Crash test dummy: Draggin' Jeans get thumbs down

[slowpoke]

A couple of weeks ago I had a short sharp disagreement with a fellow road user regarding the ownership of a certain section of road. Seeing as how I was on the bike and the other party was in a truck I rapidly came to the conclusion that discretion was the better part of valour and ran off the road with my tail between my legs.

Long story short: on a blind series of two r/h corners (classic statistic:1km from home) the truck had decided to take them both as one big curve and I came 'round the first corner to find the truck using most of my side of the road. As the road is only 5m wide at this point that didn't leave a lot of room for muggins here. A flick left and back right again had me thinking "Phew!".....right until the road came up to meet me. A patch of the road shoulder eaten away consumed the last inch I needed and the cash register started clocking up the dollar signs as the bike slid down a small bank like a seal into the sea while I skidded to halt on the road with a lil' forward roll thrown in at the end to impress the judges. Three days before I was supposed to chase, oops I mean race, at Paeroa my timing was impeccable......

I won't go into most of the usual bike damage from what was a fairly low speed crash (approx 40-50kph) but I thought it worthwhile to comment on the Draggin' Jeans I was wearing. While I realised they provide virtually no impact protection I was suprised at how poor they were at protecting from abrasions. I came down on my right knee, hip and shoulder. My shoulder still isn't right but the CE armour in my Dianese textile jacket has kept things in one piece (I think...) and I hate to think how many pieces it would be in without the armour.

In contrast I wore/tore through the Draggin's kevlar on the knee with a fairly "meaty" abrasion resulting, along with abrasions around that from the actual kevlar itself. I also lost a bit of skin high and low on my hip which would have been worse had I not been wearing a substantial belt to hold 'em up over my skinny arse. The fault here is the kevlar lining only just reaches the edge of your hip and as you slide along the pants ride around just a tad and you end up wearing through the jeans/skin rather than the kevlar next to it. Of course your jacket rides up too, hence the skin loss further up.

So, just a word of caution when choosing your bike gear: Draggin's are not a get out of jail free card, even in a low speed accident.

They're better than standard jeans and I'd consider them for commuting in the city, but that's about it. As I live rurally and mostly ride country roads at open road speeds I'll be looking at other alternatives and won't bother replacing them.

By contrast I didn't even know I'd banged my head until I saw my Shoei XR1000 was scratched up (visor too, would have been my cheek had I been wearing an open face helmet), thanks Mr Shoei.

Same to you Mr Teknic. My gloves had lost the leather off the palm heel but the kangaroo skin proved it's superior abrasion resistance by appearing scuffed but completely intact.

My Alpine Star SM-X boot ankle armouring was also nicely ground away which would have meant a trip to reconstructive surgery had I been wearing something less substantial.

Not wanting to shit in my own nest with my country neighbours means I always take it pretty easy along the 6km's to the main road despite this section being part of a nice set of corners on what is a narrow cutting in places. This also ties in conveniently with the R1 having a dickie netral switch so the 6km's allows the bike to warm up before I think about feeding it the fat, as I can't idle it on the stand.

Given that there are similar sets of corners all over the 'rapa it's pure luck that I was caught out there and got off relatively lightly. Not that I go stupid but had I been somewhere else chances are I would have been travelling at a much less forgiving pace.

[howdamnhard]

Owww, glad you came out of it alive.Get some leathers.Did you get the trucks details,he needs to be dealt with or he will just do it again and the next person may not be so lucky.

[Swampdonkey]

Thanks for the report,glad your okay. Ive been wearing my jeans more and more out on the road,and have often wondered how effective they would be on an off. Might just wear them around town rides.

