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Dainese Just Made Your Motorcycle Jacket Obsolete

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For reasons too obvious to mention, motorcycle gear protection has been on my mind lately. Though my broken collarbone is unfortunate, it is timely, as Dainese just released its D-Air Misano 1000 jacket, the world’s first commercially available self-contained airbag jacket for motorcyclists.

Let’s be really clear about one thing: this is a sea change for motorcycle safety.

Debuting at the San Marino GP, the venue for the Dainese D-Air Misano 1000’s release is no mistake, as the jacket builds off the Italian company’s experience with airbag suits in the MotoGP World Championship.

At the highest level of racing, airbag technology has become a game-changing technology, and now riders on the street can use essentially that same airbag system, that same proprietary crash-sensing software (modified for street use), and that same company history of safety that the professionals rely on while on the race track.

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News

Dainese D-Air Racing Suits Coming to the USA*

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*For reals this time.

For those looking for more protection from their racing leathers, Dainese D-Air Racing suits are finally coming to the USA. Already bringing the technology in Europe last year, Dainese is set finally to bring the D-Air Racing technology to the USA, in September 2015.

Riders interested in the airbag-equipped leather suit have two options: 1) the top-of-the-line off-the-rack Misano D-Air cow leather suit ($2,499), or 2) the made-to-measure Mugello D-Air custom kangaroo leather suit (Price TBD).

This announcement represents the first airbag-equipped motorcycle race suits to go on sale in the USA (Alpinestars Tech-Air system is still not available, though the rival Italian brand is close to coming to market), and offers track riders the same level of protection as Dainese’s MotoGP riders, like Valentino Rossi.

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News

Dainese D-Air Armor Now Available to Other Companies

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Announced today at Mugello, Dainese is making its D-air airbag technology available to other race suit manufacturers.

Calling the integrated airbag, electronics, gas generator, wiring, battery, and GPS the Dainese D-air Armor “open platform”, the Italian firm hopes to begin protecting all the riders in the Grand Prix World Championships with this new business strategy.

At its core, the D-air Armor technology is the same that Dainese-sponsored riders have been enjoying this season, and arguably the Dainese system is the best airbag system currently available use for motorcycle racers.

Rivaling Alpinestars in protecting GP riders with airbags, today’s announcement will mean that riders with other leather suit brands, will be able to get airbag protection. Dainese has already signed deals with Vircos and Furygan.

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Opinion/Editorial

How Harley-Davidson Got Sued Over ABS Brakes & Why You Can’t Buy an Airbag Leather Suit in the USA

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I was reading DealerNews last week when I stumbled across a brief story about how Harley-Davidson was being sued by a couple, because the Bar & Shield brand did not offer the 2012 Electra Glide Classic with an anti-locking brake option.

The lawsuit comes about as a couple was riding two-up on their motorcycle in Texas, when a car suddenly cut in front of them. Locking up the wheels of the Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle fishtailed out of control, and flung the couple quite some distance. They are subsequently suing Harley-Davidson for $75,000 in damages.

I can already foresee the pro-business comments below this article, deriding these motorcyclists for a series events that amount to “their fault” for their medical and financial woes — after all, it was they who chose to buy a motorcycle without ABS, right?

Legal scholars, and those familiar with tort law and product liability in the United States though, will see the case quite differently. And barring specific details and circumstances, the conclusion to this lawsuit will almost certainly side with the complainants, not Harley-Davidson.

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Bikes

Ducati Announces Multistrada D-Air Model with Integrated Wireless Airbag Capabilities from Dainese

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With the Ducati Multistrada D-Air, the Italian brand is laying claim to the first production motorcycle with a wirelessly integrated airbag jacket system.

Something that was announced at last year’s EICMA show by BMW Motorrad, the Italians have seemingly beaten the Germans to market, though the real announcement here is the OEM integration that Dainese is building with its D-Air suits and jackets with various manufacturers.

The Ducati system, like the BMW version, includes an integrated set of electronics built into the motorcycle’s existing electronics package. This allows the Dainese D-Air system to constantly know the motorcycle’s vehicle dynamics, and use those telemetry figures to determine if/when an airbag needs to be deployed during a crash.

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Rumors

Rumor: Dainese up for Sale?

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Motorcycle industry gossip is at a fever pitch this week with speculation that Italian motorcycle apparel manufacturer Dainese is up for sale. Adding credence to that rumors, Asphalt & Rubber has received a number of tips about the possible sale of the company, with a private investment group cited as a possible buyer.

When we approached with this information, Dainese simply said that rumors were simply that, rumors. However it is worth noting that at the helm of the company for the past few months has been interim-CEO Federico Minoli, the same man that lead Ducati Motor Holding to being acquired by Texas Pacific Group, and later took the Italian motorcycle manufacturer public on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Products

The Dainese D-Air Racing Airbag Suit Comes to America

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Getting a look at Dainese & AGV’s 2012 collection, Asphalt & Rubber was down in Orange County earlier this week to see the highly anticipated Dainese D-Air Racing leather suit, which has a four liter airbag system that helps reduce the risk of injury during a motorcycle crash.

Dainese has been working on the D-Air Racing system for 10 years now, and after soft-launching the airbag suit in Europe, the Italian company is ready to bring the game-changing technology to American soil.

If you watch MotoGP or World Superbike, you have likely already seen the roughly one pound (650 grams) D-Air Racing suit at work, as riders like Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Stefan Bradl, Leon Haslam, and Max Biaggi have been wearing Dainese’s airbag leathers while racing, and have also been providing the company with feedback on the D-Air’s design and development.

In addition to deploying an airbag that protects a rider’s neck, chest, and shoulders, the Dainese D-Air system also provides a telemetry package that track riders can use in lieu of a basic motorcycle data acquisition system.

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Racing

Dainese to be the Official Safety Partner of the Isle of Man TT

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joey-dunlop-isle-of-man-tt

Dainese has announced the renewal of their partnership as the Official Safety Partner for the 2009 Isle of Man TT. Like last year, the partnership will include the first race of the Superbike TT to be renamed “The Isle of Man Dainese Superbike Race”.

The Isle of Man has long been regarded as one of the premiere races in motorcycling, as well as one of the most dangerous. Riders like Joey Dunlop have helped cement the iconic status of the time trial, while his death has also reinforced how dangerous the race still is. The TT races are extremely dangerous because of the high speeds on very narrow, twisting streets, roads and lanes flanked by stone walls and even buildings. Between 1907 and 2007 there have been 225 deaths during official practices or races on the Snaefell Mountain Course.

 

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