I'm looking at airbag vests, the one that comes up in reviews is the helivest, it's $649 in the high viz, I don't see any mention of these vests in the LD community, do you think they will catch on? Like the commercial on tv, I'm afraid of price remorse, I'll get one and they'll go down in price.
Rodney,
My '01 Wing predates Honda's airbags and I didn't want to get rid of a perfectly good bike just for that reason. My wife is an equestrian and put me on to the Airnest Vest and I like it a lot. It uses a CO2 canister and a lanyard which attaches to the bike. I've been using the vest for over a year now and wouldn't be without it. I have emailed the company with my gripes so I'll post them here:
1. They need to make the Airnest Jacket in Hi-Viz Green; I only bought the vest because it was Hi-Viz green. I would have much rather bought the jacket than the vest but, like you, safety is a big factor and I want to be seen so a black jacket was out.
2. The inside liner of the vest is made out of some material which sticks to Velcro. Many motorcycle jackets are festooned with Velcro and this presents a problem when wearing the vest over the jacket since it sticks anywhere there is Velcro. I'm going to try identifying the sticking points on the vest and cover them with duct tape to make the vest slide smoother over the jacket and not hang up. UPDATE: duct tape didn't work so well (wouldn't stick for more than a few weeks) so I'm back to the drawing board on this. But, while it stuck, it did the job.
3. The vest needs some pockets on the exterior, preferably with a Velcro closing flap. I ride long distances and in a 12 hour riding day only stop 4 times for gas. I pull up to the pump, pull my credit card from my jacket pocket, pay for my gas, gas up and go. But the jacket pockets are covered by the vest.
Bill
Bill Campbell
Oxford, PA
http://www.PinkRibbonFarm.com