Why Should You Consider Kevlar Clothing for Motorcycle Riding?

A fall at high speed is always a dangerous event. Nobody wishes to experience this type of situation while riding. However, we all know that it can happen, and therefore it's good to be prepared. After all, those who are prepared can avoid injuries. There are some things you learn in driving school, and some you learn from life on the road, or on the track. If you have a moment, we can share interesting insights from the world of material engineering applied in practice in the following article. Perhaps, it will help you decide to update your motorcycle wardrobe and prepare for possible situations that do not have mercy on even the most experienced riders.

Currently, scientific teams around the world are competing to come up with the most original application based on nanotechnology. It’s surprising though, that the best material for motorcycle clothing is still natural material - leather. Where did engineers go wrong, right? Let’s face it, leather is an excellent and highly durable material, but this only applies if there is a perfect approach to the development and production of the final piece of motorcycle clothing. A leather jacket for riding , or a leather jumpsuit, can be eye catching and affordable, but if it is not well-thought-out and properly sewn, it will not function well. Particularly in situations that you experience firsthand when the asphalt "holds up a mirror" at you. At 4SR, through long-term collaboration with professional racers who experience falls almost every racing weekend, we strive to continuously improve all elements of our leather motorcycle clothing so that it is as safe as possible for racers on the track and for the average rider on the road. You can read more in the article about 4SR's patented seam if you wish.

There are also many situations when you might not fully appreciate leather clothing on a motorcycle. For example, in hot weather, during short rides, or when you need to function in more formal attire right after riding. Getting on a motorcycle in jeans and a cotton sweatshirt is not really cool anymore, it's rather a bit crazy, however we have a solution for you...

Have you heard of Kevlar? Most probably you have.

Sometimes as motorcyclists we get lucky and a highly usable novelty escapes the laboratory. This was the case in 1965 when a bespectacled genius in a white coat discovered poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. Let's call it Kevlar® for short. Due to its unique properties, it has found implementation in many fields. It is stronger and lighter than steel, excellently resistant to abrasion, and retains its properties even at very high temperatures. For example, at 160°C, it loses just under 10% of its strength - but only after 500 hours! At this temperature, any other competitive fibers are already melted or long gone. When you imagine the mechanics of falling from a motorcycle and the subsequent sliding of the rider across the asphalt, the properties of Kevlar fibers are precisely utilized. As is known from ancient hunters and their method of starting a fire, friction between the rider and asphalt generates heat, and Kevlar essentially does not recognize heat...

For the purposes of manufacturing motorcycle clothing, Kevlar® has no competition. During a fall and subsequent sliding, the contact surfaces heat up to more than 200°C. Therefore, second-degree burns can occur on the rider's skin without the outer material of the clothing being compromised. Even in such situations, Kevlar does not lose it’s strength.

At 4SR, we have decided to offer our customers an alternative to leather motorcycle clothing, which will be functional and very safe at the same time. Therefore, you can check out our collection of Kevlar sweatshirts and Kevlar jeans on our e-shop. Our sweatshirts are made of a single-layer fabric composed of 60% Kevlar and 40% cotton. Each component in the mixture plays an important role. Kevlar, as you have read above, is heat resistant, and at the same time, it is up to 5 times stronger in tension than steel at the same weight. This makes it reliably resistant to tearing or cutting. Thanks to cotton, the fabric remains breathable and light, and thanks to 4SR, the sweater is safe and affordable. For the 4SR moto jeans, Kevlar® by Dupont is also used. The jeans are equipped with a set of Safe Tec protectors with the highest safety certification > Level 2 T+. For the knee protectors of the 4SR Kevlar moto jeans, we are proud to offer our customers our own, patented, knee protector attachment system, which ensures that the protector is always in the right position in every position. (More in a separate article)