The internationally awarded MotoCAP safety and thermal comfort ratings system for motorcycle clothing has added 15 more items to its list of tested gear.
It has now rated 186 items of clothing, including 50 pairs of pants, 90 jackets and 46 pairs of gloves.
Safety and comfort
Macna Vosges Nighteye
Of the newly rated jackets, two were leather which scored two stars for safety. All the others were textile and scored just one star for safety except the Alpinestars T-Core Air Drystar and Macna Vosges Nighteye which scored two stars.
The best of the newly added jackets for beating the current heatwave was the $500 Spidi Ventamax (top image on this page) which scored three stars for thermal comfort. The others scored from half a star to two stars.
Best of the newly rated pants are the Bull-It Covert Blue which scored two stars for safety and three for comfort and the BMW City denim trousers which only scored one safety star but four for comfort.
MotoCAP gives clothing two separate star ratings – one for protection and one for heat management or comfort.
Clothing manufacturers’ advertising is not an extremely useful resource for protection in a crash or from the extremes of an Australian summer.
Australian Motorcycle CouncilProtective Clothing sub-committee chair Brian Woodpoints out that MotoCAP tests the whole garment, unlike European Protective Clothing Standards which only tests samples of fabrics, fastenings and stitching.
“(It) gives the motorcycle community more information when they are making choices about the clothing they wear when riding,” he says.
MotoCAP is a partnership between Transport for NSW, State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), VicRoads, Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC), Lifetime Support Authority (LSA), Western Australian Police: Road Safety Commission, Department of State Growth, Insurance Australia Group (IAG), Australian Motorcycle Council and Accident Compensation Corporation in New Zealand.
Testing is carried out by the Deakin University Institute for Frontier Materials on behalf of the MotoCAP partners.
MotoCAP has added eight more jackets and two more pairs of pants to its safety and thermal comfort ratings, bringing the total to 160.
The world’s first safety and comfort ratings system for motorcycle clothing began in August last year.
It has now rated 160 items of clothing, including 43 pairs of pants, 47 pairs of gloves and 70 jackets.
This release adds a third well-performing women’s jacket to the range of dedicated female gear rated on their website.
The DriRider Paris leather jacket (pictured above) scored three out of five stars for protection, and two out of five stars for thermal comfort, matching the rating of the current highest performing ladies jacket, the Dainese Mike.
Dainese Mike Lady jacket
Ratings system
While some claim the ratings system is flawed, it at least now has a decent amount of clothing rated and provides a guide for buyers.
MotoCAP is a partnership between Transport for NSW, State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), VicRoads, Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC), Lifetime Support Authority (LSA), Western Australian Police: Road Safety Commission, Department of State Growth, Insurance Australia Group (IAG), Australian Motorcycle Council and Accident Compensation Corporation in New Zealand.
The annual Aldi motorcycle gear sale, normally held in the first couple of Saturdays of August, has been delayed this year until 31 August 2019.
Riders who want to snap up one of the many Aldi motorcycle bargains is advised to line up early for the store opening at 8.30am or they risk missing out.
However, we find that after the sale has passed and the gear has been removed from the shelves, riders can still buy some of the gear that has not been sold out.
You simply need to ask the manager if they have any left as it may be stored away. I once bought an $59.99 Aldi Bluetooth unit on behalf of a friend some months after the sale.
Bluetooth Kit – $59.99
2019 Aldi motorcycle sale
The catalogue of motorcycle gear on sale this year will be available tomorrow by clicking here.
But we have a sneak preview of what’s literally in store!
As usual, the range of Aldi motorcycle goods for sale will include jackets, pants, balaclavas, thermals, bike covers and gloves.
Plus, there’s our perennial favourite – $9.99 Aldi motorcycle socks!
New this year are three types of $19.99 locks and chains to secure your bike and/or luggage.
Locks – $19.99
There is also a range of $39.99 tail and tank bags.
They point out that motorcycle retailers offer a lot more product choice and all-year round availability.
