EQ-01Head
Full face helmet, vented
Ventilation matters more than weight at equatorial midday. A quiet helmet that cooks you is the wrong helmet.
- Use
- Highway and mixed
- Watch for
- Vent count and exhaust ports
- Replace
- After any impact
Field tested
05 Frontier Index
Market
Equipment, motorcycle listings and buying guidance, tested rather than sponsored.
- Section
- 05 / Market
- Guides
- 3 listed
- Topics
- 6
- Updated
- 24 AUG 2026
05.1In this section6 topics
Everything here has either been used on a route or inspected in person. Where we have not tested something we say so, and where a price moves with the exchange rate we say that too.
Covered in this section
HelmetsWet weatherLuggageTyresToolsUsed bikes
05.2EquipmentSix items, one untested
EQ-02Wet weather
Two piece rain suit over armour
Survives a full season if the seams are taped and it goes over armour rather than under it. Packs smaller than a one piece.
- Use
- Long rains
- Watch for
- Taped seams, ankle gussets
- Fails at
- Cuff and collar first
Field tested
EQ-03Luggage
Dry bag with compression straps
Cheaper, lighter and more waterproof than hard cases, and it does not change the width of the bike in traffic.
- Use
- Touring and cargo
- Watch for
- Roll closure, four anchor points
- Limit
- No security at all
Field tested
EQ-04Tyres
Dual purpose, road biased
For riders who meet murram occasionally rather than daily. A knobbly tyre used mostly on tarmac is a braking problem.
- Use
- 80 road, 20 loose
- Watch for
- Date code on purchase
- Pressure
- Adjust for load
Field tested
EQ-05Tools
Tyre plug kit and compact inflator
The single highest value item per gram carried. Practise on a dead tyre at home before you need it on a shoulder.
- Use
- Tubeless only
- Watch for
- Inflator duty cycle
- Note
- A plug is a repair to get you home
Field tested
EQ-06Visibility
Reflective vest, class rated
We have not run a controlled comparison. Any rated vest beats none, and the one you actually wear beats the better one you leave at home.
- Use
- All conditions
- Watch for
- Class rating on the label
- Status
- Comparison planned
Untested
Motorcycles seen
Machines we have inspected or, where marked, only seen. Frontier Moto does not broker sales and holds no stock. These are notes on condition, not offers.
ML-118
150 cc commuter, single owner
Service history present, chain set recent, tyres at half.
ML-121
250 cc dual sport
Higher mileage, fork seals weeping, otherwise sound.
ML-124
125 cc, stage retired
Working machine, honest wear, priced accordingly.
ML-127
400 cc adventure, imported
Low mileage, no local service history, parts lead time is the risk.
05.3Condition, not packagingHow equipment is judged here
A helmet is the one item on this page where used is the wrong economy. It absorbs an impact once, the damage that matters is inside the shell where you cannot see it, and a resale price tells you nothing about whether it has already done its job. Everything else in a loadout can be bought second hand and judged on wear. Storage counts too: a shell left in sunlight or hung on a mirror ages faster than the date stamp inside it suggests.
05.4Guides3 listed
Buying guide
Inspecting a used bike in twenty minutes In preparation
The order to check things in, so that a fault ends the inspection before you waste an hour.
Gear
Wet weather kit that survives one season In preparation
Tested through a full set of long rains, including the two that did not make it.
Helmets
Ventilation and heat, judged locally In preparation
A helmet rated for European weather behaves differently at midday on the equator.
Entries marked in preparation are planned and drafted but not published. They are listed so the scope of the section is honest rather than to imply a page exists.