Old Skool Cool

2026 Indian Chief Vintage

A bold and badass move by the company formerly owned by Polaris, or a makeshift attempt at a new bike by scrounging through the parts bin? To each their own, but in my humble opinion, the new 2026 Chief Vintage is a win. In a cultural climate that has been focusing on "do all" types of bikes and reducing the equipment offerings by platform (I'm looking at you Harley-Davidson for killing off the Electra Glides and Road Kings... among many others), the guys over at Indian doubled down and said, 'let's take one of our most popular models and make it a true vintage-inspired time machine'. Personally, I think they hit the "old skool cool" mark beautifully. 

What they did

What they did, essentially, was take a current model that has been in production for 12 years- one that has amassed an almost cult-like following, and stripped it down to the basics of what made it so desirable in its original heyday of the 1940's. But obviously, large motorcycle manufacturers can't go back to 1940's tech, and the mass buyers don't want that, so it is a modern iteration of the classic. Ok, I'll be honest enough to say that the biggest changes are wire spoke wheels, a solo seat and some trimmed down bodywork from the 2014 and up Chief Vintage models. This new Vintage is basically just a hybrid of the first generation Vintages, the later model Chiefs and some Scouts. BUT IT WORKS. 

Lookit, Indian just took a page out of Harley-Davidson's playbook, here. Back in the 1970's when the MoCo was in desperate need of some new machines, Willie G. went to the parts bin and started building some new bikes out of what they already had. Mix in two parts big twin, with one part Sportster model and.. "bam!" you've got yourself a new bike! H-D learned that sometimes, a bike can be worth more in the sum of its parts, so they started building on that idea. Make the fairing permanent on the Electra Glide... then put the windshield back on and call it a "Highway King", then later... a "Road King" as a new model. Put a variety of different parts on the Dyna, Sportster and Softail frames, and you have three new families of motorcycles! It made for great business, and they sold a bunch of motorcycles and were able to offer a motorcycle for just about anyone looking to get on two wheels, or upgrade their current scooter. The problem was, that having different factories, machines and tooling for all those different models, became too expensive for the MoCo to maintain when sales started to decline. But, this post isn't about that... this post is about this "new" bike from Indian... so let's talk about what you get for the $19,999 price tag.

What you see, is what you get

Basically, this is the bike. What makes it so cool looking- the solo saddle- goes away if you start adding passenger pillions or other two-up features. The tech is the same as previous model Chiefs and the engine, aside from a super cool retro two-tone paint and finish, is the same mill that Indian has been counting their money from. The other feature that adds to its retro styling is the spoke wheels and, well, spokes are spokes... so there really isn't anything to talk about. But, it's the overall package that makes this bike so cool. It's the retro-inspired machine that has modern day technology like ABS brakes, three different ride modes and fuel injection. Sure, you can add saddlebags, a two-up seat, windshield and a laundry list of other features to this bike to make it more like it's Polaris predecessors, but why would you want to? At $20k, it's not the cheapest Chief you can get (that can be had for $15k), but it's definitely one of the coolest. 

Final Thoughts

Personally, I'm still a die-hard Road King guy, but if there has been any bike that has gotten my attention in this most recent iteration of Indian Motorcycles, this is it. I love that while other companies are consolidating models, Indian took a bold move to expand on one. Not to mention the fact that it is a damn good looking motorcycle. For the kind of riding I do, it wouldn't work for me, but for the guy or gal that wants to go for a ride after work, or meet up with some buddies on the weekend for lunch, then this bike is a top-notch head turner and one that will, inevitably, elicit the question of how old it is.

Till next time MotoReaders...

Ride safe and make cool choices!

*All images in this post are property of Indian Motorcycles

Wait, was that it?

The 2026 "Chapter 2" Reveal was a Flop

Well, Harley-Davidson's "Chapter 2" reveal of the 2026 models has come, and gone. But for those of us who have been waiting for something new... something truly new... it's safe to say that we are more than a little disappointed. 

For example, we've been waiting for the return of the Road King in models other than the Special, such as the Classic, Standard and maybe even a new take on the Custom, or maybe an actual Softail Standard (instead of a rebadged Street Bob). We've also been hoping to see some new models, like a sub $15k Pan America... or... oh yeah... the all-new $6k entry level cruiser they keep teasing us with. Yeah, we didn't forget about that one. But, after all the buildup over the past few months, all we got was more CVO models that most of us can't afford (or just don't want).

Let's look at todays numbers, shall we? 

Look, I love my Road King Special... and I have absolutely no plans to replace it, but it looks like the MoCo is still riding Jochen Zeitz's "premium brand" train and I'm here to tell you... it's a bad idea.

I bought my first Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a 2009 Road King Classic in my mid 30's. I bought it new, right off the showroom floor. It was expensive, sure... but by comparison to its Japanese competitors, it was reasonably priced for a "premium motorcycle." I don't remember exactly, but it was right around $19k for the upgraded "Classic" model. A base model was going for around $1500 less, I believe. An Ultra Classic Electra Glide in 2009 was just under $23k back then. By comparison, a 2009 Yamaha Stratoliner "S", which would be a fair comparison to the Road King Classic, had a price tag, just under $17k and the 2009 Honda Goldwing, similarly equipped as the Ultra Classic, was going for just under $24k. Since Polaris had not yet resurrected the Indian name in 2009... the only competing American machine was Polaris' Victory Vision Tour, which entered the conversation with an MSRP of just under $23k for the "Tour Premium" model. Opinions vary, but in my very humble one, the only motorcycle of these three big tourers that didn't look like it was beamed down from an alien mothership was the Harley.

The Ultra Classic name has obviously been sent to the archives, but the bike itself returns for 2026 as the Street Glide Limited. The MSRP of this machine sits awkwardly at $32,999. Meanwhile, the Goldwing Tour comes in at a smooth $29,500. Since Polaris has brought back (and recently sold) Indian since the '09 model year... their current competitor to the, fork-mounted fairing equipped, Street Glide, is the Roadmaster. The Roadmaster is offered with two, yes TWO engine options and five different models, with the MSRP ranging from $32k to $42k for the "Elite" model. Compare that to the Street Glide Limited, which only gives you two choices- $33k for the Limited, or a whopping $52k for the CVO.

