Crash Tested Gear

[Jcates888]

For those of us who want the best (or best affordable) protection in the event of a crash, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has grown frustrated in trying to interpret people's opinions and reviews in our search for the best quality gear. Therefore, I'm hoping to get people's responses here about what gear they were wearing during crashes they've had. If you could describe your speed and what type of crash you had, what gear you were wearing, and then describe (and/or post pics) of your gear after the crash I think that would be of a huge help to all who are looking for protective gear (especially in this Christmas season since prices are so much lower now than they will be in Spring).

I'm confident in my pants and jacket for now, but I won't start with any reviews since I fortunately haven't had to test any of my gear. Personally, I'm currently trying to find a good pair of vented riding gloves.

I look forward to the stories!

[KAT TOY]

cover yourself in leather. 80 mph across coarse asphalt on my back. no rash. leather survived to ride again.

[92xjunker]

+1 on that one

[yngveny]

Arai Condor. Lowside at about 40mph, saved my life for sure

[Sky]

Husband's leather was tested twice and it's still good !!! looks like shit but it's still good !!!

[KatanaGSX92]

Leather is the safest way to go. Take a look at MotoGP riders. They go down at over 100mph and generally without a scratch.

By the way, some of them wear leathers made from kangaroo hide which is very thin but stronger than cowhide.

[MrBrant]

Arai Condor. Lowside at about 40mph, saved my life for sure

And THAT's why you wear a full-face helmet!

[dano68]

cover yourself in leather. 80 mph across coarse asphalt on my back. no rash. leather survived to ride again.

+1 To that.

The gear you buy is ment to protect you. Buy quality gear(do not cheap out), do a little research and try stuff on. What fits me perfect may not fit you. My leathers and helmet are Joe Rocket, my boots and gloves are Altimate Gear(a Canadian company).

[Jcates888]

Aren't there a whole bunch of different types of leather though? And name brands, some of which I'm sure are less reliable than others?

[JamieKatana]

Hit a deer at about 40-50kph; my wife slammed into me, then we and the bike flipped over it (presumably). Since I had the heavier gear and the most scrapes, I assume that she was on my back as I slid on my front down the road.

Our helmets (no pics of those) were like the other one pictured above, maybe a bit more grinding. My wife's shield ended up coming off at some point.

[freight dog]

Spend the extra money on a good helmet. I went over the handlebars doing 35 mph on my Buell 1125R last spring when a lady started to pull out in front of me and I had to panic brake. My gear was a Shoei RF1100, Teknic Chicane leather jacket, Alpinestars boots, Shift kevlar lined jeans and Alpinestars GP+ gloves.

I came down head and palms first. The helmet had rash on the left front and marks on the right back from where the bike landed on me. The jacket has tire marks on the back and a small tear in the non leather breathing fabric on the left sleeve but is otherwise undamaged. The gloves are likewise mostly undamaged. I busted my right wrist, but the right glove shows no sign of damage at all other than a dented knuckle guard. The left glove has minor scuffs while my left hand just had some bruising. My jeans had holes on both hips and the right knee, but mostly the right pocket where my cell phone was. It was a crappy old flip phone, the screen was cracked but it continued to work.

My injuries; not a drop of blood until the surgery almost two weeks later to set my right wrist, I now have some nice stainless hardware in my wrist. Not even a headache from the impact. The worst was a broken right wrist, hairline fractures to the outer two metacarpals, and bruising into my upper torso from my right arm being jammed into it. I swore I had a broken collar bone from the pain but the x-rays only showed a tear to the AC ligament in my right shoulder. Deep breathing and coughing or sneezing were extremely painful for a couple weeks and I had bruises on both hips and thighs that made the motion of standing or sitting painful for a few days. Altogether pretty minor injuries. Without gear, I might have been killed or brain damaged from the head impact.

I always wore gear before, but now it is imperative and that $440 Shoei helmet was worth every penny. I ran right out and bought another one with the (only $250, the bastards) insurance money.

The gloves mostly did their job, but I would like to spring for some Knox Handroid gloves for that added protection. Everything else worked as advertised.

The jeans prevented any rash but I would like to see more kevlar coverage and some more wearable Knox armor.

I cannot recommend the leather Chicane jacket enough; I got the perforated version in white and it is the most wearable jacket for a hot summer day, and far more comfortable than the 2004 version I used before. I added a Knox back protector and this setup did its job despite my bike landing on top of me.



The damage to the bike was all superficial but ended up being around $3000. It took the stupid HD dealer over 6 months to assemble and r&r a few parts I could have done myself in less than half that time. It suffered scratched plastics front, left and tail, cracked front fairing stay, scratched left side engine covers, broken left peg, slightly bent left handlebar (those "unbreakable" ASV levers worked), and the left spool broke off taking a chunk of the swinger with it so a new swingarm. That ugly radiator pod did its job protecting the frame from any scratches, costing $65 instead of totaling the bike. Otherwise, the bike is 100% today.

Before the accident...



and after

[KAT TOY]

nice ride

[ZukiFred]

Lets see, my gear test, accident was running about 40 when I came to this dead tree lying across the road.

gear I had on that morning was Scorpion EXO500 helmet, Power Trip leather jacket, Joe Rocket gloves, jeans and Sidi Fusion Boots. Jacket would have been useable if EMS had not had to cut it off me, Jeans work as bad as jeans do (road rash on knees) boots just a little scuffed up, but still in good shape, and helmet saved my life!!




As for me I suffered multiple breaks in my left collar bone, shattered left shoulder blade, 7 broken ribs on left side bruised left lung bruised heart, slight road rash on both knees, and broken left fibula (leg).
New shoulder hardware:


I hope this helps with you decision on if or what gear to wear.

[freight dog]

Ouch! compelling argument for shelling out for an airbag jacket.

[Spyderturbo007]

I wonder if those things actually work....