CE Level 1 and Level 2 describe one thing: how much of an impact gets through the protector to you. Both are tested under the same European standard — EN 1621-1:2012 for limb joint protectors, EN 1621-2:2014 for back protectors — by dropping a defined impact onto the protector and measuring the force transmitted through it. Level 1 is the lower bar and Level 2 the higher one. What the level does not tell you is how much of your elbow the protector actually covers, or whether it stays there when you hit the road. A Level 1 protector that is large and cannot be displaced beats a Level 2 protector that has slid halfway down your forearm.
What the test actually does
The protector is laid on an anvil with a load cell underneath and struck with a falling striker carrying a specified energy. The instrument records the force that arrives at the anvil — the part the protector failed to absorb or spread. Several strikes are made across the sample set, and the standard applies two limits: a ceiling on the average transmitted force, and a separate ceiling on the worst single strike, so a protector cannot pass by being good on average and catastrophic once.
The numbers behind Level 1 for limb protectors appear in MotoCAP's published test protocols, version 1.3, July 2024, which uses the EN 1621-1:2012 energy attenuation procedure: an impact protector scores their lowest possible rating "if the average transmitted force exceeds 35 kN or any single strike exceeds 50 kN". Level 2 sets a materially lower ceiling on both figures — the standard itself is a paid document, and if you need the exact thresholds, buy them from the national standards body rather than trusting a forum post.
Two details of the test matter for how you read the label. First, testing is done at ambient conditions — MotoCAP specifies 23 °C plus or minus 2 with humidity at 50 per cent plus or minus 5 — which is not the temperature of a protector that has been sitting in a black jacket in July or riding through a freezing morning. Some protectors carry an additional marking to show they were also tested at temperature extremes, and on rate-sensitive foams that behave differently when cold, that marking is worth more than a level upgrade. Second, the protector is tested on its own, flat on an anvil. Your elbow is neither flat nor stationary.
The published scope of the standards is easy to check: BS EN 1621-1:2012 covers limb joint impact protectors incorporated into riders' clothing or used as separate items, and BS EN 1621-2:2014, published on 28 February 2014, sets the minimum coverage back protectors must provide for riders in normal traffic along with the impact performance requirements and test methods.
| Level 1 | Level 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Force transmitted in the test | Higher ceiling; limb protectors fail above 35 kN average or 50 kN single strike | Materially lower ceiling on both measures |
| Typical physical form | Thinner, softer, more flexible | Thicker or denser, often stiffer |
| Heat and bulk | Less of both; often unnoticed in a jacket | More of both; can restrict a tucked riding position |
| Usual fitment | Standard in most textile jackets and trousers | Common in sports and touring gear, or bought as an upgrade |
| Honest limitation | Sets a floor, not a guarantee | Pointless if the protector is small or slides off the joint |
Type A and Type B, and why size is a separate axis
EN 1621-1 also defines protector templates. Type A is the smaller coverage template, Type B the larger. A protector can be Level 2 and Type A — very good at absorbing force over a small area — or Level 1 and Type B, less absorbent but covering more of the joint. Neither is automatically better, and the label tells you both if you read it.
MotoCAP treats coverage as a first-class variable rather than a footnote. Their rating uses the Type B protector template from EN 1621-1:2012 placed inside Zone 1 as defined in EN 13595-1:2002 — the high-risk area around the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee — and scores the proportion of that critical area a protector actually covers. They allow coverage to be scored up to 150 per cent of the template specifically to reward protectors that are bigger than the minimum.
They also score displacement, by physically pulling and pushing the garment to see how far the protector can be moved off the joint, and they state the principle behind it plainly: an impact protector with high energy attenuation will be ineffective if it is incorrectly located or can be displaced away from the areas exposed to injury. That is the single most useful idea in the whole subject, and it is covered in detail in the guide to getting armour to sit where it should.
