Ah, December is finally here. Time for Christmas and gifts, clearing annual leave and receiving bonus. Besides a new Star Wars movie, too.
It doesn’t matter if one of non-Christian faith doesn’t celebrate it, every Malayisan will tumpang the holidays. While some people use the opportunity to balik kampong, some view it as the season to share some love through giving gifts. But it’s also a stressful when it comes to thinking about what to buy for your biker spouse.
How about these ideas below? Hint them to your spouse or buddies on what they should get for you. Heh heh heh.
Here are 12 ideas, based on the “The 12 Days of Christmas,” carol.
First Day of Christmas: HJC HELMET – FG70 X-WING PILOT
The World’s No. 1 Helmet brand has recently upped their game by working closely with comic and movie franchises to produce beautiful helmet designs. New for this season is this FG70 café racer helmet in the X-Wing Pilot theme. Gift this to your biker buddy who’s a Star Wars fan or to yourself and see everyone turn green with envy!
2nd Day of Christmas: KTM POWERWEAR
KTM’s Powerwear offers everything for the complete KTM lifestyle. Items include riding gear, casual wear, and merchandise right down to a toaster and baby’s milk bottle.
3rd Day of Christmas: HELMET CAMERA
There are plenty of action cameras in the market, led by GoPro, of course. If it’s this brand that tickles your fancy, we recommend the Hero Session 5, as it has a smaller cross-section for lesser air resistance. Otherwise, you may also consider the Sony FDR-X3000 which uses Carl Zeiss lens and shoots up to 4K resolution (as does the GoPro Hero 5).
4th Day of Christmas: A KEYRING
“Wahlao eh… Get a friend a keychain for Christmas? So kedekut one ar?! I unfriend you!”
Hang on, not all keychains are RM 5 a dozen. Badly designed keychains not only look cheesy, but they could also scratch parts of the bike.
Motorcycle manufacturers and motorcycle apparel makers usually sell beautifully designed keychains, for example, Dainese’s in the form of the back protector (which Dainese pioneered), shoulder slider, knee slider, the logo in leather and so forth. For offroad motorcyclists, you may want to check out keychains that float, in case you dropped the key into a puddle.
5th Day of Christmas: TOOLS(!)
A tool chest full of Snap-On tools would be great and it’s on my wish list so you could just send it to my address. Thanks in advance!
Maybe a tool chest full of tools is asking for an unprecedented amount of bromance but there are some pretty good yet affordable tool kits out there. A good multi-tool would be great too, such as a Leatherman or Gerber. We never ride anywhere without one.
6th Day of Christmas: BIKE LOCKS
Motorcycle theft has always been a menace and realizing that your bike is missing feels like being punched in the gut by Mike Tyson. Thieves act on opportunity, hence an unsecured bike will be the first target.
You may want to consider the range of locks from Xena as they are Do get the reminder cable also if you’re going for the disc lock variety.
7th Day of Christmas: BATTERY CHARGER
While the motorcycle battery has seen many improvements, it’s always wise to maintain its health with an intelligent charger. Doing so extends the battery’s useful life (saving cost) and ensures that you don’t suddenly find yourself stranded. Some charges also warn you about the state of your battery well ahead of being completely useless.
Our favourite is from Optimate because there is a whole range to choose from, includes the necessary connectors and they’re easy to use.
8th Day of Christmas: LUBRICANTS AND SPRAYS
This category is pretty broad, so we’ll just stick to engine oil, additives and maintenance products.
For engine oil, the Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology range is truly good. While we used to change the oil every 5000 km, the PurePlus could be stretched all the way to 12,000km without being detrimental. This characteristic is due to the process that Shell uses to convert natural gas into a base oil that’s crystal-clear and virtually free of impurities. Since base oil makes up 70% of any lubricant, the oil resists breaking down due to contaminants.
As for additives, one couldn’t go wrong with X-1R products, consisting of oil treatments, octane booster, fuel system cleaners, and many, many more.
Mention the word spray and the first thought is always for the ubiquitous blue and yellow can – WD-40. Besides the multipurpose spray, WD-40 has now forayed into automotive and motorcycle maintenance products, as well.
9th Day of Christmas: MX RIDING SCHOOL
We practice motocross from time to time to improve our riding skills on the road. MX teaches the very fundamentals of riding a motorcycle, in order to prepare him for riding on the road and racetrack. That’s why MotoGP champs Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez besides a few others ride MX or flat-track whenever they aren’t racing.
We’ve always learned MX at Most Fun Gym (MFG), operated by “Foreman” Oh Kah Beng. Participants only have to show up wearing the correct riding gear (MX jersey and pants) as the school provides helmets, gloves, boots, protective gear and the bike. If jumping is not your thang, just learn on the flat-track.
MFG’s slogan sums it up best, “Learn offroad, master all roads,” so buy a slot for your buddy or family member if you care for them.
10th Day of Christmas: A RAINSUIT
Bing Crosby may have sung about a white Christmas, but it’s the rainy season for us. A rainsuit is indispensable in keeping us from getting wet and miserable. We want to enjoy the ride, not suffer through it, right?
The best rainsuits we’ve tried are of course from GIVI. Believe us, no other rainsuit could even come close. Comfy, laden with safety features such as reflective strips and most important, fully waterproof, any GIVI rainsuit is worth its price.
But do buy the original. Fake ones are easy to spot through their stitching, material and design. Besides that, if it’s too good to be true, then it is.
11th Day of Christmas: VISOR AND HELMET CLEANER
There are actually two very good visor and helmet cleaner that we’ve used before.
The first is the favourite Visor, Lens & Goggle Cleaning Kit from Muc-Off. It comes in a package containing a bottle and cloth small enough to fit in the pocket of your riding jacket. The solution takes a while to dissolve but guts, though.
In the other corner is Motul’s Helmet & Visor Clean. However, this product is only available a large bottle and you have to buy a microfiber cloth separately. Its solution dissolves bug guts and other residues quickly.
We’re happy with either product and they’re also safe for cleaning the bike’s windshield, mirrors, headlamps, taillight, besides eyeglass lenses, camera lenses, computer screens, etc.
12th Day of Christmas: TYRE PRESSURE GAUGE
We’ve never encountered an accurate air pump at petrol stations through our many years of riding. Believe us, incorrect tyre pressures cause a whole lot grief. Underinflated tyres will shorten their lifespan, cause bad handling and contribute bad fuel mileage. Conversely, overinflated tyres will cause discomfort, grip issues and introduce unnecessary stress to the suspension and bike.
It’s best that every motorcyclist uses his own tyre pressure gauge.
