[marshallf3]

Perhaps most famous for its application in bullet-proof vests,

Kevlar is also used in radial tires, heat- or flame-resistant

fabrics, fiber-reinforced composite materials for aircraft panels,

boat hulls, golf-club shafts, and lightweight bicycles.



According to the Dupont website, which first produced Kevlar in

1965, this tough fiber weave can be made "five times stronger than

steel on an equal weight basis," yet, at the same time be,

"lightweight, flexible and comfortable."



Ten years after its initial production, in 1975, the first field

trial of body armor made with Kevlar was conducted with police

officers and sales have exploded since then as protective gear

around the world for police and military.





SO WHY NOT MAKE MOTORCYCLE APPAREL WITH KEVLAR?



http://motorcycle-intelligence.com/kevlar-motorcycle-jacket-review-part-i/58/

 

[jayhanig]

Perhaps most famous for its application in bullet-proof vests,

Kevlar is also used in radial tires, heat- or flame-resistant

fabrics, fiber-reinforced composite materials for aircraft panels,

boat hulls, golf-club shafts, and lightweight bicycles.



SO WHY NOT MAKE MOTORCYCLE APPAREL WITH KEVLAR?



http://motorcycle-in...view-part-i/58/

Where have you been? They've been making kevlar lined motorcycle duds for quite a while. I have a pair of Sliders cargo pants and a pair of Draggin Jeans that are both lined with kevlar.

 

[DaveF]

I've owned the Motoport (Cycleport) Kevlar air mesh jacket and pants for almost six years now and have ridden thousands of miles in them. They have their good and not-so-good points.



The quality is excellent and the protection is definitely as good or better than anything else I'm aware of. There is nothing I'd rather wear when tumbling/sliding down the asphalt at speed (fortunately I haven't experienced that yet). I honestly feel like I could take a running leap in a parking lot, slide along the pavement, and get up without even a scratch - it's that good.



So what's not to like, other than the cost?



The exceptional protection comes at a price - the gear is heavy and bulky. While riding, the gear is not at all noticeable; in fact it's very comfortable. But when stopped in the summer heat it can be almost unbearable. Although the mesh breathes well, the solid armor inserts do not. Extended stop and go traffic in the summer heat can be a miserable experience. The weight and bulk are also quite noticeable when off the bike. It's a relief to get out of the gear when stopped.



The Motoport gear uses Goretex liners for rain protection. These work very well - I've ridden in extremely heavy downpours and stayed dry. The downside is the additional time needed to suit up for an approaching storm and to remove the liners after it has passed. A rain suit worn over the gear is much faster and more convenient.



For these reasons I often found myself skipping the Motoport gear on shorter rides.



As a compromise, a pair of Draggin' Jeans and jacket were purchased. These are quite comfortable although the level of protection is significantly less. The Motoport gear is still worn on long rides, but for shorter ones it's the Draggin' gear. The best gear in the world is of no use if it is not worn.



This photo from my profile shows the Motoport gear.

 

[InWeldingWeTrust]

When I ran a Hein Gericke Store I saw, and experienced this syndrome a lot, people who had bought very good gear, but were just so tired of having to put it all on. In almost all cases they fell in love with a pair of draggin jeans. but of course these have limitations also, and can be uncomfortable (itchy) to wear. As an extra service, I used to take dragging jeans to a local tailor and have him sew extra internal cotton pockets to take smart armour and also cover the kevlar portion of the inner jeans. Once done these made, I honestly believe a good product, better, as it was now found to be easier to wear and had impact as well as abrasion protection. Ultimately, there are many solutions to riding with a good level of protection, but the best level of protection you can have, is the one you want to wear all the time, and not the one you wear sometimes. Further to that, and although quite unpopular in "fashion" terms, armoured underwear, capable of taking modern smart armour gives you the further freedom to be protected yet still wear the clothes you would like, ie who wants to wear an unnecessarily 2 inch thick $600 goretex motorcycle jacket when they can wear body armour and a $150 Eddie Bauer goretex jacket that deflects wind and rain just as well - there are always many proponents on both sides of this argument. Many years spent working as a test rider and pounding highways everywhere has taught me one salient fact. If you wear anything that annoys you, or distracts your attention for even an instant, that one instant can be enough to put you in serious trouble. So protect yourself, by all means, but never assume that because you are wearing "good" gear, you have the best solution for you

 

[50gary]

Michelin invented the steel belted radial tire and held patents prohibiting other tire companies from use. American tire compaines had Dupont develop Kevlar specifically to compete with the Michelin steel belted radial tire. Common is Kevlar 29 and Kevlar 49 I forget which one is for ballistic uses, I'm guessing the 49? I feel nervous commenting on tires now-a-days, ha ha.

Cheers, 50gary

 

[InWeldingWeTrust]

Hmm....I wonder why

Michelin neither invented the radial tyre , or steel belts. Michelin did however invent the pneumatic tyre ( in 1895) and marketed the first steel belted radial mass production tyre in 1948. Over the next 20yrs or so these became standard issue tyres in everywhere except America, which resisted the radial until approx 1965, but even then they only existed in small numbers until the 1973 oil crisis. Indeed, the american tyre and automotive industry's regarded the radial as "a freak product that isn’t going anywhere"

Materials such as Twaron and Kevlar ( both para aramids) were developed for use in mass production tyres by many tyre manufacturers and only laterally were adopted by american brands, although some developemnt of them for racing tyres was done in the early 60's

Kevlar 29 is primarily used in body armour, Kevlar 49 in ropes, and Kevlar 129 has ballistics use

