Held Racer Report - Jason Burrill, Castle Combe ACU 250

Castle Combe ACU 250 - Race Report 

Well, when the say racing is full of highs and lows it really is true! Tears, anger, head scratching, smiles, laughter and a great end to the season!

After a decent test day on the Friday I qualified well on the 250 in 9th position in a stacked with talent field. Unfortunately due to the ongoing starting issues that have plagued us all year we entered the first corner in race one in 17th or 18th position and the spent the remaining laps fighting my way back through. 

Saturday evening came and the decision was taken to make a drastic change, in for a penny and all that. With some great help and advice from Dan Jackson, some help from Mick and Steve Outhwaite and great info from Jez Newbury we arrived on Sunday morning with a little trepidation and anticipation.

All the starting issues, worries and concerns went out the window as the bike hooked up from the start and I finally (after around 15 race start attempts) managed to get into the first corner having held my position off the line!! I genuinely can't say how good it feels to have the monkey off my back! 

Best lap of the weekend was a 1.18.8 which I was over the moon with and if I'd have managed to string together my optimal lap we'd have been in the 17's

Roll on the off season where some modifications are planned and then onto 2021 to see what we can do now the bikes performing as it should.

Thank you to everyone who makes this possible, Held Rider Equipment,  EBC Brakes, deftcad castlegatehomes, xclusivevents and all my family and friends! 

A video of race 3.

Held Racer Report - Joe Sheldon-Shaw, National Superstock 1000

We're proud to have the charming young man that is Joe Sheldon-Shaw in Held leathers. Here's the race report from the Silverstone round of British Superbikes, from the man himself. Take it away, Joe!

So it’s been a rollercoaster of a weekend at round 3 of the BSB at Silversrone. The team had a few obstacles to overcome during FP1, FP2 and qualifying and I knew the races were going to be difficult. 

However in race 1 after starting in P29 I fought my way through to P17, which I was over the moon with. 

Race 2 was even better, starting in P20 and battling throughout the race for P14! Achieving championship points and my best finish in the superstock 1000 championship so far. I can’t wait to get to the next round now and be pushing for a top 10 finish! 

Thank you to all my team, family friends and sponsors for all your support. The protect my income GSXR1000 worked well with the help of Biturbo Suspension thank you for your help this year. 

Big shout out to all my sponsors!

Protectmyincome 

Held uk 

Athlone event catering 

Redline Trackdays ltd 

LS Racing

Maxfield Engineering

GB Racing 

Hi Fibre 

Fuchs Silkolene 

Biturbo Suspension

Joe wears Held leathers and gloves. For more information please visit www.held-uk.co.uk. Also hook up with us on Facebook, click here

What We Wear! The Held 'Safer SRX' Textile sport style jacket

 Our Stan gets out and about on his Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled and puts his Held gear through its paces! 

Stan's been wearing the Held 'Safer SRX' Textile Sport style jacket. Let's see how he's been getting on with it!

The more practical twin

There's a leather version of this jacket - the unsurprisingly called Held 'Safer' jacket. It goes with the 'Grind' leather pants. Now, the textile versions are the 'Safer SRX' and Grind 'SRX'.

I think it looks rather good, don't you?

Why textile versions of perfectly serviceable leathers? Personally, I thought this was an excellent idea. Full on Sporty looking clobber, with the benefits of textiles. Waterproof, windproof and breathable (when you use the supplied liner with it) and well over £100 cheaper for the jacket Vs the leather version. 

Yes, you even get the race 'hump' with it. It looks just like the leather version when you're riding, so if you're a sportsbike rider who would like the option to wear lightweight, vented gear in summer rather than a heavier leather jacket - yet have the option to pop in the liner to keep you dry then this could be the jacket for you. Match it with the Grind SRX pants and zip 'em together and you've got the complete outift!

Looks awesome too in black!

The Overview

It's stunning. A real head turner. And so are the Grind SRX pants that go with it. I've only worn the pants once though as during Summer I've been in Held's 'Jump' motorcycle urban trousers. 

You get a highly abrasion resistant fabric outer and a lovely breathable mesh inner lining, with a removable waterproof, windproof and breathable liner. There's two generous external pockets and a map/document pocket at the back. Inside, one of the pockets is for phones. 

There's a soft collar and stretch panels at the shoulders, elbows and under the arms, not to mention the inner arms. Comfort is a HUGE factor with this jacket. 

Protection wise you get the ultra-sporty external hard shell protection on the shoulders and elbows, it's double stitched and there's velcro for optional chest protectors. It's also double-stitched.

The Likes

• It goes beautifully with motorcycle jeans, namely the Held 'Jump' pants
• The Held In&Motion airbag e-vest clips in nicely
• The Held clip-in technology allows for all sorts to be clipped in so I can add thermal layers if I wish
• It looks bloomin' awesome
• It's super comfy

The Dislikes

• I honestly as yet have found nothing to moan about, even after hundreds of miles in it. This, for me, is unusual!

I'd recommend this jacket thoroughly, especially as it's under £290!