Bad Business

I don't know what demographic the MoCo's sales and financial analysts are looking at to decide the new motorcycle pricing, but they are obviously confused, or simply overlooking, the core demographic of motorcycle riders in the United States (and abroad). Apparently, they had lunch with Indian's analysts at some country club full of old rich folks and came up with the misconceived idea that most motorcycle riding Americans are making over $200k a year. The reality is, the median income of American households is just shy of $90k a year. in 2009, that number was around $50k a year. I know what you might be thinking... the 2009 motorcycle prices reflect around 40% of the median household income, which is about the same for today. The problem with that math, is that it doesn't figure for everything else. Things like mortgage rates, the price of gasoline and the cost of groceries has nearly doubled since 2009. That means that most American households have, significantly, less "disposable" income. From the simplest perspective- making a product less attainable for the majority demographic, is just bad business. 

Harley-Davidson has been teasing us with promises to lower prices on current models, bring back some of our favorites, and even offer new, entry-level motorcycles. From what I've seen so far, the curse of Jochen lives on. I really want the MoCo to be successful, but they aren't listening to me (and by me, I mean us, the working class folks that make up the bulk of their annual sales). They continue to try to appeal to the "McMillionaires" who are living off their daddy's money or earning a living by degrading themselves in front of a camera, but the reality is, those folks aren't buying motorcycles. The people buying and riding motorcycles and immersing themselves into the motorcycle culture are who they've always been- the blue collar, working class people. 

Mr. Starrs... can I call you Artie? Great. 

Artie... let's talk, my man. I know you did some great things for Top Golf, but you have your work cut out for you with H-D. Harley-Davidson isn't a fad. It isn't a passing cultural trend. It's a legendary American Company, built on the blood, sweat and tears of the very men and women that it is ignoring now. The founders would, no doubt, be impressed with the technology and designs, but I don't think they'd approve of the, apparently ongoing, plan to price this iconic machine out of reach of the working man. Your true core demographic is still out here. The bullshit idea that we are getting older and starting to die off is imbecilic. Those so-called "market analysts" are wrong. Most of us are getting older, sure... but guess what? Our kids are adults now, making their own money, and they grew up watching their super cool parents ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles... and now they are riding them, too. They are, and will be, the future buyers of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.... as long as the eggheads don't price them out.

Final Thoughts

I still believe that Harley-Davidson is the best motorcycle on the market. The tech is getting a bit ridiculous, but they have to change with the times and I get that. The reality is there are other options, though. The Japanese motorcycle makers have withdrawn a few of their big cruisers from the market, but the ones in showrooms are big, powerful, dependable and relatively inexpensive. With Indian being under new ownership, we'll have to wait and see what their future is, but for now... they have some competitive offerings. Let's not forget about the Brits, Germans or Italians, either. All of the Europeans are eyeing the, actual, middle class motorcycle demographic that the fancy pants executives in Milwaukee have been (and apparently still are) forsaking. 

I really hope that we see some new, mid-year releases of new models for 2026. I really, really, hope that if they ever do release the "entry level, $6k motorcyle" that has been leaked as being named the (new) "Sprint"... that it is not that re-branded Chinese atrocity that they're using for the Rider's Edge classes. 

For now though, while we're all waiting for the next page in Harley-Davidson's book to turn, I'm going to go log some miles while the sun is up and the gas prices are down.

Until next time, MotoReaders...

Ride safe, and make good choices (this goes for you, too Artie).

Thinning the herd

Thinning The Herd

My recent retirement from my payin' gig has initiated, yet another, move toward my overall well-being. Yes, my loyal MotoReaders, as you may have guessed by the title and the photo, I have decided to sell my beloved Janus Halcyon. It has been a great, really great, bike and it still embodies the sheer excitement and fun of riding a motorcycle for the very first time. But... as I've mentioned before, I have a couple of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, both of which are paid for, and the Janus, unfortunately is not... so with my recent retirement and going on a "fixed income" (as I wait for my next payin' job to come along), some difficult decisions had to be made.

Actually, the decision wasn't that hard. In the 3 years that I've owned the Janus, I haven't even put 1,300 miles on it, meanwhile, I've put that many miles on my Road King in a single trip, over just a few days. The Janus is awesome and, I fully support the company and what they are doing up in Goshen, IN USA. But, the reality is, the worst thing you can do with a machine is to let it sit, and I've been paying on a loan for a motorcycle that I've barely just gotten broken in. Before I retired, my paychecks were pretty decent and, with a few hours of overtime each week, paying the note didn't even cross my mind. As I navigate my new income limitations, however, I feel like I need to make the most of my "mailbox money." So, I've decided to let her go. 

I'm also making plans to transfer ownership of my little Honda (aka, Piglet if you remember this post) to my son. I'm making moves to clear out some space in the MotoWriter garage, because, quite honestly... it's time. Not to mention the fact that people keep bringing their motorcycles to me to fix and I'm running out of room (but that's a story for another day). 

Catharsis

"Catharsis" is defined as  "the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions."

As I've been processing this "new" me over the past few weeks, I've realized that I've needed a catharsis of sorts. Who we are, who we've become and who we want to be, is all relative to the baggage that we drag along with us. Baggage in the physical form, such as, motorcycles that we don't ride, or phone contacts that we don't contact, and even people that used to be, or we thought were, our friends.

We tend to hold on to these things, because we want to believe that they will, one day, be useful to us in some way. When I bought the Halcyon, I thought... "man, this bike will be perfect for when I'm too old to hold up a big bike." That day, if it ever comes, is years, or even decades, away. What was I thinking? Easy. I wanted it and I wanted to justify (to myself) why I needed it. The last time I checked, I'm a grown man who makes his own money... I don't need to justify anything. 

With smart phones, it's easy to collect names and numbers... and it's easier to hold on to them for years and it's even easier to justify why- "this person might call me, and I want to know who it is if they call" or, "I might need to get in touch with this person." After I retired, I decided to go through the contacts on my phone. Good grief. That was a task. MotoReaders, when I tell you that I spent the next hour (or longer) deleting "contacts" out of my phone, I'm not exaggerating. I had contacts for people that were no longer alive, I had contacts for people that I met in a class ten years ago and haven't spoken to since, and I had several contacts for people that I couldn't even remember who they were. Simply going through and deleting those out of my phone felt so good. It was the same feeling as I got, when I was cleaning out my garage. Just going through the work benches, throwing stuff in the garbage and making room to work... that's what clearing those contacts felt like- making room to work and process more important tasks.

