I spent the day last week with the head of the Motocap testing process. We were testing various material combinations on NZ road surfaces i.e. dragging materials on a road in our district.
It was interesting to watch how the tests were done, and I can say, I was surprised at the outcomes.
The guy who runs it is a textiles doctorate bloke, he knows his stuff. Because he rides a bike, he made motorcycle gear his pet topic, and runs the project from Deakin University.
Last week we were only looking at abrasion resistance, and we didn't test armour. Various leathers, denims and textiles. A lot of of I thought I knew was proven to be bollocks.
Regarding the euro standards, all my gear is Euro standard i.e. CE. I think it's still a good standard. In the opinion of the good doctor, they have declined over the years as manufacturers have designed products to do well in tests in order to gain good ratings, but they haven't been tested and graded in the real world. For example, a test done on a sandpaper belt may not reflect well the abrasion resistance of a denim on an NZ chip road.
All my gear is Euro standard i.e. CE. I think it's still a good standard.
That's why Motocap is doing real world testing on products. They only set up 18 months ago, and estimate that they will be able to get about 150 products per year through their testing process.
The intention is not so much that existing rders can check out the rating of their gear, but so that anyone looking at buying gear can make a more informed choice about which gear provides the best protection.
Their current ratings are based on laboratory tests. I would be very interested to see them do real world testing, but it will take careful method design and implementation to come up with meaningful and repeatable results.
I take it there is now a patch of "NZ standard chipseal" somewhere in Canterbury? And can you tell us what "proved to be bollocks"?
I have been involved in standards testing, and there will always be some manufacturers who will try to game the system. Pretty shit behaviour when it's safety equipment, but there are some very disturbing stories about manufacturers "optimising" their helmets to pass test standards.
We used one piece of road that had recently been sealed with chunky chip seal, and it tore even leather to shreds very quickly. Tip : Don't fall off on that road, no matter what you are wearing.
We moved to a more consistent nearby road, that was somewhat less brutal, and the various test results reflected the abrasion resistance the Doc had found in the lab.
I am guessing that it would be hard to find a piece of road that consistently represents the various seal treatments used in NZ. Regional variability really makes a difference.
Some background... Most road aggregate used in NZ is greywacke. Its properties vary depending on where in the country you are - harder and more abrasive in the South Island.
I don't know what they use in the Southern Lakes region, but would not want to slide far on it!
Interesting comment. I'd always understood SI roads to be more abrasive. Back around the turn of the century the advice was that you could cut out a set of tyres on a trip around the Island. I remember one leg from Lumsden to Picton, each time I stopped for gas there was visibly less tread. It got me home but that was it.
Previously I'd had no idea if our 'conventional wisdom' was right or not, but it seems that it may have been.
There is a grey blur, and a green blur. I try to stay on the grey one. - Joey Dunlop
Couple of years back I was getting the bike serviced before Mrs UK and I headed off on a 3 week tour. I asked if the tyres were up for the kind of distances we were planning. Oh yeah, was the reply, no problem. Where ya headed anyway? South Island was my reply. Oh, well then forget the last advice, no way those tyres will do that distance down there. Interesting take an on reflection I was glad I had fresh rubber.
Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but how many times you have your breath taken away
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