MotoReview- Rabaconda Tire Machine

MotoReview- 

Rabaconda Street Bike Tire Machine

Greetings MotoReaders! Are you ready for another MotoReview? I sure hope so, because today, I'm talking about the Rabaconda Tire Machine. I'm sure you've seen their ads on social media and on a variety of websites, and if you've seen their video ads, you must be wondering... is it really that easy to change a tire using this thing and, more importantly, is it worth the price? 

Background

Now, I've been working on my own motorcycles for several years now, and I do just about everything from basic maintenance, to upgrades, to mechanical repairs, to electronic diagnostics and repairs. The one, pretty basic, thing that I wasn't able to do though, was tire changes, and that just didn't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, on small motorcycle tires, like what's on the Janus or Twinstar, I could easily do those with some tire irons, but if you've ever tried to change a stiff sidewall touring bike tire with irons, you know that it's worth the money to bring it to a shop. Bringing my wheels to a shop has always been a point of contention for me, though. I'd have to get the wheel off the bike, load it in the truck, drive for almost an hour to get to my closest shop, then wait for them to get around to mounting and balancing the new tire, or tires, which usually had me waiting for a couple of hours. Then, after paying the shop anywhere between $50 and $100 bucks, I'd have to drive all the way back home to put the bike back together. The worst part is the time wasted, the second worst part is the money. Not to mention, most shops have now started refusing to mount and balance walk-ins... meaning, they want you to bring your bike in so they can do the whole job. They say that it's a safety issue, that they want to be able to guarantee that the wheels are put back on the motorcycle correctly, but the real reason is, they can only charge about a half hour on a walk-in tire change, but to remove it from the bike, the job rate goes up significantly. Enter the Rabaconda.

The "Ultimate Kit"

First of all, tire machines aren't cheap, so when I decided to actually buy one last year, I gave a lot of thought to how I would, or could, use it. When I looked at all the options, I had to look at this as an investment that should be able to pay for itself over a reasonable period of time. Certain considerations were: the overall cost of the machine compared to my personal savings; the ability to pay for itself; the time saved by using it; and of course, the overall quality, craftsmanship and customer support of whatever machine that I chose.

After looking at several options, I decided to go with the Rabaconda "Ultimate Kit." Now, I also added their Balancer Kit to my order, as well... even though they offered the machine and balancer in a seperate kit. The reason why I did it this way, is because I knew that I was going to be working on other people's motorcycles, as well as my own. The "Ultimate Kit" came with several more pieces that allowed it to accommodate a variety of wheels. If I was only going to be working on my own motorcycles, I would have chosen the lesser expensive option.

My Investment

As I said, I bought the "Ultimate Kit" in July 2025. By adding the "Balancer Kit", I paid just under $1,200 for everything. So, what did I get for my money? The "Ultimate Kit" consisted of the following:

• Street Bike Tire Changer
• Drop Center Tools (2)
• Two spindles- standard and 15 mm
• Wheel support riser brackets
• A tub of bead grease mounting lube with brush
• BMW shaft drive adapter
• Duck Head Kit for croass-spoked wheels
• Universal Big Hub Adapter
• 16" tire iron with plastic protector sleeve

The "Balancer Kit" consisted of:

• Wheel balancer
• Wall mount bracket 
• Wheel weight remover knife
• Two allen keys-one to assemble balancer and one to adjust the axle/balance shaft
• User manual (for the nerds)

Both kits come with their own storage/ carrying bags, if you might be inclined to take it with you somewhere, like a track event, for example.

The Value

The word "value" is defined by Merriam-Webster as "the amount of money that something is worth." So, how do we determine what something is worth? Well, I'm sure that everyone uses their own metrics here, but for me, I use a complicated algebraic formula, and if you know me at all, you know that is absolutely not true! No, no formulas for the ole MotoWriter, instead, I use my gut instincts. I determine value by how much time, money and effort I save by doing it myself. I also look at the overall convenience of having a set-up like this in my own garage, so when I do have someone bring their bike to me for some work to be done, I don't have to send them somewhere else for tire work. 

As I mentioned before, I'm almost an hour from my closest Harley-Davidson dealership. There's a couple of independent shops that are a little closer, but not much, so by keeping my tire work in-house, I save the most valuable resource I have- my time. As for the monetary value, I do get a little more analytical. For example, if a shop charges say, $50 per wheel for a walk-in mount and balance- that's me bringing my wheel and new tire to them, I'll drive a little more than 70 miles, there and back, with gas prices being about $4 a gallon. My old truck gets around 25 miles per gallon, so I'll have another $10 or so in fuel cost. So, for example, one tire mounted and balanced will cost me a minimum of $60 and no less than three hours of my life. That's for one tire. If I bring two tires, I don't use any more fuel, but the price of the service doubles to $120, and it's going to take even more of my time. 

For my own personal investment, I would need to do about 20 tire changes on my own motorcycles to justify my $1,200 purchase from Rabaconda. It would take decades for me to make up for what I spent, if I was only looking at the money. So what's my time worth? A lot, actually. But even with the time I'd save by having this set-up in my garage, I'd still need to do a lot more tire changes than I do, for me to feel better about such a costly tool. So, where I'm able to offset that investment a bit, is by working on other peoples bikes, helping them out and every so often, making a few bucks for my troubles. 

