Weise Airspin tested on 2700 mile scooter ride

Freelance Writer & Photographer Martin ‘Sticky’ Round has just completed what he describes as a “silly scooter trip to Istanbul”, covering 4,350km [2700 miles] on 3 vintage scooters carrying three adults and two children. Here’s his verdict on the  Weise Jackets that they used.

Our ‘raid’ visited 9 countries by scooter including Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and a very brief visit to Albania. The highlights were probably riding the Transfagarasan Pass in Romania (one of the world’s greatest roads according to Top Gear) and a 5am sprint across the Bosphorous bridge from Europe into Asia to avoid the worst of Istanbul’s nightmare traffic.

The Weise Air-spin and Air-spin Evo jackets we had made all the difference, enabling us to ride in blistering temperatures in Greece and Turkey while still maintaining a sensible core temperature due to the air-flow through the mesh panels. It threatened rain twice but never delivered more than a few spots (what a shame so never got a chance to properly test the waterproofing liners though we did use them occasionally in the mountains just to stave off the wind-chill. The only problem with the Air-Spin is that Sam managed to melt holes in the arm of his by letting it rest on Tracy’s hot exhaust pipe when he took it off but this was quickly cured with some sew-on patches. Kids – you can’t trust ‘em…
 
Their trip will be featured in Scootering Magazine if you want to read more about it – available from all good newsagents.

Weise K-Shield Gloves Review

Sometimes here at www.inter-bike.co.uk we get sent motorcycling products for review that you know immediately are good, and this is definitely so for Weise’s very stylish K-Shield gloves. Forgive the pun but they really do fit like a glove. These have got to be some of the most comfortable motorcycle gloves we’ve had the pleasure to test.

we can confirm that we used the gloves in several hours of hard rain riding across France and they remained waterproof and we have used the gloves down to almost 0°C and they kept our hands warm. You can use them in warmer temperatures as well, we used them happily up to about 20°C.
They really are a “glove for all seasons!”

Read the full review here.

RiDE recommends Weise Daytona gloves

RiDE magazine has recommended the Weise Daytonai n its comprehensive summer gloves test.  The Daytona came top of the short gloves on test and was awarded the coveted RiDE triangle.

"These well made gloves broke in quicklyand have very comfortable armour" noted the tester.

All of the gloves were tested by independent laboratory SATRA to the CE standards for impact and abrasion resistance, both of which the Daytona passed.

Weise Daytona gloves come in sizes S - 3XL (XS - 4XL in Black).Colour options are Black, Black/Red, Black/Blue, Black/Orange, Black/White, Black/Yellow. Click here for details. 

PSYCHO II from WEISE

WEISE® have updated their popular textile and leather Psycho jacket with a new venting system and use of modern reflective materials for enhanced visibility in low light conditions. 

Manufactured from genuine Cordura®, the shell of the jacket offers superior tear and abrasion resistance to regular fabrics and long-lasting durability too.  Reinforced with leather panels over the shoulders, elbows and across the back, the Psycho II also has CE approved armour fitted to the shoulders, elbows and in the back as well.

With a waterproof and breathable Reissa® drop liner and a removable quilted inner jacket, the Psycho II is suitable for most weather conditions. For extra comfort in hot conditions, there are zipped vents over the shoulders, to the torso, back and lower arms. All of the zippers used are authentic YKK® items.

The leather panels on the shoulders and across the back are trimmed with reflective piping and there are reflective stripes in the upper arms too. In addition to the two external pockets there are two internal pockets as well. 

The WEISE Psycho II Jacket is produced in black in sizes Small – 4XL priced at £189.99.  Contact 0117 971 9200 or visit www.weise-clothing.co.uk

RiDE Best Buy for 2-piece rain suit

RiDE magazine has given its coveted Best Buy award to the Weise 2-piece rainsuit in its latest product test (July 2013 issue). Scoring top marks for time to put on, waterproofing and build quality/features, RiDE's tester concluded;

"It's quick and easy to put on and it easily passed the waterproofing test. And best of all, the price is reasonable too."

Ho Chi Mission Complete

After 3000 km, three countries and a significant amount of mechanics, Ants has finally completed her Ho Chi Mission, riding 'The Pink Panther' along the legendary trail. Here's her report;

"The Pink Panther and I set sail from Hanoi seven weeks ago and clunked south over the Annamite Mountains into Laos, Cambodia and finally, Saigon. Despite my efforts, it turns out that 25 year old Honda C90 mopeds really aren’t built for mud, deep sand, rocks, mountains, rivers and jungle. In the space of three weeks, the poor bike had to have three engine rebuilds, and took to chewing through cam chains like candyfloss.

In Cambodia, on what’s affectionately known as the ‘Mondulkiri Death Highway’, both the Panther and I nearly met our makers. To read the full story you’ll have to buy the book when it comes out next year....

Aside from mechanical issues, it was an an amazing journey and even more than before I was astounded by the amount of UXO people have to live with all along the former Trail. During a fantastic day spent in the field with MAG (read about it  here) I met a mother whose son had been killed by a cluster bomb only months before. And whilst walking on a path through the jungle in Laos, with two former US pilots, we nearly stood on a cluster bomb ourselves. The tennis-ball sized explosive was lying a foot off the path: small and innocuous, yet able to kill anything within a 15 metre radius.

I penned a few blogs whilst on the road. If you’re interested in seeing them then head for www.theitinerant.co.uk. And if you want to look at a few photos, there are some here.

I’m still raising money for the excellent MAG, thank you to all those who have so kindly sponsored me already. If you fancy sponsoring me then all you have to do is head to my Virgin Money Giving Page and click a few buttons.

Finally, a massive thank you to all my brilliant sponsors: Explore Indochina, Weise Motorcycle Clothing, The Adventurists, The Visa Machine, Stanfords, Puncturesafe, Boxer Gin and Snugpak without whom I would have been Panther-less, gear-less, gin-less and generally clueless".

NEW Motorbike range from WD-40

WD-40, whose Multi-Use Product has been used to maintain and repair motorcycles for generations, has developed a motorbike-specific range of high performance solutions under the WD-40 Specialist brand for those more demanding jobs around the motorcycle where there is a  specific requirement.  The new range covers all the most important areas of motorcycle maintenance from cleaning and lubricating through to protecting the motorcycle.

•     WD40 Chain Lube - quick-drying with outstanding anti-fling properties and compatible with O, X and Z ring chains.
•     WD40 Chain Wax - provides lasting lubrication and protection and is O, X and Z ring compatible. Its exceptional long-lasting action makes it particularly suitable for dry conditions.
•     WD40 Chain Cleaner - compatible with O, X and Z ring chains the formula blasts off contaminants and dries in minutes.
•     WD40 Wax & Polish - contains Carnauba Wax, one of the hardest naturally occurring waxes, which provides a wet-look finish and long lasting shine.
•     WD40 Silicone Shine - designed to give an all over great shine to your bike with no need to buff.
•     WD40 Brake Cleaner - removes brake dust, dirt, oil, and brake fluid from brake and clutch systems, dries in minutes and leaves no residue.
•     WD40 Total Wash - an all-purpose cleaner that cuts through traffic film and road grime. Safe to use on paintwork, plastic, rubber, aluminium, chrome, carbon fibre and disc pads – basically all over the bike!

The new WD-40 Motorbike range is available exclusively from The Key Collection, telephone 0117 971 9200 or visit www.thekeycollection.co.uk.