Motorcycle Accessories Ranked by Usefulness

Today we're ranking motorcycle accessories based on their usefulness. We're gonna give it to you guys straight and show you the accessories you really need for your day-to-day ride. Right, Logan? Yeah, and we're talking about accessories that are actually useful. You know, no cigarette lighters, wallet chains, or personal massagers, despite what you may have heard down at the Harley bar. Ooh, yikes. And there's a twist in today's video. We're actually gonna be telling you guys if we really use them, and we will confess via our liar meter if we recommend something and don't actually use it. Ready to get started? Let's do it. First up on our ranking today, one that I think a lot of people actually own and use, but we just don't think is all that useful. It is the humble disc lock. So you guys have probably seen this accessory. It's a nice sturdy bolt that goes in between your brake caliper, and in theory, prevents some theft. Logan, what do you think about the disc lock? Yeah, I mean, disc locks are nice, you know, particularly for peace of mind and just a couple hour stints going into a coffee shop or running some errands or something. Would I trust it to protect my bike 100% guaranteed left overnight somewhere? Probably not. Yeah, I think in terms of theft deterrence, it is one of the most low-key accessories you can buy. They're not that expensive, and it does provide you some peace of mind. But ultimately, a very enthusiastic and motivated thief with an angle grinder can get through one of those pretty quick. And I don't know about you, Logan, but the times that I've used a disc lock, I forget that it's on there, and I try to roll away and I just drop my bike. This has happened to me twice and has now made me not want to use a disc lock anymore. So I do have to admit that I'm recommending it, but I don't really use it ever because I'm kind of dumb and it's just gonna fall over. What about you? Yeah, I mean, I don't use one either. Again, I have one. I have one too, yeah. But I'm always just like, I don't really go anywhere where I think it's necessarily necessary. Maybe I'm the textbook victim of motorcycle theft because that can never happen to me. But I keep my bike parked inside at night and when I'm going places, it's typically in the daytime in nicer parts of town. So I typically do not use a disc lock. So there you go. The best theft deterrent is go to the nice parts of town. Sorry for those of you who don't live in the nice parts of town, right, Logan? Well, go ahead, increase your liar meter. We're off to a great start. Recommending you guys stuff we don't actually use. In theory though, it's a great accessory. If you do use it, it is nice. It's a nice one to just throw in your backpack, but I think there's more useful accessories. Moving on. So the liar meter is about to go off the charts for this next one, and that is motorcycle comm systems. We did a whole video about comms not so long ago. What's your take on motorcycle comm systems? So the more nuanced take, we did a whole deep dive on this recently. I've stopped using one as much as I used to use it. I think that they have a time and a place. They're nice to listen to music, maybe talk to a buddy, but I just find my split in using them maybe like 10 to one, you know what I mean? I think most of my rides, I'm not using a comm system. Every once in a while, I'll put on some music or something, and I think they're a nice quality of life accessory. I don't think that they're super useful or necessary. What do you think? Yeah, I mean, I do use a motorcycle comm system. Typically, if I'm out for a ride for the sake of riding, like exploring new areas, and I really want to be engaged and focused, I abstain from the comms, but commuting to work and things, when it's like a ride of done time and time again, a little bit of music goes a long way to kind of keep the energy up. As far as it absolutely necessary, definitely not, and that's why I think it finds itself so low on the list. We kind of were thinking, what can you not go without with riding? And you can certainly go without comm systems. People did it for, you know, thousands of years. Just kidding, a couple of decades. Yeah, I mean, I think about it that way too. Yeah, a lot of riders over the decades didn't have comm systems. They were totally fine, you know? I mean, I'd go so far as to say that, you know, having a ride where you don't have a cell phone or a comm system could be very refreshing, right? Keep it analog, keep it old school. See how they used to do it back in the day. Paper maps, you know? Paper map. So in terms of the Liar Meter, I'm scot-free on this one. I actually am recommending it, and I do use it, just maybe don't use it as much as other people. And don't let Logan lie to you, he is mainlining the Joe Rogan podcast every time he comes into work. No, I've moved on to Andrew Schultz. That's my guy. Oh, he's good. Yeah, he's really good. Detect the sarcasm in my voice if you haven't yet. Moving on. Next on the ranking is a humble accessory, one that has a single function, but I think is very, very useful. But it's something you could probably live without if you just change how you ride a little bit. It is, of course, the battery tender. So this is a simple device that you plug into the