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Motorcycle helmets and innovation are three words I would not often put together in a sentence – at least, not in an affirmative use. This is because the motorcycle industry is incredibly slow to change, and furthering that regard, helmet manufacturers are at the pinnacle of resistance when it comes to technological progress.

For proof of this, look no further than the modern motorcycle helmet design, which has gone unchanged for over 50 years, and still offers the same basic concept: a hard exterior shell made from plastic or composites, a layer of styrofoam for impact absorption, and a comfort layer for the rider’s head.

In the same duration that motorcycle helmets have remained static in design, we have seen man walk on the moon; the proliferation of personal computers, the internet, and smartphones; and even the Boston Red Sox have overcome the Curse of the Bambino and become World Series champions, not once, but four times.

But yet, we have continued to build helmets the same tired way.

This isn’t because motorcycle helmets have reached some sort of peak design. Instead, this stagnation comes primarily from two factors: first, there is no driving force pushing for increased motorcycle helmet safety and effectiveness (sorry, hardline free market economists); and second, it is incredibly cheap to make a motorcycle helmets in their current forms.

There is however, a day coming when the motorcycle industry will have to reckon with a sea change regarding what goes on our heads when we ride a motorcycle, and that day is coming sooner rather than later.

This next, next big thing in motorcycle helmet technology is the implementation rotational energy mitigation designs and devices, of which at the forefront is the Swedish brand MIPS.

It is a move that has been rumored for almost a decade, and now Icon Motorsports is finally ready to get into the race track scene, debuting this week its first purpose-built leather racing suit.

Keeping with Icon’s position of creating affordable motorcycle gear, the Icon Hypersport suit is your basic leather suit, with pricing to match.

For $895, you get a 1.1mm to 1.3mm thick cow leather suit with integrated D3O impact protectors at the shoulders, elbows, back, hip, and knee.

Owners of ICON Alliance and ICON Alliance GT helmets should take note that the apparel designer has recalled a batch of the street bike helmets because of issues with its D-ring closure and retention system.

The specific pieces being recalled are the Alliance “Dark” helmets manufactured from January 2017 through July 2017, as well as the Alliance GT “Horror” and “Rubatone” helmets manufactured from March 2017 through July 2017.

The long-awaited Episode 5 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is now up for your listening pleasure. Apologies for it taking so long, but I had to celebrate another rotation around the sun, which sort of got in the way of editing the show this past weekend.

We think you’ll find this episode worth the wait though, and I personally think it’s our best show yet (there’s only five of them though, so I guess that statement has a fairly low bar to beat).

In the show we talk about the Yamaha R1S, the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, Nicky Hayden going to World Superbike, riding the Aprilia RSV4 RR, and trying out the new Icon Airframe Pro Carbon helmet.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Cheers!

Your favorite squid-biking / StuntLife apparel brand is expanding from its hooligan roots into the adventure-touring market, as ICON announced its Raiden line of clothing this past weekend at Portland’ One Motorcycle Show.

The Raiden brand extension is just the latest expansion from ICON, which has already pushed into the café hipster crowd with its ICON 1000 line of clothing, with much success.

While the Raiden line’s bright colors and designs will likely attract a younger demographic, it is just one of many steps that ICON is going through in order to breakaway from its “squid gear” reputation and cast a wider net on the two-wheeled demographic.

As with every international press launch from Ducati, there comes a bevy of photos from the Italian company’s latest machines — the Ducati Scrambler is no different.

If you didn’t read our review of the Ducati Scrambler, the tl;dr version boils down to the budget-minded machine being a good, though perhaps uninspiring, motorcycle for the money. However, just as important as the motorcycle is Ducati’s focus with the Scrambler Ducati brand, which is clearly aimed at catering to the “younger” hipster crowd…perhaps to a fault.

The key of course is the price, which starts at $8,500 for the red Scrambler Icon ($8,600 for the yellow model we tested), and goes on up to just below $10,000 for the Full Throttle, Classic, and Urban Enduro models.

The clear winner in the “scrambler” segment, if there is such a thing from the OEMs, the real trick with the Ducati Scrambler however will be with the Italian company’s marketing efforts, which we have already discussed ad nauseum.

Today, we are just here to show you some of the gorgeous photos that came about from Ducati’s recent trip to Palm Springs, and the press launch which is still actually underway at the time of this writing.

You will note that we have included the aftermarket and apparel photos, something we usually omit for these mega gallery postings. We figured they were just as integral to the bike’s look/image/aesthetic as the machine itself. You’ll also note there are photos from the press launch as well, to give you an idea of the event and a look behind the scenes.

Over 220 high-resolution photos await you after the jump. Enjoy!

The Ducati Scrambler is the bike from Bologna for 2015. Loyal Ducatisti might be more excited by the upgraded Ducati 1299 Panigale, or the all-new Ducati Multistrada 1200, but in terms of company growth and the future of the Italian brand, the Ducati Scrambler takes center stage.

With four waves of 30+ journalists coming to Palm Springs for the international press launch, it’s clear that Ducati is casting a wide net with the Scrambler, especially with the number of non-industry publications present.