The same applies to many relationships that we hold on to in our lives. Life is, unfortunately, a lot like a certain social media platform (that I will not name) which has, literally, changed our world and how we live in it. We tend to collect "friends". As more and more people enter our lives and connect themselves to us, we eventually lose true connections with the majority of them. When I was growing up, there was no social media, there was no internet and there were no cell phones. We had long telephone cords that stretched from one room to another, bicycles, fishing poles, newspapers and sitcoms. Our "friends" were actually our friends. Most of us had a group of three or four people, at the most, that we referred to as "friends"- everyone else was just someone we "knew." Being a "friend" was a distinction that we reserved for people that were truly special to us in our lives. People that knew us and would, or did, crawl through hell with, or for, us. Being called a "friend" meant something and being called a "best friend" meant everything. Now, the word "friend" has been reduced to a meaningless list of people on a computer screen. The worst part about it, is that we often get the two mixed up. People that we consider friends in real life, turn out to be nothing more than a "friend" in the social media sense... just someone that is connected to you by their proximity to your life. What's worse than that, is that many times we don't see it until it's too late.

Cull the pack

The best way to find true happiness in life, especially for those of us that have a lot of years of "collecting" under our belts, is to cull the pack. Remove those relationships that no longer bring joy, peace, happiness or substance into your life. You know the ones- the people that only call you when they need or want something from you. The people that always say, "man I owe you one" but then never answer when you need a favor. The people who try to humilate you, then get mad when you respond appropriately. The people that you always make, or made, time for but who never seem to be able to make time for you. The people that never prioritize your "friendship" until it benefits them in some way. 

Look, I'll admit that I'm a bit of an over-thinker and anyone that knows me will confirm this. When seconds matter, I'll go with my gut and make an immediate decision right then and there, but when given the opportunity to reflect, assess and process any and all data... I'll often go deep, really deep. This trait has been cultivated for decades and, as a result, it has made me very introspective. This has given me a lot of insights on important topics, that I get to share with those of you who stop by my little corner of the interweb. I'm also a trusting, but suspicious, person. If someone is trying to be my friend, I'll keep them at a safe distance until I feel like they've earned a place at the "friend's table." This may sound callous, but it's a survival instinct. Many people over the years have made it to the "inner sanctum" but few, very few, have stayed there. Those that lost access to my friendship, did so by their own actions. 

Where I'm to blame, is that I'm too good of a friend, right from the start. I don't just offer to help, I actually do it. I give my time, energy, knowledge and effort to help people that I think are friends, to succeed and/or be successful. More times than not, I've found that my friendship and everything that comes with it, while eagerly taken, is often unappreciated and unreciprocated. The other problem is, I often don't hold these "friends" accountable on their first affront. It's in my nature to forgive, but it's also in my nature not to forget, so as my dad used to say, "shit on me once, shame on you; shit on me twice, shame on me." 

The Benefits

The benefits of cleaning up your life, both physically and emotionally, are magnificently cathartic. Seeing a clean, clear work bench, office or other work space is inspiring. It makes you feel good about getting back to the task at hand, without clutter and junk being in the way. The same goes for cleaning out junk relationships from your life. The mental health benefits alone are worth it. Regaining the time you spent on people who don't deserve your time, who don't deserve you, allows you to focus on yourself, and on those people in your life that do deserve your friendship- those that reciprocate it and embrace it, and offer theirs in return. The people that never ask anything of you, other than your friendship, and who give you theirs without any conditions except that you don't betray them. 

Clearing out bad relationships with shitty people gives you mental clarity. It gives you clarity of your own worth and value, not only as a friend, a husband, a wife, a parent... but as a person. 

Final thoughts

As I type this today, I know that there may be some people that will read this and wonder if I wrote it about them. To them, I'll say this- if you think it might be about you, then... you should probably reflect on how you have treated me, or how you are treating me. If you're reading this and you are wondering if you should thin your own herd, then you already have your answer. 

From time to time, you have to clean and clear superfluous things from your life, in order to better focus on the things that are most important. Cleaning up your work space, garage, finances, house, car... will give you a fresh outlook and will even inspire you to do more. Cleaning up your life- forgiving those people that have wronged you, apologizing to those who you've wronged, and getting back to having real, true, friendships again... will inspire you to be more. 

So go, my loyal MotoReaders... go through the contacts on your phones, go through your garages, your houses, your desks, and most importantly, your relationships, and ask yourselves- does this bring me joy, or give me fulfillment? If so, keep it... but if it doesn't... then let it go and move on with your life, so that you can live your best life, with the best people in it.

Always remember...

Ride safe and be a true friend.

MotoReview- First MFG Apparel

“If you’re not first, you’re last”  

                            -Ricky Bobby

Product Review- First MFG Co. "Downside Vest"

Greetings MotoReaders and welcome back to another MotoReview! Today, we are talking about the "Downside Men's Motorcycle Vest", SKU FIM693QLT in size Large. 

I bought this vest as an early retirement gift to myself... silly, I know, but it was sort of a symbolic gesture (I'll get into that later, in a separate post). I wasn't really in the market, but I got an email from FMC advertising a whopping 60% off sale, site wide. I was familiar with the brand, as I already have a couple of their lower-end vests for me and my wife, but for 60% off, I figured I could upgrade to a better, newer, one. The MSRP of the Downside is $309.99 (which is still lower priced than another vest I've been eyeing... which is listed for $350), but I'm cheap enough that I'll do without until the right deal comes up... and 60% off looked like the right deal. It shipped for free, so after taxes, my bank account was lighter by a mere $120! So what did I get for my money? 

First Impressions

Supple leather, incredible stitch work and a fit that almost feels custom tailored. This vest is probably one of the finest pieces of leather gear that I own... and I own a few. 