However, they do not dispute the standard of gear sold at Aldi which has, in the past, been selected with the help of Neuroscience Research Australia’s Dr Liz de Rome.
Liz, a rider since 1969, also helped develop MotoCAP, motorcycle clothing ratings system. So far, MotoCAP has not tested any Aldi products.
Supporters of the Aldi sale say it promotes the wearing of good quality gear because it makes it affordable to more riders.
In our coverage of the annual Aldi sale, as well as MotoCAP’s testing of products, we find readers claim Aldi products are good quality and value.
We have also tested Aldi gear and find it is up to par, including that cheap Bluetooth unit that is still working just fine after three years.
Do you wear your pants tucked into your motorcycle boots or are you a loose legger with your pants over the top of your boots?
Look around at other riders and you will see examples of both.
But why is there a difference and does it matter?
We’ve asked around various riders and found there is a variety of reasons given for both versions.
The case for pants tuckers
Obviously, if you have skinny jeans or narrow race leathers they have to go inside the boots.
There are also some practical reasons for this.
The main reason we have been told is that your pant legs flap around annoyingly if they are over the boots.
One rider told me he has worn his pants tucked since he snagged his trousers years ago in a hi-low range lever on an old trail bike and fell over.
Riders have also told us that it seals in the warmth in winter
There also seems to be a fashion trend among boy racers and, at the other extreme, some Ulysses members, to wear their pants inside the boots.
Then there is the cafe racer “rocker” fashion trend to wear your jeans tucked into white socks with the tops rolled down over the tops of the boots.
Rocker style
Some say it’s less messy and point to riders with their pants caught half mast on the top of their boots.
The case for loose leggers
Rossi circa 2005
There was a trend back in the early 2000s for MotoGP racers to wear their leathers over the top of the boots.
The reasoning was aerodynamics and not getting your outside boot buckles caught on anything! They seem to have all gone back to leathers inside the boots.
Adventure riders tend to wear their pants over the tops of their buckled boots for the same reason of not getting them caught on anything such as bushes.
Charley Boorman is a loose legger
Mostly riders wear their pants over the top because it is too uncomfortable to jam their trousers inside their boots.
It also has the practical side of keeping the rain from dribbling down into your boots.
And in summer, it allows air down into your boots so your feet don’t sweat.
Are you a tucker or a loose leg rider? What are your reasons? Leave your comments below.
Motorcycle jackets and pants tested in the MotoCAP safety and comfort ratings have failed in the abrasion tests, but could easily be made safer, says a technical expert.
Back in 2015, Deakin University fibre science and technology senior researcher Chris Hurren warned that eight out of 10 of the most commonly worn motorcycle suits in Australia had failed their abrasion tests.
These tests were the precursor for the development of MotoCAP, the world’s first safety ratings for motorcycle protective gear which launched in September 2018.
Over the past few years, motorcycle clothing does not appear to have improved.
In recent MotoCAP ratings, leather and textile pants and jackets have failed dismally in abrasion tests.
Textile abrasion fail
Chris says textile pants and jackets are typically made of 600 denier woven nylon or polyester fabrics.
“These have relatively low abrasion resistance when tested on the Cambridge impact abrasion tester,” he says.
MotoCAP testing equipment at the Deakin Uni Geelong campus
“Where these fabrics are used as the shell fabric in important protection areas such as the elbow and shoulder of a jacket they generally do not provide the levels of protection desired in a protective motorcycle garment.
“These jackets could be improved in their protective performance by manufacturers by adding further protective layers or by use of a heavy shell fabric in these critical protection areas.
“These garments are still capable of providing better protection to a rider than if they were to ride in normal clothing especially when they are worn with their shoulder and elbow impact protectors in place. This is the class of garment that will benefit the most from improvement in protection levels into the future.”
Leather abrasion tests
A dummy dressed in riding gear is tested for abrasion resistance
More interestingly, leather appears to be not much better than textile gear.
“A number of the leather garments reported in (the latest tests) were made from thinner, supple leather,” Chris says.
