A little confused here, are you removing the vest every time? I just leave the vest zipped into the suit semi-permanently (unless I'm switching to a jacket for street riding). Or are you just referring to how the vest zipped in makes the upper part of the suit semi-rigid? As mentioned above, you'll need a laptop to switch to the street algorithm which works slightly differently. This flexibility is a MASSIVE plus to Astars system compared to Dainese, in my opinion. Note that the Race airbag is only compatible* with specific jackets. Essentially all leather jackets as well as the T-Missile are compatible with the Race airbag, other jackets are compatible with the street. *I've been spending a LOT of time figuring out how the vest truly interfaces with the jackets in an effort to "hack" it to work with a non-official jacket. Originally I was going to cannibalize a T-Missile jacket to make the vest standalone, but I'm 95% sure that the jacket interface isn't critical to operation. As long as the vest is on and the magnets to activate it are together, it will rack up operation time. I'm sure that it might not work as well when the jacket isn't designed for it but I'd rather have it and have the vest get totaled in a crash or something than not have it at all. **I am not liable for you listening to the above advice.
The D-air system seemed to work better vs the A* system from anecdotal MotoGP evidence with the number of collarbone injuries a a few years ago, but there didn't seem to be too many last year
Because the whole back becomes semi-rigid. The calf area is tight with the full accordion panel design and I have to put the legs on part way, zip the calf, and then pull the legs the rest of the way on because I can’t stretch them on with the zipper. And all the while the upper part is flopping around and I’m half sitting on the back because I haven’t pulled the legs all the way on yet. And then in between races, when I would normally unzip leathers and pull off the back protector.... I can't. If I unzip, the leathers form a platform off my back and it’s again awkward compared to floppy leathers flopping down behind me out of the way. And it’s so awkward to take on and off, I don’t want to go through that between races. So it messed up my routine a little because I typically try to get out of my leathers whenever possible. Not any more [shrug].
Can anyone shed any light on buying the airbag after the purchase of a compatible A* suit or Taichi suit. I’ve been told that if you go A* suit it’s not really much of a problem, buy the size you need and it’ll fit right in later. However with Taichi, I was told it’s better to buy the suit and airbag at the same time, it won’t fit as well later for some reason. Anyone know about that or tried it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have weighed in on this in other threads, so you guys already know that I'm a fan of the D-air system. I lowsided in mine and it didn't go off. Two guys I raced with also crashed in theirs. One guy went down in the chicane in Daytona. It didn't initially deploy, but then he started rolling and the airbag blew up. No serious injury. My other buddy's crash was very spectacular, MASSIVE high side and he was easily 15 feet in the air. Landed on his shoulder (which already has 2 plates in it) and walked away. The repacking took 3 weeks and they got more than they paid for with regard to repairs. But Dianese just looks at the functionality of the suit, not the cosmetics so it doesn't come back looking new. I think most of the issues mentioned are from when the suit was first being sold and the repair apparatus was not fully spun up yet. Charging the suit is a non issue. I charge mine every 3 or 4 race weekends. If you're anal like Broome, you could probably charge yours every night if it makes you happy. It's only working when the top button is secured. Cost is always a factor, but @Riders Discount has these suits on sale right now for $1400 (+/-) which I think is an amazing deal. This is not some string attached to a life jacket, this is MotoGP technology. What you are getting for your $ is very worth it IMO. I know there are some people out there that talk about how cheap they can buy a suit, and that's great. But I have crashed many times and there is a reason Dianese supplies half the MotoGP field. It's a good quality suit. Yes, I'm making fun of the vests a little bit, but it's only in jest (airbag jest?) Like all safety gear, anything is better than nothing. Plus, this is the Beeb, you gotta get your licks in where you can. I don't have a 3' screwdriver, but my buddy Bob Fisher does, I know because I borrowed it to separate some guy's brake pads last weekend. Seriously, how do you race when you don't know how to put your front end back together? I guess we all gotta start somewhere....like with an air vest.
If you plan to purchase the suit and add the airbag vest down the road I would suggest making sure the suit you purchase has enough room to accommodate a thick back protector and an average chest protector comfortably. This should give you plenty of room for the airbag when you add it. I have the Alpinestars GP Tech V2 Suit in a 56 euro and a Taichi R306 in a 56 euro. The Taichi suit fits a little slimmer than the Astars in the chest and waist, the arms are also a bit tighter. The overall fit of the R306 works best for riders who are in shape and reasonably symmetrical. If you need a little more forgiveness the Astars typically offers the best fit. I have ridden with both of the suits using the airbag and without to feel the difference. Adding the airbag does have an impact on the fit, that impact is different for every rider depending on your build and fit preference. Towards the end of this season I drove out to Sportbike Leather Service and had Dan measure me up to have both the suits altered. I have also made a change to the armor in the shoulders and the elbows replacing the thicker armor that came in the suits with some D3O that is significantly thinner than what I took out. Both of the suits now fit perfect for me with the airbag installed. IMO riders who spend time in the gym and are a little thicker in the chest, shoulders, back and arms can be a little more challenging to fit when adding the airbag to the suit. Investing in a little alteration to get the suit where you need so you can ride with a higher level of protection is money well spent
Then there's the suit material quality aspect with Alpinestars always playing second fiddle to Dainese.
Lots of knowledgeable people here. So I'm definitely getting a mithos with alpinestars air bag for the big bike races but what about when I practice on the little ones like my kx65 and kayo? Would I be better with the said mithos/air bag set up or would an air vest like helite perform better since I may not be going fast enough for the alpinestars bag to deploy.
