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/141046
• HI POINT $59 .95 Penton. Im ports The Hi Poi n t b o o t w as p rob ab ly t h e b est e nduro b o ot o f all t he b o ots we test ed . I t is an e x trem ely ha nd som e b o ot wi th e xce lle nt co nst ruc t io n. T he b otto m of th e shoe is sewn o n w ith the hard rub ber so le b onded to it. Ex tr a stit c hi n g is e m p loye d o n t he so le a t t h e fron t to keep the so le fro m separa t in g. It is also to tally w a t erpro o f. Beh in d t he p added fro n t panel is a p lastic coa te d nyl o n p a nel t o ke ep o ut w a t e r a n d m u c k. It did seem extremel y t hin t hough and we were a fraid it mi ght te ar easil y. T he se b o ot s have t o h ave the t rickest buc kle s in e xiste nce. T h e lea ther st ra p e n d wrap s b ehind an upright pin an d is t he n fastened o n to a no t her p in . It is a fast. si m ple answer t o the mud clogged "b uc kle probl em fo und w ith oth e r boots and the u niq ue IIi Poin t d esign allows t hese boots to be faste ned up or u n d o n e while weari ng gloves. Ea rly model s of t his boot had alum in u m p ins o n the buckle w hich were pron e to b reaking easily bu t our later m odel test boot was eq uipped with steel p ins . The buckles were riveted o n w hi ch is bad but we coul dn't see any way w hich t hey cou ld be sewn on and" still work p rop erl y . Eac h buckle was ancho re d fi rmly wi th f our rivets so it wo uld be almost impossible fo r the buckle to p ull o u t. At $59 .95 th e II i Po in ts are p riced in th e sa me leagu e as th e other b o ots it co m pe tes wit h . G o od p addin g through o ut, es pecia lly a t the an kles , insures foo l safety. Weigh t for o ne b o o t was 2 I l / l 6 p o unds, m u ch lighter th an the p o pular Fu ll Bo re boo t w h ic h is it s main compe tition. The II i Po in t is also a m o re su p p le b o ot , m a kin g it our choice as the e n d uro b o ot we wo u ld m uc h rather wa lk o ut o f t he wo ods in if o ur b ik e b roke . We test ed th e m o d e l wit h th e e n duro sole b u t a smoo th b ottom m o t oc ro ss so le is avai la b le an d would also b e a good choice for raci ng . Hi Po ints a re availab le in h alf sizes fro m 5 to 13 , 0 wid th . FULL BORE $59.95 Yank ee Mot or Compan y Full Bores are p robab ly the m ost p opular m ot orcy cl e b oots a ro und. Made fo r Yankee in Ital y b y a la rge ski b o o t ma n u fac turer t he Full Bores sho w thei r h e ri t age . T he b o o ts a re beau tifully made, well p added , are wa terp ro o f an d th e cons t ructio n is su per heavy d u ty. From a sa fety vie wp o in t th e Fu ll Bo res wi th their steel ca p pe d toes and a rmo r pl ateli ke lea ther are t he m o st pro tec t ive b o ots go ing. T h ey are m ore likely t o h elp p reven t a b roken fo o t or ankle th an any other b o ot availab le . T he p lus side h as its d isadvan tage so whil e th e Fu ll Bore is the sa fes t b o ot, it i s a lso th e h e a v i e st a n d l c a s t comfo r ta b le b o ot. At 3 9/ 16 p oun d s it is al most a full p ound heavier th an a ny of th e o ther boots. Full Bore ow ne rs w ill te ll you by the t ime th eir boots a re b ro ken in t hey're w orn out. T hey a re extre mely u ncomf ortab le to walk a ny dis t an ce in . T he y a re fin ished on t he insid e w ith p addin g b y the ankles , so mething m o st o f t he other boots lac ked , bu t t he b o ot is just too stiff to walk w it h an d just shi fting a m o to rcy cl e is pure h assle . Full Bores n o lo n ger come wit h buckles but have an al u mi n u m clamp to h o ld the st rap . It is kind of n ea t b ut wit h age we expect the clam ps w ould p op open an d th e p in s wh ich t he clam ps p ivo t o n wo u ld break if hit even ligh tly . The stan dard ty p e buckl es ma y h av e b een a hassle to lace up bu t t hey always proved to b e reliable . T he new clamps are rive t ed to th e b o o t s a n d woul d b e ver y d ifficul t t o re p air if pulled o u t . The o ld type b uckles we re se wn on. T h e Full Bore has a reall y stu rdy so le wh ich gives good supp ort. Pr ob lems carne up o n ol der m odel s wit h t he b onded o n so le sep ar ating from the sew n o n bo tto m por t ion o f th e b o o t. T he y co u ld h ave cor rec ted the p ro b lem b y se w ing a ll t he w ay th ro ugh th e so le as done on th e Hi Po in ts b u t instea d they c h o se to get a ro u n d the p robl em by n aili ng a p iece of tin ac ro ss th e fro nt o f th e so le as so m e ty p e o f p rotection agai ns t se pa ra t io n. Expec t t he ti n p late t o fall off wit h u se a n d th e sol e t o separ ate. Th e sa