The Oregon legislature is to consider relaxing the current law for over 21 year olds.. That is good news for those who choose not to ride with a helmet. I'm a big fan of repealing helmet laws for over 18s, but I don't get the over 21 thing. If the person commits a crime at 18, he is an adult, but he is treated like a child in other laws like helmets and alcohol? Illogical.

The Battlefield Biker uses, and encourages under 18s to use, helmets. Once a person is 18 and an adult, I encourage them to make up their own mind. Because, you know, that is what adults do... and live or die with their decisions.

After my initial review of the Joe Rocket Survivor suit, I promised an update when I had more mileage on the suit, so here it is.

I used the Survivor suit extensively in 2010. It proved to be a great cold and wet weather riding suit. After an incredibly wet May ride in Belgium, I came out of the suit completely dry and warm. Joe Rocket's claim of '100% WATERPROOF' is 100% correct in my experience.

Later in the summer I took the winter liner out of the suit and used it in Normandy. The air vents help when you are moving, but it was really pretty steamy in the suit. I guess this is just the price of having heavy duty protection year round.

Gladly, I never tested the abrasion and protection features of the suit, but I can say the suit is very robust and makes one feel pretty well protected.

I've always made gloves stink. I guess I am just one of those guys that sweat a lot, but when I have worn leather gloves in summer riding conditions for too long, they just smell.

Of course, I'm also very cost conscious and have resisted buying another pair of gloves that are made only for summer riding. My friends over at Riders Discount took pity on me and sent me a pair of Fieldsheer Mach 6.0 Mesh gloves.

Several of you have emailed me about touring helmets and asked what I thought about modular, or 'flip-up', helmets. I've never owned one. The reason was that whenever I tried them on, they felt 'plastic-y' and loose around the jaw. My hearing ai'nt the greatest to start with, after years on tanks, so I try to keep what I've got by using ear plugs and good, tight fitting helmets. However, my good readers have asked, so I felt it was my duty to try to answer! I decided to try the Shoei Multitec in Matte Black. I've heard that Shoei was obsessive about lowering wind noise with aerodynamics, so I hoped this would be a good marriage.

I have been debating buying an all-weather textile riding suit for a while. I wanted something for the winter and summer that I could just slip on over my street clothes and ride. I've been told by many that the Aerostich suit is excellent, but the high price tag had put me off. I use a lot of BMW kit as it always wears well and uses quality materials, but it also was topping out at close to $800. Alpinestars makes the Drystar at a more reasonable price, but I was a little concerned about it being hot in the summer. I had read a couple of pieces on the Joe Rocket Survivor suit, but was not sure. The price was far better, but I had questions about Joe Rocket quality. I did like their Big Air™ ventilation system, though, so I was leaning that way.