When did protective gear really take off
Discussion
I was looking at another thread on here, which showed a couple on a BSA 350 and the only bit of protective gear being worn was a pudding basin hat!
This got me thinking about the introduction of protective gear.
Back in the early 70s when I had my first bike,I only wore an open face lid with a black 'Lewis Leathers' jacket that was more of a fashion statement than a protective leather jacket with a pair of 501s. After a couple of years I got into cars and girls and that was it with bikes for about 18-20 years. When I bought a race rep in the 90s I bought a 2 pce Dainese suit,race boots,Shoei full face, armoured gloves and a back protector. From memory this all started at the Ally Pally show.
Today I only road ride on a naked bike and have switched to textile jacket and Roadskin jeans and short casual style boots. The range of gear available today both in styles and price is huge, so when did this all really start?
This got me thinking about the introduction of protective gear.
Back in the early 70s when I had my first bike,I only wore an open face lid with a black 'Lewis Leathers' jacket that was more of a fashion statement than a protective leather jacket with a pair of 501s. After a couple of years I got into cars and girls and that was it with bikes for about 18-20 years. When I bought a race rep in the 90s I bought a 2 pce Dainese suit,race boots,Shoei full face, armoured gloves and a back protector. From memory this all started at the Ally Pally show.
Today I only road ride on a naked bike and have switched to textile jacket and Roadskin jeans and short casual style boots. The range of gear available today both in styles and price is huge, so when did this all really start?
Have you still got the Lewis jacket? If so you can sell it and buy an H1 
It’s all relative. People in the twenties wore stuff to protect themselves but it was protecting from different stuff. Mainly wind and chains flying off!
I’ve got a book somewhere that says you should wear a stout hat, and if you plan to go quick turn it round!
I do think that people’s perception of danger has changed. My dad raced bikes in the sixties and couldn’t afford to mend the broken zip on his leathers so wore a jumper over them, claiming he felt the cold so the scrutineers couldn’t see. Imagine that now?! Motorcycling was always a dangerous thing to do, which is why many people didn’t do it. More recently there’s a lot of calls to make it as safe as it can be but it’s ways gonna be dangerous.
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
It’s all relative. People in the twenties wore stuff to protect themselves but it was protecting from different stuff. Mainly wind and chains flying off!
I’ve got a book somewhere that says you should wear a stout hat, and if you plan to go quick turn it round!
I do think that people’s perception of danger has changed. My dad raced bikes in the sixties and couldn’t afford to mend the broken zip on his leathers so wore a jumper over them, claiming he felt the cold so the scrutineers couldn’t see. Imagine that now?! Motorcycling was always a dangerous thing to do, which is why many people didn’t do it. More recently there’s a lot of calls to make it as safe as it can be but it’s ways gonna be dangerous.
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
Charliecloud said:
I was looking at another thread on here, which showed a couple on a BSA 350 and the only bit of protective gear being worn was a pudding basin hat!
That photo was taken in the mid to late 50's and my dad only wore the helmet because after recovering from a serious brain illness the doctor told him to avoid banging his head. I think mum wore hers out of sympathy for him 
My older cousin got me into bikes in the early 80s and sold me an old Lewis Leathers lancer style jacket for £15 ...wore it until late teens before I grew out of it and sold it for £15....thought I had done well at the time !
I remember reading about riders like Sheene working with Dainese on armour like back protectors etc in the late 70s. Some of the well off lads I knew in the late 80s had custom Rothmans Honda leathers and rode NS400s.
But to a certain degree, race leathers were for eeerrrrmm...racers...you had to wait until the season finished to get scheduled in if you wanted some making. I remember going down town to see Alex at Crowtree leathers when I was 18 and dreaming of the day I could afford a full set of custom made leathers to match my bike.
I think when the first race rep sports bikes came out in the mid 80s more and more lads wanted to be wearing what the racers were. Then you had the superbikes which were all big sellers through the 90s. I reckon the 90s was when people were getting more educated to wearing protective gear during their training and many protective gear companies started business.
