Air Vests

[Offroad]

I've had a Helite 2-3 years now....actually had it deploy when I fell over at a dead stop on an incline (that darn K1600 is top heavy LOL).

I was in a “class” at a rally designed for GSs not Ks but at least the Helite people were there at the rally and installed a new free CO2 cartridge for me. Got a free Remus hat to boot!

It does help stabilize your neck when it inflates. I removed the back protector from my jacket as the Helite back protector is superior.

If you fit a tight jacket over it, the deployment would make it hard to breath.
It is heavy and can be hot, but I wear a full mesh jacket under it.

Rode 4 days in a row over 100 degrees last summer…..did OK….just kept pouring water down my back
I did discover why they call it a "turtle vest". When on my back, I was stuck until I un-clipped it.

I hang the tether on my tank bag handle so if I forget to fasten, I can easily find it and fasten while riding.

I made the tether long enough I can still stand up and ride.

If you forget to unclip it, I think it has a 40 lb pull force that will catch you before you just walk away and deploy it.

More expensive tetherless systems like MotoGP riders use have sensors, but the Helite seems better for most touring riders.
I felt better protected in mine, so I bought one for my son too who has my 2014 CB1100 std.

My wife bought me one of those of those expensive BMW/Klim jackets for me for Christmas….it had plenty of armor, but it was heavy, so much so, I felt like I was putting on a fireman’s jacket.

Couldn’t imaging wearing both that jacket and the Helite vest….so I sent it back.
The water down the back felt like AC for about 30 minutes.

It amazed me 100 degree water could make you “cold.” Near 0% humidity helped it evaporate quickly.

Approaching Fort Bragg....temperature dropped 50 degrees in 30 miles.....from 108 to 58...pretty amazing.

It was in the 60s all the way up the coast.

[the Ferret]

Geez probably the only BMW rider in the world to reject a Klim jacket. Are they still talking to you?

[Offroad]

Geez probably the only BMW rider in the world to reject a Klim jacket. Are they still talking to you?

LOL....That thing felt like a concrete suit.

Plenty of protection....but no comfort.

Didn't matter how many vents and pockets it had. ;-)

[LongRanger_imp]

Be sure that if you have to use the vest - and successfully I may add - don't get yer head run over by the truck who couldn't stop in your path.

Play it smart.

Protect the pumpkin seeds.

In my case, it was an oncoming bus, not a truck. No way he could have stopped in time, but he was able to swerve enough to miss me.

Very glad my vest inflated but it happened in Austria and I couldn’t locate a replacement cartridge anywhere. I quickly learned from that oversight and bought two spares when I got home, just in case.

Offroad, I wear my Helite over a Klim jacket. It’s not bad once you’re sitting on the bike. I left the back protector in the Klim, plus I have the back protector in the vest, so my spine is doubly protected, though sometimes I feel like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Once you leave the Midwest and head out this way, humidity becomes much less of a factor and the Klim works just fine.

[Mixagon_imp]

If there is one thing I know about motorcycling it's if you ride at some point you will go down and I have a couple of times in my life. I recognize that this is the risk I must take to do the thing I love and in the 5 years since I started riding again I have been fortunate to stay upright the entire time. But I'm riding at least 15k miles per year and I realize the odds are getting shorter every mile I ride.

So I've started researching air vests in the hopes of mitigating the damage to some degree when that day comes. I've looked at the Helite and other corded vests and economically they seem to make the most sense but I'm a forgetful person so I know I would definitely forget to unhook the cord when getting off and I'd likely many times forget to hook it up before riding rendering it useless. I was riding with a buddy recently that has a Helite and he was complaining to me on intercom that he had forgotten to hook it up and he was trying to while riding and I'm thinking he was probably going to run off the road trying to get the darn thing hooked up. Wouldn't that be ironic?

So I've been looking at the electronic vests, specifically the Klim AI-1. Some complain that it's a subscription based model but I don't mind that. The vest plus two years of subscription is about the same as the Helite vest and as part of the subscription they replace the electronics after 3 years. It doesn't seem like a bad deal to me.

So has anyone had experience with the Klim vest? I'd also like to hear about other vests as well. I'm leaning towards the Klim but I'm not sold yet.

My thinking is the more you ride you gain experience and wisdom so the odds get longer. Also you hear about what mishaps have happened to others and learn from them.
I don't think being accident free for so many years makes the odds go up and up. Riding rate/risk has no memory so surely every ride has the same odds? So the more we learn we can reduce the odds a little.
Similar to flipping a coin... if you flip 19 heads people would bet on the 20th flip more likely being tails but there is no memory in chance so each flip of the coin is 50/50 no matter what has gone before.

[emptysea]

It’s not like flipping a coin. Its about exposure. The longer you are exposed to a hazardous situation, the higher the likelihood of becoming victim to the hazard. Yes, it is arguable that riding experience increases one’s ability to avoid the hazard, the but that is trumped by the increased exposure to the hazard. So, if we are to use the coin-flip analogy, we may want to compare riding to a coin flip on a small table and then calculate not only how many times the coin lands heads or tails, but also whether it lands on the table or on the floor.