me purp ose is se rved by th e pl a te located a t th e b ase o f th e front; it is a h alfw ay m easu re to keep th e tl ap fr om separating fr om th e b od y o f t he boot. The Full Bo re is st ill a good boot but it needs so me basic design changes to remain co m pe titi ve with so me of the n ew e r boots on th e ma r ke t. The IS OT enduro model is available in sizes 5 to 13 , E w idth . The smooth sole motocross m odel is -avai lab le in hal f sizes from 7 to 13 . A child re n's boo t is also m ad e a nd se lls for 539.95 . With all t h e ab ove feat u res ma r ked agains t th e A.S .R . boo ts we too k th em o u t- a n d we n t raci n g. F o r jus t m 0 to crossi ng " w e fo und th e A.S .R. boots to be the best o f any of th e boots test ed . It k in d o f shook us u p a t first but we t hen realized t he th ings which ma ke a boo t good ~or o ne thi ng -d ike ridin g e n du r os-don't m a ke it the p er fec t boo t fo r so methi ng else. A t 2 6/ 16 p ounds it w as o ne of t he ligh test b o ots in the tes t, m akin g it feel really co m fo rta ble. The pl astic sole was p er fec t fo r sli di ng , it gave excelle n t arc h su p por t w h en stan di ng o n th e p egs o f a b i k e a n d the neop rene in ne r so le absorb ed all th e jolts a n d shocks. It was also the o nly b o o t tested whic h won fu lly liried on the insid e with glo ve type lea ther. Thi s w as import ant b ecau se while th e Hi Po int and Fu ll Bo re b oots h ad so me in side p adding, the A.S. R.'s were th e o n ly b oots wh ich d idn't c hafe o ur feet in o ne area or ano the r. The A. S. R. b oot is availab le with a n IS OT e n d u ro sol e bu t w e do n ot think it cou ld s ta nd u p t o the require m ents n eed ed fo r a n enduro boot or t he punish me nt it wo uld be p u t th rough . As a mo tocro ss ho o t it is an exc ellen t choice a nd w ell w o rth t he expens ive p rice tag w h e n co m pa red in fu nc tio n with th e o the r boots in th e test. It is av ail able in sizes 6 to 14, 0 w idth . HALLMAN GP $71.95 To rste n lIali ma n R acing A.S .R . $59 .95 A m erican Sp ort Ra cer Th e A. S. R.'s we re u n d o ub tly th e tl ashiest lo oking boots in th e test. Blu e with yellow tri m and fla me sti tc h in g o n th e fr ont reall y ma kes the m look wild. Th ey 're also av ai lable in bl ack w ith red tri m . So me p eop le don 't like t he m b ecau se th ey arc to o tlash y lo o kin g bu t th e yo unge r crowd associa te d with th e mot o cr os s scen e will find them a p opular c h o ice. Lo oks will b e their s tr o nges t se lling poin t. As fa r as q uali ty an d co ns tr uc tio n wen t the A.S . R. 's h ad t o b e -rated the lo west o f the boots tes ted . A lo w q u ali ty gra in ed le ath er is used on the out sid e o f th e boot. In e xpensive stam pe d steel buc kle s ar e used -fo r the st ra p s, The buc kles are riveted very wea kl y to the side s of t h e bo ots an d w ith t he lea t h er b eing as th in g as it is th er e , th ey cou ld possibl y pull ou t quite eas ily . T he b oo ts t he mselve s t o o k o n water th e fir st time they we re spl ash ed as we rode ac ross a st ream. A p last ic ca p is b uil t in t o th e toe for protecti on th e re . The so le is u n ique, b ein g a vulca nized two p iece uni t w ith n e oprene rubb er acti ng as a cus h ion for th e hard p lastic bottom piece. It is b raded wi th nails at th e fron t p a rt o f th e so le to safeguard agai nst se paration an d th ou gh it ca use d no probl em s it is a fea ture in the con st ruction w e d idn ' t lik e. For th e wo r km an ship and qual ity o f m a terials put into the b o o t it is overp riced. An Am eri c an sho e manu facturer could pr odu c e and se ll th i s G erm an man ufactured b o ot for 525 easily, but then no Ameri can manu factu rer ma kes a pop ular m otorcy cl e bo ot. We h ad a problem wi th the n ew T orsten Hallman Gr and Pri x b o ot ri ght from the begi nnin g of th e test . It w o u ldn't fi t any of t he three m a le me m b ers on our staff wh o were d oin g t he t e s ting. Th ere was n 't a ny t h ing wrong w ith th e fo ot siz ing; it w as perfec t, but the stra ps we re just to o short for us to b egin to eve n tr y to buckle the m up. Just putting the m on th e fro n t p an el of th e b o ot was p ull ed way too far over to o ne side. It ap pears the m an u fac turer , J . Linds tra nd A B of Swede n, is b ui ldi ng th e boot to fit the smaller Eu ro p ea n sized perso n an d tha t Tors ten Hallman h asn ' t specified to them to b ui ld th e u pper p art of the b o ot in a la rge r p rop o rti on to fit the American sized leg . We gave a ca ll t o