safety question from newbie

[lonesoldier84]

knee protection:

should i be worried about my knee bending the wrong way? I am thinking of returning a motocross knee protection system i bought for the road. I bought it because i felt knee's bending the wrong way are a big concern, but the more I think about it frontal impact is the only think knees would really face even in an odd crash.

so, question is should i return my 700 dollar knee protectors for more basic kneepads?

 

[Nelly]

knee protection:

should i be worried about my knee bending the wrong way? I am thinking of returning a motocross knee protection system i bought for the road. I bought it because i felt knee's bending the wrong way are a big concern, but the more I think about it frontal impact is the only think knees would really face even in an odd crash.

so, question is should i return my 700 dollar knee protectors for more basic kneepads?

The question is my friend,
Do you feel safer, well protected and confident with the knee protectors. Realistically knees do get damaged when riders fall. In my experience it is rare to see a rider with a knee that has been beant the wrong way or dislocated. The worst injuries tend to come from the slide and road rash. The MX protectors stop hyperflextion as that is the way MX riders ride (with one foot of the peg) hopefully you wont be trying to turn the FZ6 into corners with one leg out.
Money spent on protection is money well spent, if it were me I would buy some leather pants with built in protection. The choice is however yours.

Nelly

 

[Doorag]

I agree. You'd be better off getting leathers for that money - unless you ride off-road and could also use them for that.

 

[lonesoldier84]

im inclined to get them because it may be unlikely to have my knee bend the wrong way (as my cousin has been telling me repeatedly that theres no sense in using these as they are such crazy overkill for the road)

but they are very lightweight and you know with 100% certainty your knee will not move in any way other than in which its supposed to. only a huge impact from a massive vertical fall (which would break ur tibia and such before it wrecked ur knees) or a twisting of the leg within the protectors (which is extremely unlikely youd pretty much have to be rotating and get ur foot caught someplace).

many other injusries are much more likely (back, neck as the big 2 i think) but these things ensure your knees dont bend in non-natural directions (forwards or sideways) and I think thats a big plus. But I have no road experience or know many people who do. So am I just being paranoid or is it something worthwhile to have. ignore the cost of these things imagine they are free. I already have sportbike pants with knee guards but im taking those out anyway its either these knee guards or the icon urban slide ons.

I have great protection everywhere else except for my neck for which I was borderline on getting a brace but I decided against it as they are so utterly massive

 

[CanadianFZ6]

I think you will find your knees to be the least of your worries in a head on frontal crash (or any type of crash) on a motorcycle......

 

[wrightme43]

Chest area, and the major organs.
I need to get the Knox back and chest protectors.

 

[jfz6]

I think you will find your knees to be the least of your worries in a head on frontal crash (or any type of crash) on a motorcycle......

Warning a little graphic below


This happened when my front wheel locked up @ 40 mph due to an over aggressive bit of braking on my part. I would rethink your ideas about knee protection.!!!!!

 

[lonesoldier84]

ouch, looks painful, what were the exact injuries? just bruising, swelling, and cuts?

And as for the rest of the advice thanks all good info but Ive decided on keeping them. They may be overkill but theyre extremely comfortable and if they do save my knees even once itll be worth the cost. My 2 older cousins (which is like 80% of my family haha) have horrible knee problems. So Ive seen them suffering on extremely bad knees and when i was looking for knee protection the padding alone just seemed so cheesy so i picked these up.

P.S. I also have extreme back protection....but I have found the chest piece lacking tho. I understand chest injuries are a major injury in crash sequences, but youd think youd have your arms out in front of you...

 

[jfz6]

ouch, looks painful, what were the exact injuries? just bruising, swelling, and cuts?

P.S. I also have extreme back protection....but I have found the chest piece lacking tho. I understand chest injuries are a major injury in crash sequences, but youd think youd have your arms out in front of you...

I would have broken my ankle if it had not already been broken before and had lots of titanium in it.

Motorcycle (pictures)

I actually landed on my knee first I think. I have been laid up for a month now. I bruised my spleen, ribs, lung, and separated some cartilage in my ribs and did some sort of damage between the rib wall and the lung. As far as the chest thing and having your arms out in front of you. I landed on my elbow armor - it went right into the spot where my last few ribs and stomach meet. I am definately looking to get some knee protection as well as spine.

 

[Hellgate]

I have to agree with the others a good set of leathers with CE armor and a good pair of boots will help you the most. MX is a vastly different sport. Sticking that leg out there is part of the riding style, however that is not the case on the street.

For about $350.00 and up you can get a good leather suit, another $150 for boots.

As JFZ6 has attested it is the soft stuff that gets injuried on the street. My big crash resulted in 1 broken collar bone (very common) all left side ribs broken, punctured lung, bruised spleen, pretty bad concussion (I was out for about 30 minutes), and road rash through a full set of racing leathers.

If you are thinking of wearing additional protection I'd suggest a back protector instead of the knee brace. They are about $150 to $200.

Good luck with your decision and ride safe!!!

:Sport:

 

[armystrong]

I wear these every time I ride Icon Field Armor Leg :: New Enough, LTD

They fit under my clothes and just make me feel safer. Not sure how well they'll work in a fall, but they make me feel safer.

 

[Nelly]

Hi mate,
I have been thinking about your quandary. So let’s go a little deeper into the part of your body you are trying to protect.
The knee:
The knee is often just thought off as just the bony bit (patella) between upper leg (femur) and lower leg (tibia) & fibula).
There are a number of muscle groups that are involved with supporting the knee. However, what injury are you trying to prevent the most?
The commonest knee injury is co-lateral ligament injury. This is caused by (mostly) sideways twisting impacts. Not the end of the world if it does happen surgical techniques are now excellent at fixing it.
Less common but more problematic (that involve the knee) are Tibial plateau injury or meniscal tear. These injuries involve the two surfaces of the upper and lower bones that need to move against each other (articulating surfaces).
In my opinion even a knee brace will not prevent these injuries if the impact is big enough and I think you need to also consider where this force is going to end up. It is not uncommon for people to injure above the knee and have a secondary injury below the knee as the load is transferred through the whole leg. This is why the whole leg is x-rayed. The more I think about it the more I believe that it is overkill for the street. I would be more concerned that the shearing forces would cause a hip injury in the fully braced imobile knee. Now as a general rule of thumb most people have two prosthetic hip opportunities in a life time. This is due to the degrading of the cement used to hold the hip in place. Most hips prosthesis only last 10 to 15 years (I have not worked in Orthopaedics for over 7 years so would be happy to be proven otherwise). There are more activities you can’t do with a long standing hip injury than a long standing knee injury.
Just my opinion mate and I wish you well, save the cash or put it towards advanced rider training.

Nelly

 

[DefyInertia]

jfz6, those are some sexy legs!

 

[Nelly]

jfz6, those are some sexy legs!

Defy put your glasses on quick lol.

 

[lonesoldier84]

nelly that is extremely helpful insight I am going to seriously consider returning the knee protection for something more convenient (these things are pretty huge so it will impact physical contact with the body of the bike).

Im gonna stop by my doctor and just ask him his take on it. Ill try to make a more informed decision at that point in time based on his and your combined feedback.

 

[opds9091]

forget his sexy legs, but I LOVE THE SHOE