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Product Evaluation D Jacketby Alpinestars yno Leather armor By Kit Palmer oo k in g for a good lea ther s p o rt/ p er fo r ma n ce road-riding jacket? On e that is built well, fits comfortably, keeps you wa rm, is designed with safety in mind, and most importantly - looks goo d? May [ suggest the Dyno Jacke t .fro m Alpinestars? I propose the Dy no Jacket beca use I've been wearing one nearly every day for abo u t a yea r now, and I can safe ly say tha t thi s jacket boast s all of th ese qualities and then some. The Dy no Ja c ket is m ad e fr om 1.1m m-thick full-g ra in leath er. Althoug h [ can' t say from expe rience, [ can reason abl y assume th at if th e day ever comes that I find myself traveling down Interstate 5 on my back instead of on two wheels, the Dyno Jacket' s thick leath er a nd built-in (yet rem ovable ) hard -pla stic shou lder and elbow protectors will keep me well-guard ed against ab rasions. Hopefully I will never put this ass u mption to the test. Wigg lin g int o the jacket is si mple e no ugh , bu t - as yo u slip yo ur arm t hroug h th e sleeve - so me ti mes th e shoulder prot ector rests awkwardly on your shou lder, requiring a re-entry. The la rge fro nt zip per w or ks lik e a charm, the initial connection is a breeze, a n d it n e v er b inds w h ile in a c tion. Alpi nes ta rs is an Italian co mpa ny , so you hav e to get used to the "zip" part of the zipper being on th e left sid e. Tw o mor e zippers are found on the cuffs, as w ell as a pa ir of heavy-duty button sn a ps. At this p oint, yo u' re read y to rid e, unless it's a little chilly ou tside and you want to button down th e colla r, which you can do without having to worry about it digging into your throat, and tigh ten up the two three-way waste ad justers. There's also a zipper to att ach the jacket to leath er pants. The Dyn o Ja ck et has two external pock ets - wh ich can be navigated wit h heavy winter gloves on - and one inner pocke t. Tha t's plenty for me, since I usu ally ride with a tank bag. L Zipped in and sta nding, th e Dyno Jacket feels, well ... not quite right, but as soo n as you stra ddle the bike , the jacket sudden ly fits like a glove and you hard ly know it's on, as the jacket is anatomically designed for a natural riding position . Here in Southern California, [ was able to we ar the nonvented ja cke t yearround . Sure, it got a li ttle w a r m in t h e but s u m me r ti me, nothing undoing the co lla r a n d low er in g th e fro n t z i p pe r couldn't fix. In cool weather, slipping on a th ick s wea ts h ir t be for e cli mbi ng into th e Dvn o Jac ket had me cru ising a long in 50-deg ree tempera tur es in comfort. An vth in g co lder, a nd I:d break ou t my heat ed vest. If th e wet stu ff wa s in the forecast, I'd usually give the Dyno Jacket the day off, or a t lea st carry along a plastic rain su it. But I did get caught a few tim es, and th e water did no t faze the jacket's le a ther . An d a t night, an d in adverse wea the r cond itions, it' s nice to know tha t the Dyno Jacket has some reflective piping. I've never been a hu ge fan of the tradi tio na l b la ck leat her jacket thin g . Ins tead, I like colo rs, bri ght ones th at . cap tu re people's atten tion. Specifica lly, car-dri vers' a tte n tion . Th at ' s why I opted for the br ight red a nd w hi te ve rsion of th e Dy no jacket, but there are othe r color combinations to chose fro m. Th e jacket used in th is eva luation is a '98 mod el; the 2000 li n e o f Alpi nesta rs .jackets will be ava ilable next sp ring and will featu re d ifferent co lor sc h e mes a nd updated armor. As far as du rability goes , th e jac ke t I' ve b een w e arin g . shows absol u tely no sig n o f wea r, exce p t for some road grime that has accumulated on th e w h ite parts. Oth erwi se, I would .expec t this jacket to last a long , long time. The next time you go jacket sh oppin g, I highl y recommend that you put Alpinestars on the top of your list. As you can probably already imag ine, the Dyno Jacket isn 't cheap. The suggested retail price starts a t $449.95, but, in my opinion, it's worth the money, especially if sa fety, comfort, qu ality an d style are import ant to you. Alpines tars also offers two oth er similarly sty led jackets called the Seven-O and the Hero . For more information, check yo u r local dealer or contact Alpinestars USA CN at the number / address below . New Products srop your cruIser I n style I iI! .. ~ Q M .8 E Cll > o z 26 Compliment your Ameri can Wire Wheels with a set of the compan y's new spoke-style Stealth Rotors. Stealth Rotors feature an exclus ive three-piece blind-hole construction wi th slotted stainless discs for improved braking. Th ey look great a n d blend in nicely next to you r wire wh eel s po kes. Suggeste d retail price for the Stealth Rot or s is $305. For additional information contact American Wire Wheel, Dept. CN, 1028 Shady Oaks Drive, Denton TX, 76205, 800/543-5553, ext. 14. Llghr on your 'eer It' s tou gh to imagine a better and more affordable footpeg than the IMS Pro Series pegs. For $92.00 you ge t an agg ress ive, d ura ble steel peg that is mega-wid e and offers great sup port for your feet. How abou t an eve n mo re agg ressive foorpeg, only this time it's made of tita niu m? That's righ t, IMS has do ne it again wit h the introd uction of their new Pro Series Titanium Footpegs, for $149.99. Okay, we know what you're sayi ng, "150 bucks for a set of footp egs?" The tita nium pegs are super light and share all the same cha rac teristics of the origi na l Pro Series pegs. It' s one of the best and cheapest ways we can think of to shave weight off yo ur race bike. For more information call IMS at 800/237-9906, or write to Dept. CN, 6240 Box Springs Blvd. Unit E, Riverside, CA 92507; www.imsproducts.com.