In 2016, between bikerMetric and our brother site, YouMotorcycle, over 140 items were shipped to motorcyclists around the world. Only four items were returned this year, and those were handled by Amazon. Not bad! I’ve spent the last hour reviewing our sales, and in this post I’ll share with you a collection of our hottest selling and coolest items shipped out this year.
Evidently, I sell a lot of turn signal and lighting accessories. Roughly 10% of all items sold helped motorcyclists either see or be seen. Particularly popular were:
- Krator® 4X Universal Black Mini Bullet Turn Signals – $17 – Great price for a 4-pack of mini signals, for those who aren’t interested in paying a little extra to go LED.
- 7” Amber 26 LED Halo Headlight Turn Signal with 35W HID 6000W – $19 – Really cool concept, though maybe not the safest. This HID headlight comes with built in signals.
- 50W 6Ohm LED Load Resistors for LED Turn Signal Lights – $5 – Switched to LED lights and now your signals are flashing double-speed? Don’t look like a putz, solve that with this quick and inexpensive fix.
Helmets made up another substantial amount of all sales. Personally, I believe that whether you’re buying motorcycle helmets for women or for men, proper helmet fitment is important, and they are one of those pieces of gear that I prefer to buy in person. That being said, those who did buy their helmets online showed favoritism towards these two lids in particular:
- Bell Custom 500 – $95 – I love the variety of colors, finishes, and designs in the C500 line up. Some of the previous seasons’ designs can be found at a reduced price and still look awesome.
- Bell Pit Boss – $129 – The Pit Boss gives riders low-profile cruiser styling mixed in with dial-adjustable fitment and a built-in tinted visor.
- Z-Red Kit Anti-Fog Lens Cleaning Kit – $33 – Stop your visor or goggles from fogging! Also works for aquatics, winter sports, etc.
- Aviation-Style Goggles – $7 – Perfect for anyone looking to complete your throwback vintage motorcycle rider look. Free shipping!
- Sena SMH10D-11 Motorcycle Bluetooth Headset (Dual Set) – $299 – Talk to your passenger, or to your friend on another bike, wirelessly and without using any minutes. We use a similar set and love it.
The right motorcycle cover can keep your bike clean, shiny, and even rust-free for decades. Look for a cover with ventilation and heat shielding. These features will allow any moisture on your bike to vent out, and avoid leaving any marks on hot exhaust pipes. Top sellers:
- The Bike Shield Motorcycle Shelter – $269 – It’s your motorcycle’s own outdoor garage. Perfect for those who don’t have a garage, and for those without enough space in the garage.
- Dowco Guardian WeatherAll Plus Motorcycle Cover – $70 – Waterproof, breathable, designed for the outdoors, and with features like vents, cotton construction for no scratches, and grommets for strapping.
I’m proud of our history working with great authors over the years. Zippy Nicole Winters, wandering Jefe Smith, lovely Liz Hardy, and adventurous Allan Karl are all offers we’ve featured on the site in the past. But this year brought on something different. We sold more books for toddlers than for anyone else!
- The Adventures of Mimi and Moto: The Motorcycle Monkeys – $9 – The stories of two motorcycle monkey friends, teaching children from a very early age about motorcycles, to make a fun and safe world for all of us. Written by a motorcycle riding couple, too!
Readers were split all over the board when it came to your tastes in oil. If I had to average out, I would say that 10W40 was the most common oil weight, more people are using full synthetic oils than last year, Motul is the leading brand but not by much, and no two-stroke oil was sold this year. The most commonly sold oils were:
- MOTUL OIL 5100 10W50 4TBLEND 4L – $35 – I use the 10W40 version of this oil, but the 50 was commonly sold, is on sale, and you get free shipping.
- MOTUL OIL 7100 10W40 4T FULL SYNTHETIC 4L – $53 – Ah, the oil we should all be using so we can feel like the MotoGP pros that Motul sponsors. At $53 with free shipping, it might be time for you to upgrade and try this stuff out.
Not surprisingly, many more filters were sold than jugs of oil. PeopleThe top sellers were:
- K&N Oil Filters – $11 – The K&N-138 oil filter accounted for 5% of all sales alone.