What Can It Do?

I can only speak to what I've done so far, but I have mounted tires on 16", 17" and 19" spoked, tube-type tires and 16", 17" and 19" tubeless mag wheels. I've changed tire widths as narrow as 130 mm, up to 180 mm and the machine handled them well. Obviously, there's a little more work to do on the tube-type tires, as you have to be extremely careful not to pinch the tube during installation, and you have to make sure the tube doesn't slip when you're lining everything up, but overall, the machine works as you'd expect. It takes some effort, but once you figure out how to do it, you should be able to change just about any common motorcycle tire using the Rabaconda. Is it as easy as an electric or hydraulic machine- no. You have to put a little muscle into it, but because the Rabaconda machine holds the wheel securely, has a ratcheting bead setter and a long handle for the bead breaker, it makes the job of changing a tire, tremendously, easier. The bead grease they provide makes mounting the new tires a lot easier, and you can use it to remove the old tire, but a spray bottle of soapy water works just as well for removal.

The Rabaconda is very well made, but it's not indestructible. In my time with it, I've bent the main spindle (it unscrews from the machine so it can be replaced easily); the little plastic end caps tend to pop out of the tubing, even though they are riveted in place; the rubber/silicone grip on the bead breaker handle slowly slips off during use; and I just recently had a clamp screw fail. Some of that could be caused by operator error, but for the price of this machine, it needs to be able to hold up against even the dumbest, clumsiest, meatheaded doofus... whoever that might be. That said though... Rabaconda's full lifetime warranty and their customer service is outstanding. I merely had to contact them, tell them what my issue was, and within a few days, the new replacement part was at my door- no questions asked. They firmly stand behind their product and that speaks volumes about this company.

Balance Is Everything

Let's talk about the balancer, really quickly. A lot of you may be thinking, "I could just use balance beads instead of buying a balancer" and to that I say, sure, you can do that. You can do a lot of things to save money, and I'm sure that most of that stuff will be okay. Balance beads are okay, but in my opinion (based on my own experiences), they are just okay. For a truly balanced tire, you need actual weights. Some people in the balance beads corner might be feeling some tension in their necks right now, and to them, I say- calm down and let me explain.

Balance beads are typically made of glass, ceramic or steel and are generally best for large, oversized tires. Because they sit in a pool inside your tire, you don't get any balancing affect until the centrifugal force of the tire spinning forces them to their respective "balance points." This means at low speeds- you don't have much, if any, balance, but on large, oversized tires (such as you might find on a 4x4), you won't notice this because the tires themselves will absorb much of the low-speed vibrations. On a motorcycle, however, with much smaller tires and much stiffer sidewalls, the imbalance at lower speeds will be a lot more noticeable. Because the beads dynamically adjust to the conditions, beads are best for Adventure bikes and are okay for some larger cruisers and touring bikes. Weights, by comparison, provide a precise and immediate balance which is best for any kind of performance machine. I don't know about you, but I consider my motorcycles to be performance machines, so I don't run balance beads, just like I don't use a car tire as a rear tire. Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should.

The Rabaconda balancer comes with everything you need, except the weights, although they do sell those now. Since adhesive weights are, for the most part, disposable, I picked up a couple of boxes from Amazon- silver and black, to match most wheels I'd be working on. I'd also recommend getting a roll of masking tape and a level (if you don't already have one). The level will help you set up the balancer nice and level before you hang the wheel, and the tape will hold the weights in place before mounting them, as you determine how much weight you need. 

Balancing the tires is both easy, and oddly satisfying. Once I got it figured out, and I was able to get my technique dialed in, I must say that it might just be my favorite part of the whole job. The Rabaconda balancer is what is referred to as a "static" balancer. That is because it uses gravity on a static wheel, or in other words- a wheel that is not in motion- to indicate the imbalance. Basically, the wheel rides on a perfectly straight and centered axle shaft, which rides on perfectly smooth bearings, and when the wheel is static, gravity will pull the heaviest part of the wheel to the bottom. Then, you just need to add the appropriate amount of weight to the opposite side of the wheel to offset the heavy side, or... you guessed it- balance it out. 

There are other static balancers out there- many of which are much cheaper than the Rabaconda. I've never tried any of them, but I can tell you that after seeing the quality of the bearings, metals, machining and tooling of the Rabaconda balancer, I can't imagine that any of those cheaper options would even come close to the same quality. A balancer, by the very nature of what it does, must be a precision made tool, so if you do look at those other options for your own shop, I'd recommend that you take a very skeptical look at the materials it's made of and the quality and precision of how it's made. The Rabaconda might be a little overpriced, I'll admit... but as I've said enough times that it could be a slogan- "cheap stuff isn't good and good stuff isn't cheap."

