• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Back protectors ?

mendio

mendio

New member
Joined
May 9, 2015
Location
DE
Moto(s)
2015 RC 390
I'm an ATGATT type of rider and the only protection gear I don't have yet is a back protector.

I'm torn between two models from alpinestar, the older "Bionic Air Back Protector" which is level 1 and the newer "nucleon KR-1" which is level 2.
Now from what I read : back injuries rarely come from a direct blow to the back but mostly from torsion / extension (which means the armor rating doesn't really help). Are there any studies backing that up ?
The KR-1 is slightly lighter and about the same thickness so the only difference is the price (90€ vs 125€) and the armor level.

Should I go for the level 2 just for the peace of mind or is it virtually useless ?


Also, I have an old leather jacket I bought back when I started riding for 50€, the quality is decent and it saved me once. The jacket is at least 5-7 years old. My question is : are the elbow / shoulder inserts supposed to be replaced every X years / after a crash ?

Thanks
 
I read on T-Pro Forcefield's website a study that said 85% of spinal injuries from motorcycle accidents are from torsion or side impact, and therefore a back protector (even their own highly rated level 2) won't help.

They point out that 15% is better than none.

As far as replacing inserts in a jacket, unless they are the foam type that get crushed in a ground-contact situation they don't need to be replaced. That said, there are very comfortable level 2 inserts available now, so upgrading may be prudent anyhow.
 
I had a friend who hit another rider in front of him who just went down. The guy low sided around a blind corner. Bike hit a rock wall and came back out onto the street. My buddy came around the blind corner hot to find the downed bike right in his line. Hit it with enough force it flipped him over the bars (he broke he triple tree from the force) - flew over the bike and landed on his back. He broke several vertebrae but without his back protector (which was a level 2) he would have been paralyzed.

Extreme example but I have a level 2 dianese air wave (I think?) and it's pretty comfortable. Makes your jacket tight but for me not super constricting.
 
I am a fan of back protectors, even knowing that they won't prevent all possible spinal injuries. I wear level 2 inserts in all my jackets except my track leathers. I wear a separate back protector in that.

We can't prevent every possible injury as riders, but we should protect ourselves as best we can.
 
I just bought the nucleon KR-2i (level 2). So far so good.
 
Forcefield makes the blade which is level 2 but slim. I think they're on closeout so you might find one for a good price
 
I'm personally a fan of the Dainese Manis (I used the "backpack" style one). Pretty comfy, moves with me pretty well. CE2 rated.

As far as I know, I've really only used a back protector once when the bike hit me in the back - protector did it's job.

Yes, it was a totally freak accident that very few people ever even hear of, BUT, I sure was glad I had that thing on when I needed it.
 
I use the Alpinestars NUCLEON KR-1I PROTECTOR http://www.alpinestars.com/nucleon-kr-1i-protector

I haven't had to "TEST" it yet - in a crash scenario or anything, but I feel safer knowing it's there. It fits well into my Alpinestars Stella leather and my Revit Sand and another textile jacket.

It's pretty light and unassuming, but it got great reviews.
 
I've had a Dainese Manis D1 G (insert) for my Dainese jacket for about a year now and just picked up a Manis D1 (backpack style) for my Aerostich. The jacket insert has been comfortable enough. More on the backpack style once I've had it for a while.

I have not used any other back protectors, so I'm interested to see what this thread turns up.
 
I don't think there is any credible data about the effectiveness of back protectors but if you are curled up like a Sow Bug and heading towards the Armco, it sure sounds like a good idea at that point.
 
Tally Whacker said:
I read on T-Pro Forcefield's website a study that said 85% of spinal injuries from motorcycle accidents are from torsion or side impact, and therefore a back protector.......
Click to expand...
How not to present statistics. ^ What percentage of injuries are saved with back protectors? We don't know. That 15% may be misleading. It could have been 50%, but 35% were saved by wearing a back protector.
 
clutchslip said:
How not to present statistics. ^ What percentage of injuries are saved with back protectors? We don't know. That 15% may be misleading. It could have been 50%, but 35% were saved by wearing a back protector.
Click to expand...