[piston broke]

I won't go into most of the usual bike damage from what was a fairly low speed crash (approx 40-50kph) but I thought it worthwhile to comment on the Draggin' Jeans I was wearing. While I realised they provide virtually no impact protection I was suprised at how poor they were at protecting from abrasions.
In contrast I wore/tore through the Draggin's kevlar on the knee with a fairly "meaty" abrasion resulting, along with abrasions around that from the actual kevlar itself. I also lost a bit of skin high and low on my hip which would have been worse had I not been wearing a substantial belt to hold 'em up over my skinny arse. The fault here is the kevlar lining only just reaches the edge of your hip and as you slide along the pants ride around just a tad and you end up wearing through the jeans/skin rather than the kevlar next to it. Of course your jacket rides up too, hence the skin loss further up.

So, just a word of caution when choosing your bike gear: Draggin's are not a get out of jail free card, even in a low speed accident.

They're better than standard jeans

well the last sentence says it all

[klingon]

Interesting. Very interesting.

My commute is about equal parts round-town and motorway riding. This summer I have been wearing draggins quite often... but now I've read this I'm glad the weather's cooling off a bit. Looks like it's back to the armoured cordura trou!

Glad to hear all your other gear stood up to the crash test and you're not too badly banged up. Look after yourself.

[skidMark]

Good for puttering around town, as you say better than jeans, but for open road anything less than one piece and i cant relax and enjoy the ride.

[James Deuce]

Interesting. Very interesting.

My commute is about equal parts round-town and motorway riding. This summer I have been wearing draggins quite often... but now I've read this I'm glad the weather's cooling off a bit. Looks like it's back to the armoured cordura trou!

Glad to hear all your other gear stood up to the crash test and you're not too badly banged up. Look after yourself.

Draggins are better than armoured Cordura. DAMHIK.

[martybabe]

Great attitude mate!

I expected that kinda result from the draggys, I guess leather is still king eh. I'm quite surprised though, in a century or more of motorcycling that we still haven't bettered dead animal skin as a form of protection.

Good read, glad your not to badly hurt.

[McDuck]

Draggins are better than armoured Cordura. DAMHIK.

You think? When i droped (read crashed) the 250 from 70ish (probably a little less) i lost very little skin with no real brusing (to my lower half). Pics around somwhere...

[pritch]

I remember reading where someone did tests in the UK and the Kevlar basically earned a fail. A bit better than ordinary denim, but that was about it.

It'd be better than whatever I wear to work too, but I can't wear jeans at work so...

[Hitcher]

I have been down the road twice in a pair of Draggins. Indeed in the same pair for that matter. They acquitted themselves famously and did everything I expected of them.

I wouldn't wear Draggins on a track day, nor uncovered in the rain or depths of winter. But for summer riding they are fantastic motorcycle garments. The cargoes were absolutely brilliant for coping with hot weather riding in the USA.

I highly recommend them. The ATGATT brigade can get fucked.

[Gremlin]

Came off at 90kph in Draggins... no scratches. I can't even tell which pair went sliding down the road.

However, it was soaking wet, pissing with rain, offering no traction (ie, why I binned), but the cordura jacket did show some abrasion, so in some situations, the draggins can definitely help.

You'd never bypass leather for best protection tho.

[skidMark]

Came off at 90kph in Draggins... no scratches. I can't even tell which pair went sliding down the road.

However, it was soaking wet, pissing with rain, offering no traction (ie, why I binned), but the cordura jacket did show some abrasion, so in some situations, the draggins can definitely help.

You'd never bypass leather for best protection tho.

Yeah definately leathers, but i think if commuting to work the draggins work for alot of people because you can just stay in them all day.

[jrandom]

I highly recommend them. The ATGATT brigade can get fucked.

Wot 'e said.

And I wear Draggins mostly because the kevlar-reinforced arse doesn't wear out on a motorcycle seat like normal jeans.

Anyone ever noticed how people who have run the gamut of bins tend to be a bit more relaxed about the gear they wear?

The ATGATT police seems to be 99% comprised of fearful n00bs who may have fallen off once or twice, but still don't quite know why.

[Kflasher]

...the truck had decided to take them both as one big curve...

You are lucky to walk away, skills on your part.
Sounds like the driver is familiar with this section of road, so the culprit may be a bit easier to trace or track down and formally complain about.
my 2 cents.