Pros, Cons And Recommended Add-Ons

For those of you that skipped ahead and only came here for the pros and cons, shame on you for missing out on the best parts of the blog... but here you go:

Pros- convenience, relatively easy to use (once you figure it out- instructions are for virgins), cost-savings after you do enough tire changes, quality of the machine and Rabaconda's customer service.

Cons- expensive- but will pay for itself after enough tire changes and balancing, a little awkward to use, small details could be better (plastic end caps on tubing comes off and the rubber/silicone grip on the handle slips and works itself off during normal use).

Add-Ons- In my opinion, if you are looking for a tire changer, go ahead and spring for the balancer, too. After all, if you're going to take the time to mount your own tires, why the heck wouldn't you want to balance them too? Get a box of wheel weights, a roll of masking tape and a level if you don't already have one. You can get a spray bottle from your local dollar store for next to nothing, so get one of those and fill it with soapy water to make tire removals a bit easier. You'll also need a valve stem core removal tool, for removing the valve stem core before breaking the bead. It's an inexpensive tool that you can get just about anywhere that sells bicycle tube patch kits. One other thing I didn't mention before- setting the bead can be tricky on certain tires (I'm looking at you, Harley-Davidson pre-2009 Touring models). One trick that helps, if you don't have a bead blaster, which is basically a tool that forces a high volume of air into the tire at an explosive speed, in order to get the beads sealed, then you can use a ratchet strap wrapped around the circumference of the tire to help "squish" the sidewalls out enough to get the air into the tire. This is a pain in the butt, though... so if you're going to do enough tire changes to justify it, get yourself a bead blaster. 

Final Thoughts

It took me a few months of having my Rabaconda before I really put it to use. Once I did, though, I've used it quite a lot. I've done at least 12 tires so far, and it gets easier each time I do it. Technique is key, patience helps. Personally, I value my time above all other things. It's the one thing that we have a finite amount of. If we're lucky, we get 70-75 good years in this world. No matter how much money we earn, save, borrow or steal, we can't buy more time. We have as much as God gives us, and only He knows how much that actually is. So, when it comes to saving, I choose to save my time over my money. With that said, I do understand that it takes some money to be able to make the best use of time, hence the "investment" concept. I chose to invest in the Rabaconda, because I knew how much time I've spent driving to shops and waiting for someone to do something for me, that with the right tools at my disposal, I could do for myself. I also had a reasonable idea of how much time I would spend, if I didn't make this investment. 

For me, the Rabaconda tire machine and balancer was a good investment. For the amount of money that I've saved myself, my son, and my friends, as well as the couple of hundred bucks that I've made with it, it has almost paid for itself in the first year. It might not do that for you, so you'll have to figure that out for yourself based on what you'll do with it, and based on how you value, and spend your time. What I can tell you, is that it's well made, using high quality materials, it works as claimed, folds up and stores away easily and it doesn't take up much space in the garage. I can also tell you that it works on everything from a late model Road King Special to a vintage XR600. The balancer is precise and it works flawlessly. It's like putting the icing on the cake- it's the last step, it's easier to do and it's pretty fun, too. 

For me, being able to mount and balance tires at my home garage is just one more, very valuable tool, in my toolbox. I enjoy working on motorcycles, I'm pretty good at it, and it gives me a sense of pride that I can do it myself. It also gives me the opportunity to save some of my most precious of commodities- my time. 

No matter what you choose to do, make sure it's the best use of your money, but most of all- your time.

Until next time, MotoReaders,

Ride safe and make good choices!

 

            

Daytona Bike Week- Daytona 200 King of the Baggers

Daytona 2026

I am going to preface this post by telling all of you, right up front, that I'm not a big "rally guy". But, in my recent retirement from my payin' job, I've found myself with a lot more time to do some of the things that I haven't had a chance to do for the past quarter of a century. Things like, taking a long motorcycle road trip with my eldest son, or visiting my best bro at his house in Florida. So, when the opportunity arose this year, to do both, I jumped on the opportunity. We also had the opportunity to see one of the most iconic motorcycle races in history- the Daytona 200 and, of course, the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers race. 

Pre-trip Prep

My son chose his 2007 Dyna Street Bob for this trip, and I... of course... would be taking my 2017 Road King Special because, well, ROAD KING! I swapped the seats and put on my tour pack, cleaned her up and figured I was set and ready. My son, however, needed to do a few more things to his Dyna before we left. He had been putting them off for a while, but this trip forced his hand, which isn't always a bad thing- after all, sometimes we need the right motivation to get things done, and this was definitely the right motivation. He needed to fix some wiring issues on his rear lights, his tires were toast, he needed a tune, front and rear brakes and, just for fun, his idle air control valve wasn't working properly... all things that we were more than capable of doing in-house, so he ordered his parts and we got to work. Murphy decided to apply his Law while we were working on the tires, as we quickly discovered that the wheel bearings on his rear wheel were pretty crunchy. The worst one fought a hard battle, but after a couple of hours of profanity-laced frustration, we finally prevailed with sheer determination, anger and a bit of luck and got it out of the hub. With only a couple of days to spare, I lucked out and found the bearings at an Indy shop in a nearby city. After hauling tail down there and picking them up, I got the bearings in and we got his wheels back on... just in time for me to notice that my front tire was worn down to the wear bars! I guess I missed that on my initial inspection, so with only two days left until we set out, I was on the hunt for a new front tire. My local H-D shop came through for me, so I went and picked up the tire, then hauled tail back home to mount and balance it, and get it on the bike. I won't get into the details of what happened during installation because I was in a rush and not paying attention... but suffice to say, I made a couple of stupid mistakes that cost me an extra hour or so of my time and a great deal of frustration. It all worked out though, and I was able to get my bike done with just enough time to scrub in the new tire. That same night, my son got his tune downloaded, installed his IAC valve and was able to get his tires scrubbed in, his brakes set and make sure the bike was running right with the new tune, the day before we left! 

