Lets Talk Airbag Experiences...

I started racing in the D-Air suit back in 2012 or 2013, cant remember exactly which one. I had to order them from Italy because they weren't available in the US yet. Mine deployed 3 times, and there were no doubts about it.

1. In 2013 when the throttle stuck open on the R6 (faulty ECU); I launched off the back of the bowl on 2 wheels, under power. Went flying and landed in a huge puddle (it had been raining all the previous week). When I hit the puddle, the bike came to a complete stop and threw me off. The airbag deployed as soon as my ass left the seat.
2. Again at Tally. The combination of full throttle and countersteering too hard as I stood the bike up caused me to wheelie while I was still leaned over a good bit, when I came down I got massive headshake and couldn't get it stopped. Went straight through the right hander and hit that fence. As soon as I hit the fence, airbag deployed.
3. Track day at Barber and I was Coaching in Advanced. Behind a guy entering the high speed chicane after the Museum and his engine blew. I lowsided exiting the chicane and the airbag originally didn't deploy, because I was leaned over so far and just lowsided. BUT...I slide into that gator back rumble shit, and as soon as I hit that stuff it "grabbed" the ass of my suit and threw me into a flip. Once I went up in the air, the airbag deployed and cushioned the blow when I came back down.

In all 3 instances, there was absolutely no doubt that it went off. The suit swells up, its hard to move around, and it puts a lot of pressure on your upper body. You know those temporary "air casts" they put on you to stabilize limbs in an Ambulance? Think one of those, except its over your upper body.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

It seems as though we're not alone in the Tech-Air (A-stars) suit either not completely deploying, or some other weirdness going on. I'm sure I'll get the same response as Hayden when asking them... it's a bit frustrating.

 

So I had an off this past weekend and finally got to experience the airbag deployment. The crash was a 30-40mph endo front flip ejection. Event wise, I felt it was smooth but my helmet scrape, video of me flailing / rolling around and my sprained ankle says it was decent. Not a
Hayden at Pitt Race crash by any means, but not a simple low side either.

I did not recall a moment when the bag went off and I would have told you it didn’t if asked or maybe it was just a partial inflation I could sense afterwards. However, the video shows me pretty puffy, but I just didn’t have the feeling of being inflated or in an air cast of sorts like I was expecting.

I think my flip to rolling crash was a good use case for the airbag and I suspect it did help soften the impacts but I’m sort of interested in the D-Air system now to be honest. I went to the Aplinestar van/booth at VIR after the crash and thanked them for the protection and asked if they could take the vest to inspect and recharge it.

Here’s where I’m pretty disappointed. They said there is a long wait to get the vests serviced / inspected and they don’t want to see the vest until I’ve used both charges. I would rather go into a race weekend with both charges in case I use one and would still like protection for later sessions. I asked about just buying a spare vest then and was told they are on backorder and they have 150 orders to fill that are waiting and they don’t have a date for stock. I know a lot of things have had supply chain issues, but not even servicing these things? Not impressed. Hence my interest in exploring the D-Air system.

Is the D-Air available with 3rd party suits? It doesn’t look like it, but maybe I’m missing something.

 

I’ll plug the Helite GP vest, which has a mechanical tether. I’ve had three deployments over a few years, mostly low sides but one that ended up with me tumbling in the grass a bit. The vest has provided an absurd amount of head stability every time it deploys, and I’ve walked away unscathed each time.

It is a bit bulky, but being able to refill trackside is awesome and the vest has held up well to my use.

 

It’s funny you say this because I’ve been using Daniese but have been interested in trying alpinestars because getting a d-air suit serviced is such a pain. There’s only one deployment, and then you’re looking at months of not having the suit while you send it to them and wait to get it back. Having two deployments and only sending in the airbag and not the whole suit sounds like a better deal to me. That said, I’ve been waiting two months for a tech air race vest, with no end in sight to the back-order. Apparently they’re a victim of the global chip shortage so who knows when that will be resolved. Ultimately, I’ve accepted that if you’re serious about racing and doing it with airbags, you probably need at least two airbag suits.

