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.