The first thing I noticed when it arrived, was that it was folded up, in a bag... I was more than a little worried that the leather would be creased or worse, be some cheap thin trash, instead. I was pleasantly surprised to open the package to the familiar and delightful odor of real leather. The vest has a nice weight to it, it's thick and the leather is supple... like buttery supple. It feels good to the touch. The satin liner is soft, smooth and seems to be a good weight of fabric.  Some satin liners I've seen are simply too thin and they tear and fray at the seams, but this one feels good. The inside of the vest has a velcro closure pocket that I use for my glasses and it has a snap-closure gun pocket that is accessible only when the zipper and snaps are open. Speaking of the zipper, this vest has a unique design that none of my other leathers have- a zipper closure with a snap-closure wind flap. This feature is great, because in the cooler months, you can zip it closed and then snap the wind flap to keep the cold out, and in warmer weather, you can leave it unzipped and only use the snaps OR... you can get vest extenders and get max airflow. On the outside of the zipper, behind the flap, there is another snap-closure gun pocket. The outside of the vest has two slash pockets and two chest pockets, both with snap closures. I opted for the blue stitching and blue liner and it looks great. The stitching is extremely nice and I can't find any flaws at all.

 The double diamond pattern covers the entire shoulder section- front and back, and the back panel is a solid, single piece of leather- which I prefer for looks and for protection. The vest is also perfectly designed for those who want to add patches to their vest, as the inner liner has several zippered openings to access the outer shell. It also has a well designed pocket for back armor, if that rings your bell. 

The Fit

As I said before, the fit of this vest is perfect. I used the size guide provided on their website, and ordered the recommended size (which is the size I normally wear, so the fit is true). One thing I hate, truly can't stand, is when you are wearing a jacket or vest that doesn't have a two-way zipper and it puffs out at the bottom while sitting on your motorcycle, making it look like you have a big, fat gut. I know, this may seem silly, but it's also uncomfortable, too... as the leather is being pushed up toward your neck. My favorite riding jacket, is the Harley-Davidson Badlander leather 3-in-1 from their 2009 collection, which is just a fancy way of saying that it's old (but I still love it). When sitting on my bike, I can adjust the bottom slide of the zipper to fit my lap so the jacket doesn't "poof" up. The First Downside vest does not have the two way zipper, so I was expecting it to disappoint me while sitting on the bike. As it turns out, FMC has figured out the right combination of zipper length to vest/snap length, because the zipper is shorter than, and offset from, the bottom of the vest by a few inches, which happens to be just enough to let the leather sit comfortably and naturally on the torso when the bottom snap is left unfastened. What's all this mean? It means that while I'm cruising along on the MotoWriter motorscooters, my vest isn't being pushed up into my neck... oh yeah, and I also look gooooood. 

Did I mention the feel? Good grief... this is honestly the best feeling vest I've ever worn. Truly, you've got to feel this leather. The leather is between 1 and 1.1mm thick, which is a nice thickness considering most leather jackets from H-D and other suppliers are between 1.2 and 1.4mm thick. As much as I love my H-D Badlander jacket (which has removable sleeves to make it into a vest), the leather is stiff by comparison to the FMC. That's not a complaint, mind you, just an observation. As seen in the picture, the Downside vest is paired with my Go Fast Don't Die zip hoodie. This has been a perfect combination for the mild Southern weather lately. 

The Cons

This is going to be short. I only started wearing this vest after I actually retired, so it's only been worn for the past 11 days, but... it's been on several rides already and I've put several hundred miles on it since the first of the year. So far, I haven't experienced any issues with quality, fit or comfort. It's still new, so if I do experience any issues in the future, I'll do a follow-up to this review. 

Brand Ambassador Influence?

You may be wondering, since my last post about becoming a brand ambassador for First Mfg. Co, if my review is being influenced by this little detail. Well, in the interest of full disclosure and complete transparency- the answer is a resounding "NO." First Mfg. Co did not reach out to me about becoming an ambassador, I reached out to them. I applied to them, several months after I bought this vest. I didn't get a special ambassador discount and I didn't get the vest for free. 

So why did I do it? Easy- I applied to be a brand ambassador for a couple of reasons- the first, I love this vest- the quality is outstanding and I fully believe in supporting businesses that offer great quality items for reasonable prices; and the second, as a brand ambassador, YOU get a discount using my code, so it's a win-win. This company sells a few extra pieces to help them keep the lights on and my MotoReaders get to save a few bucks off of good, quality, riding gear.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is this- if you're looking for a good quality vest, something that you can get with some customization (the Downside Vest is offered in several color options other than blue), you can't go wrong with First Mfg. Co. After seeing the quality of this vest, I saw that FMC was running another sale, so I recently bought my son a riding jacket since he didn't have any leathers (I'll do a review on that in a few months, after I've gotten some feedback from him). 

Let me be clear, I don't like wasting money. I dislike it so much, that I often won't buy something that I really like, just because I think it costs too much. My H-D jacket is a great example of this frugality. I remember seeing that jacket in 2009, when I bought my very first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I also remember that it was close to, or over, $550. Yeah, I wanted it, but I didn't "$550 dollars" want it. I literally waited until H-D discontinued it, found one on eBay a few years later and bought it second hand from a good, reputable seller. I paid less than half of what it was new. Like I said, I'm cheap like that. Would I have bought this vest at the MSRP of $309.99? Honestly, probably not, not without knowing the quality first. Now that I have it and have seen it, worn it and ridden with it, I can tell you that I believe it's worth every penny (but if you can get a discount... and you can by clicking here, it's even better). If you don't like the Downside Vest, fret not because they have several other pre-made styles, and if that doesn't suit you, you can even build a custom vest with your choice of materials, custom colors and custom details. 

So go, my fellow MotoRiders... go get yourself something nice to start this new riding season with. Save a few bucks with the code Ride_Write_Repeat or just click here. As the weather warms up, look for me out on the road... I'll be the guy wearing a high quality, great looking, vest.

MotoReview- Unik Leather Gloves

MotoReview- Unik Int'l Full Finger Gloves

Greetings MotoReaders! As promised... I present to you, my review of the Unik International, leather full finger gloves (SKU 8163.00 in size Large). 

Let's get right into it... 

Customer Service

Before I review the gloves themselves, I want to be clear that these are not the gloves that I initially ordered. Shortly after placing my first order, I was contacted by their Sales Executive, Fawad Khilji from Dover, NJ (USA), who informed me that I would be getting a full refund for my order, as the gloves that I ordered had been discontinued and the order could not be fulfilled. But, Fawad was very friendly and helpful (and super fast on refunding my money), and within a few moments, and after a couple of emails, I found another pair of gloves to try. He verified that they had them in stock and in my size, then he had them sent out within an hour of placing the new order. As far as I'm concerned- that is first-rate customer service. 

