CanyonChasers.Net News

In attempt to bring new audiences to their tires, Metzeler has added a “cool” new feature to their Sportec M5 Interact tires. A set of images molded into the tread pattern to gauge lean angle. This system of measurement is being called CSAT (Chicken Strip Assessment Technology). So why do we think this is such a bad idea? Because if you are riding correctly and have good posture, you will most likely have “chicken strips” (we even call them your “margin for error”). We’ve probably all seen riders who could barely negotiate a corner yet would brag about dragging footpegs. Lean angle is not an indication of skill. (click image for larger size). Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

News of the demise of Buell is no longer new, in fact rumors of small groups of financial wizards attempting to resurrect the only American sport bike company have been bouncing all over the net. Here are some of our thoughts on how we think the company could be made to survive. First, get rid of the founder, Erik Buell. (What?) Erik is known to be a very polarizing individual. Either you are with him or against him, this prevents the development of good ideas because any idea that is not Erik’s is a bad one. Second, abandon some of his crazy thinking. For example, If the perimeter brake was such a good idea, how come nobody has copied it? Comment on your thoughts. What would you do to make Buell succeed?

Despite its lack of popularity and familiarity in America, AGV is one of the worlds largest producer of motorcycle helmets, yet if it were not for Rossi we’d probably barely know they existed. But is this helmet, most famous for sponsoring racers, any good? We take the AGV Ti-Tech (with actual titanium vents) through its paces over two seasons of riding. Find out if its any good. AGV Ti-Tech Motorcycle Helmet »

As winter becomes ever more imminent we thought we’d throw one last vestige of summer into the mix with our most recent travel log. We started out trying to escape the August heat with a trip north, but things didn’t go quite as planned. As a result we rode into the wilds of South Dakota’s Black Hills to discover some of the best riding we’ve enjoyed east of the coastal mountains. Follow along as we find some Black Hills Gold »

We don’t hide the fact that we tend to favor things made my hand; bread, coffee, wine, motorcycles… So when we had the opportunity to review one of Fox Creek’s leather jackets, we had to say yes. This is a purely American company where everything is made by hand using only the finest quality materials (or so they say). But can a modern, hand made garment, from a small, family owned business compare with riding gear that comes from massive corporations with millions of dollars in equipment and design at their disposal? Read our most recent review and find out for yourself. Fox Creek Ladies Leather Jacket »

Sure, there are lots of motorcycle jackets out there that claim to be a four-season jacket, able to handle the cold, wet winter months as well as the intense heat of the summer months. And sure, there are a lot of jackets that claim to offer water resistance so robust that you’d be able to leave your rain gear at home. The Olympia AST (All Season Touring) is no different, other than, it actually manages to deliver. Read the full review »

Finding a do-it-all motorcycle boot can be harder than you would think. Seems that either boots are dedicated race boots with power-ranger styling or boots are a dedicated touring boot with little to no armor. We were pretty excited when we came across Alpinestars new SMX-5 boot that seems to meet the need of both areas of riding. Is this a spectacular, do-everything boot, or did the compromises make the boot marginal at both tasks. Read our newest review to find out! More »

Liners for hard luggage make hard-bags that much better. But does one have to get the offical bag liner for it to function the way you’d want and expect it to? We wondered the same thing so we tested a set of official Ducati Performance luggage liners compared to a smaller, third party liner produced by MotoPouch. Which one was better? Which one is a better value? Which one should you get? All your questions will be answered with our newest product review »

There is no question that Icon makes some darn good looking riding gear, but how does it stand up to the rigors of real-life motorcycle riding? That was the question we asked and we got our hands on a Icon Accelerant Perforated leather jacket (identical to the non-perforated Accelerant). We ran it through its paces, giving the jacket a go on several different bikes to see how well it really worked. See what we discovered by visiting our Product Reviews section, or click to read the review »

We here at CanyonChasers are extremely excited to offer a new way to experience our “workshop” section. Actual videos! We only have three fully developed now, but we have more on the way, and hopefully we’ll get the audio sorted out so it’ll be better on future videos, but for now, we invite you to take a peep at our first ones. How to Remove and Replace a Rear Wheel, and How to Remove and Replace a Front Wheel. All our video’s can be found from our Workshop section. And, like always, if you have something you’d like so see, just drop us a like and we’ll see about producing it. Visit the workshop section »