The importance of wearing motorcycle clothing

For reasons that will become clear quickly, my colleague is choosing to remain anonymous (it most definitely is NOT me - I could never ever fit into those leathers!) He rides in all weathers and was luckily wearing all protective kit - if he wasn't, this would be a very different blog right now. This is also proof that we practice what we preach here at J&S - we dress for the slide and not for the ride!

So on to what happened: He managed to hit a kerb at 70 mph. In a 60 mph zone here (tut, tut, tut! Not recommended at all!) He was overtaking a car going way below the speed limit and hit the kerb of an island. (I would just like to point out that my colleague goes on this road to work every day there and back. Hence the anonymity)

According to the gentleman who stopped at the crash scene, he went 15 feet into the air and landed on his hip and head - as he had landed on his head, he didn't remember this information, plus it happened so quickly.

As you can see from the kit pictured, it was apparent where he fell. The bike also suffered some damage.

Just after he landed, he got up, moved the bike and miraculously, he was alright aside from a bit of a bruise on his hip!? (and a bruised pride) Of course, it does help that he is pretty young and sprightly - but the most significant factor was his kit. He was extremely fortunate to come out of that crash unscathed.

What was less fortunate for him was that his helmet was only less than a week old after he had been coveting it for quite some time. BUT, without wearing good kit, he wouldn't be able to tell the story as successfully as he has!

He was wearing a Shoei X Spirit 3 helmet , specifically the AM73 Alex Marquez Race Replica TC2 . As you can see, the helmet took a bit of a pounding, so it has already been replaced. On his feet were the Alpinestars SMX6 boot . These stood up remarkably to him being thrown down the road - there is some damage to the plastic sliders, as you can see, but aside from that are mint still.

He was also wearing Frank Thomas Raptor 2.0 Kang gloves , but he didn't actually get to put his hands down as his head and hip took the brunt of the impact - so they were utterly scuff-free - hence there being no photos because he didn't sustain any damage to them! The bag was a Kriega R25 Backpack - notoriously hardwearing and for a good reason. As you can see in the photos - it has sustained some damage, but a crash at 70mph will do that! His suit was a Frank Thomas Podium 1 piece suit (specifically in the black and white ). It is Alpinestars Tech-Airbag compatible, but he doesn't own that.

Again, this now needs replacing, but he would have been in a hell of a state without this suit. As you can see, it has sustained quite a bit of damage - but that is the point. It is designed to take the impact, so you don't, and my anonymous colleague is a testament to that.

He is fully recovered and extremely glad that he was wearing all this kit and a little bit smug. He is, however, thoroughly annoyed about the crash still and has ultimately learned his lesson!

Please use this as a reminder to always dress appropriately when riding your motorbike - anything can happen in a split second, and you need to make sure you are protected.

Until next time, stay safe,

Alex