Performance Bikes — March 2018

104 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK|MARCH2018

USED, ABUSED, RATED

Once deployed, the race airbag

system deflates. Twin gas

charges mean it’ll fire once more

if you remount and crash again.

HOW LONG ONE SEASON/ONE 120MPH CRASH COST £1000 (PLUS COST OF LEATHERS) CONTACT WWW.ALPINESTARS.COM

JUST TO BE transparent,

I am an Alpinestars-

sponsored rider, and it’s all

I wore last season. I’ve been

wearing Tech-Air-equipped

suits, and while I’ve enjoyed the level of fit

and feel you expect from a tailor-made suit

from their racing department, I didn’t crash

all season to test it in any way – I had some

big out-of-the-seat moments that failed to set

it off. Until Dan Linfoot’s Honda threw oil

down at Brands Hatch...

I tried to dodge it when I saw the smoke, but

me and five other bikes went down the road

• fast. I was chucked down hard on my left
  side, and I didn’t notice the airbag going off as
  I landed, slid and then tumbled. I always
  imagined it would be like a bomb going off.
  I only noticed it when I went to get up – the
  top half of my suit had expanded something
  like two inches in every direction, and I felt
  like the Michelin man, and had to really force

Alpinestars Tech-Air

Race airbag system

my arms to move to so I could pull myself up.

It went down moments later, the air leaking

out of the perforations in the bag designed to

let it deflate over a controlled period after the

initial crash – even 200mph crashes are over

in just a few seconds, so it soon starts deflating

after going off, and the green LED on the

leathers comes back on when it’s reactivated.

The Race version fitted to my suit has a second

reserve of gas, so if it was a race and I

remounted, I’d be protected for a second time.

It’s amazing – I can’t guess what injuries

I might have had, I just know I didn’t have any.

It’s like wearing a back protector for the first

time, or going from an open-face helmet to a

full-face lid – I wouldn’t go back and it’s all

I want to wear. But it does make the suit heavy,

which doesn’t please Alec when he’s sweated

every last weight saving on the bike... It’s a

great idea and it’ll be good to see it available to

more folk as the cost comes down with time.

Michael Rutter

Sadly, it won’t stop you

ruining the leather

Once airbag has deflated,

leathers return to original form

9

10