Not sure what to get the motorcyclist in your life for Christmas? While a new GS or R1 would probably be greatly appreciated by most, there are a number of great gifts for around £40 or less. We’d love to see these in our stocking this December (hint, hint)…
Unlimited Passion Thunderbolt Wipes
The shops are full of sweet smelling toiletries at this time of the year, but what about stuff to help clean your true pride and joy?
The thing with cleaning bikes is that it’s usually such a schlep, which is why these Thunderbolt Wipes from Unlimited Passion have proved a big hit since being released this year.
Fundamentally they are big wet wipes, albeit wet wipes impregnated with a magic substance that seemingly removes anything from brake dust to road tar from your bike. As well as degreasing and cleaning, the Thunderbolt wipes manage to leave a lovely shine behind too. They’re completely waterless and come in packs of 80 wipes. They’re the perfect way to clean your bike when time is of the essence and a welcome gift for the enthusiast who prefers to spent more time riding than cleaning.
£32.99 from https://shop.unlimitedpassion.co.uk
Auritech Biker Earplugs
Wind noise generated while riding a motorcycle at speed can cause permanent damage to the rider’s hearing after just a few minutes – leaving them with a constant ringing in their ears.
Standard foam earplugs do a good job at blocking out harmful wind noise, but can also stop the rider from hearing ambient sounds like sirens or a pillion talking. The solution is a filtered ear plug, like the Auritech Biker, which have a clever ceramic filter in the, which allows lower frequency sounds like the exhaust and speech, while blocking out the high pitched sounds that can cause tinnitus.
At £19.99, these Auritech items come inside a neat key fob to reduce the chance of them being lost, and while ear plugs may not be the sexiest gift you’ll find under the tree, what price can you put on a loved one’s hearing? www.auritech.co.uk
Tru-Tension Chain Monkey
Off all the regular maintenance jobs to be done on a motorcycle, adjusting the drive chain is arguably the messiest and fiddliest.
The Chain Monkey is the world’s first tool designed specifically to set the tension of a motorcycle chain. The small gauge device, which costs £24.99, fits onto the chain in seconds and allows the tension to be adjusted and checked without the need for a paddock or centre stand.
It’s a neat little gadget, that you can purchase from www.tru-tension.com
Alpinestars Crew Socks
Christmas means socks, right? So if socks are on the agenda, why not get the ones by biking’s couturists to the stars.
Alpinestars’ casual range is as cool as the riding gear worn by MotoGP stars like Marc Marquez, Cal Crutchlow and Jorge Lorenzo. We’re not sure that these socks will help you ride like these racing legends, but they’ll certainly help keep the toes warm on those cold winter mornings. www.alpinestars.com
Ride 3
Maybe you can’t quite stretch to a new Ducati V4 Panigale for Christmas, but you will be able to ‘Ride’ one in the new video game, Ride 3.
As the name suggests, Ride 3 is the third instalment in the popular series of games, which has been likened to Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport for bikes.
The latest version features 230 new and classic bikes upon release, including the latest Ducati V4, Norton’s Dominator and V4 and the latest Yamaha YZF-R6. There are also plenty of road and closed circuit courses, including Britain’s Cadwell Park and Oulton Park, and race bikes including Leon Haslam’s Bournemouth Kawasaki ZX-10RR British superbike racer.
The game is available to download or purchase from high street store Game, on PC, Xbox One and PS4.
