Riding Jackets with Airbags !!

[highwayblaze]

I wonder if this has been covered on T-Bhp earlier. I guess there was a "similar" post earlier about Honda's new Goldwing that'll have an airbag (on the "dashboard" much less an instrument cluster ) !

Anyway, I read on autoblog this a.m. that Dianese is coming up with an airbag jacket that inflates when you crash. I google'd and found that there was already a company that was making similar jackets !

Impact Jackets

All of us riders know - ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET. But most of us also know that sometimes that also does not suffice. I found an older link here on autoblog about how a motorcyclist survived a crash and I really feel that its the next step for us motorcyclists to prevent or atleast reduce the chances of injury in an accident (no matter your mistake or someone else's). Check out the operations link on this website to see how it works.

Front chest area, side ribs areas, the back area giving support to the neck and spine areas is what they claim to protect with the airbags. Heck I hope I never have to test it but atleast my muscles wont be as tensed when I'm riding hard and cornering harder simply imagining what would happen if I went down. None of us want that injury or fear of injury even.

It would be great to hear what fellow riders think of this.

[highwayblaze]

Here's an image !!! I tried attaching it to the previous post but that didnt seem to work for some reason.!

[gendarmee]

Yea, I'd seen it on TV a couple of years back.
A japanese guy gave a demo, with a wire is connected to the jacket, when on fell or moved far enough, the wire connection broke & so the jacket inflated over the torso..I wonder how many use it and how effective it is, but def would help to have it on.

[rider60]

whats the damage(cost) for one of these?

has any one by any chance used one of these?

[highwayblaze]

it costs $500 which is hefty. But most bikers here who like bling jackets shell out 350$ atleast anyway. I'd say shell out the remaining 150 and u'r good!

[Nitin]

Quite true. Worth the money. Atleast you'd get to save a few bones and reduce the chances of internal bleeding.

[nitroxx]

I wasn't even aware they had come up with more safety features for bikers, I think this is a great investment.

[straight6]

I have seen a video of the Dainese test rider putting it to test on youtube. Check it out.

I wonder if its sensitive enough to be deployed because of the rubbish roads in India .

[rider60]

Originally Posted by straight6

I have seen a video of the Dainese test rider putting it to test on youtube. Check it out.

I wonder if its sensitive enough to be deployed because of the rubbish roads in India .

now i wonder the same thing. can some one answer this? with all the pits(pot holes) on road the the shocks already do the brake dance, so will the jacket hold good on these rods?

[ramie2400]

just yesterday they were showing up this safety riding jackets on 5th Gear on travel & living the guy was actually doing donuts on the bike and fell off the bike...It has a small cylinder type of hingy inside which in-flates at the time of impact..and for the next use you need to replace the cyclinder....

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by rider60

now i wonder the same thing. can some one answer this? with all the pits(pot holes) on road the the shocks already do the brake dance, so will the jacket hold good on these rods?

Its a one time use jacket(i guess the jacket gets damaged if it takes the brunt of the crash) which balloons around the torso.
I'm sure it can help keep bruises away & in minor velocity crashes , but not quite sure whether it can protect higher speed impact, it's still not a cage...Even a bullet proof vest disperses the impact over a larger area, one still feels a solid punch...

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by straight6

I wonder if its sensitive enough to be deployed because of the rubbish roads in India .

Originally Posted by rider60

now i wonder the same thing. can some one answer this? with all the pits(pot holes) on road the the shocks already do the brake dance, so will the jacket hold good on these rods?

Guys did you not watch the whole video??

There is a chord from the jacket that you have to clip to your bike, when you fall off your bike the chord is pulled (it takes 20-30kbs/lbs? of pulling (this also prevents a false inflation if you walk away from your bike without unclipping)) in order for it to deploy the airbags. It does not inflate on "impact".

cya
R

EDIT : it is NOT a one time use jacket (unlike a chemical explosion airbag). This has a small replacable CO2 cartridge (commonly used as a portable way to fill bicycle tyres).

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

EDIT : it is NOT a one time use jacket (unlike a chemical explosion airbag). This has a small replacable CO2 cartridge (commonly used as a portable way to fill bicycle tyres).

Thats nice.
But what about after physical damage to the jacket? how does one access that after a 1st crash?
Can one trust it for a next time?

[Rehaan]

Agreed on that point gendarmee.

Also, i think this is a great idea, and would love to see it being used and developed futher, especially in 2-wheeler motorsports. Im not very up to date with that scene, but i believe they are using them for some smaller championships - it is a requirement though? Its almost like an inflatable HANS for two-wheelers.

A few areas which i think could use some improvement :
1. The airbags only inflate when the rider is seperated from the bike (chord gets pulled). This makes the airbags a little less effective IMO as there sometimes is impact (with the ground or another object) before the rider seperates from the bike.
2. Its not a chemical explosion, so it takes a while for the bags to inflace (0.5seconds apparently), which im guessing is longer than if it was a chemical explosion like car airbags.
3. The pressure in the bags - my guess is that the design could be improved if there was more pressure. I am unsure of how capable 1 CO2 cartridge is (how many psi). This factor could also be limiting the size of the "airbag" and therefore areas to which it offers protection. Having a 2nd CO2 cartridge would complicate the trigger mechanism slightly, but would definitely be a possibility.

A great invention for sure, and hope to see it being showcased a lot more in 2-wheeler motorsports.

cya
R

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

i think this is a great idea, and would love to see it being used and developed futher, especially in 2-wheeler motorsports.

Yeah, would be good to see that happen.
Solid fuel def would mean faster inflation time.
It isn't a bad idea to have use an existing one too, it helps to an extent.