Motostrano.com

Over the years we have fielded many calls and questions about cush drives and whether they are required for supermoto duty. Some call them "puss drives", others believe that having one is a requirement for any motorcycle and without one your rear shock could break off and ram up the back of your motor and continue on upwards. Others are just plain skeptical and don't know what to believe. Still others could not give a hoot what they are or why you'd need one. Cush drives are rubber dampening cushions that typically line where your wheel hub bolts to your sprocket. The idea is that adding a rubber bushing in between these two metal contact points will relieve stress torque on your parts. Large 600CC, 1000CC and 1200CC bikes almost always feature a cush drive in order to help the bike manage the heavy loads the rear drive train must endure under heavy power torque. Small sub-600 motorcycles rarely feature a cush drive, with the exception of factory KTM hubs in the 450,

Alpinestars has released a number of intriguing products for fall 2009 and we are liking them. The theme of many of the new stuff seems to be one of product fusion. It's almost as if the product designers and creative department took a chunk of existing but widely different products, through them in a bag and shook them up, to see what would come out of the mix. Take a casual hoody out of the fridge, add one waterproof motorcycle jacket and shake: enjoy your refreshing Northshore Tech Fleece smoothie. Grab a full blown race boot off the shelf, add one quart of waterproof touring boot, stir, add one or two large olives and take a sip of a stiff Supertech Touring Boot martini. We have some of the choice products up on our home page now. The rest is neatly categorized in our Alpinestars section . Motostrano.com Please also check our TwoWheelSteals web site for super blow out bargains.

I really hope the new Alpinestars Monza Leather Suit takes off. I really do. Alpinestars is one of the few suit manufacturers with the catalog width to offer real variety in their one and two piece leather suits and make them in colors outside the standard Black, Red and Blue colors. To offer a suit with Red, White and Green is bold. Only a few years ago Astars was making suits in all yellow and all green. That quickly went by the wayside and for the past 3 or 4 years your only color options have been black, red, blue and possibly white. Blah, blah, blah.

Alpinestars has released a number of new items for their Fall 2009 catalog and these are available for pre-order now on Motostrano.com There are two "big news" products as far as I can see so far, having just seen the new line up a few hours ago. Each of them are at opposite ends of the intended customer spectrum, as well as the price guage. The first is a waterproof leather jacket and pants outfit. The Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Leather Jacket is a 100% waterproof leather jacket that's perforated and an engineering marvel. Or is it? I mean cows are waterproof, why shouldn't their hide be waterproof as Mother Nature intended it to be? In any event, special leather treating has made the hide waterproof and there are matching Alpinestars 365 Leather Pants as well, to go along with the Alpinestars 365 Leather Gloves that were released last Winter. Combine all three with some waterproof leather boots to be fully protected, dry and comfortable all at the same time. Jacket

“People only see what they are prepared to see.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Daylight savings is still a few months away, but if you're like me, you remember that the days get shorter and darker for a few months each year....so... don't get left out in the dark.... But you may not remember that Motostrano sells 22 different types of bolt on headlights for your supermoto, off-road or streetfighter conversion. Swapping out your headlight is an easy mod for your bike that's also comparatively an inexpensive way to change the look of your motorcycle while improving night-riding vision and visibility. We have parts that increase the alien look of your bike, such as the Acerbis Vision , Black Mamba or Cyclops and we have lights that double and triple night riding visibility like the Trail Tech Torch and Extreme Race Light . Each product comes in a wide variety of colors to match your bike. Most of these lights are priced below $100, making them an easy upgrade f

ICON's fascination with militarism, monsters and cartoon women seems never ending. If you were over that already, too bad, because a whole new stream of products and their corresponding horror imagery have been unleashed to the world so that you can fulfill your MadMax end-of-the-world fantasies in brand new leather, textile, denim and Fiberglass. But first, when the end of the civilized world does happen, the roads are going to be the first thing to go, which means that as a motorcycle rider you're going to spend more time crashing as you negotiate craters and ordnance. So, ICON has released what appears to be a pretty good CE approved back protector to catch your fall. And this thing is for sale at an "end of the world" price, at just $90 for the plane vanilla version or a little more for the fancy style . Check out the whole line-up here. Motostrano.com Please also check our TwoWheelSteals web site for super blow out bargains.

ICON has released what looks to be a real back protector. The ICON Stryker Back Protector starts with a custom molded bio-foam chassis. Designed to mold to your back, air channels within the foam allow heat to escape resulting in reduced fatigue. Secured to the chassis are three layers of impact absorbing foam which are capped by an articulated reinforced plastic shell. The reinforced shell helps diffuse impact forces. In addition, the shoulder and waist straps are removable providing you with the option of installing the back protector into certain Icon jackets. EN 161-2/03/AC2006 Ce approval Removable shoulder and waist straps allows armor to be directly inserted into certain Icon jackets Custom armor plate finishing Comfortable and non-restrictive Custom molded biofoam chassis Imported Available for $90 at Motostrano.com