I remember reading about riders like Sheene working with Dainese on armour like back protectors etc in the late 70s. Some of the well off lads I knew in the late 80s had custom Rothmans Honda leathers and rode NS400s.
But to a certain degree, race leathers were for eeerrrrmm...racers...you had to wait until the season finished to get scheduled in if you wanted some making. I remember going down town to see Alex at Crowtree leathers when I was 18 and dreaming of the day I could afford a full set of custom made leathers to match my bike.
I think when the first race rep sports bikes came out in the mid 80s more and more lads wanted to be wearing what the racers were. Then you had the superbikes which were all big sellers through the 90s. I reckon the 90s was when people were getting more educated to wearing protective gear during their training and many protective gear companies started business.
srob said:
Have you still got the Lewis jacket? If so you can sell it and buy an H1
It’s all relative. People in the twenties wore stuff to protect themselves but it was protecting from different stuff. Mainly wind and chains flying off!
I’ve got a book somewhere that says you should wear a stout hat, and if you plan to go quick turn it round!
I do think that people’s perception of danger has changed. My dad raced bikes in the sixties and couldn’t afford to mend the broken zip on his leathers so wore a jumper over them, claiming he felt the cold so the scrutineers couldn’t see. Imagine that now?! Motorcycling was always a dangerous thing to do, which is why many people didn’t do it. More recently there’s a lot of calls to make it as safe as it can be but it’s ways gonna be dangerous.
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
My one and only crash on the road had me face planting the tarmac after going over the bonnet of a Peugeot. I broke my collarbone and smashed my knee up quite badly, but both of those recovered fairly well. If I hadn’t been wearing a full face lid then I think I’d have lost half my face looking at the gouges in the shell. It’s all relative. People in the twenties wore stuff to protect themselves but it was protecting from different stuff. Mainly wind and chains flying off!
I’ve got a book somewhere that says you should wear a stout hat, and if you plan to go quick turn it round!
I do think that people’s perception of danger has changed. My dad raced bikes in the sixties and couldn’t afford to mend the broken zip on his leathers so wore a jumper over them, claiming he felt the cold so the scrutineers couldn’t see. Imagine that now?! Motorcycling was always a dangerous thing to do, which is why many people didn’t do it. More recently there’s a lot of calls to make it as safe as it can be but it’s ways gonna be dangerous.
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
Horses for courses though.
Lindun said:
My one and only crash on the road had me face planting the tarmac after going over the bonnet of a Peugeot. I broke my collarbone and smashed my knee up quite badly, but both of those recovered fairly well. If I hadn’t been wearing a full face lid then I think I’d have lost half my face looking at the gouges in the shell.
Horses for courses though.
Yep and my one and only crash I didn’t. And I’ve enjoyed 20 years of riding in an open faced lid Horses for courses though.
srob said:
Have you still got the Lewis jacket? If so you can sell it and buy an H1
It’s all relative. People in the twenties wore stuff to protect themselves but it was protecting from different stuff. Mainly wind and chains flying off!
I’ve got a book somewhere that says you should wear a stout hat, and if you plan to go quick turn it round!
I do think that people’s perception of danger has changed. My dad raced bikes in the sixties and couldn’t afford to mend the broken zip on his leathers so wore a jumper over them, claiming he felt the cold so the scrutineers couldn’t see. Imagine that now?! Motorcycling was always a dangerous thing to do, which is why many people didn’t do it. More recently there’s a lot of calls to make it as safe as it can be but it’s ways gonna be dangerous.
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
Still got my blue Lewis Leathers jacket from ~1978. It is though a bit too small to get my arms down the sleeves these days.It’s all relative. People in the twenties wore stuff to protect themselves but it was protecting from different stuff. Mainly wind and chains flying off!
I’ve got a book somewhere that says you should wear a stout hat, and if you plan to go quick turn it round!
I do think that people’s perception of danger has changed. My dad raced bikes in the sixties and couldn’t afford to mend the broken zip on his leathers so wore a jumper over them, claiming he felt the cold so the scrutineers couldn’t see. Imagine that now?! Motorcycling was always a dangerous thing to do, which is why many people didn’t do it. More recently there’s a lot of calls to make it as safe as it can be but it’s ways gonna be dangerous.