 

If you're interested in a significantly cheaper alternative than either the D-Air or Tech-Air, look at the RST suits with the In-Motion airbags: https://www.thevisorshop.com/en/us/...cdhZXsxzXE9BgxFUDBwgXzhZw2g6bjZAaAg9NEALw_wcB

Or here or the mid-range model: https://www.thevisorshop.com/en/us/...cdhZXsxzXE9BgxFUDBwgXzhZw2g6bjZAaAg9NEALw_wcB

They require a subscription from In-motion which cannot be used in the US yet. Someone, somewhere change that, like, yesterday!

 

I’m never going to buy a suit with a subscription attached

 

You can also buy the control box outright.

 

So just because you didn't get immediate gratification/the answer you wanted, you want to go from two charges to one, and to a vendor that known to be worse w/ delays?

Something something cutting off your nose to spite one's face...

 

I set my tech-air off while doing a wheelie the other day. I'm a bit disappointed in the false positive. A* said to make sure I update my firmware, which I haven't done yet (I've had it for about 2 years now). It felt like a firm crack in my back, followed by my upper body being squeezed a bit. You may not notice deployment in a crash, but you'll know after while it's still inflated.

 

If you buy the box, can you then use it in the USA?

 

I’m not tracking your point, sorry. The instructions say to have it inspected and repacked every 2 years or after a crash / inflation event. The tag on the vest says and I quote “Airbag vest must always be checked after any incident (I.e. crash, fall, etc.) whether or not the airbag deployed”. And then when I talk to the track support people, they tell me something different and to just keep using it? Ostensibly because they can’t inspect and recharge right now?

If I can’t get a D-Air right now, then okay, but a couple of competitors have gotten D-Air and I haven’t heard of the D-air not “feeling” inflated so it makes me think maybe it offers more real world protection. And if I got one, I would use my Astar suit with 1 charge remaining as my backup suit. Seems like a reasonable approach to me. l

We spend so much on this sport, I’m happy to splurge on leathers, gloves and helmets (thinking about trying the 6D helmets after this crash too).

 

If they don't have the parts, they don't have the parts. Not sure what you want them to do for you. Would it have been better if they charged you to look it over even if they did nothing?

The manual says the post crash inspection is to be done by you, not A*. They only need to be involved if you damaged the airbag in the first crash, or after the second, obviously.

 

I dont know about Helite anymore.. I crashed, a lowside and it never went off. Been back and forth with Patrick at Helite. The "ball bearing" snapped from the tether and it didn't deploy.

I ordered a OneX suit with the Klim airbag and have yet to try it out. People are scared of the subscription but it allows you to purchase outright. Racers in Norcal have binned themselves wearing the Klim and it works each time

 

On the subject of airbags...

 

It doesn't seem like it yet. In-Motion's website won't even allow you to enter a US address when you try to buy a subscription or the box outright. It's GPS ie satellite controlled, so there's no physical reason it can't work here. My understanding it is a licensing issue.

 

On this subject, I've mostly been a Tech-Air fan but today I got the Dainese Smart Jacket LS, which is a product that Dainese seems to ignore that they've made to the point that a Dainese store told me it doesn't exist.

Well, the one I got is too large for me so it will be returned, but for what it's worth it might be the perfect riding jacket for safe street riding. Really comfy and flexible and feels pretty breathable for something with an airbag in it. I have a Tech Air Race for my track suit and Tech Air 5 for street riding, but I think this might boot out the Tech Air 5 for the convenience and comfort of an all-in-one setup.

 

I sent my D-air suit to Anthony's leatherworks in Costa Mesa, CA, for repair and had it back 2 weeks later fully repaired and repacked. He's a Dainese dealer and next door to their service center. I found him because I didn't want just anyone sewing patches on an airbag suit- Syed went right through my buddy's airbag, yet it still inflated when he high sided to the moon at Homestead a few years ago. Now they offer drop off service at all the MotoAmerica rounds, too.

D-air isn't available outside of buying a D-air equipped suit.

 

Really does illustrate the keep it stupid simple principle. Thanks for posting that. Good info!

 

I’ve set my d-air off a couple times. This was the big one though and I’m sure my shoulder would’ve been mush. Broke my collar bone and lost some brain cells.