Airbags

Upper Body Protection, Keeping Motorcyclists Safe

Protective clothing is an integral part of every motorcyclist’s riding kit. This fact is not due to excessive legislation. Instead, it’s thanks to technological advances that make body protection clothing easy to wear.

Gone are the days of looking like an American football player. Thankfully, today’s motorcycle body protection features high-tech fibres lighter than steel yet twice as strong.

Also, shock-absorbing padding is thinner and lighter than ever before. The result is discreet body protection clothing that moves with the rider.

Body protectors are available pre-fitted into motorcycle jackets. However, protection systems built into lightweight garments are suitable to wear under non-armored jackets. This added degree of flexibility provides protection regardless of clothing choice.

Who Wears Body Protectors?

Like most motorcycle innovations, the racetracks of Europe have provided invaluable R&D. This fact is never more so than for safety gear. The late great Barry Sheene was the first pro racer to wear a back protector. This trend is one that has saved countless numbers of street riders.

Whether on dirt or track, body armour is compulsory for competition use. For road riders, though, the sole mandatory item of safety gear is the motorcycle helmet. So while this makes wearing body protection a personal choice it’s a wise decision.

Materials

In general, body protectors cover the top half of the torso. The areas they protect include the kidneys and chest as well as the shoulder and elbows.

Thanks to innovative materials, it is possible to attach body armour to a vest, long-sleeved shell or as a jointed exoskeleton.

The key to body protection is flexibility. Here, features like removable sleeves and mesh jackets are adaptable regardless of weather conditions or climate.

Manufacturers often refer to the jacket/vest part of the protector as the chassis.

Their anatomical shape allows for a close fit, which permits the body armour to remain in place on the key impact areas.

Using nylon-based elasticated mesh is common. However, some manufacturers offer the body protector chassis as a compression style garment. The light compressive action can reduce muscle fatigue, which is great news whatever your riding style.

Safety Standards Explained

Most body protectors will list integral body armour as CE rated. This classification is a European safety standard. It means the garment has passed set performance levels for personal protective clothing.

There are, though, several different configurations and here are five examples:

CE EN1621-2:2014 Level 1: This classification is for back protectors only. Level 1 protection means the body armour has a maximum transmitted force below 18kN

CE EN1621-2:2014 Level 2: This classification also relates to back protection only. Yet, this time the maximum transmitted force must be below 9kN, meaning the level 2 protector provides greater protection

CE EN1621-1:2012 Level 1 and 2: Body armour with this label is designated as undergoing testing for use on the arms and legs. Levels 1 and 2 are as above

CE EN1621-3:2012 Level 1 and 2: This designation means the item has undergone testing for use on the chest. It has the same maximum transmitted force levels as above

CE EN1621-4:2013: This code is specifically for airbags

Motorcycle Airbags

Finally, we come to what most people see as the ultimate body protection; the motorcycle airbag.

XLMOTO offers a selection of airbag vests and jackets in various makes and models. Plus, miniature gas bottle spares in case of airbag activation.

Rather than using separate pieces of body armour, the motorcycle airbag provides impact protection for the chest, neck, back and coccyx. These areas inflate 60-80 milliseconds after activation, providing the rider or pillion with the ultimate protection.

Whichever type of motorcycle body protection system you are looking for, you will find it amongst XLMOTOs impressive selection.