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Body Armor By
Bohn™ Body Protection
Written by: Guy Caputo
After reading an article
in a recent issue of Street and Strip magazine about Mark Urban
breaking his back on the starting line, I decided to finish
this article on Body Armor and get it posted. I have been using
and testing a new Body Armor system for about 6 months now and
I feel I can give you some very real feedback about the product.
Why Protection?
At first sight this
appears to be a really dumb question! But there are two distinct
reasons people look for protection:
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Back support
can be worn under leather jacket
for street riding
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1. To protect your
body! Yep, to cushion the body in the event of a crash. No body
armor can guarantee a total escape from every situation, but
it's sure going to help!
2. Peace of mind and
confidence. The people at Bohn™ are increasingly getting
feedback from people who are riding and report that wearing
good protection allows them to relax and concentrate on what
they're doing - rather than being preoccupied by NOT FALLING.
Like insurance, its good to know that you have it, even though
you don't use it. Many people are also carrying an old injury
they want to protect. This awareness puts you on edge, distracts,
and reduces enjoyment of your ride.
Scooter Kizer, President
and CEO for the AMA/Prostar Dragracing series has said many
times that body armor should be required equipment for all Pro
riders and in this writers
opinion, a must for any rider or racer.
The AMA/Prostar rulebook
for 2003 under rule 2.10.3.2 *Protective Clothing states:
Critical area (knees,
elbows, forearms, shoulders) armor or 2-layers of leather is
highly recommended and is MANDATORY in new construction (of
brand new leather suit construction). A spine protector is highly
recommended and will be mandatory in all Pro classes and non-wheelie
bar bikes as early as 2004.
I placed a call to
Scooter Kizer at Prostar to clarify these rules regarding "New
Construction" in suits. Scooter said that he wants to phase
in the body armor and has made several calls to leather suit
manufacturers to explain this. Scooter said, "If you have
a new Dragrace suit made by any suit manufacturer, you must
ask them to have soft body armor inserts made into the suit
in all the critical areas (knees, elbows, forearms, and shoulders)."
I personally recommend that you also ask them to leave enough
room in the chest area to accommodate a spine protector as well.
Scooter contends that the new, off the street rider is most
likely the highest risk group there is. First off, most street
riders are unfamiliar with the effects of a well-prepared track
at a Prostar event. I can tell you from first hand experience
that Tony Williams, Prostars official starter, can prepare a
track so well, you'll be pulling asphalt up on your shoes when
you walk on his track. When most riders are expecting the rear
tire to spin a bit off the line (like on the street), the rear
tire does just the opposite. It hooks up and sticks the tire
to the track like Velcro. Your bike launches forward and then
goes skyward while flipping you over like a pancake. Ouch! So
if you're having a new suit made in the near future, have these
items made into the suit for your protection, you'll be glad
you did.
Bohn™ Body Armor
can be found at www.actionstation.com
and you can see the entire Bohn™ body protective systems
available from ActionStations, Inc. I personally chose to use
the BohnȘ Pro Racer back support made of Carbon Aramid with
tailbone protection to wear when I race.
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Back support
fits under custom race leathers by Bate
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It feels comfortable
when I race and conforms to my shape when I lean over the bike
while racing. Available in both long and short lengths, both
versions feature Carbon Kevlar raised sections in strategic
areas - spine, shoulder blades and kidney/ribs. Still maintaining
the famous flexibility and comfort with tailbone protection,
your ProRacer back support can be worn all day in comfort without
you knowing its there. The Carbon Aramid ProRacer back supporter
is available in both race profile (with tailbone support), and
touring (for a more upright riding stance). I also had ALL the
body armor pads installed in my new race leathers from Bates
Leathers of Long Beach, California. www.batesleathers.com
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Custom Bates
Leathers with all the
critical body armor inserts
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Dianna Caputo
models
for her Husband
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My wife
Dianna showing
shoulder pad insert
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When I ride out on
the street, I wear my new Bohn™ pants and Bohn™ shirt
under my Levi's and leather jacket and I am assured of the best
protection I can get while riding the Maximum Performance prepared
Dragbike.com Hayabusa. When you have 225HP between your legs
on the street, it can get a little scary sometimes and worrying
about crashing is not something I want on my mind. Bohn™
Pants and Bohn™ Shirts are a revelation! How many of us
like to ride in Blue Jeans? It's like they were invented for
motorcycling! But somehow our knees feel rather exposed, to
say nothing of hips. Comfortable, slim articulated knee and
shin armor and hip pads - all designed to fit under your jeans.
Your friends will never know! Adventure Pants feature tailbone
and thigh protection. They have sizing from small to XXXL, so
there ought to be a size that works for you! The Bohn™
Shirt has the shoulder and elbow pads and can include the Bohn™
back armor.
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Stretch
Lycra with critical area pads
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Don't let an accident
put you on the sidelines for the rest of the season, the year
or for life. Protect yourself against the unforeseen chance
that you do have an accident and stay safer while wearing Bohn™
Body Armor and protective gear. For additional information,
you can contact:
ActionStations, Inc.
166 Eaton Road, Suite A
Chico, CA 95973-0201
(888)
922 9269
Email: action@actionstation.com
www.actionstation.com
Bates Leathers
1663 E. 28th Street
Long Beach, CA 90755
(562) 426 8668
www.batesleathers.com
Until Next Time, Safe
Racing to All.
Guy Caputo can be
reached at Guy@Dragbike.com
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