Iowa Roll Call

Hey Iowa:
I've noticed the dealerships I go to usually have a little bit of gear, but are not well stocked. I find it difficult to look for gear if I can't try it on, or take a good look at it, unless I am familiar with the brands etc. Looking at helmets, boots, pants, protection etc.

Where do you go to find a good selection of dual sport gear? Is there a dealer or shop that has a good selection and brand choices in state or nearby?
I am in Ames, so pretty central to everything. thanks!

Struthers Bros. was decent last time I was there. I like Baxter in Marne. Maybe Hicklin Powersports.

Now that there is no more Gina's good luck finding a place that has gear.
I just can't hardy stand going to cycle shops anymore.
I know a guy in Kirksville that calls me up complaining that he can't find any shops that carry gear.
I'm waiting to find the answer to your same question.

I was just in Struthers--- Not much of anything
I was just in Hicklins---- Nothing at all
I'll have to try Baxters again, It's been a while.

If ever you get to the East side of the state ..Quad Cities..Bettendorf specifically...you should try Brenny's He is the dealer for 4wd quads the Slingshot... Indian .. Kawasaki Suzuki and more.. carries a pretty good selection ..helmets gloves etc... and they are really helpful , but as with everyone else the gear sitting on the floor is limited. Then in Davenport there is the Honda shop...same kind of set up..but you might find what your looking for...

Ryan and Chad at Struther's are my go to. Tell them Phil sent you to receive an additional 0% discount.

Holiday decorations almost complete.

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Nice.
Had to make a stop at the Struther's a couple months ago for some necessities. And the wife fell in love with the burgundy Ural the had sitting on the showroom floor. Had I said yes, we might have added that to the stable. Figure I could source an 990 or a something similar and hack it out some day.

The company "KMZ" made the Dnepr (Dnepr or Dneiper [English spelling is all over the place] is a river in the Ukraine as well as a city). The company IMZ makes the Ural. KMZ went out of business in 2010. IMZ still makes the Ural, with the majority of their production shipped to the US; the bikes are too expensive for locals to own. The old Dneprs are still around and still being cobbled together in the Russian market. The story is that after WWII, the Russians stole the design of the BMW sidecar rig the Germans used in the war, and they basically began building the Urals and Dneprs based on that design.

My bike was put together in Colorado in 2012 and was assigned a VIN by Colorado at that time. There's no telling how old it really is because when KMZ went out of business, all of the equipment and records were stolen, so you usually just judge age by some of the parts on the bike. My bike has the look of the later bikes based on a couple of parts, but nobody really knows.

The latest Ural bikes are pretty cool. They really figured out the fuel injection with a Keihin unit they started using in 2019. Those bikes are just way out of my price range. I also like the vintage aspect of this bike. It's soooo basic -- points, condenser, manual timing advance, carbs, drum brakes -- very much like an old VW. This is the kind of bike that you can fix just about anywhere. Of course, I'll probably will be fixing it just about everywhere.

Thanks for the suggestions on the gear guys!

I bought my pants and jacket here in Iowa City from BMW of IC and helmet next door from sun and fun Motorsports all seperatly when their were sales. They have a small quality selection .

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Regarding gear, people come to a shop look at and try on gear and then buy it online.

Mostly true, but I like to shop online and then do everything possible to buy from my favorite local shop. I’ll usually send them a screen shot or link of the thing I want/need. If they can get it, great. If they can price match, even better. But at the end of the day, I think we all have to support the local shops or they’ll just go away, and Revzilla’s not going to help you the next time you have a carburetor acting up.

Sindt's in Dubuque has a reasonable selection of lower end helmets, jackets, gloves, etc... Yea if you want a $600 helmet they are not going to have it in stock. Luckily I don't have $600 head.

Christmas Eve at work in the Rusky.

С Рождеством!!!

Thank you, eBay Santa!

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I also live in Ames. Hicklin Honda doesn’t have hardly anything. 2-3 gloves, 2-3 jackets, and a bunch of the $200 HJC helmets, at least last time I was there. Struthers usually has the best selection in the area, but lately it’s not great. Nishna Valley Cycle in Atlantic is supposed to be decent.

I pretty much just buy from Revzilla anymore because their prices are the best and their return policy is good.

It sucks but not much other options.

Bill CycleTech
I couldn't come up with an e-mail for you.
So here is the picture I wanted to show you of Dakota and Shelby
They rode all the way to Banff, Cape Flattery,and the Redwoods like this.