Motorcycle Mojo: 10 great gifts for the biker in your life

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We’re starting a little early this year with the Christmas gift lists because of COVID-19 — what else? As a result of the shutdowns, shopping in person this year is going to be harder than ever. In other words, if there’s a biker in your household, you’ll probably be perusing websites like OMGitsaMVAgusta.com and LordIsThatTitanium.net looking for this year’s killer stocking stuffer.

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Adding delay to Santa’s sleigh ride this year is Canada Post’s declaration there will be so much swag to deliver they’re having to hire even more seasonal employees than usual to pretend everyone’s getting their presents by the 25th.

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So, in the hopes of moving the process along, we present our slightly-ahead-of-schedule top ten list of things that no serious biker should be without this year.

Pit Bull Hybrid Dual Lift Motorcycle Stands

Is your favorite motorcyclist as happy in the garage as they are on the open road? Are used brake pads lying all over the workbench? Have they already bought the next set of Metzeler Racetecs for their track bike even though its current tires have yet to turn a wheel in anger? If so, they desperately need a PitBull stand, the ultimate tool for easing the burden of wheel/brake/suspension maintenance. The rear stands are pretty straight forward, but when it comes to the front-end versions, opt for the versatile “hybrid” Dual Lift models .

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Take my word for it; Mr. or Mrs. I-just-dragged-my-knee-today-honey will think you enormously considerate. And, if your significant other already has a bike stand, then they need the Pitbull Pit Crew Tire Wedge. This is the most useful tool I have bought in the last ten years. Place the wedge under the tire then rotate its adjuster so it is just supporting the rim. Presto-Change-O: rear tire removal and re-installation becomes an absolute doddle. No holding up 20-pound wheel-tire combination with your feet or fiddling with wheel spacers that never stay in place. Take my word on this one; if there’s a PitBull Tire Wedge in his, or her, stocking this Xmas, your tire-changing biker will be singing your praises till next December.

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Pro-Bolt Paddock Stand Bobbin

If your in-house motorcyclist needs a bike stand, they’re probably going to need the “paddock stand bobbin” that lets the PitBull grab onto the rear swingarm. And since it’s Christmas, the big bad biker in the family deserves something exotic, hardware beyond the ordinary. Nobody does biker ‘bling’ better than Pro-Bolts .

Specializing in nothing but fastening hardware hewn from exotic metals, pretty much every bolt, nut, and screw can be had in stainless steel, titanium, or anodized aluminum. Brake pad retainer bolts have never looked so MotoGP-like, fairing screws so extravagant, or axle nuts so lightweight as when they’re given the full Pro-Bolt treatment. For maximum effect, colour-match that aluminum paddock stand bobbin to the wheels on your superbiking spouse’s wheels. They’ll think you spent weeks shopping for the perfect gift.

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Titan Classics Titanium Caliper Pistons

Ah, I hear you saying. I have a special quandary. My biker loves their bling, but he/she is an introvert. They want their steed to be metallurgically superior but also want to keep it a private affair. Well, nothing says super-secret smugness quite like a set of TitanClassics.com’s titanium brake pistons . Yes, it’s titanium trickery inside the brake calipers where no one will ever see them.

Better yet, TitanClassics coats their pistons with Titanium Nitride (TiN) — the same stuff used on top-end Ohlins fork stanchions — so they look especially exotic. And then, naturally, they are hidden. If that’s not the height of internal self-satisfaction, I don’t know what is. Besides looking trick — but again, where nobody can see them — the slippery little pistons also minimize brake drag, which reduces wear on both your pads and rotors. One thing to remember if you’re shopping for a “friend”: Titan Classics’ website is not as thorough as it could be in listing the models for which it make parts. Savvy shoppers can find other models which use the same hardware (my 2018 Suzuki DL1000 uses the same pistons as an 2008 to 2010 GSX-R600, for example). Non-bikers may want to enlist the help of your biker buddy’s closest pals to make sure the correct bling is shipped.

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Heated Motorcycle Apparel

This item could be a present for either ride or passenger, a rare motorcycling accessory which can be gifted to the ever-patient biking widow(er). And considering Toronto’s first snow is falling as I write this, Venture Heat’s Deluxe E jacket liner is totally apropos for the season. A thin quilted vest with electrically-powered heaters built in, it replaces all those “layers” less sophisticated bikers resort to when the mercury plummets. Plug it into the battery and you’ll be toasty warm even if the thermometer reads zero.

