to tune out. We received a cool little cylinder carrying case (one might mistake this as a place to store blow), two sets of Moto PRO earplugs in standard and large sizes, one set of PRO filters. Overall we really like how clear the audio is while riding. I swear it even made a difference with the Sena 50S volume levels. HB

SOURCES:

BELL HELMETS: bellhelmets.com

SENA BLUETOOTH: sena.com

EARPEACE: earpeace.com

Biltwell

WORK GLOVES 2.0

$59.95

Less flash, more durability and comfort, Biltwell’s Work 2.0 Glove raises the bar for style and construction. Featuring an elasticated cuff, suede cowhide palm protection, and 100-percent goatskin construction, the revamped Work 2.0 is a great all-around glove. biltwellinc.com

Feuling

OIL COOLED

OILING SYSTEM FOR M8

Contact for Price

Feuling’s Oiling System Kits combine all the needed components to finish your Milwaukee-Eight engines oiling system as one handy setup. Available in HP+ or Race Series (shown) the Feuling Oiling Systems increase oil pressure, oil volume, engine oil flow and return oil scavenging. feulingparts.com

$583.95

J.W. Speaker’s Adaptive 2 Series headlight factors in lean angles and provides ditch-to-ditch lighting to eliminate dark corners on sharp turns and a punch of light 1,500 feet down the road to give you a safer and more confident ride to master the corners. jwspeaker.com

Fxr Division Sport Touring Kit

Contact for Price

FXR Divison’s new Sport Touring Kit comes with everything needed for a direct replacement setup for 2009–later Harley-Davidson Touring Models. You get fiberglass P-style bags with hinges and latches, fiberglass side covers, aluminum strut covers and bag spacers, and all necessary mounting hardware. fxrdivision.com

Trask Performance Billet Aluminum Clutch Basket

$469.95

In the world of performance engine mods, don’t forget about your clutch. Trask’s billet aluminum clutch baskets for Milwaukee-Eight Harleys were designed to handle engines making 300-plus horsepower and strongly recommended for anyone with 100-plus horsepower. traskperformance.com

31 STATE BLOCK-OFF PLATE FOR ROKFORM CASES

$149.95

Have a hole in your dash after relocating your gauges? Kill two birds with 31 State’s block-off plate made to hold your RokForm-equipped phone in place, all with built-in vibration dampening technology. 31state.com

Painthuffer

HOK SPRAY CANS

$21.99 each painthuffer.bigcartel.com

Painthuffer’s new House of Kolor Spray Cans feature premium show quality colors, now in a handy dandy spray can. Available in the industry standard 7.5-ounce cans, these are only available in the USA (shipping restrictions).

KEN’S FACTORY NEXT LEVEL X RISERS (STRAIGHT)

$599.95

The Next Level Risers from Ken’s Factory feature an 8-inch rise with 1-inch mono-piece top clamp that reinforces stability when you’re hammering on the

KRAUS MOTOR CO. WOLF ONE PRO KIT FOR ROAD GLIDES

$2,119.95

The Kraus Wolf One Pro Kit for Road Glide models replaces your factory top triple tree with a new Kraus billet aluminum bagger top triple tree, but also includes a Road Glide billet gauge bezel, 10-inch Kraus Kickback Isolated Risers and a 1-1/8-inch FM Fly Moto Style Black Bars. krausmotorco.com

GALFER USA

CUSTOM ROTOR PROGRAM

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Galfer not only makes top-notch braking components, but now they give you the option to customize rotor carrier and rotor button colors to match whatever color combo

Industries

FRONT/REAR

Torch’s Made-in-the-USA Steelow front and rear fenders are constructed from 14-gauge stamped steel to fit Evo and Twin Cam Softail models with pre-drilled holes to take the mounting guesswork out. Non-drilled Builders’ Series kits are also available for custom applications.

Harbor Town Harley

Joe Ruelle from Harbor Town Harley-Davidson in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, stopped us at the Drag Specialties NVP Show in Louisville this year to tell us how much he loved Hot Bike and how excited he was that the magazine was coming back. We definitely wanted to share our gratitude by featuring Joe’s bike in the very first Readers’ Rides section back as a printed magazine.

Joe’s 1986 Harley-Davidson FXRD is one of those bikes that looks how it’s supposed to come from the factory. But it’s far from it. The FXRD Grand Touring Edition is a rare one from the ’80s. In fact, Harley only manufactured them in 1985 and 1986, and they were only sold in 1986, so to have one in this kind of shape is a rare thing. Joe has done several mods to his bike, and rides it all over the Milwaukee area come riding season, which should hopefully be right about now, right Joe?

SUBMISSIONS:

We want to feature your bike in the Hot Bike Readers’ Rides section! All you have to do is take some decent photos of your bike like the ones you see here. We’re looking for good angles of the bike from both sides (pipe and primary) without a bunch of crap in the foreground or background. We also need some information: First/last name, year/make/model of the bike, some modifications you’ve done or are planning to do, and anything else that might tell your and your motorcycle’s story. Once you have all of that information, simply email the images and information to info@hotbike.com with READ in the subject headline, and we’ll take care of the rest. For your trouble, each bike that we pick for this section in each issue will get this cool Hot Bike hat gratis! Note: Only active subscribers will be featured.