Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126283
boot top . Most other manufacturers use urethane the re and in th ose ot her sm all unnoticeable spots. "I can find something ch eap on an y of the others." McAl pine concluded, "But there's noth ing chea p about this one. T hey haven't cut any corners." Since his evaluation of the boot. however, we've seen the first m ove towa rd using plastic .- like the other manufacturers do -- in the flex joints. Behind the heel . on the boot we looked at first . they had used red, white and green leather in the cut -out area . Newer Hi-Points have a three-colored plastic insert . It 's a tiny point, one thin doesn't affect the function of the boot. In fact , the plastic might even be an im provement since it's quite thick and used in an area protected from direct contact with anything that might rip or burn it. Practical buckles which are quick -fastening in the bargain are only one of the well thought out features . The lining and insole are also standards of the in dustry; both are made of good quality leather rather than a less expensive substitute. Alpine Star, the company that also makes the Roger DeCoster and Malcolm Smith boots , builds the Hi -Points, and all their products have earned a reputation for quality . Protectionwise, the Hi- Points fell into a three-way tie for th ird along with the Honda and Kawasaki boots. The Heckel .. on the basis of it's outright bulletp roof stiffness and hinge that allows motion only in the proper direction .. was judged safest by Dr. Meyer ; the Fu ll Bore with its excellent padding a nd sole rigi dity was rated second . The steel shin guard received criticism from both experts. T hey felt that it should have been m ade of a stiff plastic rather th an meta l beca use (1) plastic will regai n its original shape after impact ra ther th an holding a dent , and (2) th e metal plate edges are a potentia l sourse of cuts should they be bent up in a crash. It is, however, a wonderful marketing de vice. If you ~2ujlt its value, check out a turn one photo from a National MX and see who's wea ring the easily-spotted beauties. The H i-Po ints req uired onl y a brief break-in period. Initial stiffness soon gave way to flexibi lity in the ankle a rea which allowed the rider to walk in a normal stride. They become pe rfectly comfortable in a conveniently short time. McAlpine was qu ick to notice that the ou ter sole a nd hee l were two sepa rate pieces. T he p rod uction models , we understand. are one-piece units . And when we tried to put th e boots on over our Malcolm Smi th leathers with th e shin / knee guards in pla ce, we found that they would n't fit. 'W e had to remove the shin/ knee guards before we could wea r them . Again , we were told , th e necessary changes -- a wider calf and longer strap -- are found in the production model boots. . The only thing they didn't change that our boot cons truction expert noticed was the extremely stiff and large hee l cup and toe cap. They extend almost to meet one another at mid-foot . forming a spot where the boot can bend that doesn't coincide to the spot where the foot can bend. He pr edi cted that the boots would likely rem ain stiff, never breaking in . We found in wearing t hem that they indee d were stiff, and they d idn't br eak in much during a couple hours of riding. W ith more wear, they'd p robably loosen up a good deal in the a nkle ar ea , becoming more comfortable while retaining the lower foot stiffness. The sole is ext remely stiff. as Dr. Meyer ad voca ted , a nd with the rigid heel and toe ca ps, should be hig hly protective. It coul d be a very close replica of Meyer's " Pro fessional boot" where it's designed more for safe ridi ng than for easy walking. T he Pro- Honda features Velcro closures along with a pair of post· type buckles (top and bottom) to hold the flap in place'. At first , we wer e dubi ous abou t the use of Velcro I!) for th is purpose .. we thou gh t it would easily clog wit h mud and becom e non-fu nctioning -- but after talking with a rid er who's rid den end uros with Velcro I!> equipped boots for a cou ple of years, ou r suspicions eased. He reported that the Velcro