Top Speed Motorcycles

Alpinestars have today presented their Tech Air Race motorcycle suit, which was specifically designed and built to enhance the rider’s survival chances in case of a crash. In other words, the leather suit has airbags.

The safety gear manufacturer somehow managed to integrate the system into the Electronic Airbag Protection Suit and have it controlled through a high-tech electronic brain and we hear the process was a long and complicated one, but the breakthrough was worth the while.

The suit constantly monitors the rider’s movements and will only arm if the rider is moving and the engine is running. It offers five levels of programming and even works on electric bikes, so it seems Alpinestars thought at everything.

In the unhappy event of a crash, the safety system’s response is crucial, so the electronic brain determines the imminence of a crash in about 8 milliseconds, the airbags fully inflate in 50 milliseconds and they stay like that for 5 seconds before starting to deflate, process which takes 25 seconds.

Once used, the system can be rearmed in less than 60 seconds using two separate cylinders with a cold charge of nitrogen. The extra protection system will increase the price of the standard suit with about $2,500 when it is expected to hit production in June 2011. Also, the system will be adapted on all kinds of riding gear, from racing to off-road.

It all sounds good in theory, but nothing compares to actually seeing the airbag system being deployed on a rider, so hit the jump for a video showing just that.

Safety first: Alpinestars Tech Air Race motorcycle suit features airbags originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 30 April 2010 11:52 EST.

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