Holiday Gift Guide for Touring Motorcycles
- Oxford Rainseal Over Suit
- Best Biking Roads app
- Oxford Hot Hands Heated Over-Grips
- Scorpion Trey Pants
- Airhawk R seat pad
- Battery Tender USB charger
Oxford Rainseal Over Suit
So, all I know about my beloved motorcyclist is that they go out riding for days or weeks at a time. That makes them a “touring” motorcyclist. Whether they’re on a Gold Wing or a Ruckus – doesn’t matter.
So what can I buy for my long-distance warrior? Well, my first idea is the Oxford Rainseal Over Suit.
There are a lot of rain suits on the market and at 90 bucks, the Oxford Rainseal is smack dab in the middle of them.
In my opinion, anything cheaper feels like a glorified garbage bag. And anything more expensive is too expensive for something that’s gonna sit in my backpack 99% of the time.
I like the Oxford because the material is thick – I don’t have to worry about ripping it every time I brush past the footpeg. I also love that it’s a one-piece because A) there’s one less opening for rain to get into and B) it takes less time to put on while I’m on the side of the road in a hurricane.
On that note, the lower leg zips aren’t as tall as I’d like. Makes it a bit of a pain to squeeze on over motorcycle boots but not impossible by any stretch.
The Rainseal also comes in black by the way, just in case the UN decides that this diabolically bright Hi-Viz is, in fact, inhumane.
What else can I say? It’s got a soft collar, which feels nice on my neck. And it fits true to size – just match whatever size of motorcycle jacket your giftee wears, and the Rainseal should fit overtop no problem. The rest can be taken care of by the adjustable Velcro on the cuffs and ankles, plus this belt at the waist.
Oh! And it folds down into a waist pack, so that’s worth something.
The Oxford Rainseal is the snowglobe of touring gear. Kinda boring and unwieldy most of the time, but really nice when shit starts flying around in the air.
Best Biking Roads app
Next gift idea – and a much cheaper one at that – is the Best Biking Roads app.
This is great for touring riders, because when you ride to places you’ve never been before, it’s really hard to find a decent road.
So the BBR app shows me the best routes near my current location, no matter where in the world I am. I could also search out the best roads for wherever I want to end up, if I was more of a “plan-ahead” kind of guy.
To be honest, the interface isn’t as good as it could be. The biggest shortcoming is that the routes come as .gpx files, so I can’t have Google Maps read out the directions.
But, alas, Best Biking Roads is the app that most tourers use. And when you rely on users to post routes, photos and videos, then popularity counts for everything.
This app costs 5 bucks by the way. It’s the chocolate orange of touring gifts – cheap as hell but always popular.
Oxford Hot Hands Heated Over-Grips
Next gift idea for tourers – Oxford Hot Hands Heated Over-Grips.
These are brilliant, because they work on pretty much any handlebar, as long as it’s 7/8-inch. And if your giftee has two left hands, that’s no problem because installation is a cinch.
Just slip the Over-Grip over the grip, run some wires over to the battery, and that’s pretty much it. I did a full installation in less than 10 minutes, and most of that time was spent zip-tying the excess wire.
When you’re touring in cold weather, this is worth its weight in gold, frankincense and myrrh. It pumps a huge amount of heat… in fact one of my only complaints is that I have to turn them off periodically because they get too hot.
Major downside – they make your grips really chubby. But with a simple install everyone just removes them during the summer anyway. 80-ish bucks, legendary build quality, 2-year-guarantee … you can’t go wrong.
Scorpion Trey Pants
Fourth gift idea – the Scorpion Trey Pants.
I tested these during the Can-Am review, and to be honest I wasn’t expecting much. They’re a 2-year-old remake of the Scorpion Deuce, which itself was nothing special. Yawn.
But I’ve gotta say, the Trey has become my go-to touring pant. On the protection front, I’ve got a Ballistic Nylon chassis with foamie hips and knees, the latter of which is laid overtop Sas-Tec CE-approved viscoelastic armour. So that’s all good. Scorpion isn’t re-inventing the wheel here, but they’re rolling along fine.
The comfort is good too. Accordion stretch on the knees helps articulate the fit, and I’ve got adjustment at the waist and cuff. There’s also a hem-able inch at the bottom here, so you if you don’t quite nail the fit for your giftee, it’s no big deal.
My favourite thing about this pant is the cut. It’s a bit slimmer than a typical touring pant, especially down around the boot. Which is great because if you’re anything like me, you’d rather not look like GI Joe.
And before you go thinking that it’s therefore impossible to put on over motorcycle boots – check out this full-length zipper.
Then there’s something you can’t see. Versatility. With the waterproof liner taken out, I’ve worn the Trey comfortably at 30+ degrees, no problem. And with the liner in, I stay totally dry. The biggest rain storm I ever rode through was in this pant. A diabolical downpour, you couldn’t see a thing, the highway came to a standstill because the road flooded like that. And I was soaked everywhere except for my legs – totally dry.
The waterproof liner also does a pretty good job of keeping you warm. With a pair of long johns and this pant, I rode to our last group ride at about 0 degrees Celsius, pretty darn comfortable.
At 300 bucks, the Scorpion Trey isn’t the cheapest touring pant, nor the most expensive. And yes, there are way more technical options out there.
I guess the Trey is the Figgy Pudding of touring gear. No one knows why tourers want it so much, but we won’t stop until we get some. Boom – 2 holiday references in 2 seconds.
Airhawk R seat pad
And finally, I have a couple gift ideas from previous holiday videos that are also relevant here. Don’t worry – I’m gonna do ‘em fast because no one likes seeing the same thing twice.
First there’s the Airhawk R seat pad. Blow some air into it, stick it under your butt, and you won’t be saddle sore 12 hours later. Great for touring riders.
No contact points down the middle, for all your sensitive bits. Lots of air channels for keeping cool. And the bladder on this R version is made of rubber, while the AirHawk 2 uses plastic. Rubber is better, plastic is cheaper – your call.
Still time for a holiday joke? Okay – the AirHawk is the fruitcake of touring gifts – dense, comfortable, and you’d rather sit on it than eat it.
Battery Tender USB charger
Next! An encore appearance for the Battery Tender USB charger.
If you’ve only got 15 bucks to buy me a touring gift, this is the one I want. Hook it up to your motorcycle’s battery et voila – you’re a mobile charging station for cell phones, cameras and GPS systems.
It’s no holiday miracle, just a simple and effective device that every touring rider can use. There’s a socket version if their bike happens to have a 12V outlet. If not, get this one but beware that the hookups are not included.
And that’s it for my favourite touring gifts. I counted five lame holiday jokes, we’ll see if we can do better next time.