The trip

We left the house on Thursday morning and pointed our bikes East on the superslab. Since this was the longest trip my son had taken so far, we took it easy and didn't push too hard. My Road King is equipped with electronic cruise control and a six gallon tank... my son's Dyna, however... has neither, so we made plenty of stops for fuel and rest. 

Both bikes were running, and riding, great though and we had beautiful weather the whole day, with the exception of a late afternoon rain shower once we got past the Florida state line. We stopped several times, taking plenty of time to snack, hydrate and stretch our legs and even stopped at a dealership to look around. We made it to Lee's house after dark, which was a bit later than we had originally anticipated, but we made it safe and he and his lovely wife had a delicious dinner ready and waiting for us! After a couple of hours of catching up, we turned in to get some rest before our next day of riding. 

Bike Week (in a day)

The next day, we jumped on the bikes and headed down to Daytona for a pass through Main Street for Bike Week, just to say we did it. As I said previously, I'm not really a "rally guy." I've been to a few, and they're okay... but I'm just not into parking my bike for several hours so I can hang out at a bar and I definitely don't enjoy being in the middle of a huge crowd of people. I also don't like sitting in the stop-and-go traffic... ugh. Even with the Rekluse slave cylinder I installed a few years ago, my clutch hand starts getting tired from the constant gray zone riding needed in heavy bike traffic. Not to mention, riding behind all of the duck-walking weekend warriors with throttle tourettes makes me crazy, especially as a certified motorcycle instructor. Look- I'm not judging anyone... if you need to duck walk your bike so you don't fall over, and you need to blip your throttle every few seconds to make sure your bike stays running, then more power to you... but I don't want to be stuck behind you in slow, stop, slow, stop traffic, either. 

After we made our obligatory pass down Main Street Daytona, we FINALLY got out of the traffic and were able to let our bikes breathe a bit, right before running into another traffic jam as we got closer to Destination Daytona, where most of the vendors were set up. 

Now, let me take a moment to tell you that some of the riders that show up for Bike Week are asses, plain and simple. We were all stuck in the same traffic, but some of them felt the overwhelming need to try to weave through the sea of bikes, ride along the shoulders, run red lights and ride like hooligans on the streets, doing burnouts and taking off like they were on a drag strip. Again, I'm not here to judge anyone, but don't get mad at the local cops for pulling you over when you are acting like an ass on the public streets, either. Take your tickets and be glad you didn't hurt yourself or someone else. Three people died in motorcycle crashes this year during Bike Week... that is 3 families destroyed in an instant. Local law enforcement reported, a staggering, 75 crashes during Bike Week... those are only the crashes that were reported, too- there were probably at least a few dozen crashes that weren't reported. That may not seem like many, considering that the number of people at the 85th Annual Bike Week was around 500,000... but imagine being in one of those 75 crashes. Imagine being the person with your bike totalled out because some jagoff decided that he needed to do some stupid stunts in traffic and lost control and smashed into your ride. Now, imagine being the family member of one of those three that died and getting that phone call. It just isn't worth it. I'll get off my soap box now. 

Destination Daytona was insane. The sheer number of vendors will make your head spin- over 120 just at the dealership alone. There must have been a skunk den nearby too, because it seemed like every hundred feet or so, we were smelling a strong, skunky, odor... so weird. We perused a few of the vendors, then went over to Houligan's for a late lunch before heading out. Traffic wasn't too heavy leaving, so we were able to get away from the crowds (and the skunks) and onto some back roads pretty quickly. 

Lee has only lived in Florida for a few years, but he is an avid rider and, like me, he loves to explore on two wheels. In his time on the East Coast, he's found some incredible back roads and he took us along a few of them. If you've never ridden this area, you need to make the trip. The roads may not be very curvy or hilly, but the ancient oak trees draped with spanish moss make for some truly breathtaking scenery. Riding along the St. Johns River, we stopped at a park that was absolutely stunning. The air was fresh, the wind was blowing and the temperature was perfect. After taking in the scenery, we jumped back on the bikes and headed back to Lee's house for the night.

Off to the Races!

The next morning, we headed out early to meet up with a couple of Lee's local riding buddies, Frank and Ben, both of whom were great guys riding gorgeous new Road Glides. After fueling up, we jumped on the superslab and headed south to the Daytona International Speedway. We had free parking in the infield of the racetrack, which was pretty awesome. Going into the venue, my son and I noticed a significant difference in the crowd at the races, compared to the crowd on Main Street or at Destination Daytona. The first thing we noticed was that there were no drunks, which was nice. We also noticed that there was significantly less skunk odor in the air. The crowds were friendly and the drinks, snacks and vendors were reasonably priced. 

