Motorcycling is addictive. Once you try it, chances are almost 100% you will get on it sooner or later. However, that adrenaline injection a motorcycle ride gives you sometimes blurs the fact this is not the safest activity on the world.

Luckily, you can choose between thousands of motorcycle gadgetries and apparel that promise a safer, but also easier and cooler ride. Some of them are only nice-to-have, while you can add significant value to each of your rides if you pick the useful ones.

If you are searching for ways to elevate your motorcycling experience, then you are in the right place. Today we will split the bill – 50/50 and talk about rider and bike accessories for motorcycle riders. These must-have accessories for motorcycle riders will provide huge benefits to the overall experience and make every time you hit the road more than awesome.

Crash Protectors
No motorcycle rider likes to think about crashing or having an accident, but this is a highly likely scenario, especially among incautious younger riders. You want to protect yourself from injuries in the first place, but your motorcycle from damages as well. What is more, replacing hard and plastic parts break the bank, so that this may be an additional reason to get a crash protector. Even sliding along the tarmac at a low speed may cause thousands of dollar worth of damage.

Frame sliders, swingarm spools, fork sliders, and bar ends fall into the category of crash protectors and can minimize the damage and the worry. This accessory is undoubtedly a good investment as it alleviates crashes. The crash protector takes some of the impacts on in case you drop your bike. One thing to bear in mind is that you want to get a compatible crash protector for your bike’s model, as this is not the type of one-size-fits-all motorcycle accessories. You can get a much greater benefit and protect your two-wheeled favorite for just a few bucks. 

Phone mount

We want to stress out phone mount as a motorcycle can come in very handy, but you should focus on the road while being in the saddle. That means this is a useful gadget, but not for texting while riding on a curvy road. However, if you are a bit of explorer and like to head off to the unfamiliar terrains, GPS would be what you exactly need.

You certainly don’t want to roam around but follow the planned route, and the phone mount will be your handy assistant. On the other hand, you will be able to see if someone tries to contact you. In this case, you should get off the road and make the call. Combining this gadget with a

Bluetooth headset is even greater, as it opens even more options for the rider. Yet, we will repeat that this is a great and very useful motorcycle accessory, but if the temptation of staying connected is too strong, we will give you an awesome idea in the following chapter. 

Bluetooth helmet

It is really hard for some of us to keep our hands off the phones. Staying in touch with the world has become addictive, but still, essential. As we already mentioned, texting is definitely not a safe idea while riding. There is no reason why you would want to put yourself in a life-threatening situation and experiment around. Yet, a Bluetooth helmet will be your handy back up.

Helmets nowadays have built-in Bluetooth and are convenient and safe to use. It will give you the option to communicate with your fellow riders while being on the road, as you stay in touch while still keeping your hands on the motorbike.

Any other conventional helmet will, of course, protect you from harm, but a Bluetooth helmet has a couple more awesome features besides the protective one. This means it will provide you a map replacement, safe communication with other riders, and the joy of listening to clear music. 

Tool Kit

Did you really think we would skip the tool kit on the list of must-have accessories for motorcycle riders? Even the bare essentials tool kit opens up great solutions for road situations. The great thing is that it won’t take much space and you can store it under the rear seat. Most of the tool kits come as small pouches or in handy roll-up cases, so you can pick whatever works best for you. Additionally, you can tailor it to your needs, and pre-pack the kit if needed.

With time, you grow fonder with your motorcycle, and you will know what exactly makes it tick. Getting in touch with certain repairs will gradually make you of a mechanic, and that is why you need a tool kit while being on the road. This way, you will be able to perform the basic roadside repairs and maintenance. Not only you will get the job done, but this will also save some money, which is a win-win situation.

Reflection

Visibility of your bike drops significantly after the sun goes down. We suppose you already know how important it is to be visible on the road during the night rides. Obviously, you need something to help you perform this. Strategically placed reflection – reflective plate bolts and reflective tape will be your friend out there as it will increase nighttime visibility of your motorcycle. If you like it custom – that is not a problem as well, as you can cut out your own shapes. 

Conclusion

As you already know the basics of motorcycling, we wanted to present some new, cool ideas for bikers. These handy gadgets are mostly affordable, but what is more important – may save your life and improve your driving experience. You want your bike in good working order, but you want to equip yourself with a couple of accessories as well. Options are endless when it comes to must-have accessories for motorcycle riders, but it all depends how much money you are willing to spend. 

