MotoReview- Answer A22 Syncron

MotoReview- Answer Racing A22 Syncron Prism Jersey & Pants

Greetings MotoReaders! As promised, I'm here with a brand new MotoReview of some of my off-road riding gear- today, I'll be reviewing the Answer Racing A22 Syncron Prism riding jersey and pants.

Notable Details

Before I begin, I'm going to point out a few things: first, for those that don't know this, or just as a reminder to those who do- when you see words or phrases that are hyperlinked- I do that in almost all of my blog posts for your convenience- those are links to that site, product or page; second, I bought the Answer A22 Syncron Prism (hereafter referred to as the "Prism" because "Answer Racing A22 Syncron Prism" is a mouthful!) from MotoStealz, for a deeply discounted price; and finally, these are not the most current offerings from Answer Racing. MotoStealz buys brand new gear that is new old stock that there is nothing wrong with, it just simply didn't sell. Companies like Answer (among others) sell their overstock items to MotoStealz, who turn around and sell it to us for discounted prices. It's a great arrangement all around- both companies make a few bucks off the overstocked gear, and folks like you and me get great deals on awesome riding gear. This is particularly awesome if you're like me, and are just getting into (or back into) riding and need gear, but don't want to invest a bunch of money up front. 

Jersey

Jumping straight into the review, I'll tell you that the best feature of this gear is the comfort of it. Specifically, the jersey is extremely light and wearing it all day in South Mississippi summer heat and humidity didn't bother me one bit. I've been more uncomfortable in a short sleeved T-shirt than in this long sleeved jersey. It doesn't have any vents or mesh panels like some jerseys, but it breathes extremely well and does a great job of wicking sweat and keeping me cool. It is also roomy enough to wear a chest/roost protector under it, and the sleeves are long enough, and the cuffs are tight enough, to stay at my wrists for maximum coverage. The next best thing about it, thanks to MotoStealz, was the price. This is a $30 jersey, and I picked it up for a fraction of that, at $8. Yes, you read that right- $8 USD. Another thing I like about it, is that it looks great. The colors are vibrant and after a few washes, haven't seemed to fade at all. The biggest con, though, is that the material seems to snag when riding trails. This could be that I'm not using it for its intended purpose, though, as I'm pretty sure it is intended for motocross racing, not trails covered in vines and thorns. Even with the snags, it still looks good enough for the kind of riding I do. 

Pants

The pants are are a good bit more durable. I haven't had any issues with abrasions, rips or snags. They are made with a ripstop material, that I will assume is a type of cordura, but I don't really know fabrics or materials... I just know they are tough. The colors, like the Jersey, are vibrant and haven't faded yet, after a few washes. The pants have a mesh liner that does a good job of wicking sweat, but the pants don't have any vents and the outer shell is built for protection, not airflow, so I have found that I still get hot and sweaty below the waist. Even so, they are tremendously better than my favorite pair of Levi's in the sweltering summer heat. The best part of these pants has to be the flexibility. The crotch and inner thigh areas are made of a stretch material that offers great flexibility and a little bit of airflow (not much, but more than the rest of the pants), which keeps everything safe and comfortable. The knees and lower legs are reinforced so that when I take a spill, I don't have to worry about them ripping. They are also pre-curved and have extra room to accomodate wearing knee braces or protectors inside the pants. 

Much like most of the off-road riding pants I've seen, there are no pockets, so you will need to stow your truck key in your hydration pack, or in your bike's tool kit if it has one. The waistband has a velcro cinch strap that is easy to use and "infinitely" adjustable. There is no zipper, just a gusseted flap that doesn't open, unlike some of my other riding pants, which does make relieving bladder pressure a bit more cumbersome. Again, the lack of a zipper could be because these are probably designed primarily for motocross, not enduro or trail riding. It's not a deal breaker though, as the pants are comfortable enough in every other way. As with the jersey, Motostealz delivered on the price... I picked these $80 pants up for less than $10. I don't mind wearing the "out of date" styles if I can save enough money to buy a few tanks of gas and a fast food sammich and fries. 

Final Thoughts

Even without the Motosteaz discounts, this set is still worth the full price that Answer Racing sells them for. They are well made and, so far, have held up very well. As far as the styling- personally, I really like it- it reminds me of the styles and designs of the early 90's. I've got some other gear that I'll be reviewing soon, but in all honesty, I think this set is my favorite to wear, especially when riding with the guys, because the colors stand out well in the woods and I don't necessarily need pockets to hold my keys, knife, phone or wallet when I'm riding in a group. 

