Had a massive off in Spain a while back. Freak wind blast and in hindsight over laden bike = super exciting tank slapper. As luck would have it we were relatively ok but in need of some hospital attention and a ride home. In a nutshell have the following interesting info;

Me. Klim Dakar Pants... Absolute nails. Took the slide at circa 85mph incredibly well. So impressed went and bought another pair immediately. And a klim jacket. Don't plan on a repeat but if it happens then I want to be in Klim!

Me. Fieldshear jacket US brand with mesh panels. Average at best. Survived but didn't take the brunt of the spill. Wouldn't have wanted it to be first point of contact. Won't be buying again.

Her. Dainese mesh jacket and pants. Literally fell apart at the seams. Nothing left. A total disgrace. We both accept mesh kit won't offer the same degree of protection as leathers but bet there's plenty of others out there who expect some! Dainese stance was quite literally "it's not designed to withstand that kind of impact so we aren't responsible". Neither of us will ever touch Dainese again.

The Bike. A DL1000... Took us 2 up off piste through the high atless. absolutely faultless. Fortunately nominal damage in high side due to crash bars and panniers.

Insurance. With Carole Nash. Was diabolical shambles. Essentially left stranded in Spain untill attacking directly via twitter. Even then it was only the acrions of a sole individual that sorted us out. The organisation couldn't give a monkeys.

Any other info gladly shared...

Glad you two came out fairly OK. You crashed at 85 mph off road on a Vstrom riding two up? Man, are you a former Dakar Racer?

I rode former '02 DL1000 90K miles. Rode on and off road in Baja, mainland Mexico, western USA and BC, Canada and all of California numerous times.

Tipped over a few times off road, no major crashes ... but the Strom is not a bike meant to crash well ... you are VERY lucky, IMHO, that you, girlfriend and your Strom came through OK.

Most of the top brands should give decent abrasion protection. IMO, the important factor is ARMOR worn under. Most built in Armor provides only cursory protection and is often OUT OF POSITION upon impact.

For years I've worn dirt bike style knee armor worn under my riding pants, either leathers or ADV type pants or light dirt bike pants for super hot weather. The armor to protect knees and hips goes under.

Up top I usually supplement back protection with better foam pad or a bespoke back protector. I also wear dirt bike style elbow guards as built in ones are rarely in proper position in a fall unless you jacket fits super snug. (I don't like tight fitting gear)

But even the best gear won't save you if you hit something solid or wham into an Armco barrier like I did and have your leg trapped between bike and
guard rail. Not good. Titanium plate to prove it.

Sliding down the road I've seen several top brands jackets and pants get shredded. Yes, even Rukka! (Aerostich being some of the toughest, with MotoPort right up there too)

Custom MotoPort gear, IMO, has the best protection of any gear I've seen. Custom made in So Cal.

Dainese, IMO, make some excellent gear. But many Mesh jackets will come apart in a good slide and tumble. I have a Rev' It Mesh, not crashed it but assume it will come apart. The good news is the Rev'It has good built in armor which is actually in the right place for me! (rare) But would not want to slide down pavement at 85 mph in that Mesh.

I have some nice hot weather ADV pants from Cycle Gear (in house Sedici Arturo brand) which are some of the best I've seen for the money. ($120 USD)
These pants aren't fully mesh and seem well built with just a few Mesh panels.

The KLIM gear is above average, but, IMO, way overpriced for Made In China gear. Like most riding gear, KLIM is ALL made in China. Exception is Aerostich and Motoport ...(even some Aerostich is made in China)

But IMO, brands like First Gear, Tourmaster, Alpinestar and Joe Rocket are not far off KLIM and are HUNDREDS of dollars less ... and ALL made in China. I can afford ANY jacket but ride in my trusty First Gear, my 2nd one. Fallen off many times off road. No damage to me or the jacket. Also own Alpinestar and Joe Rocket, owned Tour Master in the past.

Fieldsheer (originally a UK brand) is now a rather low budget brand, does not sell well (not promoted much)... so you see it at Fire Sale prices. Sorry to hear it let you down.

My point (finally! ) is you don't have to spend $1200 USD on a KLIM jacket to get good protection if you supplement your outfit with proper armor UNDER jacket and pants.

That is "where the human flesh meets the road". It's often that initial impact with the ground or something solid that breaks bones or damages internal organs ... as painful as Road Rash is, broken bones are worse.

Armor can save your life in a big hit. At that point the Kevlar-Cordura does not
matter that much.

+1 for the dakar over the boot pants.

I have been very satisfied riding in Africa with the dakar pants, dakar jacket. When offroading at high temperature ( 35c -42c) , I was wearing the mojave jersey and the dakar jacket without the arms. I was also wearing body armors under the jacket and pants.

The dainese armor protection is very confortable.

Patrick

Glad your both ok.

Good on you Carol Nash should be ashamed of themselves hopefully we will all consider this when taking out or renewing bike insurance

This is not the first time I've heard negative things about Carol Nash. I'd be interested to turn this side of the original post on its head: has anyone needed assistance and been looked after really well with an insurer? If Carol Nash aren't great, who is better?

glad you are both ok - how about a mention of the boots, gloves, helmets and armor - be well! ... Michael

Carole Nash are merely a broker - the "middle man" type of business that has sprung up in the UK.
Shame doesn't enter into the business model.


There is a sticky thread from a few years ago that brings together some experiences of UK vehicle insurance.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eriences-63707
Nowadays, it tends to be buried among many other sticky threads in that section of the HUBB.

__________________
Dave

Mollydog - Thanks for the feedback and so sorry I never responded. I'm afraid I didn't see a notification re your post. Only noticed it today as back on board for some trip planning (I've been a member years but am not a frequent user).

As for our tumble - we were on road not off so that explains the 85mph

As you say - extremely fortunate to both be ok.

Point taken re kit and point of manufacture. Maybe I'm all starry eyed over Klim due to circumstance. But theres nothing like sliding down the road on something and escaping unscathed to cement your faith in something! there also Klims replacement policy...

I am very much in favour of underdog brands and budget options but in Kilms case I just feel its worth a few quid.