news ROOM
Integrated airbags
- the future of protection?
British riding apparel specialist
RST integrates CE back
protectors into its garments
whenever possible, and says that
it was the first British brand (and
one of the first anywhere) to
have its entire range tested and
CE certified to PREN17092.
The next step for RST is to introduce a
range of garments offering enhanced
rider protection. The solution - using
airbag technology to "take safety to
the next level".
RST is collaborating with In&motion,
the French company that has been one
of the pioneers in engineering
wearable airbag systems. "Just as
V4.1 airbag one piece suit
armour is integrated into garments, we
believe the best way to improve rider
safety further is to fully integrate
In&motion’s airbag technology into
RST garments," says RST founder
Jonny Towers.
"Knowledge gained through
countless hours of product
development enables us to keep safety
at the heart of our product innovation.
We started development with the V4.1
airbag race suit, born on the world's
ultimate race track – the Isle of Man
TT mountain course - with countless
miles ridden by legends such as Ian
Hutchinson and Conor Cummins
enabling us to verify that the design
met the stringent requirements set by
the RST development team, the IOM
Safety Committee and riders of this
calibre.
"We then let our international riding
team of pilots, including Kenny Foray
(MotoE), Alex Lowes (WSBK) and
myself (as British Super Twins
champion) verify the V4.1 on
racetracks around the world before it
was finally signed off to be made
available in the 2020 RST collection.
"Alongside the development of the
V4.1, everything we learned about
integrating In&motion’s technology
quickly filtered down into the jacket
development programme, and we
were able to select RST’s premium
jacket in each key category."
The RST airbag range therefore
consists of four garments - the Race
Department's V4.1 airbag leather one
piece suit, the Pro Series Adventure-X
airbag textile jacket, the GT airbag
leather jacket and the GT airbag textile
jacket.
The RST garments are fitted with an
In&motion airbag technology system
which has been subjected to over 500
crashes since its launch, with its
performance meticulously analysed
based on three key criteria - DETECT
(the rider’s movements are recorded
1,000 times per second to detect a
fall), PROTECT (the integrated airbag
system airbag inflates in less than 60
milliseconds) and PERFECT (the
In&motion App connects to the airbag
(In&box) and acts as a dashboard
which continuously collects rider data
to improve and perfect its algorithms
to detect a fall). The airbag technology
is available via a membership package.
"Our collection of fully integrated
airbag garments combines comfort
and discretion to offer enhanced rider
protection," says Towers.
"The garments themselves are
constructed using the highest quality
fabrics and armour. Underpinning all
this is the uncompromising focus on
comfort - up to 40 changes have been
made to existing products to
incorporate the airbag technology
without impacting comfort levels,
offering a superb, tailored fit."
"Because the In&motion airbag
Jonny Towers, RST founder
system is integrated into the garment,
the rider can just pick up their garment
and In&box and go, without worrying
about any additional protection they
will require whilst riding - it is quite
simply an all-in-one solution."
The In&box is wireless, which means
no cables or sensors are required on
the bike. Additionally, one box can be
used on multiple airbag jackets that
use the same In&motion brand
technology, offering multiple riding
opportunities.
Embedded road or track algorithms in
the smart In&box system analyse the
biker's moves and trigger activation of
the vest - it is powered by a battery
which lasts for 25 hours with 15 days
auto standby.
The RST airbag garments feature a
range of abrasion resistant materials -
the whole garment, armour and airbag
is fully CE certified and comes with an
In&motion CE certified back protector.
This is further supported by the airbag
technology which protects the thorax,
abdomen, spine, neck and collarbone,
"offering superior levels of all-round
protection".
It is reusable, which means after
inflation deployment, the gas inflator
can be changed by the rider up to three
times.
The RST brand is owned by Belgium
based, leading European distributor,
Bihr. The acquisition of UK distributor
MotoDirect, along with its RST and
Wolf brands, was announced at
EICMA last year. The RST range is
exclusively distributed by Bihr in
continental Europe.
Adventure-X airbag
textile jacket
GT airbag leather jacket
www.bihr.eu
www.rst-moto.com
22 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 www.idnmag.com