Motorcycle Test Kitchen – BMW Motorcycle Owners of America

Check Out our Favorite Tires for Classic Bikes

Karin Halker — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:52:11 +0000

Compared to modern motorcycles, the acceleration and braking capabilities of classic bikes pale in comparison, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want great tires on our oldsters. Finding the best tires for a vintage bike improves the odds of achieving peak performance and allows riders to balance modern materials and construction with classic looks to maintain the aesthetic these bikes provide.

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The Hitch Clamp quiets those noisy trailer rattles

Mark Barnes — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:35:19 +0000

Anyone who has ever pulled a trailer or used a receiver-mounted rack knows how annoying it is to hear the incessantly repetitive clanking and rattling of the hitch or rack shank as it’s jostled around within the receiver’s loosely fitting tube, especially on trips that last hours or even days. A bouncy, empty trailer is typically the worst offender. When there’s a motorcycle or other hefty payload…

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Geometrical Pocket Tripod: Moto selfies made easy!

Mark Barnes — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 16:29:00 +0000

What’s that you say? You keep missing magazine-worthy photo-ops of yourself, sporting your finest gear atop your gorgeous motorcycle in front of breathtaking scenery, all because there’s no one with you to take the shot? You don’t want to strap a full-sized tripod on your bike, and even those smaller, more portable ones require additional hardware to hold a smartphone instead of a regular camera…

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Savior Heat 7V heated gloves review for vintage motorcyclists

Wes Fleming — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 15:48:58 +0000

When it comes to winter riding, it’s hard to overstate how effectively heated gloves extend your ability to safely and comfortably control your motorcycle. I realize many modern motorcycles—certainly most new BMWs—are equipped with heated grips, but grips only go so far by warming your palms. That wind whipping across the back of your hands saps heat quickly, even through your most thickly…

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MachineArtMoto’s MudSling

Mark Barnes — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 14:32:34 +0000

You’re probably already aware of New Jersey-based MachineArtMoto’s ingeniously designed convertible handguards and svelte valve cover armor, but you may not know about another highly effective piece of kit they offer, the MudSling. Similar in concept to the extensions available for front fenders to increase protection from debris thrown up by the front tire, the MudSling creates a barrier…

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BugSlide! (does this cleaner/polish really work?)

Mark Barnes — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 22:08:37 +0000

At every MOA National Rally, I’m vigilant for new products that might be worth a report to the membership–preferably something clever and unexpected. I especially appreciate “better mousetraps” that meet a familiar need in an unfamiliar way. I found just such a surprise offered by one of the vendors in Lebanon, Tenn., this year: BugSlide spray, touted as a multi-function, waterless…

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JACO ElitePro-X Tire Pressure Gauge

Mark Barnes — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:21:50 +0000

Tire pressure may be the most neglected maintenance procedure in all of motorcycling. Back when I was regularly attending AMA races, tire vendors would sometimes go down a long row of parked bikes with a gauge, taking a survey of sorts to see what percentage of riders had inflated their tires properly. It was always a minority, maybe 30-40%, with many tires reading 15 pounds per square inch (psi)…

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Klim gloves comparo – Induction vs Bandlands Aero Pro Short

Wes Fleming — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 20:27:34 +0000

My previous summer gloves, made by REV’IT! and dearly loved and used for three years, started to show their age and the effects of hard use and poor storage. I ordered the updated version of the same glove, but they no longer fit my hands and I had to assume the other models wouldn’t fit either, so I switched brands to Klim based on their good relationship with the MOA, high praise from riders…

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Klim’s Baja S4 Mesh suit for warm weather riding

Mark Barnes — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:50:48 +0000

The last time I reviewed a full riding suit, I was touring with IMTBike in Europe, enjoying Klim’s updated Latitude model on an R 1250 GS (also in the March ’24 issue of BMW Owners News). I was thoroughly impressed with both the suit and the motorcycle, with the latter proving to be an absolutely stunning street bike, its prodigious ADV capabilities notwithstanding. Similarly…

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Book review: My Heart Has Been in It From the Start, by Steve Larsen

Mark Barnes — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:12:47 +0000

Full disclosure: Steve Larsen and I both contributed to Motorcycle Consumer News back in the day, so anyone who read that magazine and remembered our contemporaneous bylines might imagine we were part of a close-knit cadre with an enduring camaraderie over the decades, one that should prompt me to recuse myself as unable to deliver an impartial review of his new book. That fantasy would be…

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