Race suit airbags the future?

I would need to go look, but I believe the benefit to the Alpinestars option is that the system has two charges in it. Meaning you don't have to send it back in immediately after the first crash, unlike the Dainese unit. Also, when you send it in, you simply send the vest portion in and can keep wearing your suit without it, so no downtime. You could also own multiple vests and keep rotating them into the suit if you were a habitual crasher.

shakazulu12 said:

I would need to go look, but I believe the benefit to the Alpinestars option is that the system has two charges in it. Meaning you don't have to send it back in immediately after the first crash, unlike the Dainese unit. Also, when you send it in, you simply send the vest portion in and can keep wearing your suit without it, so no downtime. You could also own multiple vests and keep rotating them into the suit if you were a habitual crasher.

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Yeah it does have two crashes in it for race use and only 1 for street use. Have you seen anywhere the cost to get it refurbished? I haven't and wonder what it is.


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990Glen said:

I use the Spidi Neck DPS waist coat. I thought it would be a pain in the ass, 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.

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I haven't seen the Spidi unit, that's a great point you make though about slides.


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Nathanhu said:

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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Tethered under the mounting screw? I'm not sure I follow 100% on the location you're mentioning.


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oracle462 said:

Yeah it does have two crashes in it for race use and only 1 for street use. Have you seen anywhere the cost to get it refurbished? I haven't and wonder what it is.


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$300.00 was the number I remember from the launch event here.

D-Air is several notches above anything else on the market, it's been tested for much longer, development with no compromises specifically for racing, and well-proven in MotoGP. The A*'s stuff is really a marketing exercise, the product itself is not on the same level. Making it an "add-on" and having two charges in it, are both things that are attractive for marketing purposes but in operational detail are actually detrimental to the function of it. There will be dozens of "air bag" suits and jackets on the market in the next 5 years, with the companies knowing that a large percentage of buyers think "air bag = good", and aren't going to pay attention to the actual operation of the system. In reality, proper fit is the single most important aspect, and the D-Air system being fully integrated in the suit allows a proper fit.

oracle462 said:

Tethered under the mounting screw? I'm not sure I follow 100% on the location you're mentioning.


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remove the seat, and it loops around the tank mounting,
the vest functions with a 30kg pull on the deployment mechanism, so it shouldn't deploy if you forget to unclip and step off the bike.

just to clarify, I would 'love' the D-Air suit, but its out of my price range at the moment, and I have settled for a lower level of protection with the vest.
thought I would add that before someone things im bashing the full integrated versions.
in my group of friends, we have about 4 with the vest and they have been used a few time successfully already.
abrasion protection on the mesh vests on track is something that has popped up and there are companies that will Mod the vest outer cover to add leather to the right places to aid preservation during a slide.

Nathanhu said:

remove the seat, and it loops around the tank mounting,
the vest functions with a 30kg pull on the deployment mechanism, so it shouldn't deploy if you forget to unclip and step off the bike.

just to clarify, I would 'love' the D-Air suit, but its out of my price range at the moment, and I have settled for a lower level of protection with the vest.
thought I would add that before someone things im bashing the full integrated versions.
in my group of friends, we have about 4 with the vest and they have been used a few time successfully already.
abrasion protection on the mesh vests on track is something that has popped up and there are companies that will Mod the vest outer cover to add leather to the right places to aid preservation during a slide.

Click to expand...

Yeah I get it, it's a lot of money. Normally when I've had that debate with people, they're saying they can't "afford" the D-Air suit but somehow they can "afford" the BST wheels they just bought, or they paid cash for a $20,000 Panigale. What they really mean is they don't prioritize it high enough to justify spending it on their safety rather than their bike. Personally I put it off for a couple years, and just finally ordered a customer Mugello R this year, so I'm guilty as well. But now that I ordered it, I'm glad that I did it. It's literally the first motorcycle track oriented purchase my wife has ever been in support of! Ha ha!

Alas that is true.

I bought a new suit early 2016 and have since bought the airbag waistcoat for the 2017 season due to my track visits becoming more frequent. I will probably end up buying an airbag equipped suit the next time I replace leathers, and hopefully by then the prices
will be a little more affordable and the service times etc much improved.

In the meantime I am guilty of ordering wheels, radiator, rearests etc in the last few weeks.

jarelj said:

Yeah I get it, it's a lot of money. Normally when I've had that debate with people, they're saying they can't "afford" the D-Air suit but somehow they can "afford" the BST wheels they just bought, or they paid cash for a $20,000 Panigale. What they really mean is they don't prioritize it high enough to justify spending it on their safety rather than their bike. Personally I put it off for a couple years, and just finally ordered a customer Mugello R this year, so I'm guilty as well. But now that I ordered it, I'm glad that I did it. It's literally the first motorcycle track oriented purchase my wife has ever been in support of! Ha ha!

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Hit the nail on the head I guess.

I have always used Dainese suits and this year (2017) was the first time I ventured into the made to measure suits. even that is a bit jump in cost in regards the standard 'off the peg' versions
it didn't help having to send them back to replace half the suit after a slide on Oschersleben in September..
but I guess its a balance of risk against expenditure

Im guessing Air bags will soon start becoming mandatory in the higher level classes and start filtering down.

Happened with the HANS device. Everybody complained about the $700 price for ages, later it became law and it just become another item you had to get.

oracle462 said:

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've been looking at the A-stars option and I like it for a few different reasons..

1. I've ran a ot of A-stars gear over my racing career and like it. My current suit is the A-stars Atem, which has worked really well and held up respectably in a 95-100mph low-side.

2. The A-stars integrated component is a separate piece that zips into compatible suits. This is nice, so if/when you need to send it off for a recharge, you can simply remove it and send it out, leaving you with a functional suit sans airbag system.

