2WF.com - Online and on the Gas - Joe Rocket Speedmaster Back Protector

Joe Rocket Speedmaster Back Protector

Posted by Kenn Stamp
Saturday, 28 July 2007
Ramblings by Kenn Stamp Horrible photography by him too. It's amazing how people change over time. When I first started riding, jeans and a tee shirt were fine. I didn't know (yeah right) about falling down. Of course I was also 19 and invincible at that point so that could be part of it too. Flash forward a few years to my GS500 days and you would see an entirely different mindset. My Sunday rides were always taken wearing a one-piece Fox leather race suit. No real armor to speak of but covered from neck to ankle in red (single color suit) cowhide (I looked hot, especially since my bike was purple).The first time I went down on the bike (this is when my collarbones stopped matching) the suit most definitely saved my skin. Flash forward a few more years and you would find me riding my Wide Glide (with ape hangers and open exhaust) wearing jeans, tee shirt, and boots. What you wouldn't see me wearing was a helmet. I justified not wearing one for a few reasons, but in hindsight all of them were stupid so I won't say what they were for fear of seeming idiotic. I did finally wear a skid lid (brain bucket, novelty helmet) to appease my wife who was worried about me crashing and dying. What does this have to do with the Joe Rocket Speedmaster Back Protector you might ask? Well not much at all really, but it does have to do with my mental state during my time on motorcycles (hello? psychiatric ward? I think we have your escaped patient here). I went from being safety ignorant, to safety conscious, to not giving a darn about safety (had to look "cool" on the Harley you know), to thinking about safety and safety gear quite a bit. When I decided to buy this website and take over as editor, I knew that I needed some good safety gear to wear to the track for bike tests and just for fun. A few companies stepped up to provide things that I needed and Joe Rocket was one of them. I knew that I wanted more back protection than what comes in most jackets and leather suits because if my back gets any worse I'll be testing wheelchairs instead of motorcycles. When I contacted Joe Rocket about getting a back protector, their press liaison, Kelly, was very efficient about getting me the product quickly. I'm a stickler about customer service so I am very impressed with the response time from Joe Rocket. If their customer service department is half as good, they should be proud. OK, OK enough about me and on to the product review. The Speedmaster comes in two sizes; one for people under 6ft (small) and one for people over 6ft (large). If you are like me and you are 6ft tall exactly you probably need a large, unless you are all legs and a very small torso. To give you an idea of how they fit, the large covers me from my neck vertebra (the ones that stick out on your neck) all the way down to my coccyx (tail bone for you who are anatomy challenged), whereas the small goes from shoulder blades down to my coccyx. I like the idea of my neck having some coverage so I'm going with the large. This is one of those items that having it a little long is better than having it be a little short. (Note: after wearing the large on the track I decided that the short one is the way to go for track days as the large one rides up and digs into your neck when crouched) The part that faces your back has a very soft feel to the fabric, although if you're wearing a shirt you won't feel it. The part that faces away from your body is rubber with a honeycomb design in it for better shock absorption and distribution. There are two adjustable shoulder straps that fit very comfortably if adjusted properly. They should be tight enough to snug the protector against your back but not tight enough to cause discomfort. If your arms go numb and turn purple you have tightened the straps too much and should seek professional help for your mental "issues" because you are a few sandwiches short of a picnic. The protector is thick enough to provide protection in a fall but thin enough so that when you wear it under a jacket it should be comfortable and unnoticeable. You won't hear Quasimodo jokes when wearing one of these. As a matter of fact, except for the small bit poking out of the top of your jacket collar and the bottom of your jacket (on the large size), no one would even suspect you were wearing extra back protection so your "coolness" factor should be undamaged. Obviously back protectors, like all safety gear, are impossible to test unless and until you crash. Since I try to avoid that at all cost, you will just have to take my word that the Joe Rocket Speedmaster back protector feels like it would perform as intended and protect your back in case of a nasty dismount. While it may not be "cool" to wear these kinds of things on the street, being "cool" won't save your spine either. In a world of ever increasing costs, the $139.99 Speedmaster back protector from Joe Rocket seems like cheap insurance against what could be an expensive spine injury. Visit Joe Rocket's website here To discuss this review visit our forum on it here

< Prev		Next >