vest during street riding. The de-
ployment needs of the street are
different from that of the track,
but crashes on either street or
track are likely to turn out bet-
ter when the rider is wearing air-
bag-equipped safety gear.
Ultimately, it's a effort-
equals- results thing. The vest
definitely takes more work than
a traditional suit with passive
armor. But the vest technology
promises riders more protec-
tion when the inevitable crash
occurs. And as the technology
matures and becomes more inex-
pensive and widespread, we may
one day look back and wonder
why we ever rode without it ...
More Airbags Coming
By Michael GougisAlpinestars isn't the only
company that makes airbag
technology available to the gen-
eral public. There are specialized
leathers companies that incor-
porate the Alpinestars Tech-Air
Race system into their suits,
other companies that make their
own airbag systems, and new
companies working on selling
airbag suits. They include:
`Mithos: This company makes
high-end custom suits, and its
RCP-18Air is available with the
Alpinestars Tech-Air system.
`RS Taichi: The company's new
GP-WXR-306 suit also is de-
signed to work with the Alpine-
stars Tech-Air system.
`Dainese: The D-Air system
is available in a variety of the
company's one- and two-piece
leather racing suits for men and
women. A key difference between
the Dainese system and the Al-
pinestars system is that the
Dainese system can deploy only
once before it has to be repacked,
not twice. After a discharge, the
suit must be sent to the com-
pany's service center in Califor-
nia, where a repack and service
takes about three days and costs
$249.95, plus shipping and tax.`Vanson: The American compa-
ny based in Boston is developing
an airbag suit that will be de-
ployed by a lanyard system. The
company's system is anticipated
to have all of, if not most of, the
bag inside of the suit, with any
external deployment featuring
abrasion-resistant materials.`In&motion/Ixon: The Ixon
IX-Airbag U03 is universal and
self-contained, with three de-
ployments before needed service.
It features technology developed
by In&motion, which is working
with companies (including Fu-
rygan) to provide internal airbag
systems that cover the spine,
chest, abdomen, collarbone and
neck areas.(Above) Bobby Fong (50) in Furygan airbag leathers leads Josh Hayes
(4) in Taichi leathers without Tech-Air, in the 2019 Daytona 200. (Be-
low) Third-place Fong (left) and second-place Sean Dylan Kelly (center)
wear Furygan airbag suits on the podium as they pose with winner
Kyle Wyman, in an Alpinestars Tech-Air suit. Photos by Brian J. Nelson.
RWRoadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019—47