Nobody who rides hopes a motorcycle accident will ever happen to them, or anyone else. But it’s reality that it can, and how well you come through it is directly related to your gear.
We all know someone it’s happened to. In my case, the most recent was a friend who decided that shorts, a tee shirt and sunglasses was appropriate gear. The traffic was light after rush hour and there was plenty of daylight remaining. As is often the case, however, it just took that one driver, the one waiting to pull out of a parking lot, who kept waiting as my friend approached as if they were completely aware he was coming.
At the last moment they pulled out and it was then, when it was too late to react, that my friend realized they didn’t know he was there. Three weeks in the hospital, six months with a cane and permanent scars was a lucky getaway, and only his bike hit the car. He flew over it at 45 mph.
He lived to tell a story, but here’s a different one told in a few quotes taken from reviews on the Joe Rocket website.
“I recently had the unfortunate opportunity to put your jacket to the test at about 40mph. The jacket held up very well, I landed elbow first on my right side while still on the motorcycle and I never once felt any pain or discomfort from the impact. The CE-rated elbow armor exceeded expectations and the outer shell absorbed all of the friction leaving my upper body completely unscathed.”
“Last night I crashed my motorcycle on the freeway, fortunately I was wearing all my gear. My bike is in pretty bad shape, but I can honestly say the Joe Rocket jacket I had on saved me a whole lot of pain.”
“I’d just like to thank you guys for making a quality product. Last night I hit a racoon doing 40-50 mph and got thrown from my bike. Thanks to my jacket, gloves and helmet I walked away a little sore, and with just a small spot of road rash. Judging by how beat up my equipment was, if I wasn’t wearing the right stuff, I’m sure I’d still be in the hospital. So, thanks for saving my skin.”
Well so far, the stories are lopsided, leaning strongly in the favor of those wearing the proper gear. You decide the moral of the story. The CE-rated armor is an important feature of protective gear. The CE rating simply means the gear conforms to the motorcycle safety standards in Europe.
Is it important? To ride a motorcycle in Europe, you must be wearing protective gear that meets these ratings. In the U.S., it is not required by law for street use, but on a racetrack, it’s required. As a powersports dealer, you know all this. Does your customer? I’m sure they’ve been told.
I know one person who will wear all the right gear all the time when they ride now. If you have a customer who doesn’t agree, perhaps share this story.
Link: Joe Rocket