The Gloves- First Impression

The gloves arrived quickly via UPS and upon my initial inspection, I was impressed. The first thing I noticed was the feel and smell of them. These are real leather, and they smell like it. Leather, coffee and the smell of bacon sizzling in the pan are some of the best odors to grace our nostrils, so it's fair to say that I was pretty happy smelling leather when I opened the bag, instead of the chemical odor that sometimes accompanies new gear. The gloves have a nice weight to them- they aren't cumbersome, but they are just heavy enough that you feel like they are made of good materials. The fingers have small perforations, which I would assume are intended for breathability. The holes are small, inline and don't detract from the look, but I'm not sure how much they will help in keeping your mitts cool in the summer- only time will tell on that one. The palm of the gloves have reinforced areas and the design fits my hands well. The reinforced areas aren't bulky and over padded like you find in some gloves; these feel natural when my hands are on the grips. The backside of the gloves feature 3 knuckle pads, which seem to be effectively placed and some reinforcement stitching across the flat of the hand, which, if I'm being totally honest (and I am), give the gloves a Mickey Mouse kind of look if you think about it too hard. While I don't know why they only put three, instead of four, knuckle pads on these gloves, the design works and I feel like the pads are placed in such a way that my knuckles would be protected in the event of a strike, and the gloves don't look silly or over-designed. 

A quick look inside the cuff and I noticed a label that said "Made in Pakistan" and a very nice, soft lining inside the gloves. The lining, made with DuPont Kevlar fiber was a happy surprise for me, since that wasn't listed in the description. A good weight leather outer shell with palm reinforcements, paired with a Kevlar lining means these gloves should offer pretty good abrasion protection, and the velcro adjustment strap at the wrist should keep the gloves from sliding off your hand, in the event of an unplanned slide. 

First Ride

On the website, one of the features noted is the "touch technology" in the fingertips and, upon initial testing with my phone... it seemed to work pretty well... until the first ride. Now, I don't seek out this feature on gloves since I intentionally try to avoid electronic devices while I ride my motorcycle. Having the ability to navigate a touch screen does help, though... as I just added a Quad Lock to my Road King, and I like to listen to music through my Sena while riding. For other folks, especially those riding the newest Harley-Davidson Touring bikes with giant touchscreen displays, touch tech in gloves would almost be a necessity. 

Donning the gloves for the first time, I noticed that the cuffs were a bit tight for my hand to get into them, but they fit extremely well once on. Getting a larger size might make putting the gloves on a bit easier, but then the glove would be too big, so I'm sure that they will break-in over time and with continued use. The fingers were a bit longer and fatter than I like (see photos below), but the reality is, there is no standard for finger lengths and widths, so in designing a glove, a company has to make the most logical size to accommodate most hands, so I'm not put off by this... I'm simply making an observation. The gloves felt good and I wore them all day, on a ride of just over 250 miles. 

The first thing I noticed when I stopped for gas, which was just a few miles into the ride, was that the "skin" on the index finger and thumb for the touch technology was already coming off (see photos). Again, this isn't a deal breaker for me, but I also don't have a touchscreen display on my dash either. For full transparency- I am currently running Avon Custom Countour grips on my Road King and stock levers. The grips have a textured surface, but the levers are smooth- neither of which should have abraded the tips of these fingers enough to remove this "skin", so I assess this to be a manufacturing flaw. Not great, considering this a featured selling point for these gloves. It didn't take long for the skin to be completely worn off, rendering the touch tech feature completely useless. 

Final Thoughts

For full disclosure- as part of being a newly chosen brand ambassador (which might get revoked after they read this review), I did get these gloves at a pretty decent discount. Not to mention, they were also listed on sale, for 50% off of their list price of $59.99. With tax and shipping, I had less than $30 bucks out of the bank account for these gloves, which is a pretty decent deal for a pair of genuine leather riding gloves. These gloves aren't perfect, and the touch tech was a bit of a disappointment, but I've spent almost as much for a pair of Mechanix brand gloves that don't offer a fraction of the protection as these and are made of synthetic leather-like materials, instead of real leather like the Uniks.

The bottom line? Well, for these, I say... to each their own. I can't in good conscience recommend these gloves to just anyone, but I can recommend them to anyone who doesn't need touch technology in their gloves. The leather itself is worth the price I paid for these gloves. Add in the knuckle protection, the reinforced palms, the quality of the stitching and the overall comfort and wearability of these gloves, $30 is a deal. With that said, my recommendation to Unik, is that they leave these on sale at 50% off until they can get that fingertip issue resolved, as I would be highly agitated if I dropped $60 for a pair of gloves that had touch technology only to see it flake off in the first 15 miles of the first ride with them. My other recommendation for Unik is that they drop the touch technology "feature" on the listing, and list the Kevlar lining as a primary feature, instead.

I'm sure that, with their exceptional customer service, I could have had my money refunded, or had the gloves replaced within a few days, but to be honest, I really don't care that much- I don't need touch tech and I didn't buy these gloves for that feature. I chose to buy gloves as my first purchase for a couple of reasons- first, gloves are relatively inexpensive compared to jackets, vests, chaps, etc. Second, gloves require complex stitching, the right combination of materials and the right design elements to make a quality product. Quite honestly, you can learn a lot about a company's quality control standards, material selections and design priorities based on a pair of their gloves. 

Overall, I give these gloves a thumbs up for quality of stitching, overall design and comfort. I rode all 250+ miles with these gloves on and my hands stayed comfortable all day. For the touch tech feature- if you specifically want, or need, touch technology to control or adjust your digital touch screen display, look for a different pair of gloves, but be prepared to pay significantly more for them. 

As I've said before, I'll never recommend a product or service to my MotoReaders that I wouldn't personally use, so if someone at Unik reads this review and decides that I'm not the best person to have in their brand ambassador program, then so be it. Until then, if you want to snag a pair of gloves, or any other leather gear from them, hit the logo on the right side of this page (or click here) to get 15% off of your order.

Stay tuned for more reviews... until then,

Ride safe and make good choices!

First Mfg

Everybody wants some!

I’ve got some more great news for all my MotoReaders! Apparently, as sang by the one and only Van Halen (in what could arguably be one of the greatest ‘80’s movies of all time- Better Off Dead)… everybody wants some of the MotoWriter! Ok, well… more or less. In all honesty, I actually applied for, and was accepted, to be a brand ambassador for First MFG Co.! You may be asking yourselves why. Well, I’ll be totally honest with you all. 

