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Kneesliders - In the early 80’s racers started to hang off their bikes and use their knees on the track surface to reduce the angle of their bikes which in turn reduced the risk of going over the tyre limit. Also by reducing the bikes angle of lean it allows for quicker cornering and exit speeds. To protect the rider's leathers from the track surface kneesliders or “pucks” were attached to the leathers towards the outside and just below the knee area of each leg.All motorcycle racers adopt kneesliding now.

There are many shapes of kneeslider available now; Oval, Rectangular, teardrop and circular are the most popular. The main materials used are plastic and leather, early kneesliders were made from wood but this soon gave way to Nylon and other plastics composites.

Plastic ~ The plastic Kneeslider is the most commonly purchased of all kneesliders, the latest favoured material is a toughened ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). It has good resistance to impact and heat although suffers from lack of feel and most aren't very durable although some of the latest designs have ceramic inserts to make them harder wearing. Some plastic sliders have titanium rods inserted into them to give off sparks and there are even a few sliders that have a full outside mould of titanium over the plastic puck guaranteeing sparks galore and extra durability.

Leather ~ Generally preferred by racers as they tend to give more feel, don’t vibrate or bounce and last a lot longer than plastic ones. When the toughened compressed leather comes into contact with the track it can often smoke which appeals to many a track day enthusiast. Leather sliders tend to grab the track more than plastic ones which can take some getting used to.

Most kneesliders attach using the Velcro method which has two sides, one side is fabric covered in tiny hooks and the other side which is the loop side is covered in even smaller loops, once the two pieces are pressed together the hooks catch hold in the loops bonding the pieces, this forms a very secure method which can be easily removed when needed. If leathers don't come with Velcro patches you can purchase 'Attach Patches' which can be sewn or glued onto the leathers.

Some of the most popular manufacturers are Dainese ~ Alpinestars ~ Wiz ~ R & G ~ Motrax ~ Voodoo ~ RST ~ Akito ~ Sidi ~ Helimot ~ Asphalt & Gas ~ Piton and Berik.