Why don't bikers use HANS device?

af_thefragile

I was thinking about this today. A common bike accident injury is nerve damage to the arms because when the biker falls off the bike, the sideways force from the heavy helmet stretches and damages the nerves running in the neck as the neck bends more than its supposed to. More serious crash could result in a basilar skull fracture as the head hits the ground which could be very serious.

This could all be fairly easily prevented with the use of a HANS device like all F1 drivers use. So why don't bikers use something similar as well? Maybe something modified for motorbike use? It can prevent some serious long term injuries.

RustyNut

af_thefragile wrote: »

I was thinking about this today. A common bike accident injury is nerve damage to the arms because when the biker falls off the bike, the sideways force from the heavy helmet stretches and damages the nerves running in the neck as the neck bends more than its supposed to. More serious crash could result in a basilar skull fracture as the head hits the ground which could be very serious.

This could all be fairly easily prevented with the use of a HANS device like all F1 drivers use. So why don't bikers use something similar as well? Maybe something modified for motorbike use? It can prevent some serious long term injuries.

Would it not prevent you performing a proper lifesaver ?

Wonda-Boy

You can buy them on alot of bike websites, the carbon fibre ones they are not cheap I tells ya.

Or just use 5 of them oxford snuggies around you neck and you sorted!

af_thefragile

RustyNut wrote: »

Would it not prevent you performing a proper lifesaver ?

Maybe it could be designed to provide enough side to side movement of the head but prevent the neck from being bent laterally... if you get what I mean...

I don't think the F1 devices can be used for the bikes but someone should design something similar for bikers too which can prevent the head from moving violently in a crash...

eurofoxy

RustyNut wrote: »

Would it not prevent you performing a proper lifesaver ?

it sure would, try moving your head around wearing one of those things, its very difficult. I have worn them at track events in cars and find they hinder movement of your head and shoulders all the time, i dont imagine a lifesaver or anything else would be possible on a bike with them.

If you google motorbike jacket with airbag, its essentially it, its a jacket designed to inflate when the rider becomes seperated from the bike, it inflates to prevent several different types of injury... why are they not popular? i dont have an answer for that maybe something to do with the price, or the fact that these are usually worn by business men who bought a harley in the good times and only ever ride it on sunny sundays and then only go meet other business people with harleys...maybe thats just me being a cynic,

afatbollix

A hans needs to be strapped to something. My hans device can only be used in a car with a full race harness.

af_thefragile

I guess the motorbike jacket with an airbag is a more efficient design as it would be less intrusive. I saw a video of it on youtube a good while ago and wonder why it never caught on. I think the moto gp riders wear racesuits with airbags in them which inflate when the rider is separated from the bike. Although they need electronic components which could make them expensive and the electronics could fail.

Sure the F1 HANS is not going to suit a biker but I was saying something similar that could allow side to side head movement for performing lifesavers but prevent the neck from stretching when bent sideways under the load of a heavy helmet.

Jazzmaster

af_thefragile wrote: »

I guess the motorbike jacket with an airbag is a more efficient design as it would be less intrusive. I saw a video of it on youtube a good while ago and wonder why it never caught on. I think the moto gp riders wear racesuits with airbags in them which inflate when the rider is separated from the bike. Although they need electronic components which could make them expensive and the electronics could fail.

Sure the F1 HANS is not going to suit a biker but I was saying something similar that could allow side to side head movement for performing lifesavers but prevent the neck from stretching when bent sideways under the load of a heavy helmet.

Stick to the armchair F1 dude. Us bikers can look after ourselves ;-).

Hotblack Desiato

af_thefragile wrote: »

I think the moto gp riders wear racesuits with airbags in them which inflate when the rider is separated from the bike.

They do but only in the last couple of years, and this is at the elite level of the sport where the cost is not an object. Even with these, the idea is not to restrain the head.

two wheels good

Motocross already uses a number of such devices. The Leatt brace seems to be the top of the range.

CJhaughey

two wheels good wrote: »

Motocross already uses a number of such devices. The Leatt brace seems to be the top of the range.

Not just MX but most offroad including mountain bikes.

Alkers

http://www.leatt-brace.com/index.php/choose-your-sport/street/leatt-stx-road

Wossack

think alpinestars were going to be offering an airbag racesuit - cost bout 6000e mind you.. (suit 2600, airbag system 3600)

theres a spidi airbag system too, which may be a bit more within the reach of us mere mortals - http://www.spidi.com/eu/eu_en/dps-airbag-motorcycle

steveone

Jazzmaster wrote: »

Stick to the armchair F1 dude. Us bikers can look after ourselves ;-).

Agreed!!!.

I'll worry about my own skin so you don't have to..
the world is full of doo gooders....
why don't bikers use four wheels and a stereo......

CJhaughey

steveone wrote: »

why don't bikers use four wheels and a stereo......

MMMh...

af_thefragile

steveone wrote: »

Agreed!!!.

I'll worry about my own skin so you don't have to..
the world is full of doo gooders....
why don't bikers use four wheels and a stereo......

Its not just being a doo gooders.
I love motorbikes but I also don't want to waste my life in a bad crash or end up with a debilitating injury. For 40yrs F1 used to be an extremely dangerous sport too because of the cavalier attitude people had towards the sport and safety in it. Especially during the 60s and 70s almost every season at least one driver would end up losing his life in a crash. It took a long time and many high profile deaths for F1 to reach the safety standards it has today where no driver has died in the sport since 1994. I see similar attitude with many biker who simply accept the risks that come with motorbikes and worry about them. Your life is worth more than a machine or a sport or a hobby.

