Australasian Dirt Bike — September 2017

http://www.adbmag.com.au SEPTEMBER 2017 | 137

FACTORY RIDE / READERS RIDE / HERITAGE / ACTION / OAS / BUYERS GUIDE

LEATT CHEST

PROTECTIOR 4.5 PRO

LEATT IS A BRAND that

needs no introduction when

it comes to safety gear for

riders, so I welcomed the

chance to review Leatt’s

Chest Protector 4.5 Pro

body armour.

The Leatt range is

extensive and the 4.5 Pro

slots in towards the upper

end of the line-up, being a

full armour system that

includes chest, back and

shoulder protection. It

combines both traditional

hard-shell elements with

Leatt’s newer 3DF AirFit

ventilated soft-impact foam

pieces that transform into a

hard, energy-absorbing

substance in a crash.

Like any Leatt product,

the 4.5 Pro is a quality piece

of kit, with hard-shell chest,

back and shoulder

protectors, all CE tested and

certifi ed, and certainly

looking like they would cope

with serious hits, whether

it’s roost from other bikes or

heavier belts when you bite

the dirt.

Meantime the 3DF foam

pieces feel comfortable

against your body and

there’s a feast of

adjustability via Velcro

straps that allow you to

raise/lower the front and

back protectors to fi t your

torso perfectly, while the

shoulder cup positioning

can be adjusted via buckle

fastening straps.

The ventilated chest and

back protectors have

articulated multi-plates, with

the back protector offering

extensive coverage that is

boosted by the body-belt-

like lower fastening straps,

which are quite deep and

offer added protection of

GET IT HERE

BILL

$269.95

BROWSER

cassons.com.au

BLOWER

(02) 8882 1900

WHEN WE SWITCHEDfromaToyotaHiLux

toaMitsubishiTritonatwork,wewerein

searchofalittlemorepower.The3.0-litre

dieselHiLuxproducedbetterbottom-endfor

hauling bikes than the 2.5-litre Triton.

TheTritoncangetmovingbutyouneedto

be in the turbo and, when loaded up driving

from Sydney to Melbourne, it struggled to hold

110km/hinsixthgear.TheTritonalso

struggledwhentryingtolaunchintosmall

gaps while chopping traffic.

Notanymore.DPChiphadasimplesolution

viaanelectronictuningdevicethatyousimply

plug straight into the wiring.

It’slikeaVortexIgnitionforyourbike.For

justshyof1500bigonesyougetanelectronic

dieseltuningdevicetunedtosuityourmake

andmodel,anOEM-styleharnesswith

cable-tiestoattachtheDPChipandallthe

necessary paperwork like instructions,

warranty (which is six years) and manual.

We noticed the gains immediately,

especiallythelackofturbolag.DPChipclaims

itsproducthelpstheTritonproduce147kW,as

opposedto131kWinstandardtrim,andtorque

of 440Nm instead of 400.

There is still a little hesitation right off the

bottom if you’re not riding the clutch but at

least now the Triton can merge with traffi c at

the right speed. It’s stronger through the

middle and, more importantly, we can leave it

in sixth on that

dreaded Hume run.

We’re keen to get a

trailer behind it and

do more fuel

consumption testing,

so stay tuned.

Editor Mitch Lees

DP CHIP

ELECTRONIC

DIESEL TUNING

Just

Landed

MAIN. Our hero is protected from

damage without lots of bulk

your ribs and sides. If you

wear a Leatt neckbrace,

you’ll appreciate the fact

the 4.5 Pro has removable

front and rear plates that

make it compatible with the

’brace.

Two sizes are available,

Adult and Adult 2XL, with

the Adult perfect for my

rippling torso (!) and after

using all the adjustability on

offer, the 4.5 Pro fi ts me

like a glove and I’m ready to

take on the big hits – just

not too soon, hopefully ...

Clubby

GET IT HERE

BILL

$1495

BROWSER

dpchip.com

BLOWER

(02) 4877 1022