The first way around a small budget for your Motorcycle touring, is to take out a small loan which will enable you to enjoy the trip, without having to save up for a long time. Read more here. 

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For more than 30 years Touratech has been manufacturing high-quality motorcycle accessories. Demanding motorcycle travelers from all over the world appreciate the quality of the indestructible parts. Around 350 motorcycle enthusiasts work at the company‘s headquarters in Niedereschach, Germany, to ensure that more than 3,000 products for fantastic motorcycle experiences are created from a constant stream of new ideas.

In addition to individual customer shopping experience on site in Nieder-eschach in the Black Forest with a 1000sqm showroom and its own locations in Hamburg and Kassel, Touratech GmbH also sells its products through numerous partners with sales bases throughout Germany and a worldwide network of distributors. The stores around the globe not only stand for first-class accessories and professional service. Thanks to their dedicated owners, they are bases for the global motorcycle travel scene, they are always availa-ble to offer help and advice.

In addition to direct contact with the customer, online trade is nevertheless becoming increasingly important Touratech supplies the products for adventurers all over the world with the help of over 20 web shops. The online store offers the complete selection of all products, which developers create with great attention to detail and which are manufactured in their own production facility by 350 employees in Germany in the Black Forest.

The passion for the product has made Touratech the number 1 in adventure motorcycle equipment. Touratech had its first online presence as early as 1996, and its first webshop in 1998, making it a pioneer in the industry. With the relaunch of the online store based on Magento 2, Touratech is taking the next step and laying the foundation for the coming years with its "Mobile First" strategy.

Touratech has already been relying on a Magento store for many years. Internationally, the web store is the decisive component of success, regardless of whether it is delivered to the customer via a distributor or directly from the central warehouse in Germany. „Already with Magento 1, the online busi-ness has developed very well in recent years, with the switch to Magento 2 and a new product information system we will reach a new level, says Martin Wickert, CMO of Touratech GmbH.

Due to the extremely positive experience with Magento 1, a switch to Magento 2 was the logical consequence, with the aim of improving usability, optimizing the checkout, speeding up loading times, perfecting the mobile displays and, of course, meeting the demands of the many languages, currencies, payment service providers, etc. that exist worldwide in the appro-ximately 50 countries that Touratech supplies, says Jo Wolframm, Head of E Commerce at Touratech GmbH. Touratech again commissioned Magento commerce partner Flagbit, which was already responsible for the previous Magento 1 store, to implement the project.

In order to further improve the usability of the store, the search function and the category view were fundamentally revised, the integration of a bike finder improves the buying experience and leads the customer directly to the right product. In addition, Touratech can provide its customers with numerous functions such as search suggestions or an error-tolerant search. In the category view, value is placed on the greatest possible clarity. Dyna-mic direct links to the relevant subcategories and extensive category filters allow customers to narrow down the display based on their desired criteria. Comprehensive content below the product display helps customers find the right product more easily.

Visit the new shop at shop.touratech.com 

It was presented today – for the first time streamed live – the new Gresini Racing projects for Moto2 and Moto3. A surely unusual one, as it was missing its key piece: Fausto Gresini, who is still tackling a long recovery in hospital (started at the end of 2020) due to Covid-19.

While his presence was surely missed, this did not stop Team Gresini from continuing preparations for the Team Principal’s two most-dear projects. Two very different projects, but with a common denominator in the Italian-Indonesian flag for both classes – thanks to the partnerships with MP1 and Federal Oil.

The newly born Indonesian Racing Team Gresini Moto3 surely took over the scene with a radical change both in colours and graphics. A new red-and-black colour combination that will surely stand out on the quarter-litre class grid and two fast and experienced riders, ready to get in the mix at the sharp end of the field – of one of the most competitive classes on two-wheels.

Both Jeremy Alcoba and Gabriel Rodrigo have been training over the winter: the 2020 Rookie of the Year, who claimed his maiden world championship podium last year, is eager to consolidate his performance and growth while gravitating around the top-three, while the Argentine will try to turn his fortunes around – with the Moto3 that has to be a realistic goal for him.

Motorcyclists in the Gloucestershire region will be delighted to hear that the Prescott Bike Festival is scheduled to return to the county in June. The event, which is designed to raise precious funds for the National Association of Blood Bikes and the Severn Freewheelers, is an opportunity for enthusiasts to ride their bike up the iconic Prescott Hill Climb and engage with some of the nation’s biggest motorbike racing icons and celebrities. 

