Save Your Money!

 Save Your Money!

If you are looking for cool products to make your rides more enjoyable, or feel more safe, read on!

Collaborations

Listen up MotoReaders... by now, you should know me well enough to know that I'm going to be honest with you. I never intended to get involved with "collabs" or "affiliates"... mainly because I didn't know anything about them or about how much effort I would have to put in to be a "brand ambassador", "affiliate" or "collaborator." Truth is, I figured I'd just write my little blog posts on my tiny little corner of the interwebs, and, if I was lucky... someone out there might actually read them and maybe, just maybe, get something out of them. I never intended to make money from the blog. 

Viking Bags

One day... something weird happened. I got a random contact on my website from Viking Bags. It was a representative from Viking Bags wanting to send me a free bag in return for putting a link to their website on my page. I actually thought it was a scam at first, but sure enough... they sent me a new bag, totally free, and in turn, I did a review of it and then put their link on my site. No money, no job, just an equal exchange- one bag for one review and a link to their site. Easy enough. That was in May of 2024, and I didn't give it much thought after that. This year, Viking once again, sent me another bag to review.

Unik International

In December of 2025, I got an email from Unik International, about becoming an affiliate for their company. Being familiar with the brand, having seen their products in several motorcycle shops, I looked into it. Turns out, that by my becoming an affiliate, my MotoReaders could save 15% off their orders, just by using my link. So, basically, by doing nothing special... other than clicking a link or putting in a code at checkout, someone looking to buy riding gear could save 15 cents off of every dollar they spent... that means you only pay $85 bucks for something that cost $100. That's pretty decent for doing nothing more than clicking a link or putting in a discount code at checkout.

In return for the, potentially new, stream of business that would be generated from my little corner of the interwebs, Unik would give me a small percentage, too. Wait... what? I could potentially earn a few dollars, while my MotoReaders were saving money? Sounds like a win-win for us, so I set it up.

First Manufacturing

Shortly after deciding to retire from my paying job, and well before any of the affiliate stuff got started, I bought myself a new leather riding vest. Now, you may not wear a jacket while you ride, but I can tell you from personal experience (and I can prove it with the 6" scar across my back), that you should, at a minimum, ride with a vest. If I had been wearing a vest when I crashed my Dyna, the leather of the best would have been scratched, instead of my back being sliced open when I hit the ditch. I don't know what I landed on, but I can tell you that my highside crash was violent and something cut me open clean. 

I knew that I was going to be doing a lot more riding in retirement, so I wanted to buy myself something nice, so I clicked the link in an email from First Manufacturing and ordered a vest that fit my style perfectly. I was pretty familiar with the brand, because I've seen their stuff in independent motorcycle shops, as well as, several Harley-Davidson dealerships. I know that their quality is top notch, because my wife and I already had some old vests from them (which I wasn't wearing that fateful day when I decided to ignore a "DANGEROUS CURVE AHEAD" sign). 

After becoming an affiliate for Unik, I decided to apply to be an affiliate for First Mfg, too. After all, I really like my vest and I know that it is very high quality. Next thing I know, they accepted my application and boom! Just like that, my MotoReaders got another link and discout code to save money. For First Mfg, though... my MotoReaders get a crazy 25% off! That's nothing to scoff at, folks. For a $100 vest... you only have to pay $75! As for your old pal, I get a small kickback. Not too shabby for just adding a link to my site. 

Sena Communication 

I decided to look into another product that I absolutely love- Sena Comms and, in February of this year, I got the thumbs up from them. They even sent me a new Outrush 2 helmet for free, to review. In return for my efforts, as an independent contractor for them (they do things a little different than the others), my MotoReaders get 10% off. Now, you might be thinking, "only 10%"? But, let me tell you- good, high quality comms are not cheap. Sure, you can buy comms that cost less, but as I've said before, good products aren't cheap, and cheap products aren't good. With my first Sena, the 20S Evo, I was blown away by how well it worked. My good friend and I took a motorcycle road trip a few years ago and we talked for hours on our Senas. The battery life is incredible, the sound quality is excellent and, when I'm out riding solo and Mrs. MotoWriter calls, she can hear me perfectly clear. The Sena pairs to my phone easily and quickly and doesn't lose connection- an extremely important feature if there's an emergency. The new Outrush 2 helmet is even better than my 20S Evo. The sound quality is exceptional and the helmet is very comfortable. I still use my 20S in my Nolan helmet, and even though it is 4 years old, it still works as flawlessly as it did when I took it out of the package. 

In my opinion, based on my real life experiences, having quality comms is as important as wearing proper gear. Even if you don't listen to music while riding, having turn-by-turn directions from GPS when you're navigating to a new out of the way diner, or being able to call for help when you've laid your bike down on a solo ride in the middle of nowhere is crucial. Sena gives me a small percentage on every purchase, but for my MotoReaders, 10% is significant, because if you haven't noticed, Sena products rarely go on sale. Even if they do, you can save an additional 10% off using my code. 

Why spend more, when you don't have to?

Look, I've never been one to solicit products, and I'm damn sure not going to start now, but if you are in the market for some fresh leather gear, luggage or comms, why wouldn't you save your hard earned cash? With all the craziness going on in the world and prices going up on everything, saving 10, 15 or 25 percent on products that you were already going to buy anyway, just makes sense. I'm not telling you to buy anything, but I am saying, that if you're going to, don't pay full price when you don't have to. Click the links on the right side of the page to start saving with your old pal, The MotoWriter.

Save money, buy gas, and get riding MotoReaders... until next time...

Ride Safe and Save Money!

Here's those links again:

Unik International - 15% off

First Mfg. - 25% off

Sena Comms - 10% off

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.

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!