Race suit airbags the future?

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oracle462

Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
164
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I'm looking into getting my first race suit, [see previous thread about getting into track days] and really interested in the Alpinestars Missile which has the potential to integrate their air bag system into it. Is this the future and smart to consider?

Obviously there are other suits I like as well and wonder what those of you that already race/do track days take into consideration when purchasing your new suits.

Thanks and looking for healthy discussion and suggestions!


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You should check out the new MUGELLO R D-AIR LEATHER SUIT

Dainese has increases the standard in terms of performance, protection, and style on the track. The Suit is made of kangaroo leather, with elastic inserts in a new tri-axial elastic fabric on the back for more comfort, titanium plates on shoulders, elbows and knees, and technical fabrics. The D-air airbag expands to the rib area and integrates an intelligent LED emergency lighting, which is lit up in the crash and draws attention to the driver in conditions of poor visibility.

The D-AIR system works in synergy with existing protectors that are integrated into the leather suit, in order to protect the:
Neck
Clavicles
Shoulder
Ribs.

Awesome suit.


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I like those a lot but the cost is scary for someone getting into the sport! I should edit my post and say I plan on getting a suit first and then, perhaps next season, add in the airbag system. So eventually the suit will be in the similar price range of the Misano, but not initially. I don't have that much in the budget to finish bike prep and get a suit for this coming season.


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Last edited:
HeronB said:
You should check out the new MUGELLO R D-AIR LEATHER SUIT

Dainese has increases the standard in terms of performance, protection, and style on the track. The Suit is made of kangaroo leather, with elastic inserts in a new tri-axial elastic fabric on the back for more comfort, titanium plates on shoulders, elbows and knees, and technical fabrics. The D-air airbag expands to the rib area and integrates an intelligent LED emergency lighting, which is lit up in the crash and draws attention to the driver in conditions of poor visibility.

The D-AIR system works in synergy with existing protectors that are integrated into the leather suit, in order to protect the:
Neck
Clavicles
Shoulder
Ribs.

Awesome suit.


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Click to expand...



Would you buy airbag compatible ones and run a hit air or prefer it to be integrated?


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There are a lot of airbag waistcoats available. May not give the total overall
protection of the airbag race suits, but do a reasonable job of bridging the gap
between the basic suits and the expensive specials.

I would guess approx 30-40 % of the lads use the waistcoat options in Sweden.
 
990Glen said:
There are a lot of airbag waistcoats available. May not give the total overall
protection of the airbag race suits, but do a reasonable job of bridging the gap
between the basic suits and the expensive specials.

I would guess approx 30-40 % of the lads use the waistcoat options in Sweden.
Click to expand...



That's what I've been hearing here in the US also, and wondered if they did that because they already had a suit and would continue in that direction for the future, or go with an upgradable suit to get one integrated.


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oracle462 said:
Would you buy airbag compatible ones and run a hit air or prefer it to be integrated?


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Click to expand...



I will buy the integrated one cuz is safer won't come off your body in an accident IMO. Any ways that's what the Pro's ware.

either way in case of deployment you have to send them to Dainese HQ to get replaced.


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Have seen comments in several places that the turn around time for
the factory repacking of the airbag units on the suits can run to a couple
of months or more in some cases. Essentially this can leave you without
a suit for a large percentage of the track season (or a suit with no airbag protection).

For those who are at the wealthier end of the spectrum, you can of course
cover yourself for this possibility by buying multiple suits.

The waist coat option can be repacked in between track sessions as long
as it wasn't destroyed in the off.
 
990Glen said:
Have seen comments in several places that the turn around time for
the factory repacking of the airbag units on the suits can run to a couple
of months or more in some cases. Essentially this can leave you without
a suit for a large percentage of the track season (or a suit with no airbag protection).

For those who are at the wealthier end of the spectrum, you can of course
cover yourself for this possibility by buying multiple suits.

The waist coat option can be repacked in between track sessions as long
as it wasn't destroyed in the off.
Click to expand...

Depends on where you buy them.

The number of complaints have been from people who buy overseas then the local distributor says G.F. when airbag replacement comes along.

The couple of guys who I race with had turn around times all within a month (in which they also repaired the leather)
depending on crash, you proly still be waiting to repair bike while suit is off being replaced
 
Misano D-Air was activated and still did this. 4 months later and the ribs still a bit sore. Upside it could have been much worse, but .... service to get them serviced . Would I buy another one , next time round ? I think so , if it saves your neck , 4K is a small price to pay
https://imgur.com/a/BczTO
 
A year or so ago, I visited my local Ducati dealer when they had the Dianese rep there to do custom measurement for race suits.

They had quite a good selection of D-Air suits that would cover my size.

I tried a few of these, although they seemed to fit me, the Dianese rep pointed out that the areas where the air bags will deploy need to fit properly, ie.e fairly tight, otherwise the air bags really don't serve any purpose..

This didn't work for me unfortunately, so we talked about having a custom suit made, but going from about $2500 for an off the rack D-Air to a $6000 custom made suit, I just couldn't justify it for the few track days i do.

From my understanding the air bags, in these race suits, are more designed to hold body parts either compressed, for internal organs or supported in the case of one's neck. They aren't really to cushion impact, although they do somewhat help in this regard.

It just seems that proper fit is fairly critical in getting all the benefits from this technology.
 
I'm lucky in that the D-Air fitted me like a glove , seroiusly , the way i landed a broken neck would have been on the cards, so it served its purpose, cant complain . Australian distributor hasnt even got the kits to recharge, I'm just riding it uncharged . Btw the Mugello suit looks the go but a lot of coin .
 
I had this choice last year after I crashed with a Dainese made to measure suit on.
luckily no rear damage to me but the suit went back for repair and was returned fully fixed in 4 weeks.
but I went for the Helite GP air 2 vest as I couldn't justify 5-6k for a made to measure including the D-air.

I have a couple of pictures that ill try to post up later on
 
Is anyone interested in the A* option? It seems everyone is mentioning Dainese and external options but I guess this is pretty new still to the US market.

These external vest options ARE cheaper than the integrated systems though which is definitely nice. Is it the look of them that's currently off putting or the thoughts that the integrated is safer/a more complete solution?


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I use the Spidi Neck DPS waist coat. I thought it would be a pain in the ..., but apart from
remembering to "clip in/out" you don't even know you are wearing it.
I picked the mesh body instead of solid, for full ventilation in summer.

You can get a spare gas charge for around 30 euro and can repack it at the track in
about 10 minutes. Biggest downside is the fact that the jacket is just nylon, so any long
slides etc will probably right the jacket off.

The Helite that Nathanhu mentioned comes in leather so will probably be more resilient if you are a frequent crasher.
It is nearly double the price of the Spidi however.
 
oracle462 said:
It looks bulky on top of a suit from the pictures. How does it feel when riding? Air flow? Range of motion? What do you tether it to?


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Click to expand...



The vest sits quite tightly, not not so intrusive as you might think. It is very thin in construction. My comparison would be like a mill spec armoured vest, but without the ballistic plates fitted but a bit lighter and thinner ( hope that made sense !)

In Europe they are very popular and the advantage of just swapping gas bottles on site rather than sending the whole suit back saves time and may mean I can ride with suit 2 but no vest if it's that bad..
To deploy the vest a teather isfitted to the Bike ( mine is at the front of the seat 1299)
 

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