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
Once saw a saw scooter-boy come into my then local pub in the mid-70s, his chin was a right mess after recent contact with the tarmac. So no open-facer for me, thanks.
srob said:
I choose to wear an open faced lid which people on here call out as reckless but in my experience if I crash bad enough to bust my face I’ve probably got more to worry about.
I spent 30 years in the fire service and have seen umpteen road crashes involving bikes, the vast majority (unfortunately) fatal.The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
Rubin215 said:
I spent 30 years in the fire service and have seen umpteen road crashes involving bikes, the vast majority (unfortunately) fatal.
The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
Perfectly sums up my thoughts re open face lids, never ever, would I wear anything but a full face lid!!The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
Rubin215 said:
I spent 30 years in the fire service and have seen umpteen road crashes involving bikes, the vast majority (unfortunately) fatal.
The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
So why aren’t you posting all the fatalities and trying to stop us all riding motorcycles?The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
I think your last paragraph is the actual reason. You’re a ‘hard’, proper biker and you don’t like hipsters which you associate open faced helmets with.
srob said:
So why aren’t you posting all the fatalities and trying to stop us all riding motorcycles?
I think your last paragraph is the actual reason. You’re a ‘hard’, proper biker and you don’t like hipsters which you associate open faced helmets with.
I think the point is that in all those cases, with a full face, they would've walked away without needing Rubin.I think your last paragraph is the actual reason. You’re a ‘hard’, proper biker and you don’t like hipsters which you associate open faced helmets with.
Krikkit said:
srob said:
So why aren’t you posting all the fatalities and trying to stop us all riding motorcycles?
I think your last paragraph is the actual reason. You’re a ‘hard’, proper biker and you don’t like hipsters which you associate open faced helmets with.
I think the point is that in all those cases, with a full face, they would've walked away without needing Rubin.I think your last paragraph is the actual reason. You’re a ‘hard’, proper biker and you don’t like hipsters which you associate open faced helmets with.
It was bad enough visiting SWMBO in hospital with a broken ankle, after her front tyre burst in a bend.
If she'd not been wearing the full-face she wore half-way through the chin bar on!
Krikkit said:
I think the point is that in all those cases, with a full face, they would've walked away without needing Rubin.
If they hadn’t been riding a bike then they wouldn’t had been injured at all. My point is we all take risks; how many on here speed? That’s more dangerous than not speeding and more dangerous than wearing an open faced helmet. Now put a rant up about how dangerous that is and see what the response is.
My first "non-gear" when I got my sports moped in 1975 was a second hand helmet that didn't fit properly, a rally anorak that did a good impression of a sponge, jeans and trainers or suede boots and possibly some normal gloves.
In 1980 when I returned to biking, I had a leather jacket and some motorcycle Derri Boots and some gauntlets. helmets were still cheap polycarbonate items which i think I paid £20 for and some waterproof trousers. In December 1981, my mother bought me a waterproof riding suit which lasted 4 days and I came off my bike down a dual carriageway after a tankslapper. The suit shredded but no injury.
Returning to biking in the 90s, it was evident that a sea change had occurred and people now spoke of having the proper gear so I have an expensive helmet, a decent waterproof jacket but still the same Derri Boots as I find most motorcycle boots really uncomfortable.
In 1980 when I returned to biking, I had a leather jacket and some motorcycle Derri Boots and some gauntlets. helmets were still cheap polycarbonate items which i think I paid £20 for and some waterproof trousers. In December 1981, my mother bought me a waterproof riding suit which lasted 4 days and I came off my bike down a dual carriageway after a tankslapper. The suit shredded but no injury.
Returning to biking in the 90s, it was evident that a sea change had occurred and people now spoke of having the proper gear so I have an expensive helmet, a decent waterproof jacket but still the same Derri Boots as I find most motorcycle boots really uncomfortable.
I think the first piece of protective equipment for street riders was the Dainese back protector you could wear under the jacket, if it fitted.
