Riders of any income level should be able to find and afford a quality helmet meeting the latest safety standards. Riders today have a wide variety of quality helmets to choose from in just about every price range.

Fulmer Helmets offers helmets with Snell M2005 and/or DOT certification at attractive prices. The Fulmer SS is one of their latest full-face offerings, with a modern and attractive design. The MSRP for the SS model is USD $155.95 to $173.95 depending on graphics options.

I had a chance to take a ride on the new 2009 Harley-Davidson XR1200 Sportster, so I jumped at the opportunity to ride this modern take on an American classic.

It's been a while since I've ridden a Sportster—I've been riding mostly sportbikes and sport-tourers lately, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the power, handling, appearance and overall quality of the XR1200.

Appearance

Whether you like the looks or not, the 2009 Harley-Davidson XR1200 Sportster is an amazing attention-getter. All along our ride people stopped to ask about the bike and other motorcyclists did quick U-turns to check out the bike and ask questions while we were shooting photos.

Fair warning: this bike isn't subtle, so you aren't very stealthy while tooling around town. You might want to keep that in mind before you do anything 'unexpected' with the XR1200.