wall, you attach to your motorcycle's battery via an SAE lead, and it keeps the battery at the proper voltage so that when you're ready to ride, you thumb that starter and you get on your way. Logan, how do you solve this problem? Ride more. Simply ride the bike. It keeps it charged up all good. But hey, I recognize that not everybody lives in the beautiful, warm climate of Austin, Texas that I do, and some of you have to winterize your motorcycle, so that's why we increased the battery tender a little bit on the ranking. Do you have a battery tender? I do have a battery tender, and I just finally started using it again for the first time in probably years, actually, because I've been neglecting my Sportster. That's been a theme for these Monday videos as I talk about how I neglected my Sportster, and I was like, ah, it's kind of actually below freezing, and I haven't ridden my Sportster in months. I should probably plug that sucker in. Yeah, but I thought the Sportster was a kickstart or a hand crank or something like that. It's not that old, right? I might be hardcore, but I'm not that hardcore. Yeah, it's not some shovelhead, iron pan, nickel trading. It's all these metal terms for Harley Davidson. No, it's just a girl's bike. It's just a simple girl's bike. That's why the kickstarter's so fragile. It's easy to start, easy to start. Tiny little starter motor. I also have a battery tender because I am very blessed to have several motorcycles. I don't get to ride them all the time. So my Daytona does sit for quite some time at certain times of the year. I think I haven't even fired up in several months, which is a little sad, but it is on a battery tender. So fingers crossed, I go to start it up, and it starts right up. So I think this is a great accessory, one that you should absolutely have if you live in a colder climate, if you have multiple bikes, or if you are a type of household where you maybe don't ride all of the time. I think it's a really great accessory. So yeah, I think in terms of wire meters, I do have one and I use it. So all good there. What about you? Yeah, I agree. I have one and I do use it. There you go. We're recommending you stuff we really use. So motorcycle luggage might not be the coolest, sexiest, most romantic accessory, but I personally enjoy it. Big fan. That's why you're ranking at number five over here. Because it's not absolutely necessary. You can certainly ride a motorcycle without luggage, and luggage meaning tail bag, tank bag, maybe some saddle bags or something, but motorcycle specific luggage. Very great to have, very useful, but you can do without. And as we move further in the list, you might find there are other options as well. That's true. And I look at luggage and shout out to the DRZ, the KLR guys out there, the milk crate people. It's one of those highly substitutable goods. You can go for the paint match, super nice hard cases, fits two helmets or whatever. But it's something that you don't necessarily need, but a super nice quality of life mod to have. Because once you try riding with luggage, where you don't have anything on your person anymore, it's nice. It is very, very nice. And you know, like when you see someone with a motorcycle with luggage, you know they're like an OG gig of Chad. Like they're taking that to the office. They're taking that to the kid's soccer practice. They got a couple soccer balls or basketballs in there. I don't know. Like it turns your motorcycle into not just a weekend fun toy hobby, but a lifestyle improving object. Totally. Yeah, it's something that evolves past just a toy. Functional utility. And as Logan alluded to, luggage comes in lots of shapes, sizes, colors, and price points. We're very fond of the simple tank bag or tail bag. You can pick those up for not much money and they dramatically increase the potential and ability of your motorcycle to just do stuff that a normal vehicle would do. So we did rank it number five today. Do you have luggage on your motorcycle? I do. Yep, got a little tail bag, right? Got a tail bag. Yep, I also have luggage on my motorcycle. I have a little tail bag, which is actually a tank bag that I just threw on the back of the Touareg because I'm too cheap to buy another bag. It's trans. It's, wow, you went there. Wow, good job, Logan. Someone's gotta say it. Someone's gotta sell this podcast. You're listening to too much Andrew Schultz. He's got Austin trans brain. Moving on. I'm super excited to share the recent winner of our latest sweepstakes. Brayden in Houston actually won the Honda Hornet 750 and I was able to deliver to him in person. Check it out. Yeah, well, congratulations. I'm really excited for you on this bike delivered here in the Houston area. You said you're heading off to the Marines though, right? So you may not keep the bike? Yeah, maybe not. Probably not. Okay, probably not. June or July, I'm gonna leave, I believe. Yeah, well, at least it'll be here in a good home. And well, if you see it come up for sale, maybe you pick it up from Brayden over here, but hopefully you get a chance to ride a little bit, have some fun and big congrats to Brayden over here. So big congrats to Brayden on winning the Hornet 750. If you wanna win this Moto Guzzi, head over to Yamanoob.co and become a member for your best chance to win. You'll