Hump on back of leathers, yea or nay?

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Since I'm going to be ordering a custom suit, whats the consensus on if its worth getting the hump on the back? Does it actually do good or is it another one of those "personal choices".

[mikendzel]

Do it!

[2blueYam]

If you run longer tracks like Road America, it cleans up the airflow off the back of your helmet.  The biggest benefit of this in my opinion is less stress on your neck when you sit up to brake at the end of the long straights.  If you only run shorter tracks on a SS SV 650, then if probably isn't worth bothering with.

[IFMracing]

The biggest advantage I see to them is in an accident scenario, they help to bridge the gap between your back and the helmet and add some additional spine protection.

[Super Dave]

The biggest advantage I see to them is in an accident scenario, they help to bridge the gap between your back and the helmet and add some additional spine protection.

If they bridged the gap, one wouldn't be able to ride tucked up looking up/forward to see where one was going.

I always thought that if you were thrown off and landed on your back, the hump would have created a fulcrum to break your back in that location. 

Finally, years ago, I was told that some aerodynamic research had shown that the hump didn't help.  Knee sliders are terrible aerodynamically too.  But, then again, motorcycle aerodynamics a pretty bad in production bikes and even GP bikes.  We'd have to go back to the dustbins to get aerodynamics, but I don't see the stunnas and all the stylin' folks looking for that kind of look...nor do FIM rules allow that kind of aerodynamic ideas anymore.

[SoudersD]

I'm think the hump's primary function is to prevent the rider's head from getting wrenched forward while landing/sliding/rolling/tumbling on the rider's back, thereby providing some neck protection. This is due to the helmet extending farther to the rear than rider's back. Without the hump, the rider's neck must be bent forward when lying down facing up.

[Doctor]

The big benefit to the hump-

Let's say that you crash hard, and that helmet removal is not a wise choice. You are going to be placed on a long spine board to immobilize you for transport to a trauma center. Without the hump, the helmet causes your head to tilt forward, compromising your airway, unless a significant amount of padding is applied under your shoulders to keep your airway in a neutral position. (I have never seen trackside medical staff pad the shoulders to allow for this in decades so far, does not mean it does not happen, but I have never seen it. It is how we roll in the 911 world though.) Furthermore, without that allowance for the helmet when immobilizing c-spine, the c-spine precautions are actually harmful to the rider being treated, as this places great stress on the c-spine. (Cervical Spine)

Either padding the shoulders or suits with a hump provide for the ability to leave the helmet on the rider when appropriate. If the rider has an airway compromise as well as a potential c-spine injury, the airway gets first priority and the helmet needs to come off. If the helmet does come off and the rider is immobilized, and has a hump on their suit, then the head needs to be padded to allow for the neutral positioning, for the same reasons.

[spyderchick]

The hump is an aero device and not intended as a safety device by any manufacturer that I am aware of. (If a manufacturer disagrees with this and stands behind their product as such, feel free to post a comment) Whether or not it can perform a safety function is open to debate.

Know this, manufacturers are very careful as to what they say about their suit in regards to safety. I'm sure they have teams of lawyers going over their marketing materials with fine tooth combs in regards to this.

[Drew424]

Get a humped suit, no question. Beside the aerodynamic properties, I've had two 75+mph tumblers post apex that I can still remember feeling the back impacts - the thick back protector and hump made the impacts feel about as intense as getting throw to the mat in wrestling.  No question, anything between the asphalt and your ribs, spin and shoulder blades is a good thing IMHO.

[Eric Kelcher]

I am against them, a teammate and a friend both had had leathers with the aero hump and were wearing hard articulated back protectors. Both had their back broke in the same spot T7, that mates up with location of hump and where max pressure would be applied.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

+1

I don't have any personal experience with these, but ironically the injuries Eric witnessed were always my concern with them.