The study said that 85% of all spinal injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes were the result of torsional stress or side impacts. That seems pretty cut and dried.

The article went on to say that back protectors, given that reality, could only possibly be effective in 15% of all cases. Also pretty clear.

It did not say that back protectors saved 15% of injuries from happening. In fact, it was only discussing injuries that did in fact happen.




I should add that I just went to T-Pro's web site, but I can no longer find the white papers section that they used to have.
 
Last edited:
Honey Badger said:
I'm personally a fan of the Dainese Manis (I used the "backpack" style one). Pretty comfy, moves with me pretty well. CE2 rated.
Click to expand...

This is what i have and agree with all that you said. It's also nice to have it independent and more secure than your jacket which may move a bit if you get tossed - the back protector will hopefully always be in place on your spine and lower back. You get much lower back protection with something independent of a jacket insert.


RightCoastBias said:
Have you considered an air-vest?
Click to expand...

Not saying you're saying this but for the sake of putting it out there - i own both and wear both (air vest and back protector) - mainly because it's not 100% guaranteed in all situations an air vest will deploy and wouldn't help prevent any kind of puncture wound a shell like back protector could better prevent against.
 
Tally Whacker said:
The study said that 85% of all spinal injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes were the result of torsional stress or side impacts. That seems pretty cut and dried.

The article went on to say that back protectors, given that reality, could only possibly be effective in 15% of all cases. Also pretty clear.

It did not say that back protectors saved 15% of injuries from happening. In fact, it was only discussing injuries that did in fact happen.




I should add that I just went to T-Pro's web site, but I can no longer find the white papers section that they used to have.
Click to expand...
I don't think the information leads to the conclusion that they or you state, from what you have told me.

You have 100% of back INJURIES. They claim that 15% of those injuries COULD have been protected by a back protector, but were not. How many WERE protected by a back protector? What you need is the number of POSSIBLE INJURIES. We have no number for how many injuries were already saved by a back protector. What if it was 50% of all POSSIBLE back injuries. That would make the things pretty darn important.
 
clutchslip said:
I don't think the information leads to the conclusion that they or you state, from what you have told me.

You have 100% of back INJURIES. They claim that 15% of those injuries COULD have been protected by a back protector, but were not. How many WERE protected by a back protector? What you need is the number of POSSIBLE INJURIES. We have no number for how many injuries were already saved by a back protector. What if it was 50% of all POSSIBLE back injuries. That would make the things pretty darn important.
Click to expand...

If we assume back protectors only protect from 15% of spinal injuries, are there other uses for back protectors? I'm wondering if they would protect internal organs from impacts to the back.
 
No, they claim that only 15% of all recorded spinal injuries from motorcycle crashes involved direct trauma to the spine from the back.

Now, to put this in context, this article was from at least ten years ago back when I bought my T-Pro back protector. At the time it was the only L2 back protector available for motorcyclists, so it is reasonable to assume that few riders had effective back protectors at all at the time of the study.

Even now, few motorcyclists (as a percentage) wear CE approved back protectors.
 
For me the statistics and studies don't mean sh!t. After Barry Sheene's crash at Daytona, I bought what was then called a Barry Sheene back protector. It was nothing more than high density foam worn under the leathers. My crash in it destroyed the foam and would have put me in a chair without. :thumbdown Another crash at Big Willow in '85, I had a hard plastic back protector. Don't remember the brand but the leathers wore through and if there had not been hard plastic to grind down, I suspect I would have been in a chair that time as well. Buy and use the best back protector you can afford. And don't ride without it. ;-)
 
wfo439 said:
For me the statistics and studies don't mean sh!t. After Barry Sheene's crash at Daytona, I bought what was then called a Barry Sheene back protector. It was nothing more than high density foam worn under the leathers. My crash in it destroyed the foam and would have put me in a chair without. :thumbdown Another crash at Big Willow in '85, I had a hard plastic back protector. Don't remember the brand but the leathers wore through and if there had not been hard plastic to grind down, I suspect I would have been in a chair that time as well. Buy and use the best back protector you can afford. And don't ride without it. ;-)
Click to expand...



I agree.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top