3. The A-stars system has 2 charges vs. only 1 on the Dainese. So if you have a small get off early in the day, you can still continue and have the airbag for a 2nd go-round.

The flexibility and options has me leaning toward another A-stars as my next suit.

With respect to running an A-stars suit without the airbag kit. Does the suit not
end up being hugely oversize with all the gear removed?
Just curious, as it sounds like a more favourable option to me.

jarelj said:

D-Air is several notches above anything else on the market, it's been tested for much longer, development with no compromises specifically for racing, and well-proven in MotoGP. The A*'s stuff is really a marketing exercise, the product itself is not on the same level. Making it an "add-on" and having two charges in it, are both things that are attractive for marketing purposes but in operational detail are actually detrimental to the function of it. There will be dozens of "air bag" suits and jackets on the market in the next 5 years, with the companies knowing that a large percentage of buyers think "air bag = good", and aren't going to pay attention to the actual operation of the system. In reality, proper fit is the single most important aspect, and the D-Air system being fully integrated in the suit allows a proper fit.

Click to expand...

Eh, I think that might be a bit of a harsh estimation of the A-stars option. I mean, it's still an integrated piece that only works in compatible suits, so it's more or less made to fit into a custom/specifically designed suit. Also, it so closely mimic'd the Dainese airbag system, that Dainese sued for patent infringement in Germany and won. A-stars is no longer able to sell the airbag system in Germany. Must be a decent system if it's basically the same tech as the D-air.

The D-air system is likely a better product overall, sure, but the cost is a lot to swallow all at once. Being able to stage the purchases as an optional component is an attractive option for potential consumers as well.

990Glen said:

With respect to running an A-stars suit without the airbag kit. Does the suit not
end up being hugely oversize with all the gear removed?
Just curious, as it sounds like a more favourable option to me.

Click to expand...

Wondering this myself and has me hesitant to pull the trigger. I believe the tech air vest has a built in back brace and if you were to use a standalone brace like we already do now, it would be a similar/close fit.

Would like to try it all on with vest off/on and see what it's like, but don't know anyone nearby that has one I can try.

MotoX183 said:

Wondering this myself and has me hesitant to pull the trigger. I believe the tech air vest has a built in back brace and if you were to use a standalone brace like we already do now, it would be a similar/close fit.



Would like to try it all on with vest off/on and see what it's like, but don't know anyone nearby that has one I can try.

Click to expand...

From all the media I've read/watched about fit is you don't go up a size to fit the vest. Apparently it's similar to putting a chest protector in...not really noticeable once it's zipped up.

I also like the A* option because of the staged purchase makes it an easier pill to swallow and even though it's not really the point, it even looks better as integrated vs external.

I didn't know about the lawsuit and that is a pretty big point back in favor of the A* system. I can also get behind the point of it's only available for very specific suits so that makes the argument about fit/function more even keeled as well.

Jarel brings up great points which is exactly what I was hoping to do-start a healthy discussion about the suits/technology.

It's a lot of $ to spend if you're doing a Mugello or Spidi or Rev it or A*. Especially getting into the sport and having to buy so much gear at once makes it feel incredibly expensive (especially to my wife...perhaps I should stop talking to her about it and just chat with you guys instead!)

I'd like to feel really confident with my purchase on safety, fit and style because I will likely be stuck with it for a few years. Every one has opinions that I can understand the logic and I've heard things about "just go buy an AGV suit" to "get a D-Air for $2.5k"

I'm starting to get lost as to what I should do but it's a double edged sword because I love quality conversation on topics such as these! Help!

Cost wise a suit with external seems the best, safety wise an integrated suit is best. Is it best to purchase overseas to get a higher quality suit for the lower overall cost?


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MotoX183 said:

Eh, I think that might be a bit of a harsh estimation of the A-stars option. I mean, it's still an integrated piece that only works in compatible suits, so it's more or less made to fit into a custom/specifically designed suit. Also, it so closely mimic'd the Dainese airbag system, that Dainese sued for patent infringement in Germany and won. A-stars is no longer able to sell the airbag system in Germany. Must be a decent system if it's basically the same tech as the D-air.

The D-air system is likely a better product overall, sure, but the cost is a lot to swallow all at once. Being able to stage the purchases as an optional component is an attractive option for potential consumers as well.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying the A* system is "bad", just that it's not as good as D-Air. How much of a gap there is is up for debate, and A* will certainly win the marketing war since they're marketing Ninjas and Dainese are marketing pre-schoolers. The actual bag is not the same tech as D-Air, it's an offshoot of their failed prior Tech-Air product that was so bad they pulled it. Imagine having a big balloon wrapped around you, when you land on one side the air is pushed over to the other side and you get very little actual impact protection. That's how it worked. They knew that wasn't going to fly for long, so they tried to copy the D-Air fiber-reinforced bag technology, and got sued. Now they've changed it by sewing channels into the bag to keep it from overinflating, creating air channels instead. It's still not anywhere near as elegant as the D-Air bags. The D-Air bags inflate across the entire surface area of the bag, but only inflate to a specified thickness due to the internal fiber reinforcement. This is the big deal, and the main patent and it was a brilliant design.

D-Air bag:


Tech-Air bag:

Jarel, thank you very much for that more detailed explanation. That makes a lot of sense.

Do you still need a separate back protector with D-Air and A* bag systems?

DStyleNZL said:

Do you still need a separate back protector with D-Air and A* bag systems?

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Yes, the D-Air suits come with the specific Dainese back protector that the suit is designed to work with. You can optionally wear a supplemental chest protector as well (I do).