Alpinestars Tech-Air Race Airbag System [Limited Sizes]

I bought this vest because I wanted something to keep me safer on the street (primarily), but also work safely for the occasional track day. I purchased the 2-piece Alpinestars Missile suit with Tech-Air Race compatible jacket to go with it. Just a few weeks after purchase, I had the unfortunate occasion to test out the vest during a low side in some gravel in the West Virginia twisties. I slammed HARD on the pavement because the front went out on me like I was on ice, and there is a nice chunk out of my helmet. The leathers are a bit torn up, but the airbag did exactly what it was supposed to do and deployed before I hit the ground. I fell VERY hard on my left shoulder and elbow. As I slid I felt myself bouncing off the airbag underneath me. I was a bit disoriented from the head hit, but I immediately popped up and was able to walk around, assess damage, etc. Outside of some sore ribs where my left arm slammed into my body as I fell and a small 2 inch rash from where my left elbow hit and the suit tore, I came away unscathed. No collarbone, shoulder or arm pain. No broken bones or other internal damage (got a precautionary CT scan to prove it). We all take chances when we ride motorcycles. I would strongly recommend the Tech-Air system to anyone out there on the street or track. Get a Tech-Air Street or Tech-Air 5 if you don't plan on doing any track riding. If you pay for insurance, just consider the cost of one of these as part of your insurance package. Without it, I'd probably be in the hospital right now, losing income because I couldn't work with much higher hospital bills to show for it. Instead I'm chilling on my front porch writing this review. Cheers!

I have a Missile suit and jacket, so this was next on my list. Fits great and easy to update the firmware especially when you watch Jimmy explain it on STG YouTube channel.

Will never go to the track without it.

A very good friend of mine was recently rear-ended on his bike and the driver was going over 50 MPH and never hit their brakes. His injuries are substantial and I decided that I needed to do something to mitigate that risk. I chose the Race model because I would like to do some track days in the near future and the versatility this vest provides allows me to get both Street and Race for one price. STG was fantastic to buy from and the registration process was completely painless. The TechAir Connect software is a little clunky and Windows 10 1809 didn’t like the driver package. After finding the latest driver update, installing the Street firmware was painless. Installation in my Missle jacket was a breeze. I’ve used the jacket a half dozen times since the purchase and it’s never failed to arm. I was a little concerned about the process but it’s truly align the magnets, zip, helmet, gloves, and go. Sure, it’s a little heavy and a little stiffer than I’m used to, but the peace of mind it gives me makes riding more enjoyable! I look forward to many years of faithful service. Don’t wait to buy it until someone you care about is seriously injured. I’ve looked at these since they came out and always thought it was too expensive. It’s funny how we can justify spending thousands on pets and cars but never our own safety. I’ll never make that mistake again and will encourage every serious rider I meet to get one.

I'm using this airbag with the Missile 1 piece suit. The installation is easy--just line up the velcro patches and zip it in. Either STG or Alpinestars has to add you to the data portal and register the device. I called Alpinestars on the phone and they were very helpful and nice. The Tech Air Connect software that you use to switch between street and track mode is easy to use, and it only takes a few minutes to switch the firmware. I use the euro size 56 missile suit. Having the airbag inside does not change how tall the suit feels, but it does add some girth in the middle of your back. If your suit is already tight in the torso, you will probably need a bigger size suit. Initially when I zipped up and rode off for a street ride the first time, I was a bit worried by how tight it felt on my back. But after a few minutes I barely noticed it was there, and riding with it for 4 hours was just fine. It does limit your ability to turn your shoulders somewhat, so looking over your shoulder before a lane change is a little more difficult. The way the system arms itself and boots up works fine, and I never had any issues getting a solid green light to come on. Airflow--of course, having an airbag wrapped around you has a profound impact on airflow. It was 102* on my test ride and there is much less airflow through the torso with the airbag, and felt noticeably hotter. I've yet to crash test it yet, but the main reason I bought it was for racing. I wouldn't ride without it at this point.

I was initially a bit concerned due to the confusion some folks have had setting up and using the system, but after crash testing a hit air vest in a high side in one of my races I was sold on airbag technology. So, I decided to get the missile suit and race airbag system. Right out of the box the instruction manual seems intimidating but really it's just that it is in multiple languages. Instructions are actually really easy to understand. On top of that there are only 2 available plugs on the airbag vest and the charger fits into one and the suit fits into the other so it is very intuitive. Activating the vest is very easy as well, just close the Velcro clasps on the vest and then the lights do a little light show to show you all the lights are working, then it flashes a light to indicate remaining charge, then it goes green+yellow to indicate standby mode. From there it will wait until it senses you are on track and riding then it will automatically arm. There is no time limit to standby mode. You can put your suit on and activate the system 30 min before you go on track and it will stay in stand by and wait for you. Also, it will automatically cycle active and standby so say you have to stop for a red flag then go back out you won't have to reactivate the suit or anything. As far as getting a hold of a-star and registering the suit it is really easy. The instruction manual gives you the website to go to and if you just call the customer service number they send you right over to the person you need to talk to, I didn't find anything difficult to find. Airbag didn't effect suit sizing for me, it does take up some space though so it possibly could if you are already maxing out the suit in the shoulder/chest/back area so for sure try the suit with the airbag before ripping off the tags. Also the airbag will make the suit hotter as it will impede some airflow. All in all very happy so far but the real question is how it works in a crash which I hope to not find out anytime soon!

