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Author Topic: Gear that survived, failed, blew up, protected you, etc. etc.  (Read 96612 times)
Skybarney
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« Reply #60 on: May 30, 2013, 06:51:32 AM »

So my buddy that recently went down was a typical cruiser type of guy.  Half helmet, hiking boots, blue jeans and a poorly fitted jacket.  When I started to go on rides with him I demanded he get some gear.  He also works for me so I was concerned about his safety.  Due to him not being wealthy he settled out for my older Vemar Full Face helmet, a set of BILT (Cycle Gear Crap) riding pants and jacket, some Bilt boots, Alpinstars, short carbon gloves and a BMW back protector.

Well I just got a look at the gear from him being hit and going down at 30mph.  All I can say is thank goodness he was not going faster.  The Bilt mesh pants tore and melted through on one knee and the seat ripped in a spot.  All in all he only had two small raspberries from that.  The jacket left him with a minor scrape on his chest (almost a cut) and a raspberry on his elbow.  It did not tear but has stitching gone on the back and it likely would have come apart at the seams were he going any faster.

His foot was hurt pretty badly despite the boots but at least they are still useable.

As I thought the BILT stuff was crap.  It was better than nothing but not by much.  Oh and the helmet?  The entire front of it is destroyed as it appears he face surfed to a stop.  Long live good helmets!

He won't be buying Bilt again.  Although it does look like he is going to buy a used ST4  waytogo

Bilt "Expedition" riding suit.  He got it at half off and definitely got his moneys worth.  At 35mph the gear is toast but at least by the time he went through it all he got were a couple of small raspberries.  Not impressed witht he gear at all.

« Last Edit: June 03, 2013, 07:11:16 AM by Skybarney » Logged

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showerfan
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« Reply #61 on: July 27, 2013, 11:26:39 PM »

i learned that ARMOR is very important! as is PLACEMENT.  Dolph

a drugged-up felon in a pick-up truck t-boned me on my new panigale and put me in the hospital for a few weeks and three surgeries boo but i was still VERY LUCKY to be alive, and with all of my limbs waytogo. here's the gear i wore and what the doctors told me after i came through it all and finally got down off of the very high dilauded mountain i climbed on the inside.

1. Schuberth S2 helmet totally saved my life, or at least my face. i broke the perp's windshield with the chinbar of the helmet, but only sustained one scratch to my cheek. literally thinking, ``thank god i bought this expensive helmet,'' as i hit the front left panel of the truck. oh, and by the way, Schuberth is only charging me 25% for a replacement. that's a 750$ helmet. you do the math.

2. Alpinestars GP-R leather jacket with CHEST PROTECTOR -- docs said my chest protector likely saved me some serious lung pain as they often see a total collapse in these situations. i'm glad i had them in. jacket was totally unscathed with the exception of some scratches on the external shoulder armor.

3. Alpinestars GP-Pro gloves. saved my hand -- the left glove's external armor was smashed, my own personal left knuckles were so swollen i couldn't take off my signet ring (had it on wedding-ring finger), but otherwise my hands were cool. wrists fcuking hurt for a few weeks. but i was happy no surgery there.

4. rev'it track pants. the surgeon told me that, had i not been wearing these leathers with full armor, i would likely have lost my left leg on the street. either that or he would have taken it in the OR. the engine of my 1199 pinned my leg to the truck -- as it is, i suffered a severe brake to my tibial plateau from the torsion. the entire trauma team was genuinely impressed with the technicality and protection of rev'it's knee and shin armor. plus, since i'm 6'3'', or a full foot taller than most italians, i'm so thankful that rev'it makes a ``tall'' version of their perforated track pants, unlike A* and Dainese, which only make good leathers for hobbit-sized humans.

5. Alpinestars SMX-Plus boots. the ones i got 10 years ago for my first-ever bike. for some reason i left my new Dainese Axial Pro's (which i may genuinely be in love with) at home that day. but guess what? the decade-old A* boots completely saved my lower leg and foot -- and they took a massive impact. i was totally shocked and they are completely in one piece and still wearable. i can't decide whether to use them again when i get back on a bike (multi pike's peak on order, monster in the shop getting new brake master cylinders and discs) or put them on the mantle. need to write A* a thank-you note too.

wear all your gear all the time, these days when i see some monkey riding around in jeans and a t-shirt it just makes me sick... i cannot wait to get back on a bike and ride it like i stole it, but i don't really want to die or lose limbs. drink

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« Reply #62 on: April 01, 2014, 11:10:29 PM »

I came off at the track at about 130mph on Friday.

