Inflatable bail off vests.

[Stainless1]

Bumping this older thread. A couple of us are bring tethered inflatable vests this year and a couple of inquieries have been made to the big cheeses about any possible conflict of interest between protective leather and use of of the vests.

While I am biased about their ability to add protection in a unplanned dismount, can anyone think of a situation where they might be a problem?

I don't see any issue... you could wear a nice sporting jacket over your leathers if you were so inclined... I'm sure you will be required to wear appropriate leathers, if you wear additional clothing it should not matter.  Maybe you missed Brenda Sue wearing a tutu 

[fredvance]

Who could miss that?

[wobblywalrus]

This issue was discussed at the Triumph shop with some experienced road racers.  None wore the vests.  There are some leathers that inflate and many factory supported road racers use them, successfully, for the most part.  They are sleek and do not look much different than normal leathers.  The guys recommend them for me if I can afford them.  They cost several grand so I cannot.  None of the racers could afford them either although they recommended them.

The option I chose is a Leatt Street-STX neck brace. www.leatt.com/shop/braces/street-stx.html  These need to be fitted by someone who knows how.  My leathers and helmet are on their way to Wales so they took some leathers from the shelf and a helmet, too, and fitted the brace to me as best as they could.  It was adjusted to allow me to get down into a full tuck without pushing my helmet forwards.

One of the fellows crossed some water on the track at Portland International Raceway, high sided, and landed on his head.  He credits the brace with saving him from serious injury or death.  These braces are low budget solutions compared to inflatables - and far better than nothing.

[Cereal KLR]

Thanks Wobbly for the info. Two of us have tried the vests and your track friends are correct. No matter how tight we tried them over our leather they become a sail @ 100+.  Like you the $2500 suit cost is prohibitive and we will look into the Leatt device.

We are really bummed the vest didnt work as the tech is sound and excellent for street use but would be a distration at speed,something nobody wants.

[donpearsall]

At the last BMST I was "bailed off" my bike against my will at way over 200 mph. In addition to a broken shoulder, elbow and fingers, I got large and deep burns from the friction from sliding that far and fast on the salt. I don't know if an airbag suit would have helped, BUT I do know that next time I will be wearing some sort of insulation such as Nomex long johns. I was just wearing a t-shirt and regular underwear under the suit. The suit just transferred the friction heat directly to my arms, legs, and butt. Not a fun healing process.

So if you are not now, please take my advice and start wearing insulation inside your suit.

Don

[Koncretekid]

Don,
I just tried searching for Nomex underwear and there are a lot of choices to protect against fire, but I wonder how well they would work in the situation you experienced. I worry that in such a slide, the Nomex underwear might slide and abrade the skin as well.  It seems we would need something that fits skin tight.  I would be very interested if you find something you think is suitable.

The Leatt neck brace also sounds like a good idea. It's going to be an expensive year as I have to buy a complete new set of leathers, boots, and gloves, as my old ones are toast!

Tom

[nrhs sales]

Tom,
Your leathers were toast 3 years ago! 

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Nancy and I have always worn Kevlar underwear under the leathers, hoping that in case of a get-off and slide that we'd be saved at least some of the abrasions of the salt.  We've had no chances to test the theory, though.  When Nancy crashed it was a low-speed high side and the Kevlar didn't keep her from breaking a couple of ribs, and when I went through the goalposts timing light posts I suffered a bit of skin abrasion when the PVC pipes hit the leathers which rubbed the Kevlar which rubbed my skin a bit raw.  Still don't know what would happen if I were to end up sliding down the course.  I don't want to find out, either, thank you very much.