I'm not affiliated with Motostealz in any way other than being a paying customer, so while I mention them a few times here, just know that the price I paid is the price that everyone pays. They sell the stuff until it sells out, then once it's gone, it's gone for good so it's a good idea to check back often for new stuff. They are also limited in a lot of sizes and colors, so keep that in mind when you are browsing for discounts. If you're like me, and are just getting back into off-road riding after a few decades, or if you are new to off-road riding, you may not want to invest a bunch of money just to get your feet wet into the sport. This is a great way to outfit yourself in good, high quality, purpose made riding gear. Motostealz makes if extra affordable, and Answer Racing makes a solid product that looks good, fits well and keeps you comfortable. Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with their products, no matter where you buy them.

Until next time, MotoReaders,

Gear up, save money, and ride safe!

Let's get DIRTY....

Let's Get Dirty!

I recently picked up a bit of a project bike; one unlike any of my other motorcycles. Now, I've been riding street bikes since the 1990's... but like many of you, I didn't start there. I got my start in the dirt and on the trails and it's been almost 30 years since I sold my last off-road bike. Take a quick ride down the memory "trail" with me, and let's get into the "brush" with this one, shall we?

Ya Gotta Start Somewhere

The year is 1980-something and your old pal the MotoWriter is still just a kid. A kid with a couple of fishing poles and a $10 bill burning a hole in his pocket. A few miles away, a classmate's dad had been to the auto auction and picked up an old Honda XR200 for his son. The bike was a beater and had been painted by someone with nothing better to do with himself but ruin a motorcycle with, what I can only guess was some kind of epoxy spatter paint (it was the 80's, after all), so my classmate's dad got it for a steal. 

Now, back then, I did a lot of fishing, but after ripping around on a mini-bike that my dad picked up for me from a neighbor, nearly breaking my neck on my cousin's Honda ATC and flying low on my buddy's motorcycle engine powered go-cart... my interests had shifted from peacefully standing on the bank of a bayou wetting hooks, to high-octane powered speed! On a school bus ride home one fateful afternoon, a couple of adolescent entrepreneurs had struck a deal! He would get two of my best fishing poles and that crinkled up $10 bill, and I would take delivery of his dirtbike... that didn't run. 

If my memory serves me correctly, I think I was still in middle school and I had no knowledge of motorcycle repair, and no experience turning wrenches on anything more complicated than a lawnmower engine and a BMX bike. After getting that ugly-ass Honda home and spending a few hours tinkering around with it, though- I got that old dirt bike running! It didn't take long for me to figure out how to ride it, and ride it, I did! I couldn't sand the paint down, and I definitely couldn't afford to buy a new gas tank and new plastics, so I did what any budget-restricted adolescent would do, and I got some red rattle-can paint and some cool looking "Mr. Horsepower" stickers (you know, the angry, cigar smoking woodpecker logo), and dolled her up. I ran the roads on that bike for months, much to the chagrin of the neighbors, and my parents. 

A Kid With Grown-up Money

Retirement has a way of, as my lovely bride has jovially commented, "de-adultifying" a person. Now, the best way I can describe this is, as I've previously stated... we only have 75 good years. The problem is, between age 5 and 18, you have to go to school (and many of us had to start working a part-time job for the last two to three years of those). The next 2-4 years might be college for some, or full time jobs for the rest of us. By our mid-20's though... we're pretty much all working and we'll do that for the next 25-30 years, at least. We don't usually get into the good years until we're in our 50's or 60's, and by then, most folks that never learned that motorcycles are basically the closest thing to a fountain of youth for the minds, are basically too tired to really do anything other than sit around, golf, fish or travel in an RV (which, I'll admit that a couple of those don't sound too bad). So, if you are lucky enough to retire in your "middle-age", you might find yourself in just the right spot to enjoy a time when you don't have to go to school, you don't have to go to work, and you have a little extra jingle in your pocket to get some cool stuff. Basically, you kind of get to be a kid again, but with grown up money.