You can find out more about Held at www.held-uk.co.uk

What We Wear! The Held 'Alcatar' Adventure Helmet

 Our Stan gets out and about on his Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled and puts Held Gear through its paces. 

Stan's Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled

Today, we'll hear about how Stan's been getting on with his Held Alcatar Adventure Helmet:

3.5 Alcatars for one of your..

"There's a saying that 'the quality remains long after the price is forgotten' - which is how you justify big-ticket items; The initial 'sting' of forking out a lot of money eventually goes away but the quality product you've bought keeps on doing the job beautifully. This sounds like I'm breaking news that the Alcatar is expensive, well actually it isn't. It's under £140. What you'd expect to carry a big price tag doesn't, but you get a hell of a lot of bang for your buck with this helmet. Exceptionally good value for money.

In fact you can get 3.5 Alcatars for the price of a well known competitor's similar lid. I've worn both and in my opinion there really isn't anything in it when you compare them, especially if you consider what you're getting for your money! Let's take a look at the Alcatar, what I like and what I don't like about it. 

The Overview

For starters, it's a nice looking lid. More than a touch of the 'Master Chiefs' about it so first impressions for anyone with a certain style of bike would be good. Put it this way, it's perfectly suited to the Desert Sled, as it would be to the likes of the BMW GS, Triumph Tiger, Honda Africa Twin etc. It comes in a number of schemes, including Gloss black, Matt black, white & red, black, white & red or black and white. 

It's not any where near as heavy as I expected yet feels very robust. The cheek pads are washable which is a bonus with this helmet designed for mile munchers. It has a visor that doesn't interfere with the peak and a flip-down integral sun visor. The flip switch for the visor was a bit tricky but a squirt of WD40 sorted that out. I like the fact that when the sun visor is down you push a button on the side and the visor pings up out the way.. The main visor is Pinlock ready and you can if you wish get a dark tint version of this. 

If you're worried about changing / removing visors (Hands up who has broken side pods!) then don't be - the Held Alcatar scratchproof visor will come off with the help of a flathead screwdriver, very easy! The helmet is also very well vented too, at the chin and on top which allows a nice flow of air.

Likes

The style! check it out from the front:

The soft fabric interior for comfort over long miles

The price tag!

The fact the peak didn't cause my head to flip back at 60mph+! Held have the airflow correct

Dislikes

The fact I got a black one! My bike is white & red 😏

Integral sun visor system not quite as easy to operate as other Held helmets - but a bit of practice and a squirt of WD40 later and it's fine.

Final thoughts

It's a very decent lid at an absolute steal for under £140. All the features you get and the style for that price you can't go wrong."

You can see more about Held including our online Made to Measure configurator, full online catalogue, gear care tips, dealer locator and the history of the company by clicking here

What We Wear! The Held 'Classic Rider' goatskin gloves

Our Stan has been wearing these on his key worker commute. Let's see how he's getting on with them!

The Held 'Classic Rider' unlined goatskin gloves - under £50!

The background to getting them

I've been wanting some 'proper' Summer gloves now for years. Gloves that keep my hands cool and don't have long cuffs so I can throw them on and off with whatever I'm wearing. I've also been looking for gloves that will go with the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled and look great as well. Naturally I wanted them to fit 'like a glove should' from the word go and not break the bank. These little chaps have ticked all the boxes.

My commute is a mixture of 'A' and 'B' roads and my shifts are anything from 8am to 10pm so the gloves needed to offer some form of 'block' from chills before / after the day is warm. Enter the Held 'Classic Rider' gloves! 

Great fit, love the padding on the palm for extra protection

The features of the glove

Well used now! grubby and with the odd fly strike! 

Protection:

• Reinforced edge of hand and thumb
• EU certified 'protective gloves for motorcyclists'
• Extra padding on the palm

Fit/features:

• Perforated finger side walls
• Velcro cuff adjustment
• Special leather at fingertips which allows smartphone operation

Lining & Shell:

• Unlined palm
• lighweight lined back
• Goatskin (soft and supple)
• Colourfast and sweatproof
• Available in the creamy colour or black

How I've been getting on with them

The devil's in the detail - perfect stitching and very robust. Oozing quality

I got these for the reasons mentioned above - and they haven't disappointed. Maybe I should have gone for black as they're getting a bit grubby, but nah! I love this colour, they're different and go with the bike better. (Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled). 

They're basic unlined gloves, but the quality and the attention to detail is astounding. Especially for the sub-£50 price tag. They've moulded to my hands beautifully and feel so comfy to wear on the commute. My jacket cuffs don't get interfered with which adds to that 'jump on and ride' feeling I like to have this time of year. 

I still feel protected - the stitching is not going to give, the goatskin is super abrasion resistant and the gentle padding on the palm gives me confidence without compromising the 'feel' of the controls at all. They're not the warmest gloves at 730am or 1030pm, but you wouldn't expect unlined gloves to be! That said, they've offered enough 'block' from the chillier times of the day to do the job!

Looking for some Summer unlined gloves at a great price? The Held 'Classic Rider' could be just what you're looking for! 

Stan

Checkout the Held range, here