Home Made Gear For Any Ride

1. Gear Is Expensive

If you have been riding motorcycles for any length of time you know that there are many costs that no one told you about. Gear is expensive and you have to constantly adapt to weather, riding style, and events. However, if you can think out of the box and don't care for brand names homemade gear can make you more comfortable in the saddle. 

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2. Summer Face Shields

That cool Harley-brand skull face scarf can easily set you back $25. Other than making you look bad-ass, it helps to keep the bugs off your face and maintain highway speeds for a considerable amount of time with no windshield and rocking your half-helmet. These are also a must for touring in order to avoid sunburn. These are usually made of cotton and air flow is not the greatest, not to mention you lose 3 or 4 every riding season. For cheaper and more functional alternative save those sleeves that you just hacked off your poly-stretch shirt. Those popular "hot weather shirts" like Underarmor or similar brands are made of 70% spandex and 10% cotton (or similar blend). These provide excellent ventilation, they are form-fitting, and they dry in 10 minutes after a wash. Because of the fabric, they work well if you use a comms system as they don't distort your voice as much. You know you are going to cut the sleeves of 2-3 shirts every season, so now you have plenty of spare face shields. 

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3. Anti-Fog

If you are touring you have packed everything you need but not necessarily everything you want. Extra weight is not something you want to add and every ounce counts. Chances are you packed shaving cream for the road if so, wash your helmet visor, glasses, and windshield with soap and water, then cover them with a thin layer of shaving cream on both sides. Wipe the shaving cream with a clean cloth (do not use water). This is a great anti-fog solution that out-performs anything you can buy. Those early morning ride fog problems... no more. 

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4. Toolkit

Any long-time rider would know that a toolkit is essential no matter what the conditions or situation. New riders often make the mistake of getting the brand-issued motorcycle repair kit, which, at best lacks the basic tools to do any real work in the event of an emergency. Branded with the manufacturer logo in a cool leather pouch most motorcycle shops will fail to tell you that this is a "starter kit" which means you need to buy the remainder 95%. For a fraction of the cost and 100% more value, you can put your own kit together from parts available at your local auto parts store. The kit should include what you need to tighten and loosen every size of nut, bolt, and screw on your machine. Many of you will have 90% of a good kit already in the garage ready to put together and be put into service. 

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5. Vest Liner

Why do bikers wear a leather vest? Because it's cool, sure, but there is plenty of other reasons. A leather vest helps with body temperature regulation as without overheating this is something that bikers found out a long time ago back when there were four legs involved instead of two wheels. Even in cooler weather, a vest can provide enough warmth, especially if you have a liner for it. While you can buy a vest liner for an easy $45, a much cheaper and often best option is to make your own. Go to your closet and find an old zip-up hoodie. Cut the sleeves to about 1/2 inch smaller than the arm-holes on your vest. Make sure you leave the hood, it comes in handy. 

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6. Sock Liners

When touring, it is inevitable, you will ride through a rainstorm that will sneak up on you and not give you time to put on your rain gear before you are soaked through and through. You really don't want to put on your spare pair of shoes/boots as you might have a long ride still. You do want to change your socks, so after you put on a fresh pair of socks and before continuing the ride carry extra grocery bags and slip your feet into the bags before putting them back into your boots. This will allow your boots to air-dry while keeping your feet (and fresh socks) from soaking up the water. Admittedly, this doesn't work great in hot weather, but it is fantastic in the winter as it also makes any boot a cold-weather boot. The possibilities are endless for a thrifty biker. 

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For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.