A while back when I was sent a bag to check out, in exchange for linking the company’s website on mine for a few months, something occurred to me. My little corner of the interweb may be small, hell… maybe so small that it’s totally insignificant to most, but over the past five years, almost 200,000 people worldwide have stopped by to check it out. While that may pale in comparison to most other sites, I’m deeply humbled by it. It also occurred to me that if just one out of a hundred of my visitors reads one of my reviews, then decides to click that link and pick themselves up a piece of gear, that is a lot of potential customers for that company… worldwide. I never thought much about it… until I was asked to be a brand ambassador for the first time a few weeks ago. After contemplating this for a bit, the gears started turning. 

NOT FOR SALE.

As I’ve said before, and I will say again and again…and I stand on this with both boots firmly planted- I will never recommend a product or service to my MotoReaders that I don’t fully stand behind. 

The MotoWriter is not for sale.

With that said, when I know of a product, service, or retailer that I have personally used or bought from and I really like it… I won’t hesitate to share that with you guys so you can get in on the good stuff, too. I’m pretty excited about this collaboration with First Mfg because, as many of my closest riding buddies can attest to recently, I have been recommending the company to them pretty heavy lately. Why, you may ask? Because I’ve had personal experience with their products over the past several years and, I’m not sure but, I think their product quality is actually improving as time goes by. A few months ago, I caught one of their incredible 60% off sales promotions, so I decided to pick up a new custom vest to commemorate my upcoming retirement. I got it for a steal, so I really wasn’t expecting much when it arrived. Wow… was I wrong! I’ll post a full review soon, but let me tell you- the quality is exceptional. The leather is thick and supple, the stitching is flawless, the snaps and zippers are some of the highest quality I’ve seen in a long time. Not to mention, the size and fit are perfect. Last week, they were running an absolutely impossible sale- 80% off site wide! I couldn’t resist, so I picked up a new leather jacket, then I sent all of my riding buddies the link so they could get in on the action. After that, I decided to look into becoming a brand ambassador for them… and today, I got approved!

What’s it mean for you?

This is the part I’m most excited about- my MotoReaders don’t have to wait for the company to run a sale to avoid paying full retail… because as one of their new brand ambassadors- they gave me a discount code to share with all of you! Use the link here and on the FMC logo to the right, or use the special MotoWriter code- RIDE_WRITE_REPEAT at checkout and, get this, you’ll get 25% off your order! 

Get yourself some new gear, by clicking here:

RIDE_WRITE_REPEAT

What’s next

When I applied to First Mfg’s ambassador program, I also looked up another couple of brands that I really like and use, and applied to them as well, so keep an eye out for updates on those in the future. Until then, get yourself some new gear and don’t let the cold stop you from riding over the next few months. 

Ride safe and save some money!

Unik Leather

Brand Ambassador-ing

Hello MotoReaders! I hope you had, or are having, a great Christmas and holiday season!

I just wanted to take a moment to let you all know that Unik International reached out to me a week or so ago and invited me to be a brand ambassador for them. I know the brand well, having seen their products in various stores. While I didn’t have any of their gear, personally, I know several people that do and they are quite pleased with the quality of it, so I decided to take a look and see what was up. After reading “the fine print”, which was pretty straightforward, I decided to do a quality check for myself. 

No matter what, I want my readers to know that they can trust my opinion and referrals, so I will never recommend or endorse a product to you, that I wouldn’t buy, or use, myself. I decided to start small, but strategically, for my initial product test. I figured that the best product to QC was a pair of gloves because I am very hard on gloves. I ordered a pair of their full finger gloves and now I’m just waiting for them to arrive. Since I just ordered them, I obviously can’t do a review of the gloves yet, but I can tell you that their website was easy to navigate and they have a LOT of products to peruse. I will do a full review of the gloves once I get my mitts on, and in, them so be sure to check back soon for that. 

Since I bought them as part of their ambassador program, I got a bit of a discount and in return, the company provided me with a link for my loyal MotoReaders to save some money, too. Even though I haven’t had a chance to try these gloves yet, I do know that the company is well established and that many of you already have their products, so I decided to go ahead and share the link with all of you, here. I also added it to the right sidebar of my page for easy access while you are perusing other posts.

Be on the lookout for a follow-up post after I’ve had a chance to check these things out, but in the meantime, feel free to click the link below for 15% off your order.

Click this link to get the MotoWriter 15 % discount!

Wrenching, Riding and Retirement

Hello my loyal MotoReaders! It’s been a few months and if you’re a regular reader of my little corner of the ole interwebs, then you may be wondering what I’ve been doing lately, and more importantly, what I’ve decided to do.

Well, wonder no more my friends! For those just tuning in, I’ll refer you to some past posts here, here and here, so that you can get caught up. Go ahead and click those links and come back when you’re done… I’ll wait. 

Back already? Great! Now that you’re all caught up, let’s get into it. 

Retirement

I’ve made the difficult decision to retire from my payin’ gig. Not only have I made the decision, but I’ve also started, and finished, the whole process. I’m still on the books for now, as I use some extra  leave time that I had accrued because, if I don’t use it, I’ll lose it.

Now, before you ask, no- I’m not some old fart that’s near death and headed to the old folks’ home…I’m still “relatively” young(ish). I’m what some folks might call middle aged… but, as old as that may be to some of you young MotoReaders, I still have a lot of years left in me… at least I hope I do… but I digress. So, one question you may be asking is, “if you’re still young-ish, why are you retiring from your payin’ gig?” Great question… and to be completely honest with you all… I still have plenty of energy, strength and mental fortitude to keep doing it… but I’m tired. Exhausted is actually a better word. Mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. While my payin’ gig has paid the bills for nearly 25 years, it hasn’t always been easy. I won’t get into all of the details here, not now anyway, but suffice to say that the number one reason why I’m retiring….is as simple as this- because I can. I have served my time and I have reached the finish line. Sure, I could keep going (like a lot of others do), but for me- in the position I’m in, doing the work that I’m doing, it behooves me to know when to hang it up. Staying past my retirement date would just be pushing my luck and taking unnecessary risks- risks that the lovely Mrs. MotoWriter does not want me to take. If I were in a comfy office 5 days a week, it might be a different story… but with what I do every day… like the late, great Kenny Rogers once sang, “…you’ve got to know when to walk away…”. 

