So I read that a GoPro mounted on the bike must be tethered, and no helmet mounted go pros are allowed. What about chest mounts?
Never really thought about a chest mount. Don't think I would like something on my chest at that rate of speed.....no matter how slow I am. I want my leathers to do exactly as they are designed. Guess I just don't like the idea of something inches away from my lungs, and heart creating any problems if I do have a mishap. Get some safety wire and put that Gopro anywhere on the bike you would like and get some great action shots. You can get much better shots and angles on the bike than on your body.
Your chest should "ALWAYS" be on the tank, except when braking. LOL Ok, I guess it is "un"-common sense time again.....The whole reason that GoPros are not allowed on a helmet is because a few people crashed and the structural integrity of the helmet failed because of the GoPro. A few people even died because of GoPros on the helmets! (I just made that part up, but it MIGHT be true?!?!?) So, would I want to strap something to my chest that is hard enough to crack and puncture my helmet? Would a rib cage and sternum stop it? I am not sure most chest protectors would "Distribute the Forces" of a significant blow from the edge of a GoPro? They are not designed for that, just as the helmet was not designed for that purpose. Last thing, the best footage that most of us have ever seen are from cameras mounted on the nose and tail of the motorcycle. That is why MotoGP places them in these locations - most of the time. Every now and then you will see one filming from the cluster or near shock. This whole response sounds like I am being a jerk, but it is just the fact that I want you home healthy and safe and having a GoPro strapped to your chest is not a good way to accomplish that. Also, you would mainly have super shaky footage or your fuel tank. No one wants to see that - including you!
I wear the chest mount on my street triple because there's no good spot on the handlebars. It sits up high about 8 inches below my chin and extended out another 4 inches or so. Doesn't get in the way too bad. I wear a forcefield pro shirt under my leathers so never worried about it.
I'm personally not really frightened by the idea at least at little tally. It's like a parking lot compared to what I'm used to. But I could see why the safety police would be.
You are correct: the rules say only that 1. Cameras mounted to bike must be tethered; and 2. No helmet mounted cameras. The reasons behind this rule are pretty simple. First, the adhesive is not always the best, and more than a few times has failed, causing a camera to become a projectile toward riders behind. Not a fun place to be for the rider behind. Second, frankly they are a distraction. Too often, new riders are tying to show off a sweet new lean for their helmet mounted camera and crash doing so. This is why they are even more restricted in Novice group. Finally, particularly for helmet mounted cameras, in the event of a crash they create a potential failure point on the helmet. In short, they can be driven into the helmet on impact and defeat the entire purpose of the safety gear itself. So, while you are correct that chest mounted cameras are not specifically prohibited, lets look at whether they are "a good idea" or not. Here, using the logic of the helmet mounted prohibition, common sense makes pretty clear that it is NOT a good idea. If there is potential to drive one through a helmet shell, there is DEFINITELY the chance to drive one into your ribs, chin, gut, etc. Here there is even LESS protection afforded to you, so why add to the risk? Personally, I wear a chest protector to ADD a layer of protection between me and the ground. Even with that, I wouldn't want a hard piece of plastic where it can do serious damage. I get it: you WANT to wear one and anyone who says otherwise is a "fun governor". You ride on the street like that and have not encountered a situation that causes you concern. Well the track is a bit different, and ultimately it is not about the top speeds, but the potential for things to go wrong that needs to be planned for. Example: More than once, I have been thrown out of my seat and knocked the wind out of myself landing on the tank while saving a high side. It was hard enough to gather myself back together and catch a breath after that just to make it to pit lane. Add a camera, and that is a virtual guarantee of broken ribs. Not optimal. And puts others at risk around me for no good reason. Feel free to disagree, and I am sure others will chime in, but this is my two cents after 15 years of coaching. Just because its not prohibited, doesn't mean its a good idea.
Also, camera footage was super cool the first year of riding the track and the second year it was just camera footage at new tracks. By the third year someone had to remind me to put the GoPro on. By the forth year someone had to ask me to run a GoPro and follow them or something. Year 5 and 6 I did not run the GoPro all season while attending 15+ trackdays a year. I have two GoPro camera now and they were fun till the footage got old. You know, nothing new under the sun!
I was pretty much exactly the same. I did however buy one again this year (5th year), because my old one crapped out, but I only put it on for races. And if the race was boring (like my last 3 where I was all by myself after lap 1 with nobody close to me), then I just delete the videos. Don't save them or post them anywhere. Only do that in the case of a more exciting race. Regarding chest mounting, I don't even see how that's possible. On the street, sure, I can see that working fine. But on the track, if you're actually trying to go even a relatively decent pace, your chest should be on the tank, so I can't imagine that being a video that anyone would care to see. Plus it gets in the way big time. And then there's the safety issues mentioned above. I used to mount it on my gas tank when I started out, but as I picked up my pace, it started getting in the way because no matter how low and up front I put it, my helmet would hit it when I tucked in and then all you'd see for the rest of the video is amazing footage of the top triple clamp moving a bit