The Best Damn Sunglasses I've Ever Owned.

Earlier this summer, Zack Smith from Optic Pulse, stopped by to drop off one of the newest releases from Spy Optics; we stood in my garage and shared stories, and shot the shit about projects we had going as well as discussed our anticipation of the upcoming riding season. 

When considering the upcoming riding season, one of the most indispensable and perhaps most overlooked pieces of gear I have, has got to be my glasses.  So needless to say I jumped at the opportunity to get my hands on the Spy Rivet sunglasses.  These glasses feature quality Grilamid frames and interchangeable 8 base ARC (Accurate Radius Curvature) lenses.

 

So soon after I got these glasses I did what anybody would do, I geared up and headed out to some miles on with the Rivet breaking the way.  As I said before, riding is where I spend much of my time in the warm months.  Whether it’s on my sport bike or my cruiser, I always wear my full face helmet and sunglasses.

 

Since most of the summer here in New York is pretty hot, I typically ride with the visor open which causes visibility issues.  For my particular philosophy of use, I need glasses to not only keep wind and debris out of my eyes, but I need them to be able to slip into the space between my head and the padding in my helmet.

With the Rivet’s sleek ergonomics and highly flexible frames, they slipped perfectly into my helmet and rested comfortably on my face – not too high as many glasses I have worn in the past will.  Once the glasses are pushed back to your face they become nearly invisible; the lenses are frameless at the bottom so there are no bulky obstructions at any angle.  Thanks to a thin, lightweight frame, you'll barely feel these sunglasses on your face.  With the Spy Hytrel rubber temple and bridge tips, these glasses stay put, even under the most aggressive and stressful uses.

If you go over to Zack’s website you’ll notice in the description it says ‘these sunglasses can withstand any beating you give them’ – I can attest to this.  One afternoon while out for a ride, I took the glasses out of my helmet and accidently dropped them on the pavement while travelling about 60 MPH.  My first thought was F@#&, I finally find a nice pair of riding glasses and now they’re toast.  I turned around and slowly headed back to pick up the mangled mess of plastic that was once the Spy Rivet.  Much to my surprise, there they lay along the shoulder of the road, almost completely unscathed – just some minor scratching on the frame, I definitely got lucky.

One of the major benefits to the Spy Rivet is, no matter how bad the lenses get scratched, as long as the frames are intact you can order any one of a wide variety of replacement lenses.  Anything from Red Spectra mirror tinted, to Grey Polarized - and at a price much less than replacing the whole pair.

The bottom line is, these glasses have become my new go-to glasses for any daytime activity.  I have found these glasses to be one of the best out for the price.  Never have I had a pair that fits so streamlined, been so lightweight and durable.  I wear these glasses every day; on the golf course, while riding, driving, and even at work.  Don't believe me?  Head over to Optic Pulse and check 'em out for yourself.

HARLEY SOFTAIL® SLIM™- In person review (non test ride)

so i forgot when i was there checking out the Sportster 72 i also eye fucked the Softail Slim in every nook and cranny, maybe the fact that i did forget i took these pictures and intended to do this eludes to my over all opinion of the bike........... forgettable

over all its okay, hell its good even! not special, not a hey look at me i'm special kinda bike just a good simple machine, of course there are things I would change, but that goes for ALL bikes

the good! the front end nacelle and bars look right at home on it, of course i envision them shrunk down over all (*making it slim) or switching them out for just about any of the Biltwell clamp on bars would look really good on this bike,  the seat and the dash are really clean and classy too ( i still wonder if they throw in a 2 up pad for free or if it'll cost ya another $500+ to be able to get a chick to wrap her arms around ya)

the bad!! this fucking side mount plate is such an eye sore i get it it cleans up the back fender but this thing hangs way out there, easily being the widest part of the bike (except the bars) the front fender looks like something i pulled off my boat trailer and hacked at with a grinder, I'm sorry but guys that use trailer fenders do it cause they are cheap not cause they look good and with this price tag on a new bike a little styling and design could have been spent on the front fender, the floor boards! the board itself i like, the mount and the fact that it doesn't flow or look like part of the bike but more so like an after thought of oh that's right we need some where to put their feet. And last but not least the paint! I'm not sure if it comes in other colors but who the fuck buys a brand new, cost more than my bikes/car/quad put together bike in flat fucking black!! (and yes its flat black Harley can put what ever "hip" word they want to it but you know and i know its flat black) once again don't try and copy what garage builders do to keep shit cheap and in budget on a bike build to a bike that someone needs to figure out if they can fit into their budget cause the payment as much as my mortgage

Harley® Sportster 72™- In person review (non test ride)

Well i went to the dealership last night to get a battery and had a chance to see the new Harley Sportster 72 in person, overall its great! they really went with a minimalist non dipped in Harley everything look with it, however my chopping eye quickly dissected its low points

-my damn camera phone kept auto correcting the lighting and washing out the AWESOME paint on it!!! i did find out its a $700 paint job but if your getting a new bike this compared to the flat black version sitting beside it is a no brainer in my book

-i get it they wanted to clean up the fender but sticking this plate way the hell out the side, further than any other part of the bike doesnt seem like a smart choice

simple plain jane round aircleaner void of any brandishing Harley logos.........but its HUGE!!

-only option is forward controls............ :(

-nice simple little pinstriping throwback, i wish they would have kept the sides of the tank as clean as this

-a cleaned, up stripped down version of the standard #5 ignition cover with some turning detail

-besides factory pipes (cause i like the noise!) and the forward controls this is the other thing id want, the 72's wheel on the irons frontend! i love the 21" but the frontend being longer doesnt give it that big front wheel look that i had hoped for

-cool little solo seat! some horizontal stitching woulda really set it off. they had a 72 in flat black too but it also had a solo seat, id be interested to see what the bike looks like with a factory passenger pad/seat on and even more curious to know if they charge you more for it???

-i do love the speed holes in the rear tank mount- shows a nice attention to detail. and i like that they didnt cover it up with a piece of rubber (which even though painted, they do with the front tank mount tabs)

-What is this???? its not that they painted this radius (which may have been more bizzare) but the actual fender doesnt go down to the strut this is a seperate plate on the backside of the fender.........call it strange, or dumb, better yet how about ugly!

front shot with some very nice fairly narrow mini apes

-if i had new bike money id be torn between the 72 and the IRON, hell and the 48, im pretty impressed Harley has shown so much love to the Sportster in the past few years