Riding

One truly awesome part of my payin’ gig is… er… was….getting paid to ride a motorcycle. Let me tell you- I had a lot of fun getting paid to ride Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycles for the past few years. My boss even sent me to Milwaukee to learn how to work on them… yeah, I have a pretty cool boss. So, you may be wondering (again), why would I leave a job that pays me to ride Harleys? Well, that’s pretty simple, too- when I retire, I’m still going to be getting paid… and I have my own Harleys that I can, and will, ride. Not to mention, I’ll have all the time I want and need, to be able to ride them. You see, riding for work, while a lot of fun, is still work. I like to use, what I call the “Donut Shop”, analogy for things like this. The Donut Shop analogy goes like this… I like donuts- they are fun to eat, heavenly to smell and they taste fantastic. But, I wouldn’t want to work in a donut shop, because I’d eventually get sick of eating them, sick of smelling them, and I’d get tired of making them. Working in a donut shop would eventually make me lose my appetite for those golden rings of goodness. Most of the time, if you try to make a living out of doing what you love, you will eventually grow weary of it, and your love of it will most likely begin to fade. Now, obviously, that’s not always the case… but why risk it? The other drawback to riding for work, is that I have… um, had…to work a lot more hours, and a lot more days and nights, than most of my peers. I’m not complaining, mind you, just explaining. By hanging up those motorcycle keys, I get to pick mine back up…and I get to go wherever I want, whenever I want.

I’ve already got a few trips planned, too so keep an eye out for me and say hello if you see me come through your town. First up- I’m planning a long-overdue trip to see my good friend and his wife. I’m also planning a motorcycle road trip with my first born son and I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with my baby boy, and working on some long overdue projects. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to making up for a lot of lost time with the lovely Mrs. MotoWriter… whenever she is off from work, that is. Needless to say, the MotoWriter scooters are going to be racking up a lot of miles over the next few months. After that, who knows…maybe I’ll go back to work part time and get paid to ride (and wrench on) motorcycles again. 

One thing I do plan on doing for sure, though…is teaching new riders. Being an instructor for the past few years has given me an incredible sense of fulfillment. Seeing someone with little or no knowledge about motorcycles become a confident and proficient rider is an indescribable feeling! Just knowing that you have given someone the knowledge and confidence to operate a “freedom machine” is awesome. I’ve got a few job prospects for teaching motorcycle classes… but I won’t get into any of that just yet- we’ll have to wait and see if any of them pan out, first.

Wrenching

Several years ago, I wrote a slideshow piece for H-D Forums, about wrenching your own rides. I’ve always believed that wrenching on your own vehicles is the best way to learn them. An added benefit to doing your own work is learning how it works, and gaining the confidence to keep it running. Not to mention, you know it’s done right and, if you are competent, you get to save some money by doing it yourself. Now, not everyone has the time, ability, confidence, or competence to do their own work. Other people simply don’t want to, and that’s perfectly okay, too… because that’s where I come in. Now, this sort of happened extemporaneously, but…regardless of how it happened, I’ve found myself knee deep in working on motorcycles for other people lately. 

Because I have always worked on my own vehicles and had the tools and equipment to do it, I would occasionally have friends ask for help with their bikes. Fast forward a bit and my ability, and willingness, to work on motorcycles would lead to, as I mentioned earlier, my boss sending me to some classes in Milwaukee to make it official. After word started to spread that I was wrenching on the bikes at work, the personal requests started coming in. So far, in the past year- I’ve had five different motorcycles on my lift at home. A few were favors for friends, one earned me a couple hundred bucks, and another earned me a nice fat “I.O.U.” Not exactly the best business model, I’ll admit… but to be completely honest, I’m not trying to go into the business of motorcycle mechanics- I’m just trying to help some friends, and friends of friends, keep their machines running strong and safe. Not to mention, I find diagnosing, repairing and maintaining motorcycles to be a very enjoyable pastime. So much so that I recently bought a tire machine and balancer (MotoReview of those coming up soon) so that I can do even more maintenance work on scooters. Besides, having the ability to mount and balance my own tires is going to save me a ton of time and money… and being able to mount and balance tires for other folks… well, let’s just say that will hopefully help me pay for my new equipment.

So, what’s next?

Well, to be honest- I actually don’t know. But, I will tell you this… I’m too young and way too active to just be “retired” in the typical sense of the word. So, with that, I’m going to take a few months and get caught up on some long overdue projects and get a helluva lot of riding in. I’m most likely going to fix a couple (or a few) motorcycles and hopefully earn myself some beer money (I can’t pay for my High Life with I.O.U.s, after all) and I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to finish writing this (first) novel. After a few months of that, I suspect that I’ll most likely re-enter the work force and wait for Mrs. MotoWriter to retire so that we can do whatever kind of stuff that older retired people do.

Final Thoughts

Retirement is kind of scary, to be honest. Especially from the line of work that I’m leaving behind because you never truly leave it. But, after having coffee with some friends and getting some insight and wisdom from a long time friend and mentor of mine, I got the reassurance that I needed to go through with it… and feel good about it. In this life, we can make as much, or as little, money as we want or need. We can buy cars, houses, motorcycles and we can collect just about anything we set our minds to. But there’s one thing that is more valuable than all of that stuff combined and multiplied by a thousand- and that one thing is time. We have a finite amount of it, and unfortunately, the amount that we have left is totally unknown to us. When contemplating your own decisions in life, I ask that you weigh and measure those things that you seek, whatever they may be, not with the dollar amount of money that they may cost, but rather- with the time that they will cost you. How many hours of work will you have to put in, to earn enough money to buy it? Because that’s the true cost. 

I’m looking forward to writing those MotoReviews for you guys in the next few weeks, and I’m anticipating some bad, but hopefully a majority of good, days in my near future. In the meantime, please take a moment to look around you and be thankful for the blessing of a new day because, as I saw hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of times over the course of my, soon to be former, career… each day that we wake up with breath in our lungs is a new opportunity to change our lives for the better, because many, many, many people… don’t get that chance.

Until next time, my loyal MotoReaders… stay safe and make good choices! 

Hold my beer!

How did I wind up here?

