At city speeds around the Willow Springs grounds, the bike is incredibly nimble, thanks to its wide bars and light curb weight of a claimed 405 pounds.

The motor oozes character, as you’d expect from a big twin with a relatively light flywheel. Acceleration from in-town speeds is instant, prodigious and addicting.

The big differences between the top models, as our testers discovered, are in fit, finish and features the three "Fs" of helmets. We graded these premium lids on their quality of finish and attention to detail. Ventilation systems were checked in all weather from hot and hotter, to wet and cold. Can you operate the vents with gloves on? Does the chin strap flog you half to death because there's no snap to secure the end? When your helmet starts smelling like a bear's den, can you remove the pads and wash them? The answers to these and other burning questions are included in our premium helmet comparison test, but the most important question is "How do you make sure you buy a helmet that really fits properly?"

Well, when a company who has built a reputation like Joe Rocket brings a motorcycle helmet to market, you'd expect it's going to be good and we'll tell you straight up that the RKT 101 is a winner. We'll cut them a little slack because it's their first attempt, but the RKT 101 isn't just a good first try, it's an excellent piece of work that should shame other helmet manufacturers who have been in the business, oh, shall we say 20 or 30 times longer?

Most gloves are ergonomically formed. Just watch the rain glove because sometimes it's just two halves sewn together. Motorcycle gloves are nearly always made up of leather or very strong nylon. Leather provides the highest safety if you hit the ground.

Furthermore a glove should have reinforcements such as extra padding on the knuckles and palms. Special features are carbon shells covering high impact areas. Or little metal studs on the palms to avoid scraping open your hands.

A saddle is part of your motorcycle's suspension system (you are suspended on it), and its size and shape impacts your ride greatly; foam density and quality are an important part of the equation. There are varying grades of foam. Idealy your seat should have high-density foam in the middle and bottom portions and a thinner layer of soft foam closest to your glutes. Good-quality foam is heavier and springier. It still bounces back when compressed, while the cheaper stuff will collapse under pressure.

A motorcycle boot must satisfy many expectations in order to be deemed truly functional for the serious rider. For example, its sturdiness must go beyond mere support to actively protect your feet and ankles in the event of a crash.

The boot sole should be contoured to aid traction, and made from a compound that's durable yet tacky enough to grip the pavement. The ideal motorcycle boot isn't easy to find and many factors should be considered before making your purchase.

Rex Marsee has been designing motorcycle apparel and luggage for over 30 years. Before that, he raced motorcycles and was a design engineer for Harley Davidson, so he knows what the enthusiast needs from their gear in the way of features and performance. Rex fitted me up with his newest jacket from the Adventure products line and sent me on my way.

Being curious folks, we decided to see what pipes were available for our long-term Vulcan 1500 Classic at the tail end of The Year of the Cruiser. The results of our initial query of pipe manufacturers illustrated two facts we were already aware of. First, with six manufacturers sending us pipes for a [motorcycle] that has been on the market for less than a year, we can confidently say that there are more exhaust customizing options than ever available in the Japanese cruiser market. Second, since half of the pipes we tested were either pre-production or first-run production items, things weren't always so rosy in this segment of the market. These thoughts lead us to wonder how these pipes would compare to each other, how well thought-out they were, and if they would fulfill the conflicting demands of good power and good citizenship.