For many years Champion Trikes has offered trike conversion kits with rigid axles. At Dealer Expo the company introduced a kit with independent suspension, Model gl-1800. Optional shocks and springs can make the ride even more comfortable.
Check out the Fast Pack made by The Cycle Guys. It’s a back seat bag that, when not in use, can compress down into a seat pad that never needs to be removed.
The FastPack comes in three sizes available to fit most modern sportbikes. Zipped down, it’s a carbon-fiber-embossed seat pad. Zipped up, it can reportedly carry more than 8 liters of cargo.
Tucker Rocky was displaying the bag at the show.
StreetGlow had four new lighting products:
- SG Mini LED Pods ($39.99 retail) are six tiny LED lights that create the illusion of white strobe lights. According to the manufacturer, they’re “perfect for highlighting engine bays, gas tanks, frames, saddlebags, dashboards, gauge clusters and speaker boxes.
- Neon and LED Shift Rods are shift linkages that are direct replacements for stock shift rod ends found on Harley-Davidsons and custom bikes. streetglowwirelesscontrollerThey’ve been redesigned with “thicker and bolder” designs in polished stainless steel. The lights are available in numerous colors. Both the Neon and LED versions allow customers to add up to 6 inches in total length using 1- and 3-inch extensions (sold separately). MSRPs: $119.99 (LED shift linkage), $139.99 (neon shift linkage); $39.99 (1-inch extensions) and $49.99 (3-inch extensions).
- LED Tail Light & License Plate Light ($29.99) reportedly fits most state-approved motorcycle plates. The light incorporates red LED brake lights, running lights and white LED lights to illuminate the plate itself.
- LED Wireless Controller ($69.99) — this device can be used to tie all StreetGlow lighting products together. It is a six-port controller that features “10 lighting patterns,” controlled by a wireless remote key fob.
Buztronics Inc. introduced a new full lineup of LED accent lighting designed and packaged for the scooter market. Products include:
- ElectroPods consisting of six LEDs arranged in a compact pod (two pods per pack). They come in red, blue or white and retail for $21.99.
- Flex Light Strips — package comes with 24 LEDs embedded into two 4.75-inch flexible strips. Also available in red, blue or white and retailing for $32.99.
- Light Strands — 12 LEDs set into a set of two 4.75-inch low-profile flexible strands. Available in red, blue, white and retailing for $32.99.
- Indicator Light Strips ($32.99) that can be used as indicator lights or accent lighting. They feature 24 yellow LEDs embedded into two 4.75-inch flexible strips.
- Brake Pods ($27.99) featuring six red LEDs in a compact pod.
- Helmet Light ($9.99) with six red LEDs that automatically activate with movement. It affixes to a helmet’s exterior with included tape. Batteries come included and are replaceable.
- True Rainbow Micro Tire Technix — motion-activated LEDs that screw onto the wheel valve stem. When in motion, a white light reportedly “breaks out into a multicolor rainbow of LEDs.” Each pack contains two lights. Batteries are included and are replaceable.
Metzeler was displaying the second generation of its Roadtec Z6 tire, the Roadtec Z6 Interact. Several tire companies have promoted multicompound technology — i.e., a durable rubber in the tire’s center combined with a sticky rubber on the sides.
Metzeler takes a different approach with the sport-touring Roadtec Z6 Interact by instead targeting its proprietary zero-degree belt winding process. Instead of varying the tire’s compound, Metzeler has varied the tension of the steel belts.
As described in the technical release found here: “The new winding process allows to progressively ream stresses in the different areas of the tire; as the result, every single string has been designed with a pre-defined resistance to stress for a specific performance…The number of steel strings inside the tire guarantees a homogeneous differentiation of performances, avoiding any ‘step effect’ typical of multicompound technology. Lower tension creates more flexibility and therefore higher energy absorption; the compound increases the temperature and in a certain sense becomes softer.”
The Roadtec Z6 Interact retains the same profile and tread pattern as the Roadtec Z6.
Buff Headwear says it has refined its Cyclone Buff with Windstopper, a product it released in 2007.
The company says it has redone the neckline design so that it fits comfortably under the collar of a jacket. It says it did this by extending the top section of double-layered microfiber fabric by 15 percent, and by making the bottom Windstopper panel slightly longer at the front. Suggested Retail is $38.