Hallman to ch ec k on th e proble m an d t hey reported t o us th ey reall y hadn 't run in to any co mplaints over the upper sizing o f 'th e boots. Eithe r th e problem was p ar ti cular to the 7 1/2 size boot wh ich we were test ing, a foot size normall y smaller than m o st people wear, or p eople j us t aren ' t buy ing th e b oot if it d idn 't fit th em properly a n d theref ore have no reason to co mp lain. The boot d id fit o ne o f o u r girl sta ff m embers well so we le t her do th e rid ing test on it . We d o advise tho ugh th at b efore y ou b uy th is boot, as well as a n y oth er boot, you try it on fir st. Th e Hallma n boot was beautifully made, using soft lea th er a n d lots o f fo am padding . With resp ect to com fo rt it h ad to be rated as on e o f th e be st. It di d r ub a li ttle on the b ack of the an kle whi le b eing broken in . T he b o ot is ver y l i g h t , 2 3/ 16 pounds, t he lightes t p added b oot in th e t est . TI, e sh oe cob b le r liked the b oot b ecause th e so le was se wn o n and wou ld be easy to repl ace o r rep air a number of times before th e b o ot w ould wea r ou t. Th e G P's proved t o b e very w a terpr oo f. Wh e n t hey got m u ddy th e polished leather used on the outside was easy to clea n. Beca use of th e proportional sma llness of the b o ot , the soft feeling and the light w eight. this would be the best c h o ice of all th e boots tested for a wom an rider. The Hallman Grand Pr ix boots are availab le in motocross and enduro sales. Sizes a re 6 1/ 2 to 12 w ith 6 1/2 an d 8 1/2 b ein g the only half sizes. The p rice is pretty steep bu t Lindstrand A B is th e sa me m anufac turer which m a kes th e Hallma n lea t her p an ts, th e lon g las ting quali ty o f w h ic h is unq u est ionable . A children's model is also available in sizes 4 to 8 for a m ore reason abl e 536.95 . I ~ I~ ~ .... ('OJ .::i '" u. ?l w Z W ...J U >- U VIKING $54.90 'International A ccessories Everyone wan ted t o wear th e Vi ki ngs fo r th e test as soon as we re ce ived th e m. . Besides be in g a n e x tre m el y attractive b oot i n d esign t hey were colo red gin ge rsn ap brown . Th ey a re avai lable in bl ack b ut u n le ss y o u're trying to match the co lo r of th e stripe o n your leathers , get the gingers. The Vikings wer e th e b est qual ity b oots in the tes t . The leather use d is top ra te , cra f tsma ns hip is excellen t with straigh t stitc hes se wn we ll. Th e en tire h ard rubber sole is molde d o n to th e bottom of the b o o t. 11:0 st itch ing t o b reak or soles to separate. Mo ld ed into the hard rubbe r so le are steel ta p s at th e fron t a nd back with a steel plate in th e arch for su pport. There is also a steel cap in t he toe. The buckles are s ta m ped steel and could be a little sturd ier because th ey do bend . " Front shin p r o tec t ion is good bUI could be a little be tte r. Side p ad d in g or pro tec tion is non ex istent. There is a small ro und leather pad on the bike side of the a nkle butit is soon torn off by a me tal foot peg or swingarm bol t . The re is no inside finish to the hoot and it would rub o ur heel , m ak ing' it sore. The entir e probl em cou ld be so lved if the inside of th e b o ot w as lin ed wi th glove lea t her lik e the A. S.R.'s a n d so m e thin foam ru b be r p adding wer e us ed . T hi n lea ther an d p adding a re the secre t for com fo rt while a vo idi ng t he conc re te shoe fee lin g a b o ot lik e t he Fu ll Bore gave us. A t th e wei gh in th e Vikin g b o ot wi th the m otocr o ss so le register ed 2 10 /1 5 p ounds. Th e Viking is th e b est a ll around b o o t for ge ne ral p urp ose rid in g. If yo u wa nt a boo t - which wi ll see a ll ki n ds of ac tion from trials to tr a il rid in g to enduros and moto cross these are the b es t c hoice. \lbateve r a rea you lean to ward m os t will b e you r de termining fac to r in wh ich sole p a ttern t o c hoose: enduro o r motocr oss. The Vikings are avail ab le in b lack o r ginge r, sizes 7 to 12 .0 width. TOP GEAR $64.95 5uper{$S9.95 Std. To p Gear Ac ce sso ries. In c. To find out what th e Top Gears are Iike go back and reread th e tes t on th e Viking b o ots , Made in Engla nd for th e Triumph Co rp o ra tio n 's accessory fi rm the Top Gear boot is made by th e sa m e boot ma nufac t u re r whic h m a kes t he Vikings. The only difference be t wee n th e two b rands is the Top Gears have a slightly diffe re nt pattern cu t an d red tri m to give them a different ide n tity. There is a larger piece o f leather over the an kle a re a to give a little m ore protec tion there th an th e re is on the