Castle Streetwear Sport Mesh Motorcycle GloveCastle Streetwear Sport Mesh Glove TestWhether you are into street bikes, off-road bikes or snowmobiles, Castle has a range of products for the purpose. In my experience, Castle products tend to last. I still wear a high-visibility Castle CR2 snowmobile jacket on snowmobiles and motorcycles that I’ve had since 2004.
Hand injuries are among the most frequently seen in the aftermath of motorcycle accidents, even those that would seem minor that happen at low speed.Lacerations, abrasions and fractures are not uncommon types of injuries, so having a glove that provides some protection from shearing and impact forces is a really good idea.The problem is, finding a glove that is light, and breathes to keep your hands from being hot and uncomfortable might also require trading away critical protective features. The Castle Sport Mesh glove design appears to strike a good balance between strategically placed tough stuff and lighter duty ventilation materials.Castle Streetwear Sport Mesh Motorcycle GloveThe palm of a glove is critical to comfort and protection — I’ve tried gloves with gel padding in the palm where the location of the padding negatively affected comfort and grip on the handlebar. The Castle glove palm is pre-curved and has a light gel pad area, but it is out of the grip area, moved out to where the heel of the hand often impacts in a fall.The result is improved protection and comfort for most riding situations. The top grain leather palm with Clarino reinforced areas feels thin and tactile, but still tough, including the reinforced wear area at the base of the thumbs.One of the most troublesome defects in riding gloves is prominent, rough seams inside the palm or fingers, right where the pressure of your grip grinds the seams into your hands. The Sport Mesh gloves have very low profile seam stitching in the palm and fingers and a polyester lining to prevent pressure points—only at the tips of the fingers were seams raised enough to be perceptible.The back of the glove is also constructed with top-grain drum-dyed goatskin leather reinforced with Clarino over textile mesh. Gel padding overlies knuckle areas with soft mesh material interspersed down each finger for full back ventilation.There is no rigid or semi-rigid knuckle guard material in the design, but that works well in keeping the gloves light and flexible—making them easier to fold and jam into the pockets of your riding jacket. In use, air flow through the backs of the glove is generous.Gloves only work when they stay on and a wide, padded wrist band with hook and loop closure is provided to accomplish that.The sizes available range from extra small to XXL, and excellent snug fit is possible due to the stretch available in the mesh part of the glove. With pricing under $40, the Castle Sport Mesh glove is an economical high performance warm weather riding glove.For additional information visit castlesales.com.
Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory + Steve ’Stavros’ Parrish
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
Our first segment features the new Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory. Senior Editor Nic de Sena brings us his report on the flagship version of Aprilia’s upright middleweight machine. He gives us insight into whether it’s worth spending the extra money on the Factory version, and also of course, whether this sporting Aprilia is really the motorcycle for you.
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The next guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the faster and most technologically advanced, 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa—one of the most iconic sportbikes ever. Check it out in person at your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more.
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In this segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with (arguably) one of the most interesting Suzuki race riders of all time. the iconic RG500 alongside teammate double World Champion Barry Sheene. The two were almost as famous for their exploits off-track, as for their success on it. Those were the days! Steve also raced the Isle of Man TT for about ten years where he won 13 Silver Replicas, and got a podium finish. His insight into that particular brand of mayhem are fascinating.
But there’s waaay more to Steve Parrish than his motorcycle racing. He is also the most successful Semi-Truck racer ever, and, little known piece of useless trivia—he’s my birthday twin: 24th February. He is a natural entertainer and you can’t miss his recounting of the world’s most entertaining—and arguably terrifying—double-decker bus ride ever. If any of you were actually on that hell-ride then we’d love to hear from you!