I was really working on getting more drive off the big corner onto the back straight and was heading for a PB time against a track I have been fighting with for 16 years. It is a technical track in my state called Broadford in Australia. With my extra speed onto the back straight I came upon a group of slower riders, got baulked, clipped one and somehow highsided/flipped my Gixxer 750. That's what I was told as I don't remember. The bike was hardly damaged in one of those freaky situations when it ghosts along, but I tumbled into the midfield for 100-150 meters or so I was told. The collarbone only hurts when I cough or sneeze (or laugh  laughingdp ouch), but my torso feels like I got a kickin' in the pub car park! Evil I have crashed racing before and always walked away, fixed the bike and went in the next race, but not this time.

Shit, one handed typing is annoying! bang head

Although I have many broken ribs and a broken collarbone, it would have been worse without the right gear. My vertebrae are bruised, not broken thanks to the Dainese BAP back protector and my whole shoulder isn't smashed to bits due to shoulder armour even though I face planted at speed. I was KOed for 30-60 mins but no bleeding on the brain (no I don't have an ABI, just a bad temper) Grin.

Helmet got some big hits and did it's job (Nitro, not an expensive brand), Dianese suit is beat up bad, gloves (Roost) were toast, boots (Astars) hardly a scratch which shows how I landed Grin

The surgeons were amazed, but appreciative of the technology I was wearing once I explained it. They were very impressed with the body armour and spine protection (the suit was under my hospital bed) and thought my gear must be the latest and greatest. The truth is it's not and the medicos were shocked to know that such gear has been available since the 90s. My D suit was my race suit from 1998, but cutting edge back then.
The medicos were perplexed why so many riders come in smashed up not wearing anything but a helmet, jeans, sneakers, and maybe gloves. I wear all the gear on the street, the main difference being all the armour is under Kevlar jeans and a jacket. All the armour.

Sorry to preach, but I turned 50 last month and if I had an old fart smiley at my disposal I would use it! Grin Wear gear young 'uns!
Cant wait to get back on my bikes!
Wear protective gear young 'uns! Grin
« Last Edit: April 26, 2014, 01:56:03 PM by koko64 » Logged

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« Reply #63 on: April 02, 2014, 05:50:31 AM »

Glad to hear you're alright, sounds like you're a lucky dude  chug
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« Reply #64 on: April 02, 2014, 12:35:08 PM »

Thanks.

I know the track well and have had most of my crashes there while racing. It's a tricky place to pass and a tricky place to improve your times.

Risk management in our sport involves wearing the correct gear, because it's dangerous. there's fear, and there's caution. So many people say we are crazy to ride, but the subtext is that they would like to but are too scared.  Real Men, and Magnificent Women, ride motorcycles. Evil

It was part good luck, part bad luck and mostly human error. Human error on my side because I failed to cleanly get through the slower riders, and their error because they were not in a slower graded group and probably didn't notice/obey the blue flag. Many riders unfortunately enter themselves in a group one level higher than they should and pose a hazard. My closing speeds on slower riders were higher than usual that day because of the better drive off the turn I was working on. It made a bad situation worse.

Pardon me, I'm a bit preachy due to the medication Grin

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« Reply #65 on: July 06, 2014, 12:41:44 AM »

Should have done this last week.
Went down at about 45 MPH, bike fell on top of me and we both skidded for about 30'

Icon Mainframe helmet

It did its job, and did it well.

Joe Rocket Corona textile jacket

Failed!
It shredded, and the shoulder pad moved far enough that I rashed about a 4x5" piece of my shoulder.

Sliders kevlar jeans.
No photo, but they passed, sort of. They didn't shred through, but I rashed about a 2x3" of my right knee anyway. Not bad for 30' with a monster on top grinding it into the pavement. Knee pads would've helped. Oh well, next time.

Fieldsheer gloves.
Passed. Minor rip in the palm of the right glove, but didn't go through, and no injury was sustained.

I wear (wore) a joe rocket textile jacket, im just gonna have to leave it in the closet from now on. Seriously though, thank you for the post  bow down bow down bow down
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08 M695
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« Reply #66 on: August 07, 2014, 10:30:48 AM »

Tourmaster Coaster Waterproof boots = the suck.

Points for design and comfort = 5 out of 5
Points for durability = -5 out of 5.

They have armor, but look mostly like normal boots.  The sole is very thick, but is made out of something claimed to be vulcanized rubber with all the durability of swiss cheese. 

the sole on the left boot began failing in a week, and after a month has a giant piece missing and a crack along the ball of foot bend line.
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« Reply #67 on: August 08, 2014, 05:10:08 AM »

the sole on the left boot began failing in a week, and after a month has a giant piece missing and a crack along the ball of foot bend line.