“While this is more comfortable for the wearer, these leathers typically do not provide the same level of abrasion protection of a thicker leather.
“Where a thinner leather is used there needs to be additional protection put into the critical abrasion risk areas.
“The high level of impact protection seen in some of these garments was quite encouraging.”
Motorbike Writer publishes every new release of gear tested by MotoCAP, so stay tuned for more updates.
Deakin Uni Institute for Frontier Materials Senior Research Fellow and Honda GB400 rider Chris Hurren says the leather pants were mainly marked down because of low impact protection, not abrasion resistance.
“The results show the need for a holistic approach to safety, including impact protection, as a number of products performed well in abrasion and burst strength tests, but fell short in impact protection, leading to lower overall ratings,” he says.
“Some would have been five stars if they just had impact protectors in them.”
Chris says many garments don’t come with impact protectors or only a few protectors.
“Some of the garments could be five star if they just had a full set of certified protectors,” he says.
“Then it’s the rider’s choice if they want to throw them away if they don’t want to wear them.”
As expected, leather pants didn’t rate well for thermal comfort with one pair scoring half a star and two pair top-scoring with just two stars.
MotoCAP advises riders to consider both the safety and comfort ratings when choosing the right gear for their ride.
MotoCAP scores
So far, MotoCAP has tested 18 textile and leather jackets, 18 pairs of jeans and leggings, seven pair of leather pants and eight pair of gloves.
These latest ratings mean they have now tested products in every class: gloves, leather jackets, leather pants, textile jackets, textile pants, ladies leggings and denim jeans.
In the next few weeks MotoCAP will post ratings for more gloves, textile jackets and textile pants.
Chris says they will have more than 150 products on the website by June 30.
MotoCAP testing equipment at the Deakin Uni Geelong campus surprise
“We have purposely targeted only 10% of the market in the first year so that manufacturers have a chance to come along with the scheme,” he says.
“We do not want to put a manufacturer out of business as we want them to improve their products and think about protection and thermal comfort in their design.”
“If they follow this path like car manufacturers did for ANCAP then the rider will always be the winner.”
So far, not article of motorcycle clothing has been provided by a manufacturer.
All have been bought by MotoCAP using a secretive buying system to guarantee integrity.
MotoCAP, the world’s first safety and comfort ratings system for motorcycle clothing, is important but may be too complex and not comprehensive enough, says a British motorcycle manufacturer.
The Australian ratings system for motorcycle pants, jackets and gloves launched in September 2018.
Since then, MotoCAP has copped some criticism for “faulty comfort ratings” and for only targeting 10% of rider gear for testing and rating per year.
However, many Australian rider representatives have supported the service for reminding riders about the importance of having quality safety gear.
MotoCAP is important
Steve Franklin, major shareholder of Manchester-based Merlin motorcycle clothing company, agrees that MotoCAP is important and should not be underestimated.
Merlin’s Steve Franklin with their flanno leisure gear
He says he misjudged the importance of the British the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme (SHARP) which is a similar system to MotoCAP, but for helmets only.
Steve says he has concerns that the MotoCAP the rating and testing regime is too complex for consumers to understand.
“It needs to be more simple. Customers want proper and simple advice,” he told us while in Australia recently to meet retailers and distributors Link International.
“There is nothing wrong with trying to improve road safety.”
However, he says the complex MotoCAP rating system could give consumers the wrong impression.
“If we give consumers the wrong info, we lose their confidence,” he says.
The fastest-growing sector of the motorcycle clothing market is leisure safety gear while traditional Cordura and leather suits are decreasing in demand, says a British motorcycle clothing brand.
The trend mirrors growth in retro and naked bikes and the decrease in sportsbike popularity, says Merlin major shareholder Steve Franklin.
He and his Yamaha-loving sons, James and Patrick, flew out from Manchester recently to meet Australian retailers and distributors Link International.
Merlin execs (from left) Patrick, James and Steve Franklin
The Merlin executives also claim modern riders want clothing made with sustainable materials by manufacturers with integrity.
