At first, having an airbag while riding a motorcycle was it only a fantasy. Slowly, about 15 years airbags made their way into the world of two wheels from Gold Wing. A fine brand, but serves no purpose if you are younger than 50 and ride a motorcycle.
Eventually, MotoGP riders had airbags built into their suits, and soon after so did racers all around the world, for an extreme price.
After several years and different brands to create and compete to create an affordable system, the technology finally got to a scaleable point.
Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 system is the latest airbag offering. A self contained, universal system that can be worn under almost any jacket and is designed to deploy before the rider’s first impact of a crash. That means there’s no tether to the motorcycle to trigger the system. Instead, it computes data a thousand times each second that it gathers from three accelerometers and three gyroscopes built into the integrated back protector. Tech-Air 5 in size XS can deploy quicker (20 milliseconds) than a 4XL (40 milliseconds), so figure for an average size of medium or large about 25 milliseconds. In other words, a little more than 1/50th of a second.
It’s built for the street rider; commuting to work, the lazy Sunday rides, and long road trips. It has also been tested and approved for ADV use, and shouldn’t deploy with small tipovers or get-offs at low speed.
But what about riding my dirt bike, you may be asking? It works, but if you plan to hit serious jumps in the dirt, that’s where the system becomes in operational. The Tech-Air 5 system can get confused in flight, or more accurately during landing, which offers a lot more force than typical street riding. It’s also not designed for a racetrack, where the Tech-Air Race system is meant to serve. The two systems use different algorithms, with the Race unit having slightly more versatility, since it can be programmed for the track or street, provided you have compatible gear.
If you are serious about your safety, it’s time for you to invest in an airbags system. Get your Tech-Air 5 here.