Twaron ( similar to Kevlar) has far more tyre and automotive uses since its rival development in the early 70's ( under the arenka name). Other popular misconceptions in America are that Mickey Thompson invented the slick tyre (untrue) and that mickey thompson make tyres (also untrue - other tyre companies made the tyres with their name on it until they were bought out by Cooper Avon tyres in y2k)

Neither did Michelin make the first motorcycle radial, which was made for racing from 1961, and were originally used by both George Brown (on super Nero) and Sammy Millar (for Trials world championships). Michelin did however produce the first production motorcycle radial in 1987, the MP7, having developed it from previous race tyres circs '84

 

[raulbajamx]

When I ran a Hein Gericke Store I saw, and experienced this syndrome a lot, people who had bought very good gear, but were just so tired of having to put it all on. In almost all cases they fell in love with a pair of draggin jeans. but of course these have limitations also, and can be uncomfortable (itchy) to wear. As an extra service, I used to take dragging jeans to a local tailor and have him sew extra internal cotton pockets to take smart armour and also cover the kevlar portion of the inner jeans. Once done these made, I honestly believe a good product, better, as it was now found to be easier to wear and had impact as well as abrasion protection. Ultimately, there are many solutions to riding with a good level of protection, but the best level of protection you can have, is the one you want to wear all the time, and not the one you wear sometimes. Further to that, and although quite unpopular in "fashion" terms, armoured underwear, capable of taking modern smart armour gives you the further freedom to be protected yet still wear the clothes you would like, ie who wants to wear an unnecessarily 2 inch thick $600 goretex motorcycle jacket when they can wear body armour and a $150 Eddie Bauer goretex jacket that deflects wind and rain just as well - there are always many proponents on both sides of this argument. Many years spent working as a test rider and pounding highways everywhere has taught me one salient fact. If you wear anything that annoys you, or distracts your attention for even an instant, that one instant can be enough to put you in serious trouble. So protect yourself, by all means, but never assume that because you are wearing "good" gear, you have the best solution for you

i have worn dragg'n jeans and i do like them,but i just did wonder about those knee pads, i'll take them to my tailor also and have some pocket stiched,,,,, good idia

 

[InWeldingWeTrust]

@Raul

I used to fit knee and hip armour into them. For best results have the pocket made so you can slip the armour into it and that it has a top flap that can seal the armour in. Pay particular attention to the shape of the armour you buy (hiprotec etc)so that the pocket is the exact size of the armour and does not allow it to move unduly

 

[50gary]

Inweldingwetrust thanks for the straight dope on the tire history (partial) always appreciated.

Cheers 50gary

 

[marshallf3]

I merely quoted from an e-mail I received, however most times I've passed them on it's led to an interesting discussion.



While I'd like to ride fully dressed I've got changeoffs I need to make so a good reinforced jacket with a good helmet, carefully choosing my routes and being 110% aware are going to have to support me. Not having 3,500 lbs of steel around me makes me far more observant of road ahead but the world is full of "what do I care, I've got insurance" drivers that it isn't funny.



If we could only ban cell phone usage while driving 100% it would be a great help.

 

[InWeldingWeTrust]

@Marshall

Oh, absolutely!

Recently, when riding along with my wife on the back, a girl in a shed of a civic, coming off a freeway, and talking on her mobile phone came right across our bows, causing us to brake and swerve severely. She then realised what she had done, and swerved back across the traffic lanes causing other traffic to then brake and of course, us also once more, now having to avoid several panicked vehicles and not just one moron. Multiple vehicle drivers shook their fist at her as they drove past ( and other interesting motions!) which she again failed to react to as she was STILL on her mobile phone. Personally, I think the offense committed carries too light a penalty and should be treated as a DUI and carry a ban of at least 1 year for a first instance. When in charge of a vehicle its very difficult to kill or maim someone when concentrating, but extremely easy to do when not paying attention

 

[gopher]

[quote

Michelin did however invent the pneumatic tyre ( in 1895)

[/quote]

Just reading about that.

According to Wikipedia, the first person to use an pnuematic tire on an automobile was Andre Michelin. However, it was not successful.

Credit for the invention of the pnuematic tire generally goes to the Scotman Robert Thomson. He was only 23 years old when he patented his pnuematic tire in France in 1846 and in the USA in 1847. His tire consisted of a hollow belt of India rubber inflated with air so that the wheels presented "a cushion of air to the ground, rail or track on which they run". This elastic belt of rubberised canvas was enclosed within a strong outer casing of leather which was bolted to the wheel. Thomson's "Aerial Wheels" were demonstrated in London's Regents Park in March 1847 and were fitted to several horse-drawn carriages, greatly improving the comfort of travel and reducing noise. One set ran for 1200 miles without sign of deterioration.

The first practical pneumatic tire was made by John Boyd Dunlop, also born in Scotland, while working as a veterinarian in May Street, Belfast, in 1887 for his son's bicycle, in an effort to prevent the headaches his son had while riding on rough roads (Dunlop's patent was later declared invalid because of prior art by fellow Scot Robert William Thomson).



Where would the world be without the Scots?

 

[InWeldingWeTrust]

@ Gopher

well, we are both partly right and wrong. Michelin invented the first pneumatic automotive tyres, being a refined version of the earlier bicycle tyres and while you say they were not successful, they were used to win many major races in their day. Tyres previously had either been non rubber items( not including solids of course) or non removable, and in any case either for use on bicycles or horse drawn carriages. Thompson and Dunlops previous tyres having, of course to be wired to a wheel, not being capable in themselves of static retension upon a wheel

 

[ki4radiocom]

I do not want to be shot. Just the same,

I do not want a flat.

 

[DavidfromWisconsin]

You might want to read this to find out just what Kevlar is all about.

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/kevlar.html