Ride Magazine One-Piece Leathers Performance Test

[MelloGixxer]

http://www.600rr.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20558&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Why are you so hellbent on giving trustworthy retailers a chance? They live and breath this stuff and I don't think Joe is in it for the money.

The profit margin is negligable when it comes to selling different types of suits, so money is really not an issue when it comes to recommending gear.

I think you're just trying to reassure yourself that you've provided "objective" material for us to read. Guess what? Nothing is objective when it's printed in a magazine...in fact, the only thing that is objective in this world is life and death wtf).

Anyway, I think you should stop trying to prove retailers like Motostrano, Riders Inc., etc. wrong, because they obviously know more than you. Just because you read some stupid article in some stupid UK magazine doesn't mean shit.

For all we know, these tests might have been two drunk bums with a pair of scissors trying to fight over who gets to eat the piece of cow hide.

come on now your to much..
I don't think he is trying to prove anyone wrong. Nick at Riders Inc is a good friend of mine. SO how do you rate your gear?

 

[FlatOut]

Well these riders get $$$ to wear these suits plus A-Star does not provide their sponsored riders with off the rack suits. Just like top riders wearing SuperTechs but the inner shell is Daytona?
Carrera is considered to the UK and Canada as Helimot is to the US it's just we just don't know these things until we do our research If you watch MotoGP sure their all wearing A-Stars and Dainses but the 250 and 125 riders are sporting Carrera. If you watch Isle of Mann or British Supersport you will
see Dannisport or even RST, WOLF, and even SCOTT. There are so many brands we don't even hear about here in the US it's unreal. Do your homework then determine if this is a cheap advertisement move to blow up the English makers.

Funny thing is everytime i've been to a wera race, or even the ama's the privateers aren't wereing those brands even the europeans that have the opertunity or knowledge to purchase those european brands.

Look don't get me wrong i'm not any point going to knock another brand or any of those brands in the test. I understand that in some cases they may out perform better than another brand. What i'm saying is its very subjective that some of those top known brands scored so low when they put millions into "in house" testing. I'm sure the other companies aren't spending millions to do that?

 

[MelloGixxer]

BOOTIE TEST


Tests the impermeability of Gore-Tex booties and gloves. Products are filled with 1 bar of compressed air (equivalent to a depth of 100 meters) and then lowered into a tank of water and examined for any signs of escaping air. Air molecules are much smaller than water molecules, therefore this test provides a superior method with which to test material impermeability.

ABRASION TEST


Performs test on material abrasion resistance. Materials are placed under a load of 1000 gms and then run over an abrasive compound for a distance of 40 meters. The materials are then checked for weight and density loss, which allows Alpinestars technicians to specify the best materials for specific applications, whether it's the protective plastic shell on a motocross boot or the vibration reducing sole on a touring boot.

DUROMETER


Measures the quality and hardness of plastic and rubber materials. By concentrating a 1000 grm load on rubber products and a 5000 grm of load on plastic products through a needle point, the properties of the materials can be tested for specific applications across the full range of Alpinestars product line.

SOLE ABRASION TEST


Tests the abrasion resistance of motorcycle boots. A defined load is placed on the sole and regulated to simulate the rider's body weight as it reacts to the footpeg under varying conditions. In a typical test, the surface of the sole will complete 8,000 cycles, (equivalent to 40 hours of usage) which allows Alpinestars to determine the wear rate of soles under extreme conditions and accurately fine tune the best compounds for each specific boot.

Now ask yourself if those other companies put their products thru this kind of inhouse testing. Before they bring their products to market. Knowing full well they have your life in the palm of their marketing dept. I'm not going to argue as to who or what company is better just wanted to show you the inhouse testing A* does before it brings out a product.

This is getting funny. Sorta like Rocky against the Russian. Old school tech against high tech wonder..
Taking this way to serious

 

[FlatOut]

Hey nothing personal just internet discussion so please do not take things personal or get offended by what I write.

funny your quoting yourself

 

[MelloGixxer]

funny your quoting yourself

I meant to edit my post and did it on accident

 

[Zapper]

My Dainese suit tore at multiple impact points the last time I went down. I also have had several friends' Dainese suits do the same. Now this test shows a 1 out of 10 for tear resistance.

Great article!

This is just a guess... but does anyone think the new Dainese suits with the extended amount of elastic D-Tech fabric have more give and thus less likely a change to tear or burst?

 

[license2ill]

I think the use of the D-stone in the impact areas was a big factor in the tear results for the Bora, as the suits with better scores(though still few had good tear scores) had double-layers of leather.

 

[Kensaku]

come on now your to much..
I don't think he is trying to prove anyone wrong. Nick at Riders Inc is a good friend of mine. SO how do you rate your gear?

I rate my Bostrom suit as...very cool.

Anyway, I think license2ill is trying to say that the dealer's voice regarding this topic is moot because they're just here to sell.

He should try to get to know these people, as they are honest and trustworthy...moreso than a magazine review.

Nick is the man...he's hooked me up time and time again.

 

[license2ill]

Anyway, I think license2ill is trying to say that the dealer's voice regarding this topic is moot because they're just here to sell.

He should try to get to know these people, as they are honest and trustworthy...moreso than a magazine review.

Hey Kensaku, I don't think they are just here to sell, I'm sure they have great interest regardless of any monetary benefit. I don't think they are ill-intentioned, just misguided and caught-up in aspects that aren't in our best interest. Many are probably the nicest guys you'll ever meet, and many may have more knowledge than you or I, but so far they haven't shown a willingness to show it throughout this thread and many others.