Steve says Merlin products are CE-approved, materials are sourced directly from experts and each manufacturer is inspected frequently for quality control.
“I want to be able to sleep at night,” he says, claiming they have only 0.97% returns on faulty gear and that one-third of that is down to user error.
Merlin flanno leisure jacket has DuPont kevlar throughout
They say the biggest market for motorcycle gear is now “moto leisure”.
Steve explains that it is like Nike’s “athleisure” range which appeals to people who want to look like an athlete but be comfortable.
“Similarly, moto leisure has all the safety gear but riders are able to go into a pub and not look like they’ve just had their knee down,” Steve says.
“It’s something you can wear all day.”
Heritage rider gear that reflects neo-classic motorcycles, such as the Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle that Steve rides, represents 45% of the market.
Steve says tech wear such as Cordua adventure suits and leather race suits are only 37% of the market and decreasing while the other two sectors are in “double-digit growth”.
That adds up to more than 100% of the market, but Steve says there is a lot of overlap where riders wear items from each section.
He says their women’s range was greater than 20% of their stock, but they pulled back.
However, James says they are now expanding their women’s range again.
“It’s a small part of the market but there are many more women’s groups emerging,” he says.
“They don’t all want to wear pink. They don’t want traditional riding gear but something that is a bit fashionable.
“Our feedback is that most brands just do dumbed-down versions of men’s gear.
“We recognise that women’s fit is different, even in women’s boots.”
Merlin employs fashion industry expert Melanie Field to help with women’s sizing so “it’s not just a small version of men’s gear”.
“She also has an eye on what colours and styles are currently fashionable,” James says.
Sustainability
Merlin Maple gloves with organic cotton denim panels
Riders are now seeking sustainable, organic materials directly sourced from reputable manufacturers, Steve says.
“The speed of development in organic materials is really gathering pace,” he says.
James points out that 76% of the materials they use is bought directly from “the experts in the field”.
“This ensures we have control of the quality,” he says.
Merlin also employs local inspectors in each of the countries where their products are manufactured to guarantee integrity and quality control.
They produce 60% of their gear in Pakistan and the rest in Portugal, Indonesia, Vietnam, China and India.
“We don’t manufacture anywhere that we don’t don’t have someone on site to make regular inspections,” Steve says.
He and his sons also spend 16 weeks a year doing inspection tours of manufacturing sites.
They say 75% of profits are turned back into the company to improve quality.
Safety standards
Merlin Holden leather jacket
Steve says rigid European CE approval standards are “both a curse and a blessing”.
“The cost of gaining CE approval is onerous at $10,000-$15,000 per product,” he says.
“We have to test the smallest and largest sizes and one in the middle, plus each different colour.”
Link International Merlin brand manager Ron Grant also points out that Merlin doesn’t just use high-quality safety materials in the impact areas specified for CE testing, but throughout their garments.
However, James says CE is also a blessing by making it “really difficult to get into this industry”, so it is “flushing out the bad quality and those operating in the black market”.
He says gaining CE approval was easy for them because they were exceeding the full testing process before CE became mandatory last year for manufacturers operating in Europe.
About Merlin
Merlin Chase heritage jacket
Merlin was registered in 2011 and started trading in 2012.
The name and logo come from “merle” which is French for blackbird.
It is 100% owned by the company’s 200 full-time staff who become shareholders after six months.
Steve’s background was in turning around ailing businesses.
“I just wanted to start a business then get someone to take it over,” he says.
“But once my sons entered the business, we found we had a passion for making good products and not just for business,” he says.
“We don’t cut corners. We wanted to make the best quality product we could with the technology and materials available.
“We’re always improving the product so it is relevant and exceeds customer expectations.”
MotoCAP has set a target of testing 10% of available jackets, pants and gloves in its first year of operation.
Textile pants
BMW and Triumph textile pants tested
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 byDriRider 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
A dummy dressed in riding gear is tested for abrasion resistance
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.”
Macna Vosges Nighteye