Reading a label, and spotting the thing that is not armour
A genuine protector is marked with the standard and year, the level, the type, and a code showing which joint it is made for. If a pad in a jacket pocket has no marking at all, treat it as packaging. MotoCAP's impact protector ratings page exists partly because of this, and their buying guidance is direct: some gear has foam fillers in the impact protector pockets, and unless they are labelled EN 1621-1 they may provide no injury protection at all. The recommended move is to keep the jacket if it is otherwise good and replace the fillers with marked protectors bought separately.
That is also the cheapest meaningful upgrade available in motorcycle gear. Aftermarket protectors are sold per joint, per level and in different shapes, and swapping them takes minutes. If your jacket has pockets and unmarked foam, you are one purchase away from a materially better jacket.
Be careful about the difference between a garment standard and a protector standard. EN 1621 covers the protectors. The garment around them — its abrasion resistance and whether the seams burst — is a separate question governed by other standards, including EN 17092 in Europe. MotoCAP explains in its FAQ that European standards use a simple pass or fail criterion while their own programme reports the actual scores, and that the abrasion test underlying EN 17092 is based on asphalt while theirs simulates chip seal, which they describe as four and a half times more abrasive. A jacket can hold perfectly good Level 2 armour and still be made of material that will not survive the slide.
Choosing a level, honestly
Level 2 is not free. Thicker or denser protectors trap more heat, add bulk under the arms and across the hips, and can push a jacket's fit far enough that it stops sitting properly on you — at which point the displacement problem gets worse, not better. Level 2 hip protectors in particular are the ones riders quietly remove after a hot summer, and a removed Level 2 protector transmits 100 per cent of everything.
The sensible order of decisions is: get a garment that fits close enough that the protectors cannot wander; make sure every pocket has a marked protector in it rather than foam; then upgrade the levels where you can tolerate the bulk. Shoulders and elbows are usually easy to upgrade. Hips and knees are where the comfort argument bites, and where a Level 1 protector you will actually keep in the trousers is worth more than a Level 2 you will not.
The back is a separate decision with its own standard and its own failure modes, covered in the guide to choosing a back protector. Inflatable protection is a different technology again, governed by its own part of the same standard family and discussed in the guide to how airbag vests work. And if you are kitting out a passenger, particularly a young one, the sizing problem dominates everything — see the guide to carrying a child pillion.
Finally: no level is a promise. Armour reduces the force reaching a joint; it does not abolish fractures, and it does nothing at all for the parts of you it does not cover. Replace any protector that has taken a real impact, because rate-sensitive foams and crushed structures do not visibly report what they have absorbed. And keep the rest of your risk management working — tyres, brakes and a record of what happened. A front and rear camera system settles the question of who did what at a junction far better than an argument at the roadside.
Frequently asked questions
Is CE Level 2 armour twice as good as Level 1?
No. Both are pass or fail against ceilings on transmitted force in the same test, and Level 2's ceiling is lower. It is a threshold, not a score, so two Level 2 protectors can perform very differently and one may barely have passed.
Should I upgrade all my armour to Level 2?
Upgrade where the bulk does not bother you — usually shoulders and elbows first. Hips and knees are where Level 2 most often gets uncomfortable enough that riders remove it, and armour that is not in the jacket protects nothing.
What do Type A and Type B mean on a protector?
They are coverage templates defined in EN 1621-1, with Type B covering a larger area than Type A. Level describes force transmitted, type describes area covered, and you want to know both.
The foam pads in my jacket have no markings. Are they armour?
Probably not. MotoCAP's guidance is that unless the inserts are labelled EN 1621-1, they may provide no injury protection. If the jacket is otherwise good, buy marked protectors and swap them in — it is the cheapest real upgrade in motorcycle gear.
Does armour expire?
Protectors degrade with heat, ultraviolet exposure and use, and rate-sensitive foams can stiffen or break down over years. Follow the manufacturer's stated life, and replace any protector that has taken a genuine impact even if it looks undamaged.