- Oil Filter Tool and Oil Filter Pliers – $9 – I prefer the tool for my Suzuki, but it will all depend on what the clearance looks like on your particular motorcycle.
- Magnetic Drain Plugs – $8 – Help reduce damage to your motor with magnetic drain plugs designed to pick up any metal debris in your oil caused by regular wear and tear on your motorcycle.
- Oil Drain Pans and Funnels – $24 – When shopping for a drain pan, remember that the average pan is designed to fit under a car, not a motorcycle, and you’ll need something with more clearance. This pan is only 4″ off the ground, meaning it should fit even under long and low Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Back to servicing your motorcycles. Jacks are a simple way of doing that without having to work on the ground.
- PowerZone 380047 1700 LB Hydraulic Motorcycle/ATV Jack – $114 – I enjoyed using a foot activated hydraulic lift very similar to this one for a number of years before handing it off to a neighbor who now uses it for his Honda Goldwing. Infinitely handy and seriously strong.
- XtremepowerUS 1100Lbs Motorcycle Scissor Center Jack – $55 – Motorcycles with exhaust pipes that run under the frame won’t be able to work with the previous jack. Use this instead. It’s also handy for helping to support a motorcycle that is already on a table lift and needs front or back support (for example, during a tire change). Free shipping too!
Motorcyclists are often the wanderlust type, and these devices and accessories help riders get outdoorsy and adventurous.
- Garmin Zumo 590LM – $549 – Arguably one of the best motorcycle GPS units of all time, this rugged device’s 5″ display is readable even in direct sunlight. Simply put, it has it all.
- Garmin Zumo 660LM GPS Motorcycle Navigator – $388 – Steal of a deal on a slightly smaller, refurbished device. Available with/without Sirius XM radio.
The Venox is a rare 250cc baby muscle-cruiser. Mine is currently beside me, inside YouMotorcycle HQ, after over 35,000 amazing kilometers together. Top sellers:
- KYMCO Venox 44 Tooth Sprocket Upgrade – $89 – Improves the gearing of the Venox, making it better performing and greatly improving the power band in all gears.
- KYMCO Venox Saddlebags – $189 – Superior quality leather by Saddleman. Includes mounting brackets.
15) Controls, grips, levers, and more
A variety of adjustable levers, grips, and other small control accessories were sold. We actually learned about some pretty cool stuff from you guys! Here are some of our favorites:
- Krator Spiked 1″ Hand Grips
- Iztoss Velcro Heated Grips – $15 – These velcro heated grips can be wired up and taken off in about half an hour by anyone who’s ever had enough skill to charge their own battery. No ugly grips year round, quick installation/removal.
- Adjustable Levers – NA – I needed to give props to the excellent selection of aftermarket adjustable levers available on Amazon. Even if there’s nothing wrong with your levers now, adjustable levers are a great way to make your bike more comfortable and tailored for you.
16) Other Cool Stuff
- BreakAway Motorcycle Cruise Control – $189 – My Yamaha FZ6R, previously taken from Toronto, Canada, to California and back has one of these and I love it. This mechanical cruise control is easy to engage, and automatically disengages with any application of the brakes or of the thumb trigger.
- Motorcycle Slip-Ons and Full Exhaust Systems – NA – It’s very hard to compete with the prices offered on exhausts on Amazon, trust me, I looked into it, a lot! Go see for yourself.
- Cell Phone RAM Mount – $45 – I’ve been trusting RAM Mounts to hold my devices on my Handlebar since 2009. Nearly 100,000 km (62,000 miles) later and they haven’t let me down once.
- Alpinestars Riding Jacket – NA – We didn’t actually sell a lot, but I’m totally in love with this leather perforated jacket.
- Various Misc. – NA – Motorcycle tires for sale and other parts have been pretty good too!
That’s it! Ok, so it’s more like 30 top selling items, but this is the stuff that, even after ten years of riding, I get excited about putting on my wishlist.
A big thank you to everyone who’s supported the site, be it from liking and sharing our posts to checking out the sponsors or buying yourself something new via our Amazon links. Your support means a lot. Thank you!
Adrian
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