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Jonny Towers, RST founder |
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 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.
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| V4.1 airbag one piece suit |
"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.
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| Adventure-X airbag textile jacket |
"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."
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| GT airbag leather jacket |
"Because the In&motion airbag 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.
www.bihr.eu
www.rst-moto.com
