Roadracing World – April 2019

If you can spring for it, cus-
tom leathers rock. You send your
measurements to a custom fab-
ricator, and they tailor a suit to
your body. This works for men
and women, and is a real bene-
fit to women, whose body shapes
vary more widely than men for any
given height and weight. Custom
leathers are usually more expen-
sive. The benefit is a suit that is
absolutely built for you. And that
also tends to give you a little more
incentive to keep up your fitness,
as the suit isn't going to adapt to
the changes created by a holiday
"I'll bet I CAN eat an entire pound
of fudge today" binge.
One more thing: When you
try on leathers, bring your back
protector and chest protector.
You're going to be wearing them
while riding on the track, and you
need a suit that fits you when you
are dressed for riding on the track.

`Body Armor: A back pro-
tector is required by most race
organizations for a reason. Back
injuries are brutal, and while
nothing is fool proof, high-quality
back protection from motorcycle
apparel manufacturers can help.
Look for CE Level 2 certification,
meaning that they will transmit
the least amount of force to the
rider's back.
Chest protection has become
popular in recent years, and again,
an easy way to get effective protec-
tion is to look for components that
meet CE Level 2 standards. The
FIM Grand Prix rules are very spe-
cific—a chest protector must meet
CE Level 2 standards and must
cover at least 230 centimeters
squared—about 35 square inches.
A word about the CE stan-
dards: Just because something
isn’t labeled as meeting CE stan-
dards doesn't necessarily mean
it failed testing. It can mean that
the manufacturer didn't seek CE
certification. Some smaller com-

panies forego the testing process,

which is expensive. What CE cer-

tification tells a consumer, is that

an independent lab tested the

product and found that it per-

formed well enough to meet the

particular standard. Essentially,

it's a quick and easy way for the

buyer to know that someone other

than the maker tested the product

and can vouch for its claims.

All-in-one protectors—inte-

grating back and chest protectors

with additional padding for other

regions of the abdomen—are very

easy to use at the track. Zip them

on at the beginning of the day and

don't even think about them again

until it's time to start packing up

and heading home.

`Boots: It's fascinating that

the rulebooks for high-level pro-

fessional motorcycle road racing

simply pay lip service to boots and

gloves. Both the MotoAmerica and

FIM Grand Prix rulebooks state

only that "riders must also wear

leather gloves and boots which

with the leather suit provide com-

plete coverage from the neck

down."

You'll want to do a

little better than that.

Look for boots with shin

protection, heel protection

and some kind of anti-an-

kle-twisting mechanism.

You only need your ankle

to move in the plane de-

scribed by your shin to

shift and brake. Quality

racing boots limit the

sideways movement

of the foot. You might

also want toe sliders.

Most riders won't need

them often, but it's bet-

ter to touch the pavement at

speed with a hard nylon, plastic,

or aluminum slider than it is to

touch it with the toe of your ex-

pensive leather boots!

Try the boots on with the

leathers you

plan to wear.

Make sure noth-

ing binds under the

boot. And yes, racing boots can

be uncomfortable while walking

around the pits or garage. Think

of them like ski boots—they're not

designed for comfort while walk-

ing. They're designed to protect

your feet when you crash at a high

rate of speed. Walking comfort is

not the deciding criteria for select-

ing a protective set of boots.

`Gloves: Again, your hands

deserve better than a simple lay-

er of leather between them and

the pavement. Modern technology

and design have resulted in gloves

that are heavily armored yet still

give you the flexibility and feel for

precision operation of the con-

trols. Looking back at what racing

gloves looked like when I started

sport riding, what we have now

really are works of functional art.

Look for protection on the

back of the knuckles, high-den-

sity foam or hard armor or both.

Most racing gloves come with

something like carbon fiber, poly-

urethane or even titanium on the

back of the hand.

The best gloves have extra

protection on the side of the hand

protecting the pinky finger, hard

armor at the base of the palm to

help protect the scaphoid bone,

and a wrist strap that keeps the

glove from flying off in a tumble.

Long gauntlets cover the gap to

the leathers and provide addition-

al protection, either dense foam or

hard armor or both.

Take care of your gloves—

clean them and treat them with

conditioner to keep them soft and

pliable. After the helmet and back

protector, the gloves are likely the

most important bit of safety gear

you have. Most of us make a liv-

ing with our hands, and you don't

know how valuable healthy hands

are until you have to shake hands

with someone after a big get-off

Don't mess around with your

safety gear. If something is torn,

get it repaired. A helmet shouldn't

be re-used after a crash unless

the manufacturer inspects it and

says it's OK. You can save money

by shopping closeouts at retailers.

Look for the replica helmet designs

linked to riders who have changed

helmet brands at the end of the

season; their old helmet designs

often go for a pretty big discount.

And once you own it, use it

on every ride. The best safety gear

on the planet won't save you if it's

in the closet when you crash.

Arai Corsair-X, in Bracket White Frost (left) and Viñales-3 graphics.

TCX RT-Race Pro Air boots (left) are ventilated with a supportive FFC

lacing system and dual-compound Michelin sole. Sidi Rex boots (right)

have an ankle support system and air vents than can open or close.

ARAI`

SIDI`

_TCX

CORTECH`

Cortech and Alpinestars gloves.

_ALPINESTARS

RW

44—Roadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019