beware possible fake saftey gear

[budd]

As some of you may know I’ve been doing a bit of research into back protectors, buying a few different brands / types trying them out, looking at their pros and cons then quite often selling them on, once I gather a bit more info and try a few more brands etc I’ll post a more definitive guide to buying a the most appropriate protection for your back.

In the mean time I’ve come across something quite worrying so I thought I'd put a post on straight away for the attention of people looking at buying bike gear.

So for I’ve only tried the strap-on (no sniggers please) type protectors, and stayed with respected well-known brands. While searching for different items I’ve noticed that some of the cheap (often Chinese) unbranded items bear remarkable similarities to genuine items, but I guess imitation is flattery so as long as the items aren’t branded to mislead then that’s fair enough.
But while looking at body armour jackets I found this on ebay, linky:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-sell-All- ... 20ebb1a936

Below is a link to the official Dainese site and their Manis jacket which retails at over £300.

http://www.dainese.com/en_en/manis-jacket-55-41015.html

The 2 jackets are obviously very similar (though definitely not identical) but it seems to me that the ebay item can’t be genuine Dainese, even though it’s obviously branded as such. This is quite worrying as there’s likely a good reason the genuine item costs £300+ and the copy/fake costs a fraction of that, the problem here is we aren’t dealing with snide watches or handbags but personal safety and something that is intended to minimise injury or even save your life in the event of the serious incident. Now it may be that the ebay item is equally as good as Dainese but I seriously doubt it and can you take the risk just to save a few quid?? So buyer beware.

[bazza696]

I thought that there was something on watchdog in the last month or so, where they discussed this fake clothing(not labelled as high end branded stuff) and they run a few test on it, like typical abrasion test. As you can expect, it failed miserably.
So moral of the story, buy good branded stuff for a retailer and if it's too cheap, then stay away from it.

[MacV2]

Be worth passing that onto Dainese, you might get a feebie !

Sill I note that the 20 bider's don't have the same issues...

[budd]

I didn't see the watchdog feature, but I suppose it was only a matter of time before the fakers expanded from posh watches and branded jeans to MC safety gear.
Although my guess is your only likely to have problems with them copying the premium / well-known brands like Dainese, Alpinstars, reputable, but more specialised brands like Knox, Forcefield, Clover etc are unlikely to be faked because they are less widely known, even so it is wise to only buy from a reputable seller or official dealer, anything on ebay from China, far East etc should be treated with extreme caution.

BTW I can absolutely guarantee that the back protectors I’ve sold recently are 100% genuine.

[budd]

Be worth passing that onto Dainese, you might get a feebie !

Sill I note that the 20 bider's don't have the same issues...

I doubt Dainese give much away but it may be worth a punt

re the bids, it's not surpising there are 22 bids,the current price (just over £20 at the moment) is very cheap for what's pictured fake or no, and I'm sure some people are prepared to take the risk if it cheap enough, afterall the genuine kit is £300+, plus even snide kit would be perfectly acceptable for MX use.

[budd]

email sent to Dainese with a link to the auction item, although I not expecting a freebie it will be interesting to see what their responce is.

[VTRDark]

I thought that there was something on watchdog in the last month or so

That's right and the real eye opener for me was that customs found fake gear (non motorcycle gear in this case) that was heading for a genuine high st retailer. I'd expect fakes on the likes of eBay but not big branded stores. So basically there are times when even they unknowingly get fakes as the fakes are so good (appearances only) these days. I guess it comes down to whether they purchase their gear direct from the manufactures or if there is a middle man involved somewhere. Either way not good, especially when it comes to safety products.

(:-})

[budd]

I thought that there was something on watchdog in the last month or so

That's right and the real eye opener for me was that customs found fake gear (non motorcycle gear in this case) that was heading for a genuine high st retailer. I'd expect fakes on the likes of eBay but not big branded stores. So basically there are times when even they unknowingly get fakes as the fakes are so good (appearances only) these days. I guess it comes down to whether they purchase their gear direct from the manufactures or if there is a middle man involved somewhere. Either way not good, especially when it comes to safety products.

