Do you use an airbag? D-Air, Tech Air?
Discussion
dibblecorse said:
Well, we got there eventually, you deffo do not need 24cm all round, that would more unsafe than not having the airbag !!!! Imagine how big Bagnaiias leathers would be lol ....
No we didn't! Read thetoxicnerves post too. You're free to wear whatever jacket you like over your airbag - there's no airbag police going to stop you. But according to Alpinestars you need an extra 24cm in the circumference of your jacket over and above your chest measurement. You can choose to ignore it if you want, but that's the word from Alpinstars. Of course this is for a jacklet/leathers with no expansion panels - and these and you can no doubt go skin tight.
Where I think the 4cm and confusion arises from is Alpinstars very bad description of the requirements. When they say 4cm extra around the circumference I first interpreted circumference as the geometric term, and they meant the circumference had to be 4cm longer i.e. you could overlap by 4cm. Which is what I'm guessing you interpreted it as too. But I think this is the wrong interpretation now based on the formula in the manual (that you posted). I'm pretty sure they mean 4cm between your body and the jacket all the way round (as confirmed by the Alpinestars rep)...and they've used the word circumference in place of 'all the way round'. So 4cm would be 4cm increase in radius, or 8cm in diameter. And using high school maths circumference is Pi D, so the circumference goes up by 25.12cm...which matches the 24cm extra that the formula in the manual throws out. And this level of extra space in a non-expandable jacket was confirmed by the Alpinstars sales rep. But you can do what you like...but that's the recommendations.
o/t here's a trick question...kind of. If you put a piece if string all the way round the earth at ground level round the equator (assuming it was possible), and then raised it by 4cm, how much longer would the string have to be? Most folks will make big estimates, but it's only 25.12cm longer
Pi D and al that...carinaman said:
I was considering one of those inflatable waist coat ones, I hadn't thought of how to store it once off of the motorcycle though. It's also probable I'd go through a few cannisters due to forgetting to disconnect the lanyard trigger.
I've had one of those for years now, wifey bought it me so I have to wear it !I have my lanyard adjusted so I can stand next to the bike and get on & off it (this is how it was demonstrated to me years ago), it hasn't actually ever gone off even though its had a gentle tug a few times as I've forgotten it (except when they were demonstrating it on me, they set it off twice much to my wifes amusement).
My mates are actually willing to pay to see it go of ..................... lol
As far as when I'm walking about goes I just lay it on the seat with the wire rope locky thing I use through the armholes of the vest as well as through my crash helmet.
I went with the Alpinestars Tech Air 5.
I also bought Alpinestars compatible jacket to go over the top after a sales guy gave me horror stories of punctured lungs for those whose bag went off in a jacket that was too tight.
What do people think to running a back pack with the airbag? Particularly of the Kriega type that straps all the way around?
I also bought Alpinestars compatible jacket to go over the top after a sales guy gave me horror stories of punctured lungs for those whose bag went off in a jacket that was too tight.
What do people think to running a back pack with the airbag? Particularly of the Kriega type that straps all the way around?
Beschy said:
I went with the Alpinestars Tech Air 5.
I also bought Alpinestars compatible jacket to go over the top after a sales guy gave me horror stories of punctured lungs for those whose bag went off in a jacket that was too tight.
What do people think to running a back pack with the airbag? Particularly of the Kriega type that straps all the way around?
What you have to ask yourself is, when the aitbag goes off, where is it going to expand into? If you have straps from a backpack around it that are stronger than your ribs, kidneys etc. then the bag will expand inwards, not outwards. I also bought Alpinestars compatible jacket to go over the top after a sales guy gave me horror stories of punctured lungs for those whose bag went off in a jacket that was too tight.
What do people think to running a back pack with the airbag? Particularly of the Kriega type that straps all the way around?
epicfail said:
it made sense to me to get something designed to work with an airbag, and I wasn't keen on the look of the vests.
^ this made the most sense to me, too. I went with a Tech-Air-compatible jacket with a Tech-Air Street zipped-in. It means I can wear a comfortably snug jacket – the elbow armour can't budge in a crash, and the material doesn't flap while riding. Plus, I have tried several systems and prefer an airbag integrated (zipped, in my case) into the jacket. It's considerably less hassle than the vest palaver.
Mates of mine have the textile Carve Master D-Air and leather Racing 3 D-Air jackets, and neither of them would go back to the hassle of a vest. Also, Dainese’s new Stelvio D-Air XT jacket looks like a winner – better spec than similar-priced Rukka and an integrated airbag. Back to earth prices, the Stelvio’s launch means there are eBay bargains (e.g., under half-price) to be had on the Carve Master D-Air.
Some more thoughts on the Tech Air 5 from Alpinestars.
Overall I'm very happy with it.