We watched the Hooligans race first, which was pretty cool, then... the 200 kicked off. 57 laps of pure speed. The Super Sport bikes are cool, but if I'm being completely honest, I don't have the attention span to watch nearly 50 motorcycles racing for 57 laps. We were in the infield, so we got to see them coming through the S-curve, and also as they exited the pits, which was pretty impressive. These riders are practically on their elbows in the turns! They are also incredibly powerful, incredibly fast, motorcycles. Even if you're not into racing, you can appreciate the sheer power these motorcycles have and the skills that their riders have. 

Next up, was the real reason that we were there- the King of the Baggers race. Nine laps. 11 motorcycles. ALL V-TWIN baggers. Now, the sound of these machines don't even compare to any of the other bikes that were racing that day. Deep, loud, tuned, powerful V-twin engines roared... absolutely roared... along the track. Each rider trying to best the other, in 9 laps. These guys didn't have 57 laps to make up time, they had to get it done in less than 10! Don't get me wrong- I know that the 200 is as much of an endurance race as it is a competition of speed, but the 31-ish miles of the Baggers race is just pure fury, right out of the gate. You can see it in the infield, as the bikes power through the S-curve and nearly break the rear tire loose on every lap, as the riders crack the throttles and let those huge, torquey mills breathe! My Indian-favoring MotoReaders got to take the bragging rights on this race, as Team Harley-Davidson's Kyle Wyman lost his winning streak, although Wyman did jump in first place for a lap or two before being overtaken by Team Indian's Troy Herfoss (1st place) and Rocco Landers (2nd place). Side note- if you watched the "Why We Ride" documentary... you may have noticed a young Rocco Landers riding with his family... and in the final scenes, mentioning how he wanted to be a motorcycle racer when he grew up. Goal achieved, Rocco... good job, buddy. If you haven't seen the film... do yourself a favor and watch it- trust your old pal, the MotoWriter, on this one.

That's a Wrap!

After leaving the races, we rode to a cool little Irish pub for dinner and a cold drink, then, after dinner, we bid farewell to Ben and Frank and headed back to Lee's house for our final night on the East Coast. We got up the next morning, had a couple of cups of coffee, then got on the bikes and headed West. My son and I made really good time heading back, since he was, basically, a long-distance pro at this point. Our stops were also much more efficient- we rode tank-to-tank, only taking our breaks during the fuel stops. A storm front had been moving East across the country and we ran into it before we reached Alabama, but fortunately, we didn't get the rain that we were prepared for- just a few light showers, instead. We made it back to the MotoCompound by late afternoon, wrapping up a nearly 1,500 mile trip over 4 days. 

In all, it was an awesome trip... one that was long overdue. Even though we may have cut it to the wire before leaving, we got our bikes road-trip ready and we had a safe trip. As a matter of fact, the only close-call of the trip happened when we were on our way down to Bike Week, when a jackass in an old, crappy, Honda SUV decided to pull directly out of a side road, right in front of Lee, which forced him into an emergency, brake and evade, situation... which he handled like a pro. 

Final Thoughts

If there's a trip that you've been putting off until the "right time"... let me tell you- NOW is the right time! Take that trip! Make those memories! Do it before you're too old, too broke, too scared or too worn out. Don't be afraid to get out there and explore our world. Put a few bucks aside, here and there... skip the local latte lounge and drink your coffee at home for a few weeks, pack a lunch instead of hitting the drive-thru and plan a trip of camping or staying with friends. Your life is passing you by right now. As much as I love that you're on your computer, tablet, or phone, reading this... it's time to turn off the device and turn on your motorcycle. I'll be here when you get back... now... go... 

Ride safe, and make good memories! 

 

MotoReview- SENA Outrush 2 Helmet

MotoReview- Sena Outrush 2 Modular Helmet

Hello my loyal MotoReaders! I'm back from Daytona and today I'm bringing you a fresh new MotoReview- the new Sena Outrush 2 Modular communication helmet! Grab a snack, settle in and get comfortable... because this is going to be a comprehensive review!

Full disclosure

For starters- as you all know by now, I believe in full disclosure when I review any products. I want you to know how I decide to do a review on a particular product, or products. It's pretty simple, really. I'm not a spontaneous buyer- I have to work for my money, so I'm pretty discerning with how I spend it. With that said, most of the products I review are products that I've already done a fair level of research on before I bought them, so I'm naturally predisposed to give a good review of them. Typically, I end up reviewing overall quality and will make a recommendation based on that, but today's review is a little different- I didn't buy this one.

When I connected with Sena Communication as a brand ambassador, I thought it was going to be like the others- a simple agreement and a discount code with a small percentage of each sale kicked back to me as an incentive to advertise their product on my website. I was more than a little surprised to see that this collab actually required some formal documentation, but in return, they sent me a helmet for free. 

