ML512's Product Reviews

Smith Intake Sweat-X/with roll-offs

Rating:

The Good: Articulating outrigger for goggle strap to help with different helmet shapes, bright vibrant colors, roll-off kit included, Goggle foam excelled at keeping dust and small particles outside. Made in the USA.

The Bad: Slightly long goggle strap, Lack of tear off posts on roll-off canisters, Anti fog lens wasn't as effective as I would have liked.

Overall:

What you get: The current price of the Smith Intake's I used is $65. For your money you get a pair of Intake Sweat-X's (coming in 4 colorways) a cloth baggy to hold them, and a roll off system.

The goggles themselves are well made, multi-layered foam, on a outrigger style frame.

Features include:

An articulating outrigger system - This allows the outrigger angle to change. This was quite helpful with different helmet shapes. In the past I've run into outrigger frames that just allow the strap to pull wrong on certain helmets and create and uneven seal along your face. The articulating frame helped with this on the few different helmets that I tried with these.

The roll-off system - Most goggles you buy nowadays come with a soft baggy and possibly a few tears offs or another lens. These Smith's come with an roll-off system that is interchangeable with the lens (the tear off post's on the lens are removable). So instead of having to have separate roll-off systems on each lens and having to buy all new systems when the lens gets scratched, you can now just put the system on different lenses of your choice: clear or available tints. The instructions are slightly vague on how to put the system together but the process isn't overly complicated.

My one complaint with the system is the lack of tear off posts on the outside of the roll-off the canisters. The few races (mostly mud and sand) that I've used a roll-off system, I preferred having a few tear offs on top of the roll-off system so during the first few corners of a race when you're getting the most "pelted" with roost, you can clean off your whole field of vision before switching over to the slide on the roll-offs that only clean a portion of the lens. I also recommend putting these together (especially the first time) at home and out of the dust and grime of track conditions.

The Frame - The goggle frame itself has vents at the top which can be opened to channel air more directly to the top of your head, The foam itself is of good quality, especially around the air vents. Having ridden with these on a few windy and dusty days the foam was exceptional at keeping dust and small particles out.

Negatives: This is a small complaint about the strap that may or may not bother some, I found the strap to "Stretch" out quite a bit the first few times I rode with them and had to adjust the strap quite a bit at first to keep it tight. I rode on a few "wet" mornings where the anti-fog lens included didn't work quite as well as I expected (while riding at speed wasn't a problem the moment i stopped... and I mean as soon as I stopped, they would fog up a bit). As I mentioned above I would have greatly preferred tear off posts on the roll-off canisters.

Conclusion: The great quality of the goggles makes up well for the little complaints I have. As a stand alone goggle I would give it a slightly higher rating but the roll-off system leaves me wanting a little more.

Simple, Tuff, Affordable...

Rating:

The Good: Uses stock mounting instead of aftermarket mounting brackets, extremely tough, flexible enough to take abuse.

The Bad: Can be air restrictive, but has patterns visible to drill out.

Overall:

So after a full seasons of racing Worcs, GPs, and other offroad events without ever breaking or having a problem with these I thought it was about time to give them a little recognition.

Upside: At 75 dollars the acerbis skid plate is much cheaper than using a carbon fiber or comparable full coverage aluminum skid plates. The molded plastic is both tough but flexible to to take heavy hits from rocks, logs, ect. Also compared to some other aftermarket skid plates it uses the oem mounting. So no messing around with aftermarket clamps that hard to put in place! I personally tested these on kawasaki's 250 and 450, on both offering great protection of not only the frame and cases but also the waterpump and oil filter housing. If your a fan of racing enduros or any type of racing that involves log styles obstacles, the smooth bottom creates a great gliding surface if you don't quite make it all the way over and catch your frame.

Downside: It still is made of plastic and can be broken or cracked. Overall these have taken some great abuse in my personal experience but i have seen some cracked in some extreme encounter with rocks. The skid plate can be somewhat air restrictive, if your require abit more "cooling" though you will notice a pattern in most models that your can drill out with a hand drill or drill press quite easily.

Overall: For the price vs durability, I've been quite pleased the protection I've gotten out of these skidplates. I'd would recommend looking at this skid plate if your in need of "insurance" against some nasty obstacles.

Scott Deuce grips

Rating:

The Good: Costs roughly as much as a standard set of name brand grips, but you get a much more unique grip with dual layered material and grip donuts. The softer layer allows for firm grip for your palm, while the harder layer around the majority of the grip resists wear while the pattern still allows for a solid "finger" grip. These grips have a harder end material then most, resisting tearing during tip overs and comes in six different color combos.

The Bad: The throttle side grip fits very snug, on some thicker throttle tubes this may cause the grip to split slightly and stretch. The pattern on the grip is unique and changes shape along the grip, this may not work for those who prefer a straight/consistent pattern.

Overall:

I'm usually not too big of a fan of changing grips. After years of using a soft single compound half waffle grip I decided to "branch out" and see what other offerings there are. What caught my eye with this set of grips from Scott was the dual layered grip and pattern (a nice plus was the grip donuts for the price). I did notice in installation thought that the throttle side grip was a bit tight on the aftermarket throttle tube i was using. Causing it to split slightly at the end of the grip where the layers came together, but through my continued riding the small split did not grow any worse and was not noticeable. The softer material in the palm area (and a small patch for your thumb) allowed for great traction, while the harder area surrounding the majority of the grip did not have as much traction it had a unique pattern and ridges that allowed for a nice amount of grip for your fingers while not wearing out quickly. They also have ample sized grooves for those who like to wire tie their grips. After roughly 15 hours of riding time on a set they are holding up quite nicely. Usually I would have been half way through my second set of single layered grips by this time. Overall I would definitely recommend giving these grips a try.