You want to buy a new motorbike.
Or new boots.
A helmet.
Some shiny bling?
How do you avoid buying junk?
A long time ago, it was easier.
Motorbike magazines were very popular.
The editors and motojournalists tended to be fearless.
They could declare that a certain product was garbage.
They could point out all the weak points of a certain motorbike.
But the overall quality of motojournalism is terrible today.
Editors avoid criticism in case manufacturers cease their advertisements.
Or they no longer get free products for 'reviews'.
Online motorbike forums were a very good substitute over the past two decades.
Riders could share a wealth of information that was retained for future riders.
Anyone could ask a question and benefit from the knowledge of others.
But sadly forums have declined in recent years.
Each new version of social media caters for shrinking attention spans.
Valuable information from experienced riders is quickly buried by the latest trivia.
It's getting harder to wade through all the lies.
Social media influencers are thriving on social media.
They claim to 'review' products but it's usually an elaborate scam.
The usual deal is they are given free products,
and the expectation is that you will tell everyone how amazing it is.
Next, you are encouraged to buy the amazing product through their 'affiliate marketing' links,
so the social media influencer gets a substantial percentage of the money.
It's easy to detect this.
Just look for the grandiose claims.
I just did a quick search and saw these video titles on Youtube.
Best money spent ever!
You have to try this knobby!
Best riding gear on earth!
Best ever kickstand!
This helmet rocks!
Best loading ramp ever!
Favourite dirt bike ever!
Retailers often conduct bogus video 'reviews'.
They just line up products on a counter and talk about them.
The best product has the biggest profit, of course.
The most important thing?
Be very very sceptical of everything you read and hear on the internet!
Next? Instead of just googling for reviews, type these terms for your internet search...
Problems.
Known issues.
Long term review.
Look for online forums that are still active.
For adventure and dual sport riding,
advrider.com is still a very active forum with heaps of useful information.
See if there are groups on Facebook formed for particular motorbike models.
There are always a few very experienced owners who are happy to share their knowledge.
When it comes to brands, be sceptical of the biggest manufacturers.
Typically a brand starts as a family business that is passionate about the product.
As they grow, they are often bought out by bigger companies,
or in cases like Fox or Suomy, by huge investment companies.
As they grow, quality can decrease as the emphasis on profit grows.
Some riders argue that the same principle may be happening to KTM,
which is now a huge multinational company that is forging stronger links with Chinese manufacturing.
Time will tell.
Speaking of China...
it can be a good idea to see where your products are made.
An incredible amount of motorbike gear is now made in China.
Yes, sometimes it can be decent quality.
But we think there is still a strong correlation between
poor quality and Chinese-made products in many cases.
Occasionally a brave manufacturer has feedback section on their official Facebook page.
This can give an overall indication of the product quality and customer support.
Fly Racing does well with 4.7 out of 5.
Klim has dropped in recent years to 3.9.
Thor has also dropped a lot in the past year to 3.8.
And Fox is limping along with only 3.1.
Read some of the feedback to see why Fox has one of the lowest scores.
Do you have any further tips for how to research products or certain motorbike models?
Any horror stories with poor quality or customer service?
Let us know in the comments.