I’ve had one for years and She-who-shivers-below-20-C is getting hers under this year’s tree. I got ours from Blackfootonline.ca , but be forewarned – there’s a run on them this year and extra-small is already backordered. P.S. If your frigid biker already has a heated vest, then think about a pair of Keis heated gloves . They’re plenty warm and they plug right into the Venture Heat vest.

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Rukka StretchAir Jacket

While it may seem a little early to be thinking about next summer’s heat wave, my Christmas present to myself this year was a set of Rukka StretchAir jacket and pants. Rukka is the only motorcycle garment company to use something called Cordura Air Flow Technology (AFT) that marries mesh permeability with serious crash protection.

Rukka says the tightly-woven AFT is extremely abrasion-resistant but also light and breezy. They’re not cheap — you’re looking at almost $1,300 for the pair — and can be hard to come by, but they’re worth the search. I got mine from RidersChoice.com, and yes, they ship nationwide. Here’s to hoping I ride a little cooler next year.

Dainese Smart Jacket

If you want to your biker to be as safe as can be, why not spring for a Dainese Smart Jacket? This is an air bag — like the one in your car’s steering wheel — which fits neatly under jackets. Yes, you wear an air bag.

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Computer controlled, there are gyroscopes and accelerometers built into the garment to let the ECU know when to inflate its protective sack, making this Smart Jacket the safest motorcycle apparel money can buy. Both I and She-who-has-almost-as-much-biking-bling-as-I-do wear our air bag garments religiously. Show your love with the gift of hot air (actually argon gas). They’re $869.95, again from Riders Choice .

Garmin Zumo XT

Your biker buddy loves the open road and is always seeking distant horizon. The ultimate wanderer’s gift just might be Garmin’s new Zumo XT navigation system. Not only is it ‘waypoint’ friendly, but the 5.5-inch screen is bright enough to read in direct sunshine (a real issue for motorcycle map-reading). Maps are free to download and the Zumo pairs up with Garmin’s Drive app, permitting one’s phone to pipe in traffic information and music.

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It plugs directly into the bike’s battery or its accessory outlet/USB port — yes, bikes have them too! If you really love your biker-gone-walkabout, you’ll also look for an attachment which mounts the XT in their line of sight. Like cars, less distraction is better when piloting a two-wheeler. The XT does cost $679.99 , but it is the best motorcycle navigation system money can buy.

Baja Designs Squadron Pro LED Light Kit

What if your wandering biker spends a lot time riding at night? Then they need some extra illumination and, when it comes riding a motorcycle at night, few auxiliary lights pump out lumens like Baja Designs’ Squadron Pros. Fairly small — they’re just 78 millimetres square — but they each house four LED lights that seriously brighten up the road ahead.

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They can be a little fiddly to wire — they’re made for cars so the wiring harness needs a little customization — so make sure your road warrior has some electrical nous. The best price I could find in Canada was $593.00 from TDotperformance.ca .

MotoGP.com Subscription

If your motorcycling mate loves racing, nothing says “I want to spend quality time with you” more than a subscription to MotoGP.com , which is home to the world’s greatest motorcycle race series. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning at 9:00 AM EDT — free practice 2, qualifying, and the actual race respectively — will never be the same, especially if next year’s 2021 season is as exciting as the 14-race series that just wrapped up with Suzuki’s first championship in 20 years.

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The coverage is excellent, the commentary informed and there’s even a “spoiler-free” option just in case that insufferable Sunday morning brunch is unavoidable. And, if your motorcycle maven already has MotoGP.com bookmarked, consider a subscription to MotoMatters.com  which features motorcycle racing’s best analyst, David Emmett, bringing you true behind the scenes detail of what happens before, during, and after the weekend’s festivities.

One Man Caravan

And lastly, if you’re tired of those spoiled faux-adventurers, Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor’s accounts of “roughing it” with support trucks, camera crews, and God know how many personal assistants, you’ve got to read One Man Caravan . It’s the tale of Robert Edison Fulton Jr, who, in 1932, became the first man to ride around the world on a motorcycle. It’s absolutely mesmerizing.

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He did the entire 18-month trip with just a movie camera, an extra shirt, an axe, a blanket, and a toothbrush strapped to the back of his six-horsepower Douglas flat-twin. Better yet, the entire 40,000 kilometre adventure — and unlike the Long Way Up, Down or Round , Fulton’s trip really was an adventure — started because Fulton wanted to impress a girl at a party. Claiming he was thinking of “going round the world on a motorcycle” seemed like a good opening line. One Man Caravan is long out of print but copies are still available (for a hefty price!) on Amazon . It’s worth every penny, even if you don’t like motorcycles.