If you don't read any other post this year...PLEASE read this one!

[throttlemeister]

It is now on the BMW rider site too:

http://specials.bmw-motorrad.com/com/en/products/riderspoint/functional_wear/hightech/hightech_main.html

No pricing yet though.

[Kristian,CO]

Troy Lee endorsed it on Epic Rides (4-5 sec blurb).

[AndrewA]

Has anyone received their brace yet? How about a report?

I'm really curious as to how you integrate the brace with your street gear.

[bradzdotcom]

i have about 600 miles on mine, and have been wearing it on both my first-gear two-piece suit and my one-piece track suit.

so far....it's hardly noticable. on the two-piece suit it's completely negligable. no limitations on range of helmet motion. can't even tell it's there. you totally forget about it.

on my track suit, i had to cut a slit in the suit, right ahead of the big giant spine hump/protector, as per the instructions. i do notice a small difference in range of motion....i can't look way up into the clouds (not that it's important to do so, but figured i oughta mention it).

on the outside of my helmet, i run a h.a.r.d. box, which lights up a led inside the helmet when my radar detector goes off. the leatt doesn't interfere with that.

however, a few weeks ago, when shelley tried on my leatt with her helmet, she did feel that her chatterbox do-hickey box did slightly drag when she turned her head all the way the left...and up.

then again, the leatt wasn't adjusted for her body. there are a lot of adjustments available. you can move the front and rear sections up and down. you can increase the "neck port" forward and back. and you can change the distance and angle of the rear neck protector.

when i first got it, it took me 20 minutes to adjust my leatt to fit my body. after about 20 miles, you tend to forget it's even there.

on round 1 of the Triple Crown, i rattled up to 120 mph and hung there for about 10 minutes. the brace didn't create any additional wind noise, and it didn't cause any aerodynamic lift.

if anybody wants to try my leatt on the San Diego leg, i'm more than happy to pass it around.

the only problem i've had is that my ipod speaker wires, which run up and under the leatt, required that i pull a couple of extra inches of slack before putting the brace on. not a big deal, just something to remember.

i have the half&half...half fiber/half carbon.

john lyon has one too. don't know that he's tried his yet. maybe he'll pipe in with his results.

steve carlton bought one also, but moved just days before they delivered it to his old address....he never got it. don't know the final outcome on that one. (personally, i think his killer dogs ate his, and didn't tell him).

the turn-around time from purchase to in-yer-hands is six weeks.

so far, on the pro supercross/motocross scene, more and more guys are wearing them. chad reed just set the record, finishing second this weekend in detriot wearing his. bubba stewart wears his in practice, but probably won't sport it until the outdoor motocross series starts next month. kevin windham wears his...along with a lot of other guys.

i've heard that on the motoGP side, many of the fastest guys are wearing them in weekday practice, but not during the race.

bottom line: it doesn't get in my way. it doesn't hamper or restrict me. it doesn't require any sort of trade off. and i feel more confident, relaxed....better....when i wear it.

it's become just another part of my riding gear "kit", like the helmet, boots, etc...

still ain't the kill-all chick magnet though...dang!
maybe if i pin-stripe it?

[Jeff Williams]

Brad,
I was reading,(yes I can read, haha), that KTM and BMW are coming out with their own neck braces. The KTM one I saw looked simular to yours.
Can you enlighten me with your brillance on might one.
jeff

[bradzdotcom]

the ktm and bmw braces are both made by leatt and are identical except for colors and stickers. both companies helped leatt to bring the product to market.

[signit98]

Originally posted by bradzdotcom

still ain't the kill-all chick magnet though...dang!
maybe if i pin-stripe it?

I can help you with that! Mauve Pin Stripes?

