Tachibana Helmets

Ran across Tachibana Helmets the other day, man I wish these were available in the US:

For anyone not fluent in Japanese, here's a link to Tachibana translated into English through Google Translate. I'm seriously jonesing for a new helmet.  Anyone have any suggestions on how to get one of these (without giving an arm and a leg) or any other similar helmets?

Five good motorcycle blogs for the weekend

Here's a quick partial list of a few of the motorcycle blogs I enjoy reading:

Biltwell Inc.

The blog by the fellas over at Biltwell, makers of simple, honest, high-quality motorcycle parts and accessories that anyone can afford, and that everyone would be proud to use and own. Their motto is Quality Counts, and you can see it in their handlebars, risers, novelty helmets and everything else they make.

Dice Magazine

The blog by Dean and Matt, creators of Dice Magazine, a quarterly mag about legit custom choppers and bobbers based on old Triumphs, BSAs, Norton's, and Knuckleheads (not the chromed out theme bike crap that is so prevalent today).

ICON Limiter

A daily dose of ICON lifestyle, including new product info, crash stories, bikes, and videos.

Matt Olsen's Blog

Matt restores old motorcycles with his dad at Carl's Cycle Supply in South Dakota. They shoot to have all of their restorations 95+ out of 100 points on the Antique Motorcycle Club of America scale. His blog has a ton of photos and info about repairing and restoring old parts and vintage bikes to better-than-new condition.

Vintage Bike Addiction

The blog of Kevin Baas, metal worker, teacher of Kennedy Chopper Class, and author of How To Build An Old Skool Bobber (Biker Basics). I would have killed to have a class (and a teacher) like this growing up.

I'd rather be riding

but the weather isn't exactly cooperating:

Art of the Bike

If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for cool motorcycle t-shirts. And when I say cool, I'm not talking about the run of the mill Harley dealership shirts or the Sons of Anarchy wannabe t-shirts I saw over the weekend. I'm talking about shirts that support small businesses, local builders, etc. I typically try to stay away from black (because 99% of motorcycle t-shirts are black), but I really like this Enjoy the Ride design from Art of the Bike:

New Falcon Motorcycles online store

Falcon Motorcycles just updated their website and added a new online store.

If you haven't heard of Falcon Motorcycles, they build some sweet, very clean bikes. They're also the company that Paul Jr. of American Chopper infamy completely plagiarized. He basically ripped off a picture of one of their bikes from their website, put it on one of his t-shirts, and sold it under the pretense that the bike was his own design.

It's worth sending a few bucks Falcon's way, just to make up for that atrocity. Use code FMCLOYALTY for 10% off your order. I've really got my eye on the Mooneyes Kestrel Serigraph:

A Date With Ducati

Pretty neat little app to find out which Ducati is most compatible with your personality (mine was the Monster).

Jupiter's Travels

I just started reading Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon - interesting and very well written so far. Four years on a motorcycle is one heck of a road trip!