The terms of agreement were pretty simple, really- use the product, review the product, don't bash the company or any of it's representatives. That's about it. Pretty straightforward and some parameters that I can definitely work within. So, notwithstanding the fact that I got a new helmet out of the deal, I'm going to give my MotoReaders a full and honest review of this helmet. While the helmet was free initially, I look at it like this: the helmet was pre-payment on a product that I'm offering- my full and honest review for all of my MotoReaders worldwide to read. That's a fair trade, in my opinion, so I can assure you that I'm not being influenced by Sena or any representative of Sena (or anyone else, for that matter). 

What is the Outrush 2?

Sena has been making communication helmets for several years and the "Outrush" name is not unfamiliar to most folks that have been in the market for a new comms helmet. A lot of you may recognize it as a Harley-Davidson helmet, which you can check out here. Here's a newsflash for all of you MoCo brand fanatics though- Harley-Davidson Motor Company doesn't actually produce their own helmets. If they did... they would probably call themselves the Harley-Davidson Motor and Other Products Company... which doesn't really roll off the tongue as easily, or sound as cool for that matter. Common suppliers of helmets to H-D is Sena, HJC, Bell, LS2 and maybe a couple of others. That means that when you go into your local H-D dealer and buy that Harley-Davidson Outrush R Helmet... you are actually buying a Sena Outrush R with a H-D logo. The same goes for their helmet comms- they simply rebrand Sena and Cardo products as their own. Rebranding is a very common practice for many companies- including the company that claims to have been around for a few more years than H-D.

So, what is the Outrush 2, well... according to my rep at Sena:

"The Outrush 2 is a mid-price-point modular helmet." Sena wanted to create something that was accessible but also has some of their staple features. A couple things to note are: 

- The Outrush 2 does not have bluetooth intercom, it only has bluetooth connectivity. You should be able to pair it to your phone to listen to music, take direct calls, and listen to your turn-by-turn navigation.

- The Outrush 2 only has Mesh intercom. 

- This helmet is "backwards" compatible, but only with other devices that run the Sena mesh network, 2.0 or 3.0.

- The Outrush 2 also has Wave Intercom which requires each user to use their own phone/app and comm device. Each comm device must be bluetooth paired to the corresponding phone and, when opening the Wave Intercom app, the user should see their bluetooth device paired on the screen. This technology uses the phones to connect, instead of the mesh network created by Sena. 

Now, again, full disclosure here... I made a video review of the Outrush 2 helmet before I knew any of this. That was a little foolish on my part, but I reached out to my rep at Sena before writing this and have decided not to post the video review... at least not until I have a chance to revise it.

What does all of the aforementioned tech stuff mean? Simple- in order to use the Outrush 2 helmet- make sure that your riding buddies are running comms with more modern tech than the ole MotoWriter was using (a 20S EVO). 

The Test(s)

When I first received the helmet, I was eager to try it out. The day before, I had taken a pretty decent ride on the MotoWriter Road King Special, wearing my Nolan N100-5 modular helmet outfitted with my 20S EVO, so I decided to do a back-to-back comparison of the same trip, same roads, same distance (just over 200 miles with speeds ranging from 30-65mph), same length of time using the Outrush 2. After that, I decided to put the Outrush 2 to the test on a few more rides... one being a big one. My judging criteria for each ride was simple:

• how comfortable is the helmet? 
• how heavy is the helmet? 
• how noisy is the helmet? 
• how are the comms? 
• how is the audio quality for music?
• how long can I comfortably wear this helmet?

The next ride was a bit longer- just over 230 miles, again, on the Road King; after that, a 3rd, much shorter ride (less than 25 miles) on the Janus Halcyon 250. The next, and final (for this initial review) test for the Outrush 2 helmet was a trip from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi to Daytona, FL for a visit to Bike Week and, more importantly, the Daytona 200 and King of the Baggers races. The last ride was over 1,450 miles in 4 days and consisted of a variety of rides, roads and speeds. Overall testing miles for the Sena Outrush 2 Modular helmet so far, is just under 2,000 ridden miles. So, how did it do? 

Comfort Level

I've worn a few different helmet brands- HJC, Nolan, Shoei, Super Seer, "Harley-Davidson", Fulmer, Thor and probably a few others that I'm forgetting. The Sena is just as comfortable to wear as the most comfortable I've ever worn. If you're confused by the wording- simply put- it's a comfortable helmet to wear. It's relatively lightweight, has an appropriate amount of wind noise as any modular helmet that I've ever worn (more on that later, though) and I can wear it all day without any fatigue. The shield is wide and offers a clear view and the flip down sun visor is easy to use and offers just enough tint to take the edge off the sun, without being so dark that you go blind in the shadows or when the sun starts going down. Ventilation on the helmet is good... no, better than good. You can actually feel the air moving in the helmet when you open the vents, which has not been all that common in most of the full face or modular helmets I've worn. The Sena Outrush 2 has several vents- 2 adjustable and 5 non-adjustable. The two adjustable are located on the chin bar and on the top and both control the flow of air into the helmet to cool your dome while you're riding. The 5 non-adjustable are laid out as such- 2 on the chin bar that act as defrosters for the face shield, and 3 on the back of the helmet to act as exhaust vents for your hot breath. All of the vents work, better than expected, but the two adjustable vents are especially nice. When open, even behind a small windshield, I can actually feel the air flowing through them. The only problem that I've noticed with the top vent, is that it does tend to increase the noise level a good bit. But... if given the opportunity to choose between trading out the wind noise of the open vent for airflow- I'll take the airflow all day long. I can tolerate the noise, but as many of you can attest- riding with an itchy, sweaty head just plain sucks, so I'd rather have a cool head and turn up the volume a little higher. Speaking of sound quality...