The term “lifestyle brand” is often a four-letter word in the motorcycle industry, of course ignoring the obvious that all of motorcycling is a lifestyle choice in the first world, but nonetheless the term has been used liberally with Ducati and the company’s racing heritage.

That being said, the Ducati Scrambler is perhaps the most lifestyle-focused motorcycle ever to come from Bologna — so much so, Ducati made the Scrambler its own brand even.

This is an important element, as on its own merits the Ducati Scrambler is a great back-to-basics motorcycle for the Ducati line, and at $8,600 for the Icon model, it makes for a killer entry point model for any rider into the Ducati brand.

Having enough thrust to appease your motolust, the Ducati Scrambler Icon, as we tested it, is true to the basic Ducati performance heritage, and it fills Ducati’s need for a budget commuter, off-road scrambler, and just “fun” second bike. But there is another component to the Scrambler that gets lost in translation, depending on what sub-genre of two-wheeled freedom you hail from.

The INTERMOT is in full-swing in Cologne, which means that Ducati is ready to drop its new Scrambler model on the world. A highly marketed machine, which has drawn attention from Ducati’s 1299 superbike and new Multistrada, the Ducati Scrambler is another brand extension for the Italian company.

A further foray into the off-road world, as well as a strong offering for new riders, the 2015 Ducati Scrambler Icon in red is priced at $8,495 — making it the cheapest model in the Ducati lineup. The rest of the range is priced as follows: Icon Yellow $8,595, Full Throttle $9,995, Urban Enduro $9,995, & Classic $9,995.

The 2015 Ducati Scrambler comes in four models, which use the company’s 803cc air-cooled v-twin engine design, that is borrowed from the Monster 796. Power thus comes out at 75hp, with peak torque being 50 lbs•ft, but the focus on the Scrambler is really more about the aesthetic of the bike and experience on the machine.

Icon might not be the first brand you think of when you talk about road racing apparel, but the Oregonian company is certainly trying to evolve from its Stunt Life roots, into other aspects of two-wheeled culture.

Pushing into the more lifestyle, adventure, and sport segments of the industry, we have already seen Icon’s penchant for concept bikes, which I can atest haven’t really resonated with our sport-bike focused readers. I think today will be a little different though.

Teaming up with Kawasaki, Icon has built what it calls the Kawasaki ZX3-RR concept. Based off the Kawasaki Ninja 300, the Kawasaki ZX3-RR sees new bodywork and a slew of performance parts added to make a spec-series cup bike for young riders. It looks the business.

Oregon’s favorite motorcycle apparel brand has a custom motorcycle build for the holidays, the Icon 1000 “Iron Lung” Sportster. An homage to the bikes that Harley-Davidson used to build in the 1970’s, you know when the Bar & Shield brand did real racing, and was fairly good at it too.

Based around a 1991 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 engine, the Iron Lung sees its lump bored out to 1,200cc, with a Supertrapp exhaust helping things breathe a bit better as well. The front-end has been lowered and widened with wide-glide forks and custom triple clamp. Similarly, the rear features a custom subframe with Progressive 970 shocks.

To make Iron Lung work visually, Icon widened the fairings, which gives the machine a bulldog like stance: low and wide. Fitted with the company’s own variety of Portlandian hipster chic, the Iron Lung sports paint by Garage 31 and a custom seat by New Church Moto — two local outfits in Portland, Oregon.

The design isn’t really our usual fare here at Asphalt & Rubber, but you have to appreciate the honesty in Icon’s retelling of the Iron Lung’s performance assessment:

“Once completed, we headed down to an oval in Southern Oregon and kicked ‘er in the guts to be featured along side of our Spring 2014 ICON 1000 apparel collection – coming soon. Her handling was as questionable as the grandstand snacks, but she bore the brunt of torture with aplomb. It wouldn’t be an ICON 1000 bike without a true trial by fire. In Iron Lung’s case this was literal as she burst into flame after her initial shakedown run just a few weeks prior.”

We find that worryingly appealing. Party on boys and girls.

J.D. Power and Associates have released their 2011 Helmet Satisfaction Study, and the results are pretty interesting. The study takes an 11-point approach on helmet satisfaction, having helmet purchasers rank their lid on the following attributes: quietness; ventilation/air flow; de-fogging performance; face shield effectiveness of keeping wind out; face shield resistance to scratching; ease of replacing face shield; scratch resistance of shell; color/graphic design; weight; ease of fastening the strap; and fit and comfort.

Perhaps unsurprising to many, Arai topped the list as having the highest rating (this makes the 13th year in a row for the Japanese helmet manufacturer), but this year will carry an asterisk, as Icon tied Arai in customer satisfaction with a score of 852 out of 1,000. According to JDPA, Arai’s scores across all 11 attributes were strong, with a particular strength in “fit & comfort” and “face shield effectiveness of keeping wind out”. Similarly, Icon scored especially well in “color/graphic design”, while Shoei got strong marks for “ease of replacing the face shield”.