The world’s first motorcycle clothing safety ratings program, MotoCAP, has given only half a star to two stars to eight more pairs of textile pants.
MotoCAP launched in September 2018 with ratings for 10 leather jackets and 10 pairs of rider jeans.
In November they added ratings for 10 textile jackets which rated lower than the leather jackets on safety and leggings in January which only rated half a star for safety out of five.
MotoCAP has set a target of testing 10% of available jackets, pants and gloves in its first year of operation.
Textile pants
This latest batch of eight textile pants includes BMW Rider ($570) and Triumph Malvern Jeans ($812) which rated two out of five stars for safety but three for comfort.
DriRider Vortex Adventure 2 ($330), Neo Mugello ($199) and Rev’It Factor 3 ($350) only rated one star each for safety and comfort.
However, only half a star for safety and comfort was earned by DriRider Nordic 2 ($250) and RJays Voyager V, while Spidi X-Tour ($350) scored half a star for safety and one star for comfort.
Since all pants were advertised as water resistant, they were tested for water resistance.
MotoCAP reports a wide range of water resistance performance from one point out of 10 to the RJays Voyager V scoring 10 out of 10.
Voluntary system
The five-star ratings system is a voluntary system that manufacturers can display on their gear as information for riders.
When MotoCAP was launched, the motorcycle clothing industry was not invited to pay for testing to guarantee independence.
However MotoCAP has invited companies to submit products for ratings.
So far, all rated clothing has been bought off the shelf using a random sampling process.
The ratings were not commissioned by the companies and the motorcycle gear was not supplied by the companies.
MotoCAP is a not-for-profit organisation in partnership with the following: from NSW – Transport for NSW, SIRA and the NRMA; from Victoria – VicRoads, TAC and RACV; from South Australia – DPTI, MAC and RAA; from Queensland – TMR and RACQ; from Western Australia – the Western Australian Road Safety Commission; plus the Australian Motorcycle Council and the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson says MotoCAP is designed to “reduce road trauma and injury severity for motorcyclists” by informing riders of their choices.
“It is hoped this will be achieved by raising consumer awareness of, and demand for, better protective clothing, and manufacturers and suppliers will respond to that demand,” he said.
“The MotoCAP rating system will be continually monitored and feedback will be considered to identify any improvements that can be made.”
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com