However, it became clear to me it's best used with the new Alpinestars tech air compatible garments. You can force it to work with other brands, but as others have said, you need to significantly size up to allow enough room. I went to the Dainese store in London and tried on all of their new leather jacket range and nothing fitted well with the Air Tech 5.
Luckily, Alpinestars are producing some quality stuff, and I'm happy to move to their range.
It does alter fit significantly. I'm now wearing an XL in jacket - I've never worn XL in my life.
I spoke to the Alpinestars lead at BKS who said it's fine to wear backpacks with the airbag - but they were unsure on Kriega style. So I am changing my approach and using Kriega tailbags instead of backpacks.
The quality of the unit is high and it's made in Italy.
Overall I'm very happy with it.
However, it became clear to me it's best used with the new Alpinestars tech air compatible garments. You can force it to work with other brands, but as others have said, you need to significantly size up to allow enough room. I went to the Dainese store in London and tried on all of their new leather jacket range and nothing fitted well with the Air Tech 5.
Luckily, Alpinestars are producing some quality stuff, and I'm happy to move to their range.
It does alter fit significantly. I'm now wearing an XL in jacket - I've never worn XL in my life.
I spoke to the Alpinestars lead at BKS who said it's fine to wear backpacks with the airbag - but they were unsure on Kriega style. So I am changing my approach and using Kriega tailbags instead of backpacks.
The quality of the unit is high and it's made in Italy.
I've bought a Tech Air 5, currently trying to find an A* one piece in stock without any luck.
How does the airbag built in to the RST suits compare to the Tech Air 5? I see the Tech Air covers the shoulders and upper arms and the in motion seems to be just the back and the chest, is the extra coverage that the Tech Air provides going to make it more protective than the RST? I actually like the RST Race Dept V4.1 suit, it's Kangaroo leather mixed with cow hide, incorporates the air bag and is £1k. An A* suit will cost me similar money plus the Tech Air 5 on top.
I know you can use the Tech Air 5 with anything which is a bonus, but I will only be riding with either a one piece or leather jacket.
The option is return the Tech Air 5 and go with the RST suit and an RST jacket both with the inbuilt In&Motion, or keep the Tech Air 5 and grab a compatible suit and jacket.
How does the airbag built in to the RST suits compare to the Tech Air 5? I see the Tech Air covers the shoulders and upper arms and the in motion seems to be just the back and the chest, is the extra coverage that the Tech Air provides going to make it more protective than the RST? I actually like the RST Race Dept V4.1 suit, it's Kangaroo leather mixed with cow hide, incorporates the air bag and is £1k. An A* suit will cost me similar money plus the Tech Air 5 on top.
I know you can use the Tech Air 5 with anything which is a bonus, but I will only be riding with either a one piece or leather jacket.
The option is return the Tech Air 5 and go with the RST suit and an RST jacket both with the inbuilt In&Motion, or keep the Tech Air 5 and grab a compatible suit and jacket.
samjlevy said:
is the extra coverage that the Tech Air provides going to make it more protective than the RST?
I guess the Tech-Air is more protective – shoulders, back, chest, and sides of the ribs. The InMotion airbag that RST uses covers the chest, back and neck. However, knowing which airbag system uses better algorithms is almost impossible.samjlevy said:
go with the RST suit and an RST jacket both with the inbuilt In&Motion
While the Tech-Air 5 works under most jackets with adequate room for airbag inflation, you can also swap the InMotion’s “brain” between different InMotion-equipped jackets. However, not all InMotion-equipped jackets can be zipped to trousers. It’s worth checking because the safety gain you get from the airbag is (slightly) offset by the danger of not having a jacket and trousers zipped together.
rat840771 said:
I have a mate who has a Dainese D-Air sitting in his wardrobe with only about 5 weeks use, £1500 new and 5 years old.
How much would it be worth £400/500?
Do they require a lot of maintenance etc?
It needs to be serviced every 3 years. I picked up one new from Dianese for £500 as they were getting rid of all stock around Xmas time. How much would it be worth £400/500?
Do they require a lot of maintenance etc?
Salted_Peanut said:
However, not all InMotion-equipped jackets can be zipped to trousers. It’s worth checking because the safety gain you get from the airbag is (slightly) offset by the danger of not having a jacket and trousers zipped together.
Why is that? The only explanation I've seen is that an airbag deployment could lead to a weapon's grade wedgie but I don't understand how zipped together jacket & trousers is any different to a 1pc suit?In a crossover post, here’s a Just-Stop-Oil-leads-to-airbag-deployment story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-636080...
Apparently, we can now buy airbag-equipped motorcycle jeans: https://airvest.co.uk/product/airbag-jeans/?utm_so...
Salted_Peanut said:
Apparently, we can now buy airbag-equipped motorcycle jeans: https://airvest.co.uk/product/airbag-jeans/?utm_so...
I thought they were great value for £65, until I realised that was just the 10% deposit 
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