Impact Safe-T Armor
Back and Chest Protectors
When it comes to body armor, empirical testing-where you're the crash-test dummy-can be a powerful persuader. Tumble arse over teakettle and walk away unaided and it's easy to stick with what you're wearing. And that's exactly the case with Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and Mat Mladin, all of whom are devotees of Impact Safe-T Armor.
The hand-built armor-B-005 back protector and C-005 chest protector-is similar in makeup. Both utilize a fabric pouch surrounding the protective bits, a .04-inch-thick polycarbonate spine protector, a .04-inch-thick sheet of polyethylene and a .4-inch-thick nitrile foam pad in the B-005 and a single, .03-inch-thick piece of polycarbonate and .4-inch nitrile foam, both perforated, in the C-005.
Company founder Michael Braxton says polycarbonate's greater puncture resistance earns its place facing outward in both protectors. Both the B and C-005 are significantly thinner than most body armor, each measuring about a half-inch thick-together about the thickness of most firms' back protectors alone. That can make the difference between being able to zip up your leathers or not wearing armor at all.
That slim profile makes them about as comfortable as body armor gets. Although they never seem to "disappear," they never interfere with your ability to move around on the bike. They can be pretty stifling on a three-figure day, but you'd sweat even more in a body cast, right?
Braxton says he had Dr. Roderick Woods at the UK's Cambridge University (the man responsible for current CE safety standards) test his armor and it rates at Level 2-the highest currently possible. Braxton says he can't display CE certification for his armor because each one he sells is custom-made and would have to be tested individually.
That could be a stumbling block for some, but at least Impact Safe-T Armor can boast a vast number of surviving crash-test dummies.
Impact
Safe-T Armor
B-005 Back & C-005 Chest Protectors
Price: $185 back protector, $90 chest protector
Contact: Impact Safe-T Armor
http://www.impactarmor.com
Verdict
Empirical testing at its best: custom-built armor crash-tested by famous (and not-so-famous) racers
Ride Like a Pro IV
DVD
If you've taken an entry-level MSF or other rider-training course and think you've got this whole riding thing licked, here's a DVD that'll show you there's a lot more to the fine art of riding than you might imagine.
Ride Like a Pro IV features ex-police officer Jerry "Motorman" Palladino (and others) taking you through numerous tips and tricks designed to help you ride as proficiently as the nation's best motor cops.
Palladino stresses three key competencies: keeping head and eyes up; keeping the clutch in the friction zone; and using the rear brake to control the motorcycle. The DVD starts with riders demonstrating how to properly control a bike at a slow, walking pace, and moves on to cone weaves, taking off on a hill, swerving, circles and U-turns. The exercises are all performed using large, saddlebag-equipped bikes, many of which are ridden by smaller-in-stature women to emphasize that it is the rider, not the bike, that's in control. Watching these ladies deftly maneuver these behemoths through such tight confines makes the point well.
Ride Like a Pro IV is for the most part professionally shot, with the occasional out-of-focus transition. Audio quality is good, and Palladino's voice-overs while other riders go through the paces are particularly helpful. Another useful feature is the helmet-cam footage, shot from riders in front and behind. Our only real niggle is with the jokey banter, particularly the "good cop/bad cop" routine.
Toward the end of the DVD, which runs about one hour and 45 minutes, Palladino and crew take us through a typical DMV road test course, and then the motor officer course. Palladino is a fluid, graceful rider, controlling his 900-pound luxury liner as if it were a minibike. After all my years of riding I still have problems making U-turns. But after watching Palladino display the proper form, I was inspired to get out and practice-and now I'm much better at it.
Ride Like a Pro IV DVD
Price: $34.95
Contact: Ride Like a Pro
http://www.ridelikeapro.com
Verdict
Why not be the best rider you can be?