You can learn a lot from a dummy!

I've been seeing videos of this type thing since 2001. After college when all the guys bought bikes, we had one friend who was really paranoid. He bought a bike, so he could cruise with us but wouldn't ride it on the freeway and always wore a full-face helmet, padded jacket, etc. He was obsessed with this kind of concept and tried ordering one out of Germany, but they weren't approved for sale in the U.S.

The start of snowcrash's body armor. This is a really good idea and if it could save lots of lives.

Maybe this will help lower speed wipeouts, but I think motorcycle riders will continue to be a good source of organ donors.

Looks extremely dangerous: Well designed motorcycle leathers and body armour allow you to safely scrub off speed, presuming that you don't hit something solid. This stuff caused the guy to tumble in an uncontrolled fashion, greatly increasing the chance of injury....

Well, it's helpful to protect the shoulders, neck, and head like that, but I'd still prefer a model that gets the arms and lower torso, as well.

Stupid work blocking stupid videos.
Can I maybe get a screen cap? A picture? A crude ASCII drawing?

the rider controlled his fall. Having been over the hood, windshield, roof, trunk, and finally on the blacktop I can tell you this device wont do spit.

Won't be available until 2010 and shortly thereafter will be made mandatory by people who do not ride motorcycles.

this would have made a really good scene in "wild hogs" and the guy (can't think of his name) who got the apple classic tattoo because he wanted to be a *badass* with technology

@Lizard_King:

On The Nose!

Riding a crotch rocket feels totally different and much more exhilarating without all that safety equipment. If everyone ditched their cars, I wouldn't have to spend 10 minutes before each ride suiting up.

now lets see one going against a brick wall, railing or a car. Looks like it helps preventing from snapping your neck, but what about your butt and knees?

@Lizard_King: And therefore have no clue that they're actually endangering people more...
@dpweiblen: Yes you would: The (traditional) bike gear doesn't do much good against cars, fire hydrants etc., but it works pretty well against asphalt....

@slstsang: By making you tumble like that (and consider that was a low-speed accident where the guy would have just slid to a stop without incident without that ridiculous air-bag crap), it greatly INCREASES that chances that you would break your neck...

I seen a different kind of jacket.. but it had of a more full protection...

such as: neck area, shoulders, kidney and rim, and most importantly your tail bone.

This one doesn't have a tail bone protection... or i might be wrong. It appears it has some spine protection...

Ow.

Sure, airbag. Okay, that's good. Still, I don't think it changes my conclusion:

Ow.

@discounteggroll: I disount your opinion for mentioning, much less having seen "Wild Hogs"

He made quite some effort to keep that roll going for some reason. I'm not impressed. Looks like wearing a hefty neckbrace would essentially do the same thing.

Ok. Its hard enough to get bikers to wear a helmet in states that you dont need one. I really doubt they are gonna use this.

He still has to wait 30 minutes before swimming if he's eaten.

@strider_mt2k: Not if he's wearing the airbag! Seriously, doesn't that look more like a pfd than anything else?

HA! Nice job from the professional stuntman falling while doing 15mph.

Funny, cause when you usually fall on a track while making a turn, you usually slide for a while but don't get hurt. Now if he drove the bike into a parked car and came away uninjured, I'd be more impressed.

I think this is pretty useless, someone educate me before I go back to school tomorrow.

I would like to see something more protective around the whole body. For example, when it deploys, the rider should resemble the Michelin Man.

this reminds me of those honda motorcycles with airbags in 'em.

dosen't protect the nuts... i'm out!

This idea has been around for awhile and done much better. Hit-air jackets are 4-5 years old now and I have heard stories of idiots on hayabusa bikes crashing them hard without a scratch on them.

Yeah I was in an accident on a Honda Goldwing and the most common thing is a driver pulling out in front of us, resulting in plowing into them from behind. This will help some, but it's not so much protection that it's going to save your life in an encounter with a telephone pole or being run over from the person behind you.
They never did go into production with the Goldwings with an airbag on the tank, no explanation from Honda, and I kept asking for a year when I could buy one.

If you do ride, really the only thing you can do is ride on roads or times when there's less traffic, and weekends when people aren't impatiently commuting. Using the high beam all the time is a great idea.

The thing is drivers see a motorcycle, but it doesn't register the same as far as "danger danger!" goes. If you're in an SUV and you pull out in front of a cement truck, bad things will happen, they just don't see a motorcycle as a threat, so it doesn't register the same. Maybe all riders should be required to carry several hand grenades at all times, then people would know, and thus the roads would be safer for riders...

Yeah, this would not have helped my friend who severely broke her leg and had her hand completely crushed when she got hit by a car while on her crotch-rocket. Good thought, but doesn't look like it'd be at all effective in a crash of even moderate speed.

It would be good for parents concerned about their slut daughter. BAM! NO PREGNANCY!

And if you drive over the peer into the river it doubles as a floatation device! Or so it seems.

Not the answer, yet. Trying to do what a HANS device accomplishes, and more, but dealing with way more complex crash dynamics.

Don't rule it out. Jet jocks wear inflatable g-suits... might be something there. Of course, if you prefer a tshirt, shorts and flip flops, Darwin will take care of things in due course.

Now that I feel safer on my bike I will drive more recklessly and faster!

It doesn't help to pad your shoulders when he really took the brunt of the impact with his ass.

This is beyond stupid.

Notice the guy's elbow and hip slamming into the pavement?
Only useful to prevent road rash on your shoulders.

What next? A full roll cage?

That is pretty good for avoiding head impact, but I would like to see the whole body suit. It would be like the movie Bubble Boy. "Well, officer, he survived the crash but we found him 3 miles away after getting hit by 4 cars and a bus".

The guy slams on the head like 4 times! WTF?

@gattsuru: How about something that inflates a huge ball around you.

Those inflatable pads look a lot like kiddie water wings.

If you are going to have them why not also have them around your elbows, knees and tail bone?

so besides inflating to scare away any low lying varmints, what is this thing supposed to do? Doesn't really protect the head (the helmet already does that) doesn't keep your body from contacting the ground (leathers do that).

It would be better to have the airbags completely fill up the inside of your suit, or use foam (like in Judge Dredd) so when you go down you are completely encased in hardened styrofoam? Or how about suits that have inflatable bladders (like the stillsuits in Dune) to cushion the fall?

@Hello_Newman: You may want to check again on the Honda Goldwings with Airbags. They were available when I picked up my VTX this past summer, and, according to [powersports.honda.com] , are still available.