Just from a quick google image search, they look like they might have a decent welt. If you like the way they fit and look, might be worth having them resoled. Any cobbler worth his salt should be able to put a decent sole on them.

Then again, depending on how much they've pissed you off by that point, that could just be throwing good money after bad.
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Dirty Duc
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« Reply #68 on: August 08, 2014, 06:25:59 AM »

That is my plan. Although I will likely lose some of the height (which turned out to be nice on the tall kid bike).

There appears to be a decent boot there, but most people aren't into modding their gear that soon after purchase.
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« Reply #69 on: September 02, 2014, 01:02:21 PM »

And Tourmaster warrantied the boots.  Time will tell if this was a manufacturing defect or a design defect.
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« Reply #70 on: September 24, 2014, 09:00:36 AM »

The new pair is somewhat redesigned, and no longer includes the ankle armor the first pair had. They also do not creak at all, and the sole appears to be made of a slightly different rubber compound.
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« Reply #71 on: September 24, 2014, 02:05:12 PM »

I was rocketing down a two lane road and saw a vulture picking at a animal's corpse in the other lane ahead of me. When I was 50 meters away, it looked up in my direction. Just as I passed it, the shit decided to spread it's wings... and flew right in front of me. I was going 60 to 80 mph and ran my shoulder into it... thanks to the pads it felt like I was tackling a guy when playing football.  No dislocated shoulder and no stability issues... so my Cortech GX Sport Air 3.0 Mesh Jacket came out unscathed as well.
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Triple J
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« Reply #72 on: May 28, 2015, 08:56:42 AM »

This has been a quiet thread for a while, so here you all go...file this under gear that survived (thankfully).

WMRRA Round 1 a few weeks ago I crashed in a bit of an odd place...heading down the hill into T3. We crest the hill on the big bikes doing about 135 mph or so, so I figure I went down at around 120 mph or so. I'm not positive what happened, but I think I was unknowingly carrying a small wheelie over the crest of the hill (not uncommon). While doing this I slid my butt over to the right to set-up for T3 and I think I tapped my brake. This likely completely stopped the wheel, and when it set back down it immediately jolted the bars to full lock, and chaos ensued. I was slammed down on the left side...technically a low-side, but not gentle in any manner. No video unfortunately as my camera (which was safety wired) was jettisoned into the weeds somewhere.

Photo: The skid is my front tire (likely at full left lock), the bulb at the end is where I was introduced to the pavement. The horizontal arrow is where my RSV4 bounced off of the berm and shot across the track. The vertical arrow is where I finally stopped sliding. For those wondering, my slide distance was somewhere between 300' and 320'...mostly on my stomach.



I don't have any gear photos, but here's a summary:

Bell Star helmet - fine, as I didn't hit my head (amazing).

Z Custom leathers - 3 small tears on my right thigh (over the pads), small hole near on the right abdomen, tears through the left elbow (only through first layer of leather, not through both). This was my 4th crash in these and the 1st that required a repair. Total repair cost $225 shipped. THIS is why you buy quality leathers, made somewhere you can trust the QC process and materials. I remember picking up my forearms as I slid because they were getting hot (kind of like the lizards changing feet on the sand  laughingdp). No road rash, at all. These are full custom, only cost $1,600, and were/are made in the US (Huntington Beach, CA). This is their 3rd season.

Daytona boots (EVO Sport) - Left boot outer has a hole in the top but otherwise OK. Passed tech. inspection. No ankle/foot injuries. I've long thought these are the best boots made, and they keep on delivering. This is my 5th season wearing them, and they're on their second set of soles.

Helimot Gloves (B-11 model) - Damaged, but no holes, and I wore them last weekend in a race. Again, quality gear from a reputable place (made in Fremont, CA). My hands were getting hot as well during the slide, but no holes or blown seams. Fancy sliders, titanium inserts, etc are nice. Quality construction and materials are better.

Forcefield pads (padded shorts, chest protector, back protector, shoulders in the suit) - Forcefield is the best padding made IMO. I'm sure I would have broken ribs without the chest protector, but just bruised them (still sucks); in all of my crashes I've never had sore hips - not even a little; shoulder was a little sore, but was fine after a day and no broken collarbone (amazing). Basically I was a little sore for a few days, but was OK enough to race in an endurance race 4 weeks later.

Bike right after, and as it sits now - bent forks, bent triples, destroyed all left hand controls, dent in frame and swingarm, broken airbox, broken left air ram tube, destroyed fairing. Right hand side looks perfect though...funny.





Pre-crash photo the day before...sad to damage the Ape.  :'(

« Last Edit: May 28, 2015, 09:06:32 AM by Triple J » Logged
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