Icon,
Here's some Busted and Broken for y'all to revel in. When Icon first hit the scene in the early millennium, I fell in love with the Ti Max line. I snagged up 2 pairs for the Ti Max OG gloves when they first hit the dealers. 1 shorty and 1 full gauntlet. 8 years later, and they have served me well. Rain, shine, freezing cold and the high deserts. They are the most comfortable and well designed gloves I've owned. About 3 years ago, on a beautiful Thursday morning full of empty freeway, I put My Ti Max Full gauntlets and Field Armour vest to the test. Entering the freeway aboard my trusty 900RR Streetfighter, AKA: Damage Control, I noticed not a car in site for miles. Without hesitation, I opened the flat slides and let her rip for a quick blast on my way to work. Unfortunately, that trip was short lived. The front tire managed to find a recent bit of wavy patch work in the road way, States tax dollars hard at work that night, which sent my beloved fighter into the most violent tank slapper I have experienced in 10 years of seat time. I tried fighting off the shakes with no resolve. With a death grip on the bars and every bit of energy I had trying to wrangle the bike back to the straight and narrow, the front end still twisted from lock to lock. Eventually, the momentum transferred into my body and started shaking me as much as the front wheel. At that point, there were 2 choices. Ride it out and get high sided, or bail and hope for the best. I decided on the latter. I slide off to the right side, landed on my shoulder and began tumbling at 90mph. After a few revolutions of sky, ground, sky, ground visuals, I began the slow slide to a stop, and landed in the right shoulder from the far left lane of a 3 lane freeway. My worst injury was to my left foot which took a pretty good thrashing once my shoe came loose. The rest was bumps and bruises and some skinned knees. The Field Armour vest saved my back, as my jacket slide up during the slide, and also kept my shoulder and spine from taking the abuse of the initial fall. And those gloves that I had been riding with for years before... They saved my hands 10 fold. Not so much as a blemish. Being a bike tech, I need my hands to make a living. I was grateful I had those gloves and that they stood up to the abuse I put them through. As for the bike. It actually fared the wreck better then I did. Dented tank, busted handle bar and a twisted radiator was the only damage. It managed to park itself against a guard rail about a mile down the road from where I landed. I had it road worthy the day after I was up and walking around again. There's a couple pics of the bike before and after included.
My Ti Max Shorties I have recently had to retire, sadly. I deffinitly got my money's worth out of them. 8 years, thousands of daily ridden miles all over the country, through every kind of weather you could think of. Along with late night 50cc racing and regular BMX and MTB thrash sessions, they have survived it all. They're pretty battered and tattered now. Most of the leather has worn away from the joints and my fingers are falling out the ends. They've been great. I was thrilled to see that they have been reintroduced. I need another pair in the worst way.
I also picked up a set of the Ti Max II Shorties after that wreck. They served well for a few years also. Unfortunately, They were retired last season as well. I managed to wear the palms out of them. I guess Kangaroo's aren't built as tough as good old cow hide.
Keep up the great work over at Icon HQ. Looking forward to the 2011 release.
Shaun "Scrapyard" K.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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