(:-})

I guess the problem is made worse now with lots of places 'drop shipping' because they don't carry the stock and just process the orders, lots of big name companies do this with their online sales, I'd expect a decent 'hands-on' Motorcycle gear retailer to be able to spot a fake from experience with the products but if they don't handle product how would they know? also companies like Amazon supply a myriad of goods now (inc bike safety gear) so who's to say where the products are coming from, it must be much easier these days with the rise of online only companies to introduce dodgy gear in to the supply chain, and it as been said before but is worth repeating you can't afford to play Russian roulette with your safety.

[darkember]

Humm not probably the best advocate at the moment but at the speeds we can reach and the idiots about; are we better in a different place or a vegetable...........

[budd]

Humm not probably the best advocate at the moment but at the speeds we can reach and the idiots about; are we better in a different place or a vegetable...........

I guess that's true of the more modern sports bike but the VTR isn't a great deal faster (if at all) than the Kawi GPX 750R I had back in 1988 back then a paddock jacket, jeans, Dr Martins and gardening gloves were standard riding attire, so things have moved on a bit, I’d feel very almost naked riding dressed like that now. Of course speed will always be a factor but it’s not the only consideration, for sure the traffic is massively worse nowadays but at the end of the day I'd rather give myself the best possible chance of survival, because after all is said and done life (even crippled) is full of possibilities and death is very final….

[VTRDark]

The way I see it, we have to accept the fact that we put ourselves at higher risk just from being a motorcyclist, it comes with the territory and IMO is part of the buzz. All we can do is limit those risks as best we can within what we can afford and what we consider to be necessary. firestorm996 made an interesting comment in his Vietnam trip thread regarding the lack of safety gear, chaos on the roads, yet they have fewer accidents.

(:-})

[tony.mon]

It's the spike on the steering wheel theory.

I don't feel safe, therefore I buy loads of expensive safety gear, then I can go and ride stupidly expecting my life to be saved by "protectors".
But the best protection has to be don't crash in the first place, so I'd rather spend my cash on training to be a better rider, just my 2 pennorth's weight.
Mind you, just spent £280 on tyres designed to keep my lardy butt off the gravel.....

[budd]

while I totally agree not falling off is the best solution the thing is there are people out there prepared to take your hard earned for the 'expensive protectors’ mentioned only for these to turn out to be fake and unlikely to provide the protection you’ve paid for.

We tend to buy things in good faith especially from apparently reputable traders, how would you feel if you just bought your new tyres only to find that they are actually made by Ching Chong ditch finder corp in China but look exactly like (and our even branded) Pirelli, Dunlop etc?

God knows where the Dainese jacket in question was made but I’d hazard a guess it’s not up to their standards and it’s a situation that will only get worse, best to be aware of the potential issues and try to avoid getting fleeced by these people who are ultimately putting lives at risk.

[VTRDark]

That's very true. It's one thing buying Chinese rubbish knowingly like Dan Moto for example, but another when purchasing something that is labelled up and made to look exactly like a known brands product.

I guess if one bought that one on eBay, and then customs happened to randomly check the package, realised it was fake (or would they) they just keep it and dispose of it. I wonder what sought of investigative powers they have with overseas to help stop the production. They know where it comes from so do they pass details onto Chines authorities. I doubt there's much that can be done to stop fakes, and in this technological world market it's going to get worse. It comes down to the buyer to use some common sense. Then what happens to the end buyer after customs have disposed of it. Do we sit waiting for it to turn up and then when it don't turn up, contact the seller, get a refund or whatever. Then it all starts again

eBay piss me off because I feel they should do more to protect buyers. IMO they don't regulate and/or scrutinise listings enough. They surly know that it's likely a fake and should remove the listing or never have listed it in the first place. Ebay are big enough and have enough money to employ staff (not computers and I doubt they have them) to physically check each and every listing before it's listed rather than rely on us to report stuff. Even that is made difficult.

(:-})

[darkember]

eBay piss me off because I feel they should do more to protect buyers. IMO they don't regulate and/or scrutinise listings enough. They surly know that it's likely a fake and should remove the listing or never have listed it in the first place. Ebay are big enough and have enough money to employ staff (not computers and I doubt they have them) to physically check each and every listing before it's listed rather than rely on us to report stuff. Even that is made difficult.

(:-})[/quote]

Quite correct Carl but they won't there is too much greed involved and with Amazon backing them with fast delivery why would they stop