K7 Infinity Motorcycle Jeans are rated “AA” performance class

The new K7 Infinity jeans, with CE certification to the new Personal Protective Equipment Regulation, will be launched on 21st April. The jeans are rated “AA” performance class, after testing to the proposed new European Standard prEN 17092-3.

Provisional European Standard prEN 17092-1:2017 (February 2017) defines “AAA”, “AA” and “A” classifications of motorcyclists’ clothing as follows:

• prEN 17092-2:2017 (February 2017) – Class AAA garments. The highest level of protection, against the highest level of risks. Some common examples are: one-piece or two-piece suits. These garments are likely to have severe and limiting ergonomic, weight and thermal penalties, which some riders will not find acceptable for their specific riding activities.
• prEN 17092-3:2017 (February 2017) – Class AA garments. The second highest level of protection, against the risks of the greatest diversity of riding activities. Some common examples are: garments designed to be worn by themselves or to be worn over other clothing. These garments are expected to have lower ergonomic and weight penalties than Class AAA garments and some riders will not find these penalties acceptable for their specific riding activities.
• prEN 17092-4:2017 (February 2017) – Class A garments. The third highest level of protection. Some common examples are: garments, designed to be worn by themselves or to be worn over other clothing by riders in extremely hot environments. Class A garments are expected to have the least ergonomic and weight penalties.

The “AA” classification achieved by the K7 Infinity jeans therefore places them in the group of motorcyclists’ clothing which, for most riders, possibly provides the optimum balance of protection and comfort.

The European Parliament has stipulated that, with effect from 21st April 2018, all motorcycle clothing (except for rainsuits) must be tested and certified in accordance with the new PPE Regulation.

Two commonly asked questions;

So what happens if Brexit goes ahead?

From what we understand, absolutely nothing will change and the European PPE Regulation will still apply in the UK, as the British government has made it absolutely clear that all EU laws in place on the day Brexit is finalised, will be incorporated into British law.

The British Standards Institution has also unequivocally stated that it will continue to be a member of the European Standards agency, CEN, and will publish European Standards as BS ENs. Neither BSI nor CEN are government departments – they are private organisations which happen to be ‘contracted’ to develop official standards – so Brexit has no specific impact on them any more than it does any other business.

Bottom line: business as usual for the new EN 17092 standards for motorcyclists’ clothing and CE marking; Brexit or not.

How does prEN 17092 compare with EN 13595?

The existing European Standard, EN 13595:2002, covers protective clothing for professional motorcyclists, whereas proposed new European Standard, prEN 17092, is for clothing used by non-professional riders; for example, for commuting and leisure use. The two standards will operate alongside each other until at least 2023.

Because the two standards use different test methods, it is not possible to make direct comparisons (the abrasion test, in particular, uses entirely different criteria to establish the pass/fail outcome); however, the prEN puts greater emphasis on flexibility and comfort, with a commensurate reduction in protective performance, compared with EN 13595.

For several years, Hood Jeans has regularly submitted its products for abrasion testing, for quality control purposes, using the method described in EN 13595. We have run the same check with the new K7 Infinity jeans. This provides us with test data for the new K7 Infinity, which can be directly compared with the results we hold on file for the original K7 jeans, to ensure consistency of test performance from the new Infinity construction.