Sound Quality

While I will have to update my wife's comms to a mesh compatible device, and get my buddies to update theirs (which they can do AND save 10% off their order, by clicking my affiliate link here- hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge), I mostly use my helmet comms for listening to music or answering calls while I'm out riding solo. My 20S EVO is a good device and has great sound quality on phone calls. The sound quality for listening to music is just okay,  though, and it gets noticeably worse as speeds increase. The Outrush 2, however, offers a vast improvement. The highs, midrange and bass are significantly better and I've noticed that I actually need to turn it down some while I ride, as the music sounds great anywhere from slower city riding, all the way up to much higher interstate speeds. The trip to Daytona consisted of a good mix of city riding, beach road speeds and jamming on the interstate. On each ride, the Sena Outrush 2 speakers did a fine job of keeping the beats. My music tastes are pretty diverse... I'll listen to everything from heavy metal or Indie folk music, instrumentals to '80's Pop and Rock. The Outrush 2's design, or maybe the speakers themselves, offer a great overall sound quality. I was able to go from having some music playing in the background while cruising down Main Street Daytona, to having a full-on concert going down the highway. Adjusting the volume is easy- simply push a button. Compared to the toggle dial on the 20S EVO, it did take a little getting used to, especially with gloved hands. Since the Outrush uses the volume controls of the paired phone, instead of a separate volume control on the device, though, I mainly used the phone controls since I use a Quad Lock and my phone is easily accessible, right in front of me, near my hand.

Answering calls is simple and easy, too. A simple push of the button on the helmet controls, or as I mentioned before, pressing the "button" on my phone. The sound quality for calls is exceptional, too. My wife said my voice was nice and clear, even though I was on I-95 keeping up with the Florida traffic. That tells me that the microphone on the Outrush 2 is obviously a high quality, noise filtering device. The only issue that I found with the mic, though... is that it's a boom mic. It's not adjustable (that I could tell, anyway), so it does tend to rest on my face. It should be noted that I'm currently sporting the thickest beard I've ever had though, so I'm sure that some of that could be me. Maybe if I shaved it would be less noticable. 

Fit, Finish, Color and other Features

Not everything in this world is black and white- but this helmet is. Gloss White or matte black to be precise. Those are your only two color options, for now, at least. I went with the gloss white because, well, truthfully I don't have (and can't remember a time when I did have) a white helmet. It was different and I liked the "gloss" part of it, too since my last several helmets have all been black or mostly black with a matte finish. The mattes are nice, but for this one (especially since I wasn't buying it), I wanted to do something a little different, and I'm so glad I did. The finish on the Outrush 2 is really nice- it's gloss white with some very tastefully designed silver-gray stripes. The Sena logos are simple, and not obnoxious, on the front and back, and since the only criteria that I was given for adding my own decals was that I couldn't cover their logo, I was able to throw in a couple of nice, reflective "The MotoWriter" decals on the side and back that I think compliments the design of the helmet very nicely. The gloss finish makes the Outrush 2 very easy to clean, too.

The fit is right on the money. I normally wear a medium so I ordered a medium and it fits very well- not too tight and not too loose. I do get a little vertical line on my forehead after a few hours of wearing the helmet though, due to the way the front padding is designed. That's nothing more than a minor inconvenience, however, and fortunately, it goes away pretty quickly after taking the helmet off. The flip-up chin bar is easy and simple to operate, with a quick lift of the button. The chin bar lifts up high, and out of the way. It locks quickly and securely when brought back down, but you do have to make sure the boom mic is inside though, which is such a minor detail that I wouldn't even call it an annoyance or inconvenience, but rather a barely noteworthy detail.

The Outrush 2 is pretty light for a modular helmet. It's about the same weight as some of the more expensive modulars that I've worn, and a good bit lighter than some of the less expensive ones. The weight of a helmet will make a big impact on comfort, especially the longer that you wear it and the Outrush 2 isn't bad, at all. Even though I could have (legally) removed my helmet once I entered the "Free State of Florida", Mrs. MotoWriter has a strict rule that I don't die, so I always opt to wear my helmet to protect this ole noggin of mine as much as possible. My son and I took our time getting down to Daytona, so it took us about 11 hours on the road, with several stops and a few helmet removal breaks. On the way back, however, we pushed pretty hard and only stopped for fuel, shaving off a few hours on the return. My head and neck never got fatigued from the weight of the helmet, going to, or coming back from, the East Coast.

