kxrider651, on 30 April 2012 - 06:17 PM, said:

Yep, the HANS is tested and certified  http://www.sfifounda...m/speclist.html.  

Leatt was certified by 38.1 at one point but was dropped, they likely changed the 38.1 spec, After you read the spec it has no relevance to motorcycles anyway.  In 2009 Leatt was supposedly working with SFI to develop 58.1 but that has obviously has gone no where.

Edited by MNkayaker, 30 April 2012 - 07:55 PM.

I read something from Alpinestars (pretty sure it was a copy of the info that comes with their brace) a while back about how the biggest risk of breaking your neck is from compression i.e. a lawn dart type crash where you land directly on your head. Now before MNKayaker gets all pissy at me, anyone who doesn't at least try to avoid a lawn dart deserves a Darwin Award. But sometimes, no matter what you do, you're going to land wrong. IIRC Alpinestars saidthat through cadaver testing they found that the neck is surpisingly flexible and that even if your head gets layed against your shoulderwithout a brace, your spine will more than likely be perfectly fine, you'll just have some torn or pulled neck muscles. Chin to chest is no big deal either. I think they found rearward motion of the head needed to be limited to minimize the risk of spinal damage, but IIRC they said compression was mainly what they were trying to avoid.

Being tall and having a disproportionately long neck, I believe and Atlas would be the best brace for me just because it has extra pieces of foam to make it taller, therefore stopping (or at least slowing down) compression sooner. Assuming Alpinestars was truthful and straightforward with their data and the way they represent it, which they themselves say every neck brace manufacturer should be when dealing with such an important subject, I would go Atlas.

Edited by Ih8Hondas, 30 April 2012 - 08:59 PM.

Here is my view.. what we do is a potentially dangerous sport. Neck injuries can paralyze a person. I believe that even though there is no independent testing done enough people feel they help a rider from sustaining life threatening neck injury....that being said I will spend the money for some sort of neck brace. MNKayaker there is no independent testing of moto boots but I bet you wear them correct? I think people who wear neck braces are smart...

motodadgp, on 01 May 2012 - 09:07 AM, said:

I think those who wear neck braces are lighter in the wallet and no safer than without.

And you don't need to be a scientist to know that boots just work, plain and simple. Same with elbow pads, same with gloves, same with a chest protector, same with goggles. I would be 100% sure that if independent tests were perfomed on the before mentioned safety gear, all of them would pass.

I can 100% certian that the neck braces will not pass a complete battery of independent tests. If they would pass why isn't there the SFI 58.1 standard that Leatt was supposed to be working on. Think about it and don't be like the sheaple.

Edited by MNkayaker, 01 May 2012 - 10:37 AM.

motodadgp, on 01 May 2012 - 09:07 AM, said:

yes neck injuries can paralyze a person......but so can a blow to the lower back (or anywhere on the back for that matter). When can we expect a full back brace?

MNkayaker, on 01 May 2012 - 09:26 AM, said:

they dont test boots because theyre kind of obvious remedies to keep you from breaking your ankles, im more inclined to believe this is how the neck brace is perceived, its just obvious. Who broke their neck with a brace on that has you guys in uproar about them?

kxrider651, on 30 April 2012 - 03:18 PM, said:

Atlas doesn't touch your collarbone.

Edited by Pumpkin450sxf, 01 May 2012 - 04:56 PM.

Pumpkin450sxf, on 01 May 2012 - 04:54 PM, said:

Now put your hand over your head and take another picture.

why would you put your hand over your head in a crash? If i learned anything from crashing is dont put your arms out, leads to broken collarbones, arms, hands and dislocations

Tony477g, on 01 May 2012 - 05:28 PM, said:

lol yup, split second decision, tuck and roll or go limp, neither involve trying to catch yourself

You're right Tony never let go of the handle bars if at all possible, and it is usually possible.  The point is that all neck braces will hit the collarbone if your hands are over your head.  And that will happen in a low side crash once your elbow hits the dirt.

jjhubbard15, on 01 May 2012 - 05:31 PM, said:

Ya i learned that the hard way! I went over the bars but went sideways and put my arm out. Bad thing i was riding by myself and in nevada 110 degree heat trying to get ready for racing in september. So I was exhausted and had to walk to my uncles house which was about half a mile away with a dislocated/broken elbow.

MNkayaker, on 01 May 2012 - 05:33 PM, said:

Im going to have to test that theory out with my leatt

Tony477g, on 01 May 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

Sorry to hear about that man.  How does your arm work now?  Any lingering issues?

jjhubbard15, on 01 May 2012 - 04:52 PM, said:

I will be the first to admit that I am no expert.  That being said I really don't see these as being obvious remedies to a broken neck.  As someone stated earlier it is compression of your neck that is the thing you have to look out for most.  Just look at the picture of the guy with the Atlas brace on above.  There is no way that any of these braces would sufficiently limit compression unless they basically were resting right below the helmet.  Which none do because we need to move our heads when we ride.  All of the rest of the motions that can occur in a wreck look to me to be more dangerous with a neck brace on.  The helmet and neck brace combined can act as a fulcrum which will put load on your spine in a very unnatural way.

If you do a simple search on this and many other forums you will find many people who have broken their spines and/or backs while wearing these devices.  I am the first who would love to be protected from paralyzation.  I don't think any of us who don't wear them are doing it for the tuff guy effect.  I bought one, wore it for one day and it honestly made me very nervous to be wearing a solid piece of plastic around my neck that in many circumstances feels like it could really hurt me.  Try doing a sumersault in one.  I did that in the back yard, took it off, and never wore it again.  I felt the plastic dig into my upper spine when the back piece hit the ground.  Multiply that by 40 mph and it scared the crap out of me.

If there is ever any proof I will be the very first in line to purchase one.

MNkayaker, on 01 May 2012 - 05:49 PM, said:

Ive got 2 on going problems, whenever i work out (bench, arm curls, pretty much anything that involves bending my elbow with weights) I get these shocks, the nerves or something in there make parts of my arm feel like im getting shocked. The other thing is whenever i go out and ride for about the first hour my elbow hurts, its a faint pain but you can definitely feel it there. Other than that I can move everything fine so no huge damage done. Anyway about the leatt pushing up and getting onto the clavicle. I put my arms up and there is enough room that the leatt doesnt move at all, Now pushing your elbow up so that the shoulder comes up(not putting your elbow up like your going to rest on it) I did find the leatt moves up but still had a couple of cm before it reached the clavicle. The problem a lot of people have is they do not set up their leatt right. the front portion should not be close to the clavicle, mine isnt.

c-slak, on 01 May 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

Well put my firend.  Like you said, all you need to do is a sumersault in the grass to know that there is something fundamentally wrong with neck braces.  I am 100% for safety.  That is why I want to see independent testing of these damn things.  I want to see some sort of regulation, just like there is with helmets.  If they are going to work, it can be proven in a lab!

MNkayaker, on 01 May 2012 - 06:01 PM, said:

I might try this too, are you talking about putting your head on the floor and just flipping right?

Tony477g, on 01 May 2012 - 06:03 PM, said:

Youtube "diving front roll"

MNkayaker, on 01 May 2012 - 06:07 PM, said:

I did it, one major problem though, not sure if its just my helmet or what, to perform it instead of the leatt resting on it my jaw was. I can see some major damage being done to the jaw. As for the sumersault it is harder to do but not to much harder