Hey guys, got a question.

I use Alpinestars leather track pants, old old old Alpinestars boots, Alpinestars dyno jacket, and some good long cuff Alpinestars gloves. Bought eveything used but it's all in great shape, and fits me very well.

I've been looking on ebay and have found some spine protectors that are very inexpensive, and look like they'll get the job done. The more I think about it, the more scared I am about crashing and damaging my sternum/ribs/anything. I've been riding every day on the street to/from school and work for 3 years, and through the canyons on the weekends without any accidents luckily, but I don't doubt that I will go down sometime and I like to be prepared with some protection.

I'm very skinny, so I want to protect myself, what do you guys think about the icon chest/armor packages? Or do you think a spine protector is sufficient? Basically I'm looking for some opinions of people that have gone down, have you ever damaged your chest/anything? Do you regret not using a chest protector?

Thanks guys (and girls)

The bike (and heavily built, GT30R'd car )

 

the chest protectors are more for dirt/avriding, but I have seen em worn on the street. A back protector would be sufficient , but you can never wear too much protection!!!

 

I'm sure there are cases where a chest protector would help prevent injuries or maybe reduce them to a non-fatal level so I won't be the guy to say they aren't worth it.

There are so many dynamics in a crash that predicting exactly which gear you'll need ahead of time is a game of probabilities. Chest protection is pretty far down the list for most street riders because direct blows to the chest area aren't perceived to be high on the list of 'ways to get killed on a motorcycle' - I have no idea if that perception is accurate but I don't recall seeing a lot of reports that say the rider died of truama to the chest. However, guys that ride on dirt take a lot more spills so the odd's of things happening just right so the chest protection pays off are increased so they often see it a good investment.

Cliff's Notes version: it's your body and your life so if you think it's the right call then go for it. If anyone gives you crap tell them to go to hell.

 

Yeah I wouldn't call a chest protector a necessity for riding on the street, but it is definitely not stupid to wear one. The more gear you can wear comfortably the better