I received the Alpinestars Missle suit and Tech Air Race vest today. Here are my initial observations, and some information learned so far. The Missle suit is top notch. The suit is race fit so order a size larger than you might otherwise determine from standard sizing charts. The armor is superb, and the quality seems excellent. I have Cortech, Alpinestars and Aerostich suits to compare fit and quality against. The Tech Air system is … interesting. The manual that comes with the air vest is very hard to decipher, and provides wrong information in critical areas. For example, it does not provide accurate information about how to charge the system battery. If you follow the manual, you may damage the unit since it instructs that you use a port that had a connector already installed permanently. By the time you realize the recommended charging port cannot be made free, you may have damaged the unit. Go figure. Assuming you have superior investigative skills to find the contact number, there is a contact in California who is fantastic and he helped me get the unit ready for use. I challenge anyone to find this information on their own, so I will supply it here: Mike at Alpinestars California: 310-891-0222 Mike knows the system and is a pleasure to deal with. The Tech Air Race and Street have significant differences. https://www.alpinestars.com/tech-air Once again, it is up to you to dig very deep to understand the differences, the information is not easily available or complete anywhere I looked, or do yourself a favor and call Mike at Alpinestars to get an education. The Race vest can be configured to run in street mode or track mode. The street vest can only run in street mode, will always fire 2 canisters, and cannot be reset yourself. The race vest in track mode can fire one canister if you fall, and allow to return to riding using the other canister. Configuring the race vest for street mode (street firmware) allows for airbag inflation in scenarios encountered in a street accident that may not fire the race mode vest. However, the race vest in street mode will only fire ONE inflation cartridge, not the two found in the street vest. Mike said protection is the same, but two cartridge firing is a bit quicker. Frankly, I am not sure how one can be as good as two when it comes to inflation, and I do not understand why once in street mode the two canister firing should not be part of the program. I honestly do not understand why one would choose the race vs the street system. It is all very confusing to me. Once you get the vest, you need to create an account. Instructions are confusing. Yet, if you can figure out the Ducati Panigale 959 electronics, you will get the job done with the Tech Air vest, eventually. Before you begin, charge the vest through the micro USB port on the tailbone portion of the vest. Do not try and charge it at the upper module port as the manual suggests. Do not try and remove the cable the manual tells you to remove. That cable is glued in place. You can charge the vest outside of the suit, but only when the vest is plugged into the suit do you have an LED light indication on the sleeve of the suit to tell you when the battery is fully charged. Outside the suit charging has no indication if the battery is fully charged. It took about 5 hours to fully charge my battery using the supplied charger and cable. Now to configure the vest. Step 1: Go here to set up a customer number. http://techair.alpinestars.com/Account/Register Use your email address for user name. Not obvious. Login Step 2: Once you have a customer number, you need to contact the dealer from whom you purchased the vest, or call Mike to populate the portal with your vest serial number. This cannot be done by you. They will need the serial number found on your vest label. Step 3: Once you have the account configured, you can download Tech Air Connect Software. This software is required to flash street mode firmware to your race vest, and to update race firmware. Step 4: The Tech Air Connect Software is easy to use. Flash the current firmware you want to use and you are ready to install the vest in your suit. Step 5: The vest installs in the suit with ease. Once installed in the suit, the suit remains comfortable with only a minor sense that the suit is tighter than without the vest. Step6: The vest is really complicated to initialize for use once you are ready to ride. First, make sure the power switch on the back of the vest in on, and all cables connected, before you don the suit. Do not close the vest upper Velcro until you are helmeted, and ready to ride with the bike running. At that point, close the vest Velcro which initializes the vest, close the suit zipper, get on the gloves, and do all this within 60 seconds so the vest “senses” you are ready to ride and give a sleeve mounted LED green light. If the light stays red, the unit did not initialize and will not work. Seriously, there has to be a better way… The vest needs inspection by the factory every 2 years or after a crash. It can take a month for service. Price unknown. The manual says the vest cannot be certain to work after 10 years. One major gripe, protection wise, the vest does not provide neck protection.