Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125814
by Ron Schneiders It wasn't too many years ago that a guy who wore a helmet when he wen t bashing around in the desert or racing was considered something of. a sissy. Motorcyclists were tough, by jingo! They were killed with startling regulari ty . Eventually came the realization that even the toughest of biker's heads came off second best in a 40 MPH coUision with a rock and now no one would dream of entering a race without helmet, and if he did, the promoter wouldn't let him on the starting line. Soon after the acceptance of helmets some brigh t souls realized that other parts of your body, while not quite as essential as the head, were equally vulnerable and so introduced other protective gear. Acceptance was slow in coming, just as with helmets. Three years ago a guy could get laugbed righ t out of a desert racing camp if he padded his knees ana elbows, but today, protective equipment is not only accepted but has become something of a status symbol. The theory seems to be that if you can't ride like the European superstars, you can at least look like them. So, in the naturaJ course of events I was assigned to survey the available equipment and pro\dde our readers with some sort of up-to-date guidelines. One of the first surprises that c'ame along was the sheer abundance of equipment. I contacted four outfits that I knew handled auxiliary gear and asked them to send me some samples for evaluation and photography. Three of them, Torsten Hallman, Jim Davis and Web co did - a total of over 40 separate items. I had told them that I wasn't interested in the basic stuff, leathers, boots, helmets and gloves, but in the extras: shoulder and knee guards, mouth protectors and chest guards. But it turned ou t that even such an obvious division wasn't all that dear cut. Sears-Roebuck also sells some gear that's used by cyclists, but it wasn't made for that purpose and Sears wasn't intelested in promoting it. There are four basic questions that a rider should ask himself when he is considering a piece of protective gear. The first (and least obvious) is "What kind of protection am I after?" If you're looking for protection from flying rocks and clods of dirt thrown up by inconsiderate knobbies you may need a different item than the fellow who's concerned about coming unglued at 50 per and hitting an immovable object like a rock or tree. The second question. "Is the item being considered comfortable enough to wear for the required length of time?" In some ins lances motocross riders who ride 20 or 30 minute motos will have quite different requirements than enduro riders who ride six or seven hours at a time. The third question is, of course, the price. Some kinds of protection come pretty dear. All the prices given in the article are distributors suggested retail, but the dealer can sell them for whatever he wants, so it may pay to shop around. The last questions are, "How well made is the item? Will it last for awhile? Is it designed so that it can't hurt you in the event of some accident other than the one it in tended to prevent?" FACE PROTECTION All three of the distrihutors offer an item designed to protect the lower face from flying rocks. They are all made of plastic. Two of them fasten to the helmet after snaps are installed on the helmet. The Webco item has elastic strap that go around the rider's head before the helmet goes on, which seems more inconvenient than the other two. It seems like any of the three will do an adequate job of protecting from flying rocks bu t the effect on the rider if he hit some thing substantial is very difficult to predict without running some substantial tests, which we have not done. Jim Davis' unit is made of a softer plastic than the other two, on the theory that if the rider hits something which is more than -the mouth gnard was designed. to handle, at least the guard itself won't hurt him. It appears that a sharp upward blow on anyone of the three of them might seriously damage a rider's nose, but on an experimental basis (punching it lightly while in place) 1 would rate the Jim Davis unit best and the Torsten Hallman, second, in this respect. None of the units could be called comfortable and I cannot see many long distance riders being able to wear them for hours Mike Burns models Jim Davis equipment: leg and elbow guards and chest protector. Center; Marv Le Blanc'is completely outfitted by Torsten Hallman in boots, leathers, kidney belt, jersey and elbow guards. Mark Schneiders models Jim Davis kid's protection equipment. INotyet available) WOOco hand protectors are shown on motorcycle handlebar's and Webco nylon face guard is mounted on Mike's helmet. at a stretch. For motocrossers, however, they seem quite tolerable. I rate the Hallman and Davis urlits equal in comfort, the Webco urlit sligh tly less comfortable. (It has a nxton trap inside that interferes with mouth movemen t and it presses against the nose.) In some area of protection the Webco is best, covering both chin and nose, Hallman is second covering only mouth and chin and Davis is third o'ffering protection only to mouth. The Hallman urlit sells for $5.20, the Davis for $4.95 and the Webco for $3.95. Webco also sells a nylon face guard similar to that worn by football players for $3.95. When the opening in the guard is closed with duct tape, this unit furnishes fair protection against flying rocks and excellent protection in crash situations. lts chief disadvantage is that it makes getting the helmet on and off a little more difficult, but it is unnoticeable when riding. It is judged the best available facial protection for most riders, short of a full coverage helmet. UPPER BODY PROTECTIONOnly Qne of the distributors Jim Davis offers anything for shoulder protection. He has a device which looks like a mismatch between a lady's corset and a football player's shoulder pads, but it is surprisingly comfortable. It has a VIrtually hmitless range of adjustments to fit any adult and offers padding for shoulders, upper back and forearms. Unlike the footballer's pads with many fiberglass plates, the Davis item has only two, covering the points of the .shoulders. The idea _is. that in a really violen t crash, plates could be tom loose and dig in to a rider's anatomy. Shoulder pads are most useful to riders who make a 'habit of going over the bars. While somewhat uncomfortable they are nowhere near as uncomfortable as a broken collar bone! S15.73 retail. The chest protector is the darling of the motocross set and each of the distributor's offers his own version. The most protection for the least money comes from Jim Davis whose unit is about $2 cheaper than the competition. The Davis unit utilizes more substantial covering material and thicker foam than either of the other two. The Hallman unit is the least substantial, using very ligh t weigh t covering material and very thin foam (1/8-inch thick or less.) The Webco unit is right in the middle. Of all th