Airbags – Alpinestars and BMW join forces for motorcycle equipment with airbag –

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Alpinestars and BMW team up for motorcycle equipment with airbag

Airbags - Alpinestars and BMW join forces for motorcycle equipment with airbag -

After Ducati and Dainese, it is the turn of BMW and Alpinestars to start a collaboration around motorcycle equipment including an electronically inflated airbag. And thanks to the technological advance of the Tech-Air Street vest from Alpinestars, the German-Italian association has significant advantages over the 100% Italian duo..

Afterwards, it is the turn of BMW and Alpinestars to start a collaboration around motorcycle equipment including an electronically inflated airbag. And thanks to the technological advance of the Tech-Air Street vest from Alpinestars, the German-Italian association has significant advantages over the 100% Italian duo..

A BMW-Alpinestars airbag jacket coming later this year 

The first piece of equipment resulting from this alliance will be a jacket "jointly developed" by BMW Motorrad and Alpinestars with Tech-Air Street, a very sophisticated and completely autonomous airbag vest (without connection cable or sensors on the two-wheeler) developed by the Italian equipment manufacturer (see box below).

Available in men’s and women’s models, this BMW-Alpinestars jacket should be presented "later this year", explain the two partners without further details..

This equipment, the price of which will probably be quite high as the Tech-Air Street alone is already worth € 1,199.95, marks the first step in this collaboration, similar to that of Dainese with and . 

Update on the Alpinestars Air-Tech Street airbag

Unveiled at the last Milan Motor Show, the Air-Tech Street Airbag from Alpinestars is the result of, including 5 in MotoGP on the suits of Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Marquez, etc. It comes in the form of a vest with an inflatable cushion – which covers the shoulders, chest and back when inflated – and a pyrotechnic trigger system located in the back.

This vest (weighingstatement of "2 kg") zips inside an Alpinestars jacket. It is therefore impossible to use it on equipment from another brand, but it can be worn on the road or off-road during leisure hikes (not in motocross, nor in "committed" enduro).

Main asset: its independence from the vehicle. The triggering of the cushion is not activated by a cable, nor by sensors to be installed on the motorcycle, but by directly integrated sensors. At present, it is the only autonomous homologated device: until now only racing drivers have had this technology, in particular those equipped with the "Race" version of the Alpinestars and Dainese systems..

Located on the shoulders and inside the backbone, these sensors continuously measure speed and movement and activate the device "in 30 to 60 milliseconds". Full inflation would occur "25 ms" later, ie a total time estimated by Alpinestars "less than 80 ms" in most cases..

This reactivity time is in the very good average, since some studies on the time not to be exceeded in the event of a collision between motorcycle and car – in particular those of the French Institute of Sciences and Technologies of Transport, Planning and networks (IFSTTAR) – report a "critical" threshold at 100 ms.

Tested over 300,000 km, the Air-Tech Street operates in a temperature range of -10 ° C to + 50 ° C and its battery would last "25 hours" after the automatic activation of the device as soon as the central zip was closed. (6 hours of recharging are then necessary).

Announced for "spring 2015" in European stores, this airbag vest is billed for € 1199.95 alone (without jacket).

Really innovative and interesting, this product suffers only from its incompatibility with "non-Alpinestars" equipment and its high price … to which it is advisable to add every two years an inspection invoiced at 199.95 € to check its good functioning !

Other equipment of the same type should then emerge such as jackets, jackets or track suits from the vast catalog of BMW Motorrad clothing (read in particular our).

One of the big advantages of this BMW-Alpinestars equipment is the completely autonomous nature of the Air-Tech Street device, thanks to its impact sensors integrated on the shoulders and inside the approved back protector. A major advance in the field of "intelligent" protection that the Italian vest is currently the only one to offer.

Because unlike electronic airbags or, it is not necessary to install sensors paired with the vest on the two-wheeler, which limits its use to a dedicated vehicle. This is why Dainese’s collaboration with Ducati and Peugeot covers very specific models: and .

Thanks to the technological advance taken by Alpinestars, BMW will therefore be able to offer equipment whose wearing will not be limited to a single motorcycle, allowing the owner of several two-wheelers to ride protected regardless of the vehicle used..

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