I always had a vision of that kind of protector combined with a jacket and made my own version.
The padding & belt of the protector is built into the inside lining of the jacket.
( The screws are custom made, too, and do not protude inside)
I always had a vision of that kind of protector combined with a jacket and made my own version.
The padding & belt of the protector is built into the inside lining of the jacket.
( The screws are custom made, too, and do not protude inside)
srob said:
Rubin215 said:
I spent 30 years in the fire service and have seen umpteen road crashes involving bikes, the vast majority (unfortunately) fatal.
The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
So why aren’t you posting all the fatalities and trying to stop us all riding motorcycles?The three "survived" open-face helmet incidents that stand out for me however were:
1. The teenage girl riding a scooter on Leith Walk in Edinburgh who was more interested in her mobile phone than the traffic in front of her, rode right in to the back of a stationary transit van at approx 25-30mph and ended up biting most of her top lip off.
2. The guy who clipped the back-end of a flat-bed lorry that braked suddenly in front of him and ended up with his jaw sitting on his shoulder, held on to the rest of his head by the remains of his left cheek.
He was still conscious when we arrived and couldn't understand why we didn't figure out what he was trying to tell us.
3. The guy who lost the front end going round a fairly standard inner-city corner, slid down the road face first at about 30 mph and ended up sitting on the kerb with nothing left below his tongue. That one saw us keeping him alive by my mate holding his tongue out of the way while I managed to get a guedal airway far enough in that we could get oxygen in to him.
The first paramedic on scene was doing his absolute best not to be sick for the first couple of minutes after he arrived.
Open-face might look cool if you're a short jean wearing bearded bohemian however it's just not practical for anything other than off-road slow-speed skills wear (IMHO).
I think your last paragraph is the actual reason. You’re a ‘hard’, proper biker and you don’t like hipsters which you associate open faced helmets with.
Did the waitress forget to chocolate dust the froth on your moccafrapochino?
Personally, I don't give a monkeys about hipsters; if I was young, trendy and attractive I might even be one myself!
I have the beard, Mrs215 has a Ducati Scrambler I could borrow, I have some sturdy boots and a lumberjack shirt and could always turn the bottoms of my jeans up a bit if I wanted! I drink real ale and brew decent coffee.
It's just that I'm the wrong side of 50 and more comfortably built than powerfully built these days...
Anyway, I think we all accept that motorcycling is a potentially dangerous sport/pastime/occupation, you would be naive to think it isn't but we all choose to do it. Having been a biker for almost 40 years, having been an instructor part time for ten years, having taught both my daughters to ride bikes it would be rather hypocritical of me to try and stop anyone riding a bike.
If someone chooses to wear an open face helmet instead of a demonstrably safer full-face helmet then that is entirely up to them; I only gave three examples of incidents I have seen where the persons injuries would have been massively reduced by choosing a full-face helmet instead of an open face.
As for the fatalities, I've seen things I hope you never see, things that have contributed to my PTSD, things that have completely f
ked my head and pushed me right down to the bottom of the whisky bottle.You really want me to tell you about them?
My unrestricted Fizzy could do over 50 & had no front brake. I wore regular jeans, sport shoes, ski gloves, non-motorcycle cotton jacket & a secondhand 'Griffin' lid that was about 2 sizes too big, with a scratched visor.....
Today: leather or mesh jacket, both with back protectors, Kevlar jeans or thermal textile trousers, armoured gloves, properly fitting full face lid, proper bike boots.
Together with modern ABS brakes, astonishing tyre grip & 30-odd years of road experience, I hope to stay in one piece....
To the nay-sayers: I wouldn't wear an open face lid if you paid me!
Today: leather or mesh jacket, both with back protectors, Kevlar jeans or thermal textile trousers, armoured gloves, properly fitting full face lid, proper bike boots.
Together with modern ABS brakes, astonishing tyre grip & 30-odd years of road experience, I hope to stay in one piece....
To the nay-sayers: I wouldn't wear an open face lid if you paid me!
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff