How to Read CE Marking on Motorcycle Riding Gears?

A lot of us aware there are safety certifications for helmet like SIRIM and ECE, but do you know there are for other riding gears as well?  They can be subdivided to 4 main categories which is Protectors, Motorcycle Apparels (Jacket, Pants or Suit), Motorcycle Gloves and Motorcycle Boots. We all rely on the rating to understand the protection level of the protective equipment, but do you know how to interpret them?

So, we start with the CE marking, it is a French abbreviation  for “European Conformity” which is a universally accepted Safety Standard for Motorcycle Riding Gears across the world. If the equipment is CE approved, at least we know that it already achieved the minimum standard to protect us. By the way, please beware that fake or knock-off protectors and motorcycle apparels also can create the same marking to confused you, so please get from the appropriate source and understand how to differentiate them.

Protectors

So for protectors a.k.a. armours are using CE EN1621, and there are some Symbols and Abbreviations for protectors of different part of body as per following:

S – Shoulder

E – Elbow

H – Hip

K – Knee

K+L – Knee and Upper / Middle Tibia

KP – Knuckle

FB – Full Back

CB – Central Back

LB – Lumbar

For the protection level, basically CE Level-2 able to absorb twice the impact force compare to CE Level-1, eg:

Back Protector

CE Level-1 : Maximum Transmitted Force < 18kN

CE Level-2: Maximum Transmitted Force < 9kN

Limb Protector

CE Level-1: Maximum Transmitted Force <24 kN

CE Level-2: Maximum Transmitted Force <12 kN

Motorcycle Apparel

They have recently updated the safety certification for motorcycle apparel for ease of understanding as jacket, pants and suit may be available in different protection setting for different occasion and riding style. Eg. The requirement for a casual rider who cruise in town may need a different apparel compare to a professional racer. So, basically there will be 5 level of protection categories:

Class AAA            for Track Use, specially designed for professional racer or for biker who need serious protection in track. So you can expect it is using the top notch technology and the best level of protection. Normally they are heavy and most probably will be not so comfortable.

Class AA               for Technical Use, specially designed for rider in touring or with aggressive riding style, fast rider in short/long ride.  High abrasion and impact protection but more comfort features added in term of weight saving and breathability, convenience features like more pockets and inner lining add-on. Normally they are have moderate weight and comfortable for longer riding hours.

Class A                  for Urban Use,  specially designed for rider who traveling short distance in town, commuting or in casual riding style, slow rider in touring. Generally lower abrasion protection, may built by mainly mesh material for maximum ventilation and lighter. Standard CE level-1 protectors which achieve the minimal requirement. Thus it will be extremely comfortable, light-weight, have some convenience features like pockets but compromised on the safety level.

Class B                  Abrasion Protection Only.  For example, Riding Jacket without Protectors or Kevlar Jeans without protector. It is designed mainly for urban use, commuting or slow rider in touring. Similar like Class A but no Impact Protection. This will make the apparels extremely light and easy for folding/storage in motorcycle luggage or bags.

Class C                  Impact Protection Only.  For example, Body Armour, Inner Protectors like for body or knee. It Is designed mainly for urban use, commuting or slow rider in touring but only offer minimal protection, is better than nothing. This class of apparel can be use for off-road riding too, as normally traveling in slower speed and need more impact protection.

Motorcycle Gloves

Motorcycle Gloves are using CE EN12594 KP and KP are refer to Knuckle Protection. There are 2 Levels of protection, Level 1 and Level 2. Whereby Level 2 knuckle protectors able to absorb twice the impact energy compare with the Level 1 knuckle protectors.

Motorcycel Boots

Motorcycle Boots are using CE EN13634 where it basically consist of “Empat Ekor” and there are 2 performance level, Level 1 and Level 2 where Level 2 achieve higher performance in the specific test.

A: The First Digit represent the Height of the Boots where 1 refer to Ankle Length (Low-Cut Boots)  and 2 refer to Shin Length (High-Cut Boots).

B: The Second Digit represent the Abrasion Resistance of the Boots Upper plus Lining. For Level-1  will take more than 5 seconds to abrade entire components in contact with abrasive paper with a grain of 60 revolving at 8 meter per second ;   Level-2 will take more than 12 seconds.

C: The Third Digit represent the Cut Resistance of the Boots Upper plus Lining. For Level -1 will allow less than 25mm penetration of the blade with a speed of impact 2.8 meter per second;  Level -2 will allow less than 15mm.

D: The Fourth Digit represent the Transverse Rigidity. For Level-1 will need more than 1.0 kN to be applied onto the footwear to be deformed by 20mm; Level-2 will need more than 1.5 kN.

In actual riding scenarios, Second Digit will test on Abrasion Resistance of the Boots slipping on the asphalt surface;  Third Digit will test on Cut Resistance of the Boots being cut by guardrail;   Fourth Digit test on the rigidity of the boot to safeguard the foot from being crushed under the vehicle upon a crash or “jatuh bodoh”.

 

There are several additional test which can be added to the CE Mark and they are represented by abbreviations like the following:

IPA / IPS                               Impact Protection for Ankle / Shin ( <5 kN Transmitted Force )

WR                                         Resistance to Water Penetration

FO                                          Resistance to Fuel and Oil on Sole

SRA                                        Slip Resistance on Ceramic Tile Surface with Diluted Soap

SRB                                        Slip Resistance on Steel Floor with Glycerol

SRC                                        SRA + SRB

B                                             Breathability of Upper (Moisture Vapor can Escape)

WAD                                      Water Absorption / Desorption of Inner Bootie

The most popular test is the Water Penetration Test (WR) where the footwear need to remain waterproof after 80 minutes of continuous bending, immersed in a tank with a water level 2cm above the sole adhesion line.

Lastly, able to read the CE mark will not necessarily make you an expert but will at least enable you  to make an informed decision when you do comparison in between different brands and models to hunt and narrow down the choices to suit your preference and ride.





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