It's near that time of year once more where you're supposed to show extra affection to your other half - the question is which other half are you supposed to treat? On the one hand you may have a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, but your bike probably wants to feel some love too! If your other half is a biker then this list is for you, they'll feel the love, and pass it onto their pride and joy too.
First up, this is for the biker, and it was covered in a previous blog post, the Drift 4K Ghost action camera. It makes a great helmet camera and will allow your other half to show off his pride and joy to his mates and the world through the medium of high quality video, as well as making their insurance a bit more likely to pay out if something goes wrong that wasn't their fault (this is a double edged sword, don't get caught doing anything naughty because it can be used against you!).
Next up, and this is also for the biker, some new casual threads. Bike Stop stocks both Red Torpedo and Dainese t-shirts, and both will let your biker show their love for motorcycles wherever they go. A range of designs are available with them on display in store. I personally own several Dainese t-shirts and the quality is superb, they've survived tens of washes without complaint.
Now onto something to treat your bike. You may be lucky enough to have a garage to protect it from the elements, but not everyone has this luxury. A quality motorcycle cover will keep your bike protected even when it's tipping down. Oxford do a range of decent covers with varying sizes to protect 125 commuters to litre sports-tourers. The Stormex is the priciest of the bunch, but its ability to accept a solar battery charger and soft liner mean you can really look after your bike - the only downside is it's a bit bulky, but it does offer some superb protection.
Onto another treat for your bike - anti corrosion treatment in the form of ACF-50. Ideally you'd have already put this on if riding through winter, but winter is far from over and a late application is better than none at all, especially with salt all over UK roads. Bike Stop do applications of ACF-50 periodically, just get in touch to find out when the next one is so you can get it done professionally with a sprayer. ACF-50 really does work too, allowing you to just rinse off your bike to keep it corrosion free.
Of course you want to keep your love in tip top condition (be they a bike or human), but sometimes accidents do happen and keeping the rider alive and well is always more important, even if they feel different when they see damage to their bike! Proper, quality gear is the best way to protect a rider in the event of an off, but some gear can be sorely lacking in armour, even if its abrasion resistance is good. The easiest way to remedy this is to buy armour, either to fit into the jacket, or to wear underneath. D3O offer upgrades to jacket and trouser armour, giving a major upgrade to any existing gear you may have. Dainese also offer a range of armour to either upgrade a jacket, or wear underneath them. Back protectors attached to your body will always outperform and jacket based version, and give much enhanced protection to one of the most critical parts of your body.
Finally, this is a proper treat for the winter rider - a heated jacket. Many bikers already have heated grips, or even gloves, but a jacket will just make a cold journey that bit more bearable. Keis do a vast array of heated gear, with the pinnacle arguably being the jacket. They offer gear to heat all parts of your body (except your head) to keep you riding in winter with losing any fingers or toes to frostbite!
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