It's that time of year again — the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the motorcycles are cautiously emerging from their winter dens. The past few years have seen a number of both long-standing and short-lived motorcycle shops relocate or close their doors for good. This cycle-shop-shuffle can leave motorcyclists, new and old, wondering where to get their fix. Thankfully Toronto's motorcycle community is flourishing and though the landscape has changed, there are still plenty of options to buy gear out there. Here's the skinny on where to get kitted-up in Toronto.Town Moto132 Ossington AvenueTown Moto, the latest addition to Toronto's gang of motorcycle shops, opened last week and offers a good selection of gear and apparel lines with a vintage cafe racer/rocker flare — no fluorescent tribal patterns or neon underlights here. Situated comfortably between the cafes, restaurants, bars and galleries of Lower Ossington, Town Moto is a great place to find jackets, gloves, helmets and boots by designers you won't find anywhere else in Toronto.

Aside from gear, vintage ephemera and some aftermarket parts, Town Moto also offers casual wear such as shirts, jeans, vests, bags and more. Just look for the 1976 Honda CB750 in the window. Motoretta554 College Street Since 2002 Motoretta has been the place to go for scooters and motorcycles with an emphasis on city driving and classic design rather than highway power. Along with new models from manufacturers including Vespa, Piaggio, Stella, Royal Enfield and Cleveland CycleWerks, Motoretta also carries an inventory of pre-owned machines and offers repair services to support them. While continuing to stock helmets and jackets, Motoretta's English countryside inspired selection of clothing and accessories has grown impressively to include designs by Fred Perry, The Hill-Side, Ben Sherman, Filson and more. Doc's Leathers726 Queen Street WestThose who venture down the rabbit hole that is Doc's Leathers will find themselves amidst a sea of jackets, helmets, boots, gloves, buckles, chaps, skulls, bones, masks, swords, leather, leather and more leather.

Doc's more than four decades spent buying and selling motorcycle gear have furnished this iconic Queen Street West store with the largest selection of used motorcycle gear in Toronto, perhaps in all of Ontario — clear your schedule. Whether shopping for new or used gear, taking a trip to Doc's rarely disappoints. Bring your bike and you may even end up on his Wall-O-Bikers. BMW Toronto Motorrad11 Sunlight Park RoadIf you didn't max out your budget purchasing a motorcycle, take a jaunt east of the DVP to BMW Toronto Motorrad to cover the rest of your needs. In addition to offering new and used BMW motorcycles, as one might expect, BMW Toronto Motorrad maintains a carefully selected collection of unique and high quality motorcycle gear. Featured manufacturer Belstaff has designed and produced jackets for such films as War of the Worlds, I Am Legend, Batman Begins, Blade Trinity, and The Aviator. If you're already geared up, BMW Toronto Motorrad also offers community events including off-road training, group rides, test rides and travel packages.

Studio Cycle Group2923 Dundas Street West Over the years Toronto's Junction area has played host to a number of notable motorcycle shops. Today, riders exploring Dundas Street West can head to Studio Cycle Group. Since 2009 Studio has been providing Torontonians with motorcycles, scooters, ATV's, accessories, gear, parts and service. The quiet English countryside is the last thing you'll be thinking of when browsing jackets, leathers, boots and gloves from popular brands such as Alpinestars, Icon, Nexosports and Joe Rocket. motorcycle shops in conroe txStudio Cycle Group also offers a large selection of helmets by most major brands — just remember the first rule of helmet shopping: you drop it, you buy it.motorcycle shops conroe texasIf you don't mind sweaty crowds and pushy product demonstrations, motorcycle shows can be a great one-stop-shop for bikes and gear. motorcycle valve stem hole size

With at least four motorcycle shows taking place in Toronto each year, most riders are going to find themselves attending at some point — and why not? Attendees can check out the newest models, vintage collections or just take advantage of show-only discounts and specials many retailers offer.Motorcycle Shops in the GTA and surroundingWriting and photo by Phil TuckerHere's When You Can Join A Biker Gang In GTA Online Grand Theft Auto V is still going strong, with the highly-anticipated Biker DLC set to arrive next week. brightest motorcycle helmetGet ready for some two-wheeled action on the crazy streets of Los Santos.motorcycle rides in peoria il It's kind of hard to believe, but Grand Theft Auto V came out in September of 2013, which means that the team at Rockstar have been pouring on extra content for a solid three years at this point. harley davidson for sale tulsa

From extra vehicles, guns and swag to brand new modes and more, the game has evolved quite a bit in these past few years. Starting next week, the evolution will continue with the introduction of Biker DLC. Set to launch on all platforms on Oct. 4, this new update will let you live out all of your bike-related fantasies, whether you're a Son of Anarchy or more of an Easy Rider type. Grand Theft Auto IV actually had a whole new piece of narrative content focused on a biker gang, but it looks like GTAV will tone things down a bit in those regards. motorcycle vinyl wrap cruiserYou won't be exploring the tale of a biker gang tearing up Los Santos and Blaine County so much as simply logging onto the game's online mode and creating adventures of your own. The Biker DLC will include new competitive and cooperative gameplay modes, all centered around your metal steed. As you might have guessed, a whole bunch of new bikes are included in this GTAV DLC, as well as new gear and weapons to help you take care of your various tasks.

When the DLC launches next Tuesday, players will be able to form a club/gang of eight members. From there, you'll actually be able to take on different roles within the group, creating a hierarchy of power. If you want to be promoted within your gang's ranks, you'll need to impress your gang's president. That's sure to create some friendly rivalry. Once you get a gang going, you'll have access to a special mechanic, as well as those new missions, facilities and the like. Sadly, we still don't know what types of new missions will be available or why it's so important that bikes be included on the jobs. If the Biker DLC is anything like previous updates to GTAV, though, we imagine it will all be a heck of a lot of fun. Our one request: Please give us a Road Rash mode. For those of you who are too young to remember, Road Rash was a series of games all about riding down the road on motorcycles, beating the stuffing out of your opponents on the fly. Races on bikes with the ability to attack your opponents would be great.