51 Motorcycle Body Armour
Description
This article is from the Australia Motorcycles FAQ, by Cameron Simpson cs@zip.com.au with numerous contributions by others.
51 Motorcycle Body Armour
Back Protectors
An armadillo-shell of tough, impact-resistant plastic backed
by foam to prevent edges cutting you if you crash. Usually
held on by either a kidney belt or shoulder straps, it can
also be incorporated into a string vest-like affair, with
similar armour for other vulnerable areas like elbows and
shoulders, or a full suit of similar material with knee
protection as well.
Foam Padding
As mentioned in Section 2.2, for any foam to be useful in impact
absorption it must be of the closed-cell, high- density type. You can
check this just by grabbing the foam between thumb and forefinger and
squeezing -- if it feels soft like foam rubber then it's no good; you
may as well have nothing. Proper high-density foam should feel almost
hard, but be slightly resilient. You shouldn't be able to bring your
thumb and forefinger together through the foam.
Padding can be bought and installed after your jacket/leathers -- one
approach is to use velcro sewn inside the jacket and glued to the
padding, which is better than using metal pop-studs that could damage
you in the case of an accident.
Padding can be bought to cover shoulders, elbows and knees. [ Back
humps? lower backs? chest? groin? bum? I don't know yet...] Brands
range in price from ${low} to ${high}.
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