I'm not sure if replacement shields or sun visors are available for the Outrush 2, yet... as I haven't been able to find them and I haven't contacted Sena about them. The shield comes Pinlock ready, although, the helmet does not come with a Pinlock insert and, again, I haven't found one specifically for the Outrush 2 helmet yet (and I'm not sure if the insert is interchangeable with other Sena helmets like the Outrush R). I do recommend that, once available, you get one though... as the Pinlock inserts work incredibly well to keep your hot breath from affecting your visibility, especially during adverse weather conditions. 

The fastener is the easy to use, modern, ratcheting buckle with a quick-release pull tab. I can tell you that if you've never worn a helmet with one of these- they are a game changer. No more fumbling with the D-rings or side-push "buttons". The mechanism is well made and features metal-on-metal components for a secure fit and solid retention if, God forbid, things go bad. 

The liner on the Outrush 2 is soft and comfortable, but, like I said previously, there is a relief gap between the forehead pads that will make a weird, vertical indentation on your forehead after a few hours. 

The battery on the device is incredible. As in... surprisingly so. I left the house for Daytona with a less than full battery and, 11 hours later, when I finally turned it off for the night, it was still saying "battery level medium." I charged it that night, then rode the rest of the weekend without plugging it in again, using it for several hours each day, and over 8 hours the last day, and when I got back home and turned it off, it gave me the "battery level high" notification. That was constant on, several hours of playing music and several phone calls worth of use on a single charge. As a matter of fact, as I write this today, I still haven't charged it and the battery level is still "high."

Pros and Cons Summary

Pros: 

• Finish is nice, looks awesome and is easy to clean
• Chinbar and sun visor controls work as expected... better actually
• Nicely designed shell that looks stylish and is comfortable
• Comfortable inner liner
• Airflow is fantastic
• Awesome sound quality
• Battery life is outstanding
• Background noise filtering (not sure if this is in the electronics or the helmet design, but it works and works well)
• Intuitive controls- only 3 buttons
• Overall fit and weight of helmet
• Pinlock ready
• Ratchet buckle 

Cons:

• Wind noise (but only when top vent is open)
• Limited selection of colors and finishes (which I'm hesitant to even call this a con, but I know that some of you like to be more colorful than me)
• Limited connectivity to older, non-mesh, devices and NOT backward compatible with all Sena products- ONLY Sena Mesh products. It can connect to other non-Sena products via open mesh or wave mesh, but will not connect to bluetooth comms like the Sena 20s and other Bluetooth-only communication devices.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really like this helmet. While I initially just quickly threw my decals on the Outrush 2 for the trip to Daytona, since I was planning on taking them off after I got back anyway, I've since decided to reposition them and leave them on. Mainly because the Outrush 2 looks as good as it does, and the color and graphics design lends itself nicely to the task of representing my little corner of the interwebs. I think I'm going to use the Outrush 2 whenever I'm out doing MotoWriter stuff and keep my other helmets for when I'm just doing me stuff.

The Outrush 2 has a retail price on the Sena website for $379, but you can get it for $341.10 by clicking this link and using my discount code. As for my thoughts on the price- most modular helmets sell between $150 for the lower end of quality, up to $950, according to the current offerings from Revzilla, with the majority of them fitting in the range of $300 and $400 USD. Keep in mind that those prices reflect the helmets only and no comms. Comms typically range from $98 for the old stuff, to well over $400 for the newer stuff. The mid-range mesh comms sit right in the middle, around the $200-$300 range. So, with consideration to the fact that this helmet has the mesh comms already installed, you could easily make the argument that the package deal is well worth it, especially since it's ready to go, right out of the box (especially when you buy it through the MotoWriter link).

Look, I know that some of you don't like to wear helmets, and I know that some of you don't care about listening to music and that you don't want to answer the phone while you're out riding... I get it. This helmet (or any helmet, for that matter) isn't for you. But I've seen first-hand what happens to the human head when it hits a solid object like the side of a car or the pavement and I'll tell you this- your old pal, the MotoWriter, will always wear a helmet. I'm also a husband, father, son, brother and uncle and I have a family that loves me, and that I love... so if they call, I want to be able to answer. Lastly, I've tried it, and I personally don't like my motorcycles to have big fairings with dashboard-mounted stereos, but I do like to listen to music sometimes, especially on long trips. Having a good set of speakers to listen to my favorite singers and bands, belting out their best music is pretty dang nice. 

You might be asking, though...would I buy it? Before seeing it and trying it out myself, I can honestly say that I would have been hesitant- after all, a comms company making a helmet? But after seeing how well this helmet is made- it has a good quality shell, a nice design, good aerodynamics, good quality materials and hardware and has a really nice finish... I can honestly say that I would be willing to pay up to $250 for the helmet itself, and for the comms- I'd easily pay another $200. That's a total of $450+ and would require me to install the comms, so for the asking price of $379 (or $341 with the MotoWriter discount), I think this helmet is a bargain, and I'd absolutely buy it, without hesitation.

Until next time, MotoReaders... 

Ride safe and make good choices!