Many, many… many moons ago, I began wrenching. I suppose it started with my first bicycle that, as best as I can remember it- my parents bought for me, from a local guy that took different bikes and put them together to make pretty cool, custom built bikes. Now, there wasn’t a “custom bicycle scene” back then, no, this was back in the late 1970’s and a custom built bike was cheaper than a mainstream bike like a Schwinn, Huffy or Mongoose. I didn’t truly appreciate it until years later, when I realized that it was a one-off bike and that no one else had one like it. I still have it, by the way. 

Back then, a kid’s bike was his ticket to explore the world. We could go as far as our little legs would take us, as long as we were back home by the time the street lights came on. It was awesome growing up in the ‘80’s- no cell phones, no computers, and no video games (yeah, we had Atari, but we weren’t that interested in being inside when there was a whole world of stuff to get into). We climbed trees, went fishing, looked for weird bugs and played in the dirt- life was grand and summers were the best time of the year. 

But, even the best bikes got flat tires and, we were at a time in our lives when we were growing… so dad’s tool box was one of our best resources to fix those flat tires, tighten the chains and adjust the seat heights and handlebars of our trusty steeds. My dad’s Craftsman tool chest was the best, too. Before I was born, dad worked as a welder and a mechanic and he had a tool for just about any job. When we moved South, dad had to sell off a lot of his heavy-duty stuff, but he kept the essentials and I grew up using those tools, as much as (or maybe even more than) he did. I went from turning wrenches on my bikes, to working on go-carts, dirt bikes, and ultimately- my cars.

Growing up

I’m not a mechanic, not by trade, anyway… not anymore. I grew up in a single-income household, so we didn’t have a lot of money. Don’t get me wrong- it was glorious- dad worked and supported the family while mom stayed home and took care of the house, the kids, the meals and keeping it all together. They worked together- each doing their part and both making sacrifices to ensure the overall success and happiness of the family. As a result, we never went hungry, we grew up close and we grew up with a sense of security. But, not having much money, meant that we didn’t have a lot of material things- our cars were older and dad was the repairman for, quite literally, everything that broke- appliances, cars, lawnmowers, you name it. You see, when you don’t have a lot of money, you have to do be the mechanic, the contractor, the electrician, the plumber, the cook… you get the idea. As a result, each of us kids learned a little about everything, and a lot about some things. I took to mechanical work like a duck to water. I found an incredible sense of gratification from replacing a water pump, or rebuilding a carburetor. It seemed to come naturally to me… I didn’t mind getting grease on my hands or busting my knuckles on an exhaust manifold. In fact, I considered it a badge of honor. In junior high, I met a girl that I knew was going to be my wife one day, and by graduation, she was my girl and she knew it, too. 

I didn’t have any real plans for the future, but I knew I was good at mechanic work, so for our first anniversary, she bought me a huge Craftsman mechanic’s tool set! I worked a few jobs after high school, a couple of them being a non-certified mechanic jobs at local shops. I enjoyed them, but as life tends to do, my career goals changed and I found myself trying out a few different jobs and ultimately, found myself being called to a “job” that would ultimately become my career for the next 24 years. I never gave up wrenching though- from oil changes and brake replacements on the family trucksters, to body work on wrecked vehicles, to repairing and maintaining motorcycles- all using that same tool set that she bought me all those years ago… with a few extras that were added along the way.

A couple of years ago, I was able to convince my boss to send me to Harley-Davidson University in Milwaukee for some motorcycle tech schools. Those classes not only helped me in maintaining our motorcycles at work, but they have also given me the knowledge, confidence and experience to work on my personal bikes, and the bikes of friends, too. I’ve also been blessed with becoming a certified motorcycle operator and instructor… something that has benefited me a hundred times over.

Hold my beer

One of my fondest memories as a kid, was dad saying “hold my beer” as he showed me how to fix something. I would hold his beer, as he showed me what to do, then he’d say, “now, your turn.” I’d finish replacing the brakes, or the alternator, or whatever it was that we were working on, as he carefully watched (and often corrected me) to make sure I did it right. The feeling of accomplishment when the job was done was incredible! The “I did that” feeling is something that I still chase to this day. In my chosen career, it’s not the same. The “things” I have had to try to fix over the course of my career, aren’t often tangible things…not like replacing brakes or rebuilding a carburetor. 

Over the past few years, though, my reputation for being “the motorcycle guy” and someone that is pretty handy with a set of wrenches, has given me the opportunity to recapture that feeling, once again. Several years ago, I bought a second-hand air-over-hydraulic motorcycle lift in order to help me work on my personal motorcycles. Having a lift makes all the difference, by the way. If you’re one that does his/her own maintenance… it will pay for itself after just a few riding seasons. With my reputation of working on my own bikes, my experience working on the bikes at work, and my passion for two-wheelers, I’ve had several friends, and friends of friends, reach out for help on their bikes. As I’ve been able, I’ve been happy to help. For a friend of a friend, I’ll charge a reasonable fee for my time, but for a friend, I’m hesitant to ask for any money. I wasn’t raised to try to profit from friends or family. Now, to be completely honest, that’s been to my detriment more than once, but I counted those as lessons learned and sometimes, a lesson learned is more valuable than money. 

As a dad, I’ve been able to see my sons apply those “hold my beer” lessons they got growing up, to their own adult lives. My oldest  has decided to put his repair skills to work as a professional automotive (and soon to be motorcycle) mechanic and my youngest, has applied his repair skills to a profession that allows him to fix people. I don’t think I could be more proud of the men they’ve become, and I know my dad was, and would be, proud of them, too. 

The next chapter

As my current career path (my “payin’ gig”, as I call it), nears it’s natural end, I’m looking toward the future with anticipation of what’s to come. I have a couple of prospective job offers that I’m hoping will pan out, because honestly, they would be awesome. I’m also looking forward to doing a lot more writing and a lot more riding. I can even see myself doing a bit more work in my garage, earning a little beer money and maybe even having some “hold my beer” lessons with my friends who want to learn how to wrench on their own bikes. I’m even looking forward to going to work, part-time, working on motorcycles (and getting paid to ride them, again) and hopefully, being able to teach new riders once again.

Regardless of what pans out over the next few months, or what doesn’t… I’ll still keep turning wrenches, twisting throttles and sharing my experiences with my loyal MotoReaders. 

Until next time…

Ride safe and “hold my beer.”