The return of Prescott Bike Festival is much needed for the local economy as it has long been one of the most important events on Cheltenham's annual calendar. Of course, the Cheltenham Festival remains the number-one event in town each year, bringing a veritable World Cup of jump racing to Gloucestershire. 

Unlike the Cheltenham Festival, which is held over four days, this year’s Prescott Bike Festival is a weekend show. The event begins with the special Preview Day on Saturday 26th June. Although there is no action on the track during the Saturday, there is plenty to see and do in the Paddock. The Paddock Specials see the festival’s invited guests rock up with their iconic motorcycles, bringing from of the most fascinating models to the show, including one-off factory specials, illustrious road and race models and even jet-powered examples to wow the crowds.  

Sunday the funday

Sunday is considered the Main Show Day by the event’s organisers. It’s when visitors can catch a glimpse of some raw track action. The event is also partnered with Kickback, the National Custom Show, which plays a major part in the overall festival. On Sunday, Kickback stages its National Custom Championships right here at Prescott Bike Festival. 80 finalists will arrive to compete to become the number-one custom bike builder. There are multiple categories for builders to enter, including Young Builder, Modified Sportsbike, Modified Triumph and Freestyle groups, as well as the prestigious outright Best in Show.

Kickback’s National Custom Championships will be judged by an exclusive panel of experts, spanning professional custom bike builders, as well as custom bike magazine editors. This year’s guest judge will be Steve Parrish, the former professional motorcycle and truck racer turned commentator. All trophies and awards will be announced during the Main Show Day on Sunday. The National Custom Championships and Kickback also entices dozens of high-quality exhibitors to the event too. In fact, there’s over 100 exhibitions to check out during the weekend.

Something for everyone

There’s something for everyone at the Prescott Bike Festival, with a family zone also designed to keep youngsters entertained with rides and attractions, all designed to inspire the next generation of motorcycling enthusiasts – along with a healthy dose of ice cream.

If you purchase a ticket to this year’s festival, the good news is that the National Motorcycle Museum will automatically grant you a 50% discount on your next visit to Bickenhill, Solihull, which contains the world’s biggest collection of iconic British motorcycles – over 850 to be precise.

The festival’s organisers are offering advance purchase tickets for both single day and weekend passes at significant discounts. Advance weekend tickets are available for just £22 compared with £28 on the day. Meanwhile advance Saturday and Sunday tickets can be purchased for just £8 and £15 respectively. All under-16s can enter the festival for free when accompanied by a paying adult.

If you’ve always fancied running the Prescott Hill, now is your chance. You can also buy advance weekend tickets to run the hill for £49 or £39 for the Sunday only.

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With no ‘days out’ allowed this half-term the British Motor Museum is offering families a range of free fun activities to enjoy from home as a welcome break from home-schooling! These February activities explore future fuels and are available online from the Museum’s website www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/online-future-fuels. Children can take part in a wordsearch, a fantastic fuels quiz, and even watch a Science Show!

As it looks like the Museum will have to remain closed for longer than it hoped, it will continue to bring new family activities online each month until it is allowed to re-open. March’s activities will be themed around Woman’s History Month and April will focus on the 1921 London Bus, which is on permanent loan in the Museum’s collection.

For families with children aged five and under the Museum’s regular Mini Motorists will still take place on the 3^rd Monday of every month, but for now these are being delivered as a live story-time on Facebook. This month they will be a storytelling of Chris Van Dusen’s ‘If I Built a Car’ live on the Museum’s Facebook page at 11am on Monday 15 February. The theme for 15 March  will be ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ whilst the theme for 19 April will be ‘Bessie is our friend’.

Videos of all the Museum’s stay at home activities dating back to last year’s lockdown  can be found on the Museum’s YouTube channel

The Museum is also delighted to announce that in recognition of its focus in making the Museum more accessible to families, it is a finalist in the Ankle Biters Awards 2021 for Warwickshire in the 'Best Museum' category. The Museum would love to encourage people to vote by clicking here by 28 February. Voting is completely free of charge! 

Emma Rawlinson, Life Long Learning Officer at the British Motor Museum said “We are delighted to host a range of fun activities for visitors to enjoy from home over the February half term and until the Museum can once again re-open. All of our activities are free of charge although donations would be most grateful. As we can’t physically see our visitors we would love them to share photos of their completed activities by uploading them to our website, emailing them to us or posting on our Facebook page!”

For more information about the online activities please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/online-future-fuels 

and https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/mini-motorists-february