get access to our Discord server and automatic entries to win this motorcycle. Click that link and don't miss it. All right, next up is a total layup. And to be honest, if you watch YouTube motorcycle content long enough, you're gonna think this would be the number one mod to have, the number one accessory, but we actually have a bit of a different take. Phone mounts find their way as number four on our list today. A very useful piece of equipment, in my opinion, for one specific use case. I think that I'm seeing a lot of people, I don't know why they're on their CF Motos, but they're on their CF Motos, they have the phone mount and they're flipping through TikTok or they are answering text messages or they're on Discord. They're literally live streaming current. Chat. Yeah, chat. What do I do? Chat. And I think that's a bad use for a phone mount, right? Motorcycles are supposed to put you back into the real world, put you back into a state of being present. So phone mounts for me, it's a bit of a double-edged sword, right? Because very useful for GPS. I think that's the number one use case. But if you're scrolling while you're riding, brother, you got your priorities all mixed up. What do you think, Logan? A hundred percent. Like I do use a phone mount and I use it when I need directions. That's pretty much it. Cause yeah, I'm not the hardcore old timer, but just feet up in the paper map. I need that digital map. Adjusting to real time traffic conditions. Yeah. Cause our millennial brains are too small to understand how to navigate a paper map. What's North, South? I don't even know anymore. Cardinal directions. Yeah. That's what they are. That's tough. But where they are. Who knows? But yeah, I don't keep, if I don't need directions, I do not mount my phone. It's not every time I get on the bike, I mount up the phone. Maybe that's a hot take as a motorcycle content creator that I'm not always running a mounted phone, but it's the truth. Yeah. I'm the same way. If I need my phone, I'll mount it and I'll get the directions or whatever. But oftentimes I'm riding somewhere that I already know where I am and I don't need directions. And I really, you know, I know phones nowadays you can do like do not disturb and you don't have to get notifications, but it's like, I have to remember to turn that on. I like, I don't want to see notifications pop up while I'm riding. So phone mounts for me, it's really kind of double edged. You know, I'm a big fan of just like grabbing that phone, chugging in the backpack. Like I don't really want my phone, even on like, you know, my person while I'm riding personally. Sure. So I think we maybe earned a half point on the liar meter. I think so. Cause well, we do sometimes use them. We just talked about how much we don't like 90% of the use case for them. Yeah. It's another one where like, it's like comms to me where it's like, it's a nice to have, but you can certainly live without it. Yeah. Again, you can also just like memorize where you need to go. Memory. Imagine that. But I'll give myself a half point on the liar meter. Yeah. I've, I've recommended phone mounts. We were sponsored by rock form for a very long time. There's lots of different film out options out there. I still prefer rock forms. I think they're very sturdy and yeah, I think they're useful, but you know, maybe not quite as useful as people say. So yes, podium positions in the bronze position, sort of a foil to the traditional motorcycle luggage. We have a backpack, but not just any back, not just any backpack, like a kind of motorcycle specific backpack. That's tailored to the motorcycling experience. You know, so it's got the chest straps. It's not acting like a parachute and you're doing those epic 186 mile per hour pulls on the highway with your buddies, as well as a hydration pack goes a long way, especially when you live in the hellscape that is Texas in the summer. So you guys, I see the comments all the time. Yeah. How does your skin look? So nice hydration voice. I drink a lot of water. I also moisturize at night because I have to look beautiful for the camera, but I am a big fan of hydration. Drink your water. It's going to be good for you. And what better place to do it than on your motorcycle when you don't notice that you are getting dehydrated. So I'm a big fan. I like the chest strap. I like the hydration. I like the ability to have some stuff in my backpack to where if I jump on any different motorcycle, I always have my accessories with me. And I just think a backpack is one of the best accessories, pound for pound that you can get for your motorcycle. If you're an average commuter, you know, you're bringing in your laptop to the office. You just put it in your backpack, get to your location, step off your bike, walk into the office. You don't have to take luggage off. You don't have to fuss around with everything. You as a system are ready to go and begin your work in the digital ether. So I think it's pretty good. Yeah, but think about like how like ethic and goaded it would be if you show up to the office, decked out in climb gear with like a quick release, hard like top box, and you set that down in your cubicle, and then you open up, you've got your lunchbox within there. You've got the spare helmet, because 80 of you guys are always talking about how many spare helmets they can carry in their luggage. And then also your laptop for work purposes. I think that's way cooler, way more savage and goaded than a backpack. Savage, okay. I imagine 80 of you guys, they arrive to the office in their climb gear. They like kneel down and they transform like a transformer. Like all their gear just like materializes off of them. And then like they start walking, you know, like a Terminator with like their suit, and they're ready to conquer the boardroom after, you know, lane splitting all the way there. They got there early, so they have time to do this entire like transformational thing. I can see that too. Anyways, all this to say, a backpack is your crucial step to beginning this process. A backpack is one of the best accessories. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, they're not that expensive. And look, if you're the type that's rocking that old school Jansport backpack, you know, on your motorcycle, upgrade to the real thing. You will not believe the difference it makes. The chest strap alone is just, it's incredible. Yeah, they got a Jansport with like a Labubu, like pin to the back that their girlfriend gave them because they think it's so funny and cute and ironic. I remember being 20 something, yeah. Labubus didn't exist then, that's a new thing. I guess so. You had a Tamagotchi pinned on your backpack. I'm not that old, all right. Just two chopped unks over here trying to stay relevant. Okay, so for the liar meter, I use a backpack literally every time I ride. So I'm recommending something I actually genuinely use and I love. Yeah, so I am guilty of being a liar because I do use a backpack, but I'm also too cheap to buy an actual motorcycle specific backpack. You have a military surplus. I use like a military surplus backpack. It does have a chest strap. And it has a big carrying capacity. It does, yeah. Huge payload on that military backpack, but it doesn't have room for hydration bladder, so I'm always thirsty and dying. You guys keep an eye out for Logan's new venture in vlogs. He's gonna be doing Afghanistan camping videos where he's using his military surplus backpack and we're all very excited for that new endeavor. Solo camping at night, Afghanistan. How does he gonna, is he gonna make it? He uploaded the video, so I think so, right? Just that one extra step. So you're a bit of a liar, right? Let's say half point on that. Liar. You don't have the proper, what's the one I use? I'm trying to remember the name of it. I don't even remember the brand. It starts with a K, Krieger. I got the Krieger with the, I've had it for like 10 years, but still works. They make high quality stuff. In the silver position, what we think is what you really need as a motorcycle accessory, super important, and I will stand by this one. It is an inflator and patch kit, the combination together. Why is that? Well, for two reasons. Number one, getting stuck on the side of the road with the flat stinks. That turns from, you know, you're having a great ride, having a great time with your motorcycle to then you have a three hour debacle waiting for the tow truck and you don't know what to do. If you have a patch kit, you can solve that. If you have an inflator, a little battery powered one, you've been talking about this lately. You know, the weather changes here in Austin. You go from 30 degrees to 90 degrees in the span of a week, it's crazy. Your tire pressure's gonna change dramatically. It's so much nicer to just be able to rock up to your bike and say, oh, I need to inflate my tires. Pull that bad boy out, inflate it. To me, this is one of those must have accessories. How do you feel? Yeah, I mean, your tires need air and you need an inflator to put the air in the tires. That's a hot take right there. I mean, it's literally, it's super cool. You can't ride a motorcycle without air in your tires. The easiest way to put air in your tires is through an inflator. Yeah, in regards to patch kit, I run tube tires on my motorcycle, so I've accepted futility. I've accepted bait is outside of my control, outside of my hands. You have to be a real ADV guy. You need the spoons. You don't bring your spoons with you? I leave the spoons at home for the ice cream. I tell my toddler the same thing. We're leaving the spoons at home. Leave the spoons at home. And because it's, I would need a center stand. And then I'm like, I'm not- Oh, your bike doesn't have one, Logan? No. You bought the wrong bike, dude. I'm not taking- You bought the wrong bike. I'm not taking a wheel off on the side of the road. That changed no way in. Honestly, if that happened to me, I'd just tip the bike over and call an Uber. I'd be like, I don't know. I'll come deal with it later. Like, tube tires to the street, crazy work. But yeah, I mean, you've accepted your fate. That is unfortunate. I've had, last year, I used a patch kit and inflator twice, I think, on the R9, and then I think another bike had it flat. The Smart Pillow. That was tube, though. Yeah, that was tube. I remember we commiserated about how awful that was. So yeah, on the R9, I used that several times. Patch kits are great. Inflators are great. It is such a great thing to keep. I personally keep mine in my backpack so that I never forget to bring it on my ride. And yeah, I'm not a