Armour in leathers for the TT

[teamradar]

Having seen the proposed new regs for leathers at the TT I was wondering who else will have problems either physically fitting in their oufits with knee,elbow & shoulder armour, or have problems getting new ones made or even just affording them?

[kwacker84]

Regs have been updated again:


Leathers
• One piece racing leathers must only be used, either in cowhide leather (min 1.2mm thick) or kangaroo leather (min 0.9mm thick), with double layer leather in the seat. Stretch material reinforced with aramid fibres or similar can be used but must not be at main impact areas of seat, hip, back, knees, elbows and shoulders.
• Leathers must be in a good physical condition with no major damage visible.
• Leathers are recommended to be no older than 5 years old.
• CE armour must be present to the shoulder, elbows and knees, either fitted to the suit or worn underneath. This is compulsory for all solo competitors and discretionary for sidecar crews.
• Any damage must have been professionally repaired with leather of the same thickness covering all tears/holes and must be double stitched in place.
• All Sidecar crews to wear matching leathers in terms of colour scheme. Dispensation may be granted at the discretion of the Race Organisers.

[teamradar]

Yes,thanks, just had the newest version from Paul Phillips.
My original question is still interesting, would anyone have problems with room in the kneeler/seat?

[paulsparkie]

As it reads Andy its discretionary so if your uncomfortable don`t wear them.

[Fanch]

Regs have been updated again:


Leathers
• One piece racing leathers must only be used, either in cowhide leather (min 1.2mm thick) or kangaroo leather (min 0.9mm thick), with double layer leather in the seat. Stretch material reinforced with aramid fibres or similar can be used but must not be at main impact areas of seat, hip, back, knees, elbows and shoulders.
• Leathers must be in a good physical condition with no major damage visible.
• Leathers are recommended to be no older than 5 years old.
• CE armour must be present to the shoulder, elbows and knees, either fitted to the suit or worn underneath. This is compulsory for all solo competitors and discretionary for sidecar crews.
• Any damage must have been professionally repaired with leather of the same thickness covering all tears/holes and must be double stitched in place.
• All Sidecar crews to wear matching leathers in terms of colour scheme. Dispensation may be granted at the discretion of the Race Organisers.

It seems there is a mistake about "This is compulsory for all solo competitors and discretionary for sidecar crews."
This sentence is inside the paragraph about "Back Protector", and not inside the paragraph "Leathers".
It's written : A back protector must be used conforming to European Standard EN 1621-2:2003 LEVEL-2
This is compulsory for all solo competitors and discretionary for sidecar crews.

BUT. If everybody can understand that knees protections can be "discretionary" for sidecar drivers, a back protector must (would) be compulsory for everybody. When an outfit is spinning upside-down, it's quite better for the driver to have some protection !

And the right man to discuss about that remains Paul Phillips.

[teamradar]

I have never worn a back protector and it should be my choice to do so.
Far too many things are forced on people by someone who "knows best".

[Kickaha]

I have never worn a back protector and it should be my choice to do so.
Far too many things are forced on people by someone who "knows best".

So long as you're prepared to pay for any physical or financial consequences from your decision I can't see a problem with that

In NZ they're compulsory for everyone in every class and having had the odd crash where I've landed on my back or been hit by another bike I certainly wouldn't race without one

[steve-e]

I wouldn't race without one, having crashed with and without in similar circumstances the difference could be counted in days off work.

[oldbelly]

Or broken vertibrae in my case Steve.

[mervnoble]

I wouldn't race without one, having crashed with and without in similar circumstances the difference could be counted in days off work.

Christ, I played hell when I learned I had to wear a helmet

[steve-e]

I went on many Fred Hill protests when I was in MAG, I was heavily anti helmet laws and all for freedom of choice. I would still wear one most of the time though Exmoor was always a nice place to ride lidless ( I would imagine - of course I wouldn't do it myself oh no )

Anyway yes, most of these rules seem to tie in with ACU spec, apart from the matching colour schemes. "At the discretion of the organisers" is a good clause in there. If you change passengers after a couple of days and he doesn't fit in your passenger's usual leathers it makes sense to waive it on that occasion. I would be interested to know how many teams at the TT last year didn't have matching leathers, I bet there weren't loads. It's a bit awkward for the teams who only join up once a year for TT and ride with different people the rest of the season though.

[kew]

Tell them your leathers are matching, but not necessarily with each other.