Ready to Ride with my Hit-Air Jacket

[TracerNed]

I just purchased a Hit-Air Mottorad-2 Jacket, it has airbags that inflate if you accidentally leave your motorcycle.  I live in Iowa and due to the large number of deer in our state we have many vehicle/deer accidents.  Two of my riding buddies have hit deer while on their bikes.  After watching Ryan FortNine’s video (attached) and reading “maximNikenGT’s” posts on this site I decided to contact Rebecca at Hit-air Moto of South Carolina, 803-528-9165.  She is the owner of Hit Air Sport Inc and really knows her product, very helpful and easy to talk to.

This jacket replaces my current TourMaster Jacket.  I was concerned about the weight of the Hit-Air jacket but it actually weights the same as the old one, right at 5 lbs.  I have only worn the new jacket on two rides and it is comfortable.  It has vents on the sleeves, chest, and back and I’m sure these will help in warmer weather.

I also attached a video of a guy hitting a deer while wearing a Hit-Air vest.  He was also wearing a GoPro.  He had almost no injuries.  The accident happens in the first 30 seconds of the video.

Here is Hit-Air’s Motorcycle Line of Jackets and Vests.    https://www.hit-air.com/en/motorcycle/lineup/jacket_vest/

 

[2and3cylinders]

Let's all hope we never need them.

I got one of their vests early last season (search for my thread).

But I do want to have a buddy video me while another pulls the rip chord for a static test.

[TracerNed]

If you do make a video pulling the rip cord - Post it here because I want to see it.   🙂

[kilo3]

6 years then you have to toss it? Is that correct for an $800 dollar jacket?

[TracerNed]

I was not aware of this.  I just searched and the Hit-Air site does recommend replacing the jacket after 6 years.  Rebecca at Hit-Air Moto recommended pulling the tether and having the jacket fill once a year to insure the bag works.  This would give me confidence that the air bladder functions correctly and still holds CO2. 

Looking at the information at this site it looks like they inflate it for inspection and service.  Which makes sense to insure the system works.

https://www.hitairequestrian.com/product/hit-air-vest-servicing/

I imagine that all airbag jackets and vests have a similar life expectancy.

[2and3cylinders]

Good to know! 

[duckie]

All this jacket really does is give you a false sense of security.

He was riding too fast at night in a area where there is deer. He didnt even use the brakes which means he was caught off guard. 

Being caught  off guard riding a motorcycle is not good. 

The degree of injury is always  based on the luck of the fall…nothing more.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by duckie

[daboo]

15 minutes ago, duckie said:

All this jacket really does is give you a false sense of security.

He was riding too fast at night in a area where there is deer. He didnt even use the brakes which means he was caught off guard. 

Being caught  off guard riding a motorcycle is not good. 

The degree of injury is always  based on the luck of the fall…nothing more.

Hmmm...do you wear a helmet?  Gloves?  Shoes or flip-flops?    It's all in the luck of the fall, right???  Don't need a helmet if you don't hit your head.  And as long as you don't put your hands out in front of you as you fall, you don't need gloves...unless it is cold, of course.  And who needs boots?  Flip-flops are great at keeping the gravel from digging into the soles of your feet at stops.  Just make sure to keep your feet from touching the ground as you slide, and all will be fine.  We put on riding gear each time without questioning it.  For some of us, we'll put on an air bag vest as well as part of our kit.

I ride in deer-country all the time.  I've seen deer standing on the side of the road...but how many did I not see?  I'm convinced that when my time is up, the good Lord will take me from here...and that may or may not because a deer ran full speed out in front of me and I hit it.

 

My first deployment of my Hit-Air airbag vest was at a traffic light.  I was going to turn right at a busy intersection, as I gave it gas, a person walked out in front of me.  My choice was to hit them, or hit the brake.  Physics took care of the rest.  As I lay there against the hard edge of the curb, I thought to myself that this doesn't hurt.  Oh!...the airbag went off.  I should've had a couple broken ribs.  As it was, all that was damaged was my pride and ego.

Riding jackets and pants have pads in the shoulders, elbows, knees and sometimes the back.  That's helpful for those impact points.  But we generally don't wear anything that'll protect the chest cavity, neck, shoulder blades or tailbone.  IMO, the airbag vest helps to fill out the protection beyond what my riding jacket and pants can provide.  I've worn mine in temps as high as 116F for hours at a time, and never thought once of taking it off, even under those extreme situations.

Chris

[2and3cylinders]

Chris your comparison or analogy of wearing non standard motorcycle protective gear I think was unnecessary in this case

How much gear someone wears is based on their level of confidence and experience

 Some wear a helmet all the time, others sometimes and still others never at all

 The same goes for jackets gloves pants and boots

 I concur that the rider in this case was going too fast for conditions

 I'm not sure that he necessarily had a false sense of security because of the airbag bag jacket he was wearing

 I've always worn a helmet going back to the very early seventies, and went to a full face as soon as I found one that fit me half decent

 I also always wore a heavy jacket, gloves and boots

 On the track of course I wore the pathetic racing suits, gloves and boots that were available back then

 Duct tape sandwiching 024 aluminum sheet metal were our friends

 When I started commuting into the Chicago Loop in the early eighties I began wearing dedicated armored motorcycle pants as well, along with a Super Seeme vest and ran a headlight modulator (which I still do on all my bikes)

 I also got one of Andy Goldfine's 2nd generation Aerostitch Roadcrafter 2 piece suits.

 So I've guess I've been an ATGAT rider for a relatively long time

 With my health issues, likely slower reaction times and compromised rider skills, and the fact that I don't heal or bounce the way I used to when I was in my yute, I invested in an Hit-Air vest last year. If I was to do it over again I may have gotten the Helite Turtle 2.