I was only thinking of ways people could continue enjoying riding motorbikes and be safe in the unfortunate event of an accident. I see many people who ride without any proper gear on. Some think as long as they just have a helmet on, they're somehow safe and then these people end up in a crash, have horrific injuries if not death and then give motorbikes a bad name. Also the more people worry about safety in motorcycling, the more bike gear manufacturers will invest into developing better, more advanced safety gear which could one day save you from ending up having a debilitating injury.

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah, we don't know what's good for us.

Jog on.

af_thefragile

ninja900 wrote: »

Yeah, we don't know what's good for us.

Jog on.

You don't have to be so pretentious about it.

daenerysstormborn3

af_thefragile wrote: »

Its not just being a doo gooders.
I love motorbikes but I also don't want to waste my life in a bad crash or end up with a debilitating injury. For 40yrs F1 used to be an extremely dangerous sport too because of the cavalier attitude people had towards the sport and safety in it. Especially during the 60s and 70s almost every season at least one driver would end up losing his life in a crash. It took a long time and many high profile deaths for F1 to reach the safety standards it has today where no driver has died in the sport since 1994. I see similar attitude with many biker who simply accept the risks that come with motorbikes and worry about them. Your life is worth more than a machine or a sport or a hobby.

I was only thinking of ways people could continue enjoying riding motorbikes and be safe in the unfortunate event of an accident. I see many people who ride without any proper gear on. Some think as long as they just have a helmet on, they're somehow safe and then these people end up in a crash, have horrific injuries if not death and then give motorbikes a bad name. Also the more people worry about safety in motorcycling, the more bike gear manufacturers will invest into developing better, more advanced safety gear which could one day save you from ending up having a debilitating injury.

We're all born with one mammy, nobody needs another.

Jazzmaster

CJhaughey wrote: »

MMMh...

I toured the States on a Wee Strom last year and you wouldn't believe how many of these are on the roads over there. Harley and Goldwing trikes too. Hilarious :-)

A little off topic. Sorry....

steveone

here we go again...

ok, first up, If you don't want a bad crash you can do a number of things....
first off, don't drive a bike or in fact anything that's going to bring you into contact with a hard object (or a soft one at speed)

drivers involved in motorsports at all levels are entirely aware of the dangers... talk about the seventies... try the thirties...before brakes...and helmets...and a roof...and as for bikes? well at that time they were already ton up on the IOM on little more than a garden gate.

its ok to be nervous but like a racing car a bike is no place if you're overly worried about injury..if you wince every time you get on then don't..




on the road I use as follows..
Leather trousers to stop rain, roadrash and scalding (properly common motorcycling injuries...)
thermals for the cold...tho I don't ride in bad wet weather anymore- there's no fun it it.
Strong boots- usually doc martins- (useable on and off the bike, max comfort)
a leather jacket that I purchased over 20 years ago and despite having to let out the buckles it still fits, with modest armour and strong zips.
openface helmet with tidy prescription goggles and a face mask for the diesel fumes (another common motorcycling hazard)

and my on bike safety protection system.. loud pipes... in ten years I've never ever had a tailgaiter or a smidsy...ever....or even a pedestrian walk out on me.

I have been through many scrapes and come away with many injuries... I've yet to be convinced how a hans device..blow up jacket or god knows what else will benefit me more than my own cop on and all of the above..especially in a situation where for example..I'm riding on a continuous diesel spill on the m50, with vehicles behind and to the side- on the phone and blissfully unaware that if I flinch I go down and they will hit me.....oh dear..



James hunt had a patch on his overalls....it read "sex, the brekfast of champions"
perish the thought something like that would appear today..

easiest way to make motorcycling safer... clean roads...remove nervous drivers...let the riders be responsible for their own safety.

Hotblack Desiato

af_thefragile wrote: »

You don't have to be so pretentious about it.

prunudo

To be honest I don't understand the negative comments the op is getting. It was a simple question, and I for one would wear a Hans type device (if a motorbike specific one existed) if it reduced the chances of a serious neck injury resulting from a spill.

corkgsxr

You could but you wouldn't be able to look around so you be more likely to be involved in a crash

CJhaughey

jvan wrote: »

To be honest I don't understand the negative comments the op is getting. It was a simple question, and I for one would wear a Hans type device (if a motorbike specific one existed) if it reduced the chances of a serious neck injury resulting from a spill.

Did you look up Leatt brace? Thats a motorcycle specific brace.
The problem is that on the road, visibility and the position road bikes force the rider into don't allow the wearing of one of those braces easily.
By definition anything designed to reduce the flexion of the neck area is going to reduce the amount that a rider can turn his/her head to check for other traffic.

kirving

The kind of smart comments the OP is getting come from the same school of thought as was present in motorsport years ago.

It's not about non-bikers trying to take the fun out of it for the sake of it, or because they believe biking to be an unbelieveably dangerous activity.

A neck restraint is a good idea, but it would have to include a dampening system to allow head movements but reduce impact movements.

Alkers

If you read the link I posted earlier, there is a LEATT brace specifically designed for road riding.
"• Integrated padding accommodates movement for over-the-shoulder views."