ARMOUR

we remember a time when there wasn t a great deal of armour in motorcycle gear. Leathers may have cursory nods to protection, so jackets and trousers had attempts too, yet most wore jeans and de boots, leathers were for special occasions and racing!

It’s incredible that this used to be the case. Finally the rise of armour began, where manufacturers slowly got their shizzle toget and items such as back protectors gained prominence. It was the attitude of riders that took the longest time to overcome, some thought a back protector was bit lame. Man up, many would say, a to be honest if that’s your thing then fair enough, wear a mankini a flip-flops for all we care – we’ll always advise, but never preach.

The reality of things were brought home to one chap at Mallory Park, an old friend of the mag. He’d give us some amount of grief for having back or chest protectors and always went on track without. We remember sitting beside him at the hairpin following a small highside. He couldn’t move, his back had taken a whack and at that moment he looked up at us and apologised for all the grief he’d ever slung our way. Even now, ten years later, he still has back issues.

Amouring yourself up is a matter of choice, do as you will, but if you do want to give yourself a fighting chance then there’s a lot out there these days that you can add to your kit – armour is leaping forwards in big bounds. The inbuilt protection in most kit is already excellent and many are coming up with newidea to achive the same protective goals. Here’s a heap of stuff we love in this regards.

ALPINESTARS NUCLEON KR-1

£139.99 www.alpinestars.com

This level 2 CE certified back protector is one of Alpinestars finest individual units, and features a hard-shell vertebra protector using energy absorbing viscoelastic memor foam. It will fit perfectly unde any A’stars gear, as you’d expect, but isn’t obtrusive if you’re using it with differently branded clothing either. The breathable and lightweight unit is specifically designed for sports riding, be that on road or track, and comes in sizes from XS to fatty-tum-tum XL