Upgrading your motorcycle kit

Standards are set to change with the introduction of new regulations governing personal protective equipment for motorcyclists.

Buying motorcycle kit can be complicated. There’s a raft of lengthy regulations and codes plastered across most gear which we’re meant to be able to decipher – and finding out how protective a prospective piece of kit is can prove challenging.

But that’s all changing, thanks to the new European PPE Regulations coming which came into play on April 21 this year. They are intended to level the playing field, and make it more straightforward to understand how best to stay safe out on two wheels.

What were the rules before?

Since 1994, any gear described as Personal Protective Equipment has had to pass tests to satisfy European legislation – but for various reasons, most bike kit has been sold as being ‘non-protective’, with only the armour being tested to CE standards. That means that although the gear comes with CE approved impact protection, and is advertised and marketed as such, it does not necessarily meet specific CE standards for clothing – for abrasion resistance, protection from cuts etc. - and it might not be up to the job, should you take a tumble. Does that make sense so far?

And what’s changed?

The new legislation that’s now in force aims to simplify the classification system and make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions. The rules moving forward are that if it’s sold as motorcycle clothing – then it will have been tested in line with the new European Personal Protective Equipment Regulation. There is one exception though, in the form of rainwear, which simply works to keeps the worst of the weather at bay – but under the new rules, rainwear won’t be permitted to feature impact protectors, or any means of installing them into the garment.

Delving a little deeper into the specifics of the new pr EN17092 draft standards, there’s now five individual classifications of motorcycle clothing, covering different types and performance capabilities of garments, evaluating important protective aspects such as abrasion resistance, tear strength, seam strength and ergonomics.

And, as you’d expect, it offers far more information to consumers – and allows them to make an educated decision on the level of protection they need, for the sort of riding they’ll be doing.

Does that mean we’ll be forced to wear CE-approved clothing when we’re riding?

All bike clothing placed on the market from now on will be deemed PPE – but don’t worry, at the minute there’s no real obligation to wear it.

Of course, most bikers in the UK do already wear some form of protective kit, and generally buy specific motorcycle clothing – so for the majority of riders, the new legislation presents little to no problem. However, it’s worth noting that in France it’s already a legal requirement to wear CE-approved gloves – so who’s to say what will be implemented moving forward. At this stage, it’s simply guesswork.

Could it make kit more expensive?

The new independent testing process could cost manufacturers up to three times as much as it did previously – so it’s certainly possible. Even so, they should level out quite quickly, as companies learn more about the new legislations and testing process – which they can then implement into new products to recoup the initial costs. Experts also point out that clothing companies already have marketing and advertising budgets, which are funded from the retail price of their products, so all they need to do is use some of that budget to fund their testing programmes and the price of gear won’t be affected.