liar. I really use them. I think the new battery-powered ones are actually really great. I used to be one of those old fogies, and I was like, no, I like the SAE lead ones, so I always have power. But honestly, the new battery ones are really nice. They're really nice, and they're small, and they inflate them pretty quickly. I think they're great. Yeah, for motorcycle tires, for sure. They're a little slow for cars, but they're pretty quick on motorcycles. I tried to use them on the truck, and I was like, this is taking forever. On your 37s. Yeah, yeah. Well, I got those rubber band tires on my lifted Dodge. But yeah, we don't need to talk about that on the channel. That's on the Yammy Noob truck channel. Yeah, because you just did the squat mod on it, right? I did the squat mod, yeah. So I can load the bikes up, but I'm still, you know, donk status. You know what I mean? Yeah, 37s floating wide on the road. Real nice. Yeah, savage, epic, goaded. So yeah, I'm a big fan. Don't need to lie about this one. This is one that I recommend. Again, in terms of dollar, in terms of pound for pound, super useful, not that expensive. This has to be in your rotation. 100%, I use mine literally every week. Moving on to the final one for today's video. So we were discussing during pre-production, like what is gonna live at the coveted number one spot, most useful accessory. And I think we found a pretty optimal choice if you had to have one thing on this list, what's the one thing you really can't do without. And for most riders, I think that's gonna be a rear stand. Totally, completely. Yeah, rear stand has to be the number one choice. Why do you think it's the number one choice? Well, I mean, any sort of chain-driven motorcycle, I couldn't even imagine cleaning a chain, even though I clean my chain like once a year, I couldn't even imagine doing that without a rear stand. That's insane. You need to increase the lyre meter just for cleaning your chain once a year. I'm just gonna do that too. I also never clean my chain. I'm gonna be totally honest. But yeah, I can't imagine. How do you clean one without a rear stand? No, I don't think you can. I mean, it's like just inching it back and forth. It'd be crazy. You'd look like a crazy person. Yeah, the other thing too is like, you know, changing tires, right? You know, a very common way of swapping new tires on a motorcycle is you pop the whole wheel off, you go take it to a service shop, and then they install the tire, and then you come and put it back on at home. I don't know why we do it that way. That's just the way that it's done. Because if you bring that motorcycle in- Doubles the price. It literally doubles the price. It's not worth the money to just drive or ride your bike in and then be like, oh, can you just change the tires? They're gonna charge you like $1,200. Like, don't do that. So rear stand, immediately gonna start saving you some cash, right? And because so much basic service can be done with just that one little rear stand, man. Like oil changes, chains, like all the small little things you need to do on your bike put that baby up on a rear stand, you're good, you know? Yeah, it's the key to unlock the entire world of motorcycle maintenance and modification. Totally agree, yeah. And I wanna point this out because I'm a big user and we're not sponsored by them, but I've been using them for over a decade now. The Pitbull stands, they're the gold standard. Mr. Worldwide. Mr. Worldwide, baby. Noriega cocaine trips around the world, right? No, the Pitbull stands are the best. I've had mine for over a decade. They work amazing. They have the rubber and the spools. And pro tip, if you're willing to risk it a little bit, you can use the rear stands as a front stand. If you squeeze them in real tight on some bikes, you can make it work as a front thing. They sell dedicated front stands so you can get your front wheel off, but I have in a pinch used a Pitbull rear stand as a front stand and I did make it work. Have I dropped a bike on the stand a few times doing that? I sure have, but that's the name of the game, baby. Name of the game. So rear stands, I think absolutely should be the number one accessory that you get. What do you think? I agree. I think it should be the first purchase before you get the snap-on torque wrench and stuff. You need that rear stand. Totally, totally, yeah. I think that that's the number one accessory you should get. And yeah, maybe you guys just work your way down this list. And actually, I look at this list now and starting from the top, going all the way to the bottom, I'm like, that is a nice way of working your way down. 100%. Maybe you'd want a backpack before you get the inflator and the patch kit because otherwise you have no place to put it. So perhaps backpack is more important than inflator. But those are our choices for the motorcycle accessories ranked. Let us know down below in the comments if there's any accessories that you would pick or if there's any that we missed. We made a deliberate choice to not include any tools because we think tools are different than accessories. But certainly, as an honorable mention, a tool roll should be included on your motorcycle as well. Thanks so much for checking out today's video. We appreciate it. We'll catch you in the next one. See you later.