 If I'm still riding in another 5 years I then may invest in in one of the "automatic" air vests.

 I've always advised new or returning riders to invest in themselves more so than then there motorcycles, including proper protective gear and training, and practicing routinely.

However, staying alive on the street is a matter, in my opinion, of experience.  In my 50 years of riding I've developed a 6th sense and an ability to anticipate what other road users will do that has saved my butt more times than I can count.

 In my opinion there are no such thing as accidents, only incidents because accidents can be prevented.

Anything that can up your odds to stay alive should be considered.  There is no time while riding to let your guard down; you must always be playing the "what if" game while riding.  Developing the ability to still relax and enjoy riding is the hardest skill to learn on a motorcycle.

[PhotoAl]

Gear is important all the time.  I suffered a concussion, a shattered kneecap and scrapes and cuts on a scooter at maybe 15 MPH.  Long story but on vacation on the island of Capri - bingo vacation over and 3 painful months till I rode anything other than a grocery store scooter!  Clipped the right bar on a rock wall dodging a bus that swung wide on my side of the road to make the turn I just went around.  I missed him by a US clearance I should have aimed to just brush the front with my left shoulder.  Police seemed to think it was his fault but when my wife talked to them while I was in X-ray she wound up her description by saying "we didn't hit anybody or anything".  Policeman looked at her and tore up the big form and we were ready to go.  Accidents in Italy with people at fault can get sticky.  So happy I could get on a plane and go home to get fixed.  

Now I wear my airbag vest on my scooter along with my full face helmet and Held gloves.  Generally don't wear protective pants or boots but may depending on where I'm going.  On the bike it is everything including airbag vest.

Haven't thought about life of the jacket but I'll probably replace it after 5 or 6 years anyway.  Need a jacket that is reliable and things do wear.  I've had my Dianese Smart Jacket for a year and it has been thru rain, cold and heat and have covered almost 20,000 miles with it.

Edited March 24, 2022 by PhotoAl

[duckie]

I have been around the motorcycle scene for a long time. I have had my share of incidents. I have observed  the results of other riders incidents.

I have come to the opinion that injuries are all based on the luck of the fall.

That jacket would be a little use sliding legs first into a guard rail as one rider I knew did.

That jacket would be of little use if broad sided by some one running a red light like one rider I knew.

That jacket would have be of little use if s semi changes lane right into you while you are beside basiclly running you over as happened to one rider I knew.

My first incident involved target fixation causing me to run wide off the road, hitting a bush, me flying 10 feet in the air hitting pavement……without a helmet. Just a small scratch on the head.

Ive sustain a compression fraction in my knee keeping my 900ss race motorcycle from flipping back over on me……I was wearing full leathers.

Ive made the statement that full leathers, full gear make a convenient body bag at times.

I could keep going. The most important safety device, the most functional safety device you have is between your ears.

Its is the rider and nothing more that makes for safe motorcycling. Riding at night on a dark two lane road, Im thinking the rider developed tunnel vision by keeping his vision center within the headlight beam and was not scanning the sides for anything, which caught him off guard. He was going to fast for road conditions.

He was lucky.
 

[Sunde]

1 hour ago, duckie said:

I have been around the motorcycle scene for a long time. I have had my share of incidents. I have observed  the results of other riders incidents.

I have come to the opinion that injuries are all based on the luck of the fall.

That jacket would be a little use sliding legs first into a guard rail as one rider I knew did.

That jacket would be of little use if broad sided by some one running a red light like one rider I knew.

That jacket would have be of little use if s semi changes lane right into you while you are beside basiclly running you over as happened to one rider I knew.

My first incident involved target fixation causing me to run wide off the road, hitting a bush, me flying 10 feet in the air hitting pavement……without a helmet. Just a small scratch on the head.

Ive sustain a compression fraction in my knee keeping my 900ss race motorcycle from flipping back over on me……I was wearing full leathers.

Ive made the statement that full leathers, full gear make a convenient body bag at times.

I could keep going. The most important safety device, the most functional safety device you have is between your ears.

Its is the rider and nothing more that makes for safe motorcycling. Riding at night on a dark two lane road, Im thinking the rider developed tunnel vision by keeping his vision center within the headlight beam and was not scanning the sides for anything, which caught him off guard. He was going to fast for road conditions.

He was lucky.
 

What an absurd notion
I'v seen first hand working at a hosptial what gear does. 
Riders come in having fallen wearing nothing but a helmet/t-shirt. The results would often be catastrophic. Compared to riders who came in in full leathers, their injuries were often much less sever. 
 You are literally saying that if you lowside at 50mph there will be 0 difference between being naked and wearing a racesuite with an airbag. I cant tell if you are simply incapable of thinking straight or if you are trolling? 
 You claim to have been "around the scene" for a while, well clearly you'v never watched a motoGP race or any other motorcycle sport, their crashes alone should show you the effect gear can have.

Yeah if the type of crash results in your momentum instantly being arrested then you are likely not much better off with gear than without. Still airbags can help, so can backprotectors etc. 
I fully support your choice to ride with nothing but your birthday suit, please dont advice others to follow your example. 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Sunde

[betoney]

I think anything that can potentially save you and give you peace of mind is a great addition to your riding gear.  I have been riding for over 45 years, dirt and street, and have crashed many, many times in the dirt and had 2 incidents on the pavement (hit a deer and got clipped by a car pulling out of a side street).  

95% of my injuries have been to impact points when falling, palm/wrists, elbow and knees, the rest of my injuries were tumble related, hip and shoulder.  Regardless of what you have for riding gear, WEAR IT!