[Eric-325I]

Thank you for posting this. Although I rode years ago my wife and I just bought our 'first' bike together last year. We will be buying another soon and touring on our vacations... Trying to talk her into a BMW RT or GS but that's another story... I have saved the link to the product and it's on our list of gear to purchase asap. As a former military medic and husband to a wife with degrees in nursing and health care management, I can see where this device can and will save lives. Sometimes we see things and say to ourselves, "Why didn't someone think of this earlier?". This is the case here... But, better late than never. Will be buying two!

Although I am mainly on the Porsche side of this community, I browse here daily. I am always amazed with the quality of the people and information shared here at Pelican. Thanks so much!

Eric

*edited spelling

[acidburn]

I see a number of compnaies offering them now.
KTM offers a KTM version, same device.

[bradzdotcom]

there's a bmw version too.
same device, snobbier logo.

[acidburn]

I dont know the KTM stuff is getting pretty searious, snobby, your right.

[AndrewA]

KTM has a jacket specifically for use with their brace:

http://www.ktm-versand.de/product_info.php/info/p248_DAKAR-REPLICA-JACKET-LTD.html

[Don Shula]

BMW has announced a price for its neck brace - £325

http://www.motocorse.com/news/other_news/14096_BMW_Motorrad_Neck_Brace_System_to_revolution ise_motorcycle_safety.php

[WayneO]

FYI, I have purchased and received this brace for my daughter and myself. This is s first rate item and I have no problems in it's use with both the R1100S and the KTM 525. Last weekend I got to watch as my daughter toOK a low speed high side on her KTM 50 mini adventure with training wheels.

I am very glad to say that when her helmet reached the grass there was very little head movement as her leatt brace did it's job. Her comment to me was that she "got scared" and that was her only complaint.

I fear if she did not have the leatt brace she would have had at least a very sore neck, or there would have been a trip to ER in a C spine.

Watching your daughter get up after a crash and get back on her bike after a hug from daddy, PRICELESS!

[bradzdotcom]

so......i'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that when you show up this weekend for the Triple Crown ride, you'll have your brace with ya?

i'm glad you got one for your daughter too. whether or not her tip-over could have caused injury, it's nice to know that she has it on.

by the way, at our Supercross Finals in Las Vegas, all 15 kids participating in the KTM Junior Supercross Challenge (8~9 year olds) were wearing a Leatt brace.

[Rapid Dog]

Interesting tidbit on the MotoGP.com website about an Alpinestars brace in development if you have access o the site...

[bradzdotcom]

code name: the ACX Protector

tried out today at Competitive Edge MX Park in Hesperia, California by KTM rider Mike Alessi.

Said Alpinestars’ Colin Ballantine. “As you can see, certainly, it’s a neck-protection device designed to reduce the severity of any injury that’s sustained to the head and neck. We’ve done a number of physical tests and simulations and worked out a reasonable combination [of restriction] while giving the rider reasonable freedom. At the moment, we’re in a sort of prototype testing phase with a number of different riders until we get the finalized form of the device to see what is most acceptable to the most amount of people, really. The braces we have here are very infinitely adjustable. What you’re playing with is the available movement envelope of the rider’s head. As is unfortunately the case, the less movement you have, the more protection you have, but what we’re trying to find is the best compromise, really.”

[acidburn]

When you really consider that we all need this thing, it makes no sense at at all as a hobby.
Pretty much the height of stoopidity if you get it down on paper.
Crippled if you do, crippled if you dont.
Maybe just better to dont in a bigger way and move on to adult sports and hobbies.

[bradzdotcom]

"adult sports" like bowling, chess and knitting?

not sure i could round up any enthuaism for that kind of stuff.

or maybe i'm not understanding your point?

[John Lyon]

Don't know if this is your point either, but I've often considered becoming an adult and taking up golf like everyone else I know. Unfortunately, once motorcycling gets in your blood, its very hard to turn it off. As Bingo said recently, I don't recommend to anyone taking up the sport. I would add, ESPECIALLY don't take it up as an adult (mid-life Harley thing). Its hard enough to teach an adult to ski (requires similar mind/body coordination while under stress), and the result of a mistake is just too huge.