Today I want to talk about airbags; and in particular about the new Alpinestars Plasma 5 airbag vest. Now this is a tricky subject for us one because we here at Motolegends have not always been great fans of airbags. And morally that's a difficult tightrope to walk for a company that earns its keep from selling protective wear. And it's difficult because one cannot deny that, in extremis, an airbag could prevent serious injury. It might even save somebody's life. But we have had, and to an extent still have, both philosophical as well as practical concerns when it comes to airbags.

I think Covid did a lot of good for adventure biking. Being locked up for all those months with nowhere to ride to but Sainsbury's to pick up the roll of toilet paper you forgot on your last visit eventually took its toll. All you could do was sit around the house, and dream about that bucket list you were going to attack in earnest once the world got back to normal.

This is the third iteration of the Hakuna Matata adventure suit, although the outfit is new to us. Now there are, in principle, three types of waterproof, textile motorcycle jacket/trouser, insofar as their method of construction is concerned. Historically, the most common has been the drop-liner format. Here the waterproof membrane is sewn into the jacket. (I’m talking about the jacket, but everything I talk about here applies equally to a trouser). Such jackets are called drop-liner jackets because the membrane ‘hangs’, or 'drops’ from where it is sewn into the garment; in the case of a jacket from the shoulders.

This is the first Alpinestars jacket we have offered for many a year. We did do some Alpinestars gear when we ran the Brands Hatch Megastore many, many years ago. But the truth is that we have long felt that Alpinestars was not really a Motolegends kind of brand. And in truth a lot of their gear simply isn't for us. Alpinestars is huge, and their aim is to be all things to all people. But that is not our proposition. We know where we stand; and basically that's some things for some people!

You cannot talk about the X1 Alpha without talking about the Krios Pro. Now before the X1 came along earlier this year, the Krios Pro was Klim's adventure-helmet offering, but here's the thing. In our view it wasn't really an adventure helmet, certainly not in the way we understand an adventure helmet here in Europe, where very few adventure bike riders ever venture off the main highway. In our book, the Krios Pro was a pretty serious, off-road helmet. And that's why we never really thought that it worked over here as an adventure helmet.

Like the E2 adventure-flip helmet, the Concept is another variation on the C5 platform. The rationale for it is basically twofold. First it is cheaper; and quite a bit cheaper. We will explain all the things that Schuberth has done to make the Concept less expensive, but given that the C5's starting point is that of a high-end, premium helmet, the Concept, even with all the sacrifices it represents, is still probably a better flip-lid than any other non-Shoei or non-Schuberth 'flip' out there.

The traditional ‘mesh jacket’ has a poor rep., which might explain why, these days, the premium brands tend to avoid using the term. As a concept, the mesh jacket has been around for years. They tended to be more popular in the southern part of Europe than in the northern part. And for obvious reasons. And because protective, motorcycle wear was not always considered 'de rigeur' in such places, mesh jackets were often quite flimsy affairs.

We love Klim. We’re not doolally fan boys; we don't love everything they produce, but the American company does make some great gear. They tend to use the best components. They put it together really well. And it does what it's meant to. But they do a lot of suits, and understanding the difference between the various models is not straightforward. But we have been working with Klim for a few years now. We have spent quite a bit of time with various members of their marketing, design and product development teams, and so we reckon that we now have a pretty good understanding of how the various pieces of their particular jigsaw fit together.

This is the new Baja S4. It's been billed as an upgrade on its predecessor that's been around for quite a few years now, but let's get this out there from the off. There isn't a huge amount of difference between the old Baja S4 and the new one. The design of the jacket itself is basically unchanged. What Klim has done is move the panels around a little so as to make the jacket a little more comfortable, and to allow it to flow a little more air. But put it like this; if you've got the old version, there's very little reason to rush down to the shops to buy the new one.

Many people know Motolegends for brands like Rukka, Stadler and Klim; brands that are very much associated with laminated membranes. For some people laminated is the way to go. Indeed, for people who do huge miles in all weathers it may be the only way to go. It is also true that if you're the kind of rider who really needs laminated clothing, you'd almost certainly be better off in a jacket or pant with a Gore-Tex laminated membrane.

The Spidi Hard Track 3 is the latest iteration of a jacket that has long sat at the heart of Spidi's adventure offering. It's a jacket with a removable waterproof which means that, in our world, this is what would be termed a proper 'adventure' jacket, in the way that a jacket with a fixed membrane can never be. And that's because if you're venturing somewhere exotically warm, or if you're working your socks off away from the beaten track the last thing you want anywhere near your body is a waterproof membrane.

There are only two timelines in the world of motorcycle armour. There’s that period before D3O came on to the scene. And then there’s the new era post the launch of D3O. Before D3O came along armour was large, heavy, cumbersome, and not very comfortable. Look today at some of that armour, and it seems impossible that we were able to walk to the bike and back when wearing it. And, of course, with the technology that was available back then that armour wasn’t necessarily all that protective.

Here at Motolegends we are not huge fans of open-face helmets. We haven't quite reached a position where we refuse to sell them, because some people know and accept the risks. But if you ever came to the shop we would usually try and dissuade you.

The other day I had someone download some of our Google and Trustpilot reviews from people who have had a PFS fit. Interestingly, we have never had anybody give us anything less than five stars. But if you're fed up of hearing me rambling on about PFS, take a few moments to read what some of our customers think.

Before we get in to Halvarssons' laminated Dalen suit I wanted to get a few things off my chest. And that's because whilst we accept that laminated membranes offer some benefits to some people, laminated jackets and pants have a much higher propensity to fail. And by fail, I mean leak. And that's because they are intrinsically more difficult and more complex to put together. All it takes is one piece of tape to be improperly applied, and the result will be water ingress.

I have come in for a bit of criticism from customers recently about our decision to offer products that might be considered to be less than truly premium. And I understand what people are trying to tell us; namely that you can't sell Rolls Royces and Kias in the same showroom. Well, you can, but when you do so you risk sending out a mixed message.

Motorcyclists are an emotional lot; often driven more by the heart than the head. After all, for most of us, there's not a lot that's rational about riding a motorcycle. Okay, for those who commute, a motorbike may be the most sensible, or even the only viable, way to get into work. But for many the bike is pure recreation; something to have fun on; something to take our minds off our daily trials and tribulations.

The R-Viss has been billed by Rukka as the replacement for the now-discontinued Rimo-R suit. The Rimo-R, though, was a totally different proposition. It was very much designed as an off-road suit. In fact, it directly targeted the more serious end of the market, which is why it didn't come with armour. And it didn't come with armour because Rukka felt the buyer would be the kind of rider who brought his own protective, body suit to the party.

The Hybrid-R suit from Rukka came on to the market in January 2025. You will find it in some shops, and on lots of websites. There you can check out the details. Some retailers have written blogs about it, and even produced videos about it. And in these they will undoubtedly have listed all the features of the new suit. But what they won't have done is explain exactly what the Hybrid-R is, how it got its name, why Rukka produced it, what’s different about it, and who they produced it for. And so that's what we are going to do here.

In response to a recent video review we did on the Shark OXO helmet, a customer challenged us by asking what had changed. Why were we now offering helmets whose internal parts were not changeable for a more customised fit, having banged on about how important custom fitting was to us? And I have to say that he's got a point. But the truth is that, whilst we sell a lot of Shoeis, we need a less premium offering, because not everybody can afford to spend £500 or more on a helmet.