My Last Dirtbike

I sold the last of my dirtbikes, a 1973 Suzuki TC100 Enduro bike, decades ago. I was married, working a full time job and Mrs. MotoWriter and I were expecting our first child. I hadn't ridden the old 'Zuki in a couple of years and it was just taking up space at my parents' house, so I figured I'd make a few bucks off of it and buy some groceries, instead. Over the next few years, I worked, paid bills and tried my best to make a decent life for my little family. 

Years later, as I was getting established in my career, I was finally able to get another motorcycle- an older model Honda cruiser- but that's a story for another day- and with it, my dirtbike days were over, or so I thought. 

In my younger days, I never raced or rode motocross, I was a trail guy. I loved getting into the woods and riding among the trees, along river banks and over sandy berms and along fire trails. After years of riding two lane highways, interstates and back roads on my street bikes, a long dormant fire was reignited inside of me. It was the call of the forest beckoning me, offering the tranquility of her trails for a chance to reconnect with nature the way I used to do as a kid. So I started looking for another off road bike. I toyed around with the idea of an ADV bike, like a Triumph Tiger or a Pan America. I still haven't ruled that out entirely, but I didn't want to drop over $15k on a bike that I was going to thrash on in the woods, so I figured I'd start with a simple little off-road bike, instead. 

Introducing, The "Leg Breaker"

I knew that I wanted a four stroke, since the last big two stroke I had was a Yamaha YZ250 that was a "retired" race bike that I nearly broke my back on during a failed attempt at a jump. I really like the Hondas, so I set out on finding a used XR250. What I found though, was that, apparently, everyone else likes the same bikes, because the only XR250s for sale were so overpriced that I could have bought a new bike for just a few bucks more. I had given up looking, for the most part, until I just happened to come across a deal that looked too good to be true. I found an 1989 XR600R, in 90% original condition and very well-maintained, for a price so good that I had to go see it. What I found was a super cool guy who was just ready to move on from riding, selling what would be my next bike. We struck a deal and I brought her home that day. 

After getting it home and on the lift, I starting doing some research on it to learn more about my new project. I learned a few things, but the most ominous was that the XR600R was nicknamed the "leg breaker." These bikes are kick-start only and, if you aren't careful, the kick start lever can kick back, and cause you to have a real bad day. I also learned that these bikes are still very popular and that parts availability for them is still pretty good, considering the age. 

Getting Her Ready 

Getting her ready for the trails was easy enough, thanks to the meticulous maintenance that the previous owner did. The plastics were in decent shape, albeit a little ugly due to some old decals and some abrasion transfers. The first order of business was to replace the Chinese Keihein knock-off carburetor with a proper Mikuni replacement kit from Speed Moto Co.. Next was a minor repair to a broken bolt boss on the engine case. After that, I cleaned up the plastics, replaced the headlight straps, grips, chain mud guard, seat cover, tank strap, tail light, fender bag, fork boots, trip meter cable and added a new headlight shroud decal and some aftermarket "XR" decals. She looks almost as good as she runs now. Since I didn't have any off-road gear, I figured I'd hit up Rocky Mountain ATV & Motorcycle and grab some riding gear. I had to do some research, but thanks to the good folks at Rocky Mountain (and after reading a lot of reviews and talking to some friends about what gear they were using), I landed on a pair of MSR Adventure boots, an MSR helmet with "MIPS" (Multi-directional Impact Protection System), and a pair of VSN goggles. I'll be doing some MotoReviews of that gear in the coming weeks after I've had a chance to beat it up a little. I've also been told that I need to consider getting some specialized off-road pants, a jersey and a chest protector, too... so if I do, I'll do a MotoReview of that stuff, too.

Time To Ride

While I'm not giving up riding my street bikes, I am excited to get back to my roots (pun intended) and reconnect with nature on a motorcycle. I learned a lot about riding, and a lot about myself, on trails deep in the woods. From exploring the wilderness behind my grandparents' house as a youngster, to riding dirtbikes and simply hiking on trails with my family, I've always been drawn to the outdoors. 

It's safe to say that I'm more than a little excited to jump back on a bike with knobby tires and, who knows, when I start adding some content about my off-road adventures, we might even add a few more folks to the MotoReader family. For now though, it's time for me to get this hoss out of the garage, loaded up and hauled out to some local trails. 

If you happen to see me out there on the trails, don't be too mad if I'm riding too slow in front of you... just say hello as you pass me by! 

Until next time, MotoReaders...

Ride safe and get Dirty!