I read the user reviews on other Klim gloves which seemed to indicate their sizing ran a little small. I normally wear a medium in just about everything, but one thing I hate is when gloves are too small, and when you curve your hands around the throttle or hand grips, they pull on the ends of your fingers. That will really make your digits go numb. Best to have a little extra room, but not too much. I ordered the size Large in the PowerXross, and they are spot on. My advice, go a size up from what you normally wear.

Top shelf materials and construction. I love just about anything made from Schoeller Keprotec material. These also feature Clarino palms and a full Gore-Tex liner, so they are supposed to be waterproof (guaranteed). We’ll see. Perhaps I have found the perfect cold weather moto glove?

photo from Motorcycle Superstore's website.

1. KLIM Rally Jacket and Pants (Size small jacket. Size 32 pants).
2. Spot II Satellite GPS Messenger and 1-year subscription. Just in case.
3. Scotts Steering Stabilizer for the BMW F800 GS.
4. Renazco Custom Saddle. Without the 15 month wait.
5. Set of Xenon(HID) + Fog lights for the BMW F800GS from Touratech.

I believe, Santa, I believe.

Chris' new rig, all shined up and ready to go.

Before leaving the dealership, we had an enlightening chat with Mike about the current state of affairs. Now I won’t get into the politics here, for fear of dropping a pin on the spectrum of left to right for myself or the others involved. Let’s just say we were marveling at the craziness of how changing media influences our so-called modern society to be so quickly polarized and ill-informed. The old “I read it on the internet so it must be true argument.” The three moto scholars dropped some big names: Thomas L. Friedman, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynahan. Then, Tom Paine was invoked, something like:

“When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.”

Or perhaps it was this:

“Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.”

Or perhaps it was more relevant to motorcycling:

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

Not the sort of discussion you expect in a motorcycle shop, but I suppose you should always be open to the possibility of surprise and delight, otherwise life can get pretty dull, pretty quick.

Mike and Chris, talking shop, politics, religion, football, just kidding.

I rode the bike back to Park City for Chris because he hasn’t put much time in on a moto for a few years and he was not so sure about having his first ride in Utah be in afternoon traffic on I-15. The bike rode like a charm, and Chris followed me all the way up the hill, until I parked in his driveway 3 houses down. I took one last parting shot of Chris sitting on the new bike, before walking back to the IAATB home office.

New Chris. New Bike. Park City's newest F800 rider has arrived.

I am now testing out a locally-made product from Ricochet Offroad Armor, based right in Salt Lake City, Utah. Let me disclose that I approached them with the opportunity to try their product out and provide a review, and was generously supplied with a demo unit. Below are my thoughts on ease of install, comparative weight, likes and dislikes thus far. This will be a long term product review, and I will do a follow-up post after some miles off the beaten path. This is the only way to truly test the worth.

A little history on Ricochet: founded by motocross racer Don Gibbs, Ricochet Offroad Armor has been making aluminum skid plates and armor for motorbikes and ATVs for 30 years, originally under the Utah Sport Cycle name. I saw a little tiny ad in a dualsport digital magazine, and noticed they were here in Utah and a product for the BMW, so I gave Don a shout. I also learned they make skid plates for Toyota FJ Cruisers. How convenient, because I have one of those too.

The first thing I noticed about the Ricochet product; it’s black anodized finish is going to look sweet on the bumblebee. The next thing I noticed was the weight. Noticeably thicker aluminum than the BMW Touratech skid plate, but also heavier. In fact, below are the actual weights of the stock plastic guard, the BMW Touratech, and the Ricochet (all weighed by me, and including necessary hardware:

Stock plastic: 1.4 lbs (600 grams)
BMW Touratech: 3.8 lbs (1,700 grams)
Ricochet: 4.6 lbs (2,100 grams)

Why is this an issue? A pound here, a pound there. These bikes start getting less nimble in the dirt every time you add a farkle or doo-dad. But in this case I am willing to let it slide, because you really do need good protection to your engine.

The last thing I noticed was the amount of hardware required for the Ricochet: 20 pieces of hardware including nylock nuts, washers, bushings, brackets and bolts. The stock plastic plate only uses 6 pieces of mounting hardware, and the BMW Touratech uses only 5 of the 6 stock parts. Something tells me less is better, and although the install was easy despite all the parts on the Ricochet, I was still blown away. The Nylock nuts are a nice touch, and we’ll see if they loosen up. The hardware pieces on my BMW Touratech skid plate were not much more than finger tight when I went to take them off, which means I was probably one good ride away from losing a nut. If I put that one back on, I’ll have to use some Locktite.

That’s about it for first impressions. Below are some photos. The BMW model wraps around more of the engine casing in the front, but the Ricochet is sturdier and feels more solid in general, even with all the extra hardware. The Ricochet is far cheaper at $129, versus the $275 or so for the BMW. You’ll notice the BMW Touratech has taken a beating, all dented and scratched up. Imagine what your engine casing, oil filter, etc would look like after the same amount of riding and no skid plate! Grim.

Ricochet, BMW, and stock skid plates for BMW F800 GS

BMW Touratech skid plate has taken a beating.

Ricochet Offroad Armor aluminum skid plate for BMW F800 GS

The Ricochet skid plate uses thick aluminum plate and burly mounting hardware.