I think they mooted themselves. They are the most vehement defenders of low-quality info, and don't appreciate the questioning of the quality of the info of their wears, especially when it carries a high price tag. Dealers have a great interest and a lot to lose when differing info comes down the pipe. Not one dealer arguing the info could get out of the vague and assumptive line of thought or show examples of how that information could have been manipulated or how the outcomes could have been unreasonable. They just tried to breed doubt, regardless.

I've been in sales for many years and can easily spot tactics. You can get sucked right into that stuff even at the lower levels on the chain, managers sell their people on selling their merchandise, and sales are most commonly made at an emotional level. Manufacturers of protective gear try to sell their dealers and distributors and the same lines trickle down to us as potential buyers.

Take a look at the fitness industry and you will see many similarities, though it's probably much worse. Keep in mind that the sellers of "chinese herbs" and "thigh masters" truly believe they work, and will go out of their way to present anything but scientific data to prove their claims.

Its harmless to buy many products this way, but higher-quality information should be used when purchasing safety equipment, and the dealers should show a heartfelt willingness to accept proper criticism of their products, and be interested in increasing the level of credibility of those products with harder evidence.

 

[Kensaku]

Hey Kensaku, I don't think they are just here to sell, I'm sure they have great interest regardless of any monetary benefit. I don't think they are ill-intentioned, just misguided and caught-up in aspects that aren't in our best interest. Many are probably the nicest guys you'll ever meet, and many may have more knowledge than you or I, but so far they haven't shown a willingness to show it throughout this thread and many others.

I think they mooted themselves. They are the most vehement defenders of low-quality info, and don't appreciate the questioning of the quality of the info of their wears, especially when it carries a high price tag. Dealers have a great interest and a lot to lose when differing info comes down the pipe. Not one dealer arguing the info could get out of the vague and assumptive line of thought or show examples of how that information could have been manipulated or how the outcomes could have been unreasonable. They just tried to breed doubt, regardless.

I've been in sales for many years and can easily spot tactics. You can get sucked right into that stuff even at the lower levels on the chain, managers sell their people on selling their merchandise, and sales are most commonly made at an emotional level. Manufacturers of protective gear try to sell their dealers and distributors and the same lines trickle down to us as potential buyers.

Take a look at the fitness industry and you will see many similarities, though it's probably much worse. Keep in mind that the sellers of "chinese herbs" and "thigh masters" truly believe they work, and will go out of their way to present anything but scientific data to prove their claims.

Its harmless to buy many products this way, but higher-quality information should be used when purchasing safety equipment, and the dealers should show a heartfelt willingness to accept proper criticism of their products, and be interested in increasing the level of credibility of those products with harder evidence.

I still won't buy your POV.

 

[m_asim]

Kevin swantz if i remember rs-taichi you don't see them in the article?

The reason RS-Taichi or for that matter Kushitani, Helimot, Z custom or Zooni are not mentioned in the article is because either they were not asked for a sample or they didn't have one ready on time. Also this being a British mag, I don't think those companies have a strong enough sale network in Britain for the magazine guy to spend precious space on. That's the same reason why american car mags don't cover the latest Peugot or Citroen cars. You write articles on what your readers can go out and buy.

 

[hungdaddy]

That was a good article. It reminds me about Hyundai and Kia vs. Honda and Toyota. Sure you get 10yrs or 100,000 miles warranty on the hyundai and kia, but they are crap. If you buy a Honda or Toyota they don't have a long warranty but the cars last you 200,000 miles plus. Ask yourself this, if you were to pick a car which one would you pick? I'm assuming the Honda and Toyota, because you spend a little more, but you get a lot back.

Hyundai and Kia = Hein Gericke
Honda and Toyota = Astar
hmmmm.....I wonder what would happen to you if you crash in a Kia sophia at 30mph???

 

[V4]

this thread is even making me curious of how my riding gear would hold up to a "crash".....

the thought of borrowing a skateboard, putting on all my gear, find a good hill, ride down it luge style on the skateboard and jump off and find out the results.....

it may not prove anything or resolve a debate, but it seems like it would be fun....

 

[license2ill]

So, did anybody notice any patterns emerge from these tests?

A couple things that pop-out is the poor perfromance of hard-plastic armor, all the sits that had hard plastic in the knees or all over showed poor impact protection. All ofthe top performers in impact protection used T-pro armor.

The titanium inserts made a huge difference in the abrasion performance of the Dainese, making its other faults seem less worth forgiving. Meanwhile, the plastic bits on the Alpinestars didn;t seem to add much.

Double leather and kevlar-stretch material didn't seem to factor into the tear strength numbers at all, except for maybe the BKS that appears to be slightly thicker leather than most in impact areas, and obviously the D-stone material suffered in this test. Keep in mind, that tongue-tear test is common even outside of motorcycling gear materials.

Another factor in the test, which is heavily mentioned, but not quantified as part of the results(it's impossible), is the patchwork construction and number of structural seams in the pieces. They recommend against the patchwork design, however the seam tests on the Hein Gericke(a patchwork model) were above average. The many other lower-end suits were all patchwork suits. Similar to the argument for a full-face helmet, it's hard to know just how much this factor may play in any crash event, so choosing the suit with the least amount of the highest-performing seams would be a good place to start when considering any options.