I do not believe that the crash is inevitable, but the more miles one is exposed to the hazard, the more likely one will wind up on the floor; hopefully heads up though.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Almost like the mirror-side of insurance.

It is a bet on the policy holder that regardless the exposure, a claim won't be made. However, if the surface area of the risk is high, so will be the premium.

[KiowaEagle_imp]

Question: regardless of tether/non-tether, is the vest worn under a jacket or over? or does it make no difference to how (if?) the vest deploys.

The Helite I believe is primarily meant to wear over whereas the Klim is meant to wear under. They show you how to measure and have a formula to gauge whether your jacket has enough room. They say you shouldn't wear under a one piece and many two piece connected suits. This is because when inflated it rises up under the helmet to mobilize the head to protect the neck. This pulls the jacket up a few inches and if it's attached to the pants it you could end up with a significantly higher voice or worse.

[Houtman_imp]

Question: regardless of tether/non-tether, is the vest worn under a jacket or over? or does it make no difference to how (if?) the vest deploys.

The Helite I believe is primarily meant to wear over whereas the Klim is meant to wear under. They show you how to measure and have a formula to gauge whether your jacket has enough room. They say you shouldn't wear under a one piece and many two piece connected suits. This is because when inflated it rises up under the helmet to mobilize the head to protect the neck. This pulls the jacket up a few inches and if it's attached to the pants it you could end up with a significantly higher voice or worse.

The Helite I believe is primarily meant to wear over whereas the Klim is meant to wear under. They show you how to measure and have a formula to gauge whether your jacket has enough room. They say you shouldn't wear under a one piece and many two piece connected suits. This is because when inflated it rises up under the helmet to mobilize the head to protect the neck. This pulls the jacket up a few inches and if it's attached to the pants it you could end up with a significantly higher voice or worse.
Like the new RLET's tool ?

[KiowaEagle_imp]

If there is one thing I know about motorcycling it's if you ride at some point you will go down and I have a couple of times in my life. I recognize that this is the risk I must take to do the thing I love and in the 5 years since I started riding again I have been fortunate to stay upright the entire time. But I'm riding at least 15k miles per year and I realize the odds are getting shorter every mile I ride.

So I've started researching air vests in the hopes of mitigating the damage to some degree when that day comes. I've looked at the Helite and other corded vests and economically they seem to make the most sense but I'm a forgetful person so I know I would definitely forget to unhook the cord when getting off and I'd likely many times forget to hook it up before riding rendering it useless. I was riding with a buddy recently that has a Helite and he was complaining to me on intercom that he had forgotten to hook it up and he was trying to while riding and I'm thinking he was probably going to run off the road trying to get the darn thing hooked up. Wouldn't that be ironic?

So I've been looking at the electronic vests, specifically the Klim AI-1. Some complain that it's a subscription based model but I don't mind that. The vest plus two years of subscription is about the same as the Helite vest and as part of the subscription they replace the electronics after 3 years. It doesn't seem like a bad deal to me.

So has anyone had experience with the Klim vest? I'd also like to hear about other vests as well. I'm leaning towards the Klim but I'm not sold yet.

My thinking is the more you ride you gain experience and wisdom so the odds get longer. Also you hear about what mishaps have happened to others and learn from them.
I don't think being accident free for so many years makes the odds go up and up. Riding rate/risk has no memory so surely every ride has the same odds? So the more we learn we can reduce the odds a little.
Similar to flipping a coin... if you flip 19 heads people would bet on the 20th flip more likely being tails but there is no memory in chance so each flip of the coin is 50/50 no matter what has gone before.

My thinking is the more you ride you gain experience and wisdom so the odds get longer. Also you hear about what mishaps have happened to others and learn from them.
I don't think being accident free for so many years makes the odds go up and up. Riding rate/risk has no memory so surely every ride has the same odds? So the more we learn we can reduce the odds a little.
Similar to flipping a coin... if you flip 19 heads people would bet on the 20th flip more likely being tails but there is no memory in chance so each flip of the coin is 50/50 no matter what has gone before.
You have a valid point but regardless of what the percentage the risk is still there plus another part of the equation is that I realize I'm no longer the young buck I was when I dumped before. When I was 50 I fell off a 6 ft step ladder and destroyed my shoulder to a point it took 6 months to recover. I'm 15 years older now and that much more brittle. Minimizing the damage that can be done can only work to my favor.

Question: regardless of tether/non-tether, is the vest worn under a jacket or over? or does it make no difference to how (if?) the vest deploys.

The Helite I believe is primarily meant to wear over whereas the Klim is meant to wear under. They show you how to measure and have a formula to gauge whether your jacket has enough room. They say you shouldn't wear under a one piece and many two piece connected suits. This is because when inflated it rises up under the helmet to mobilize the head to protect the neck. This pulls the jacket up a few inches and if it's attached to the pants it you could end up with a significantly higher voice or worse.

The Helite I believe is primarily meant to wear over whereas the Klim is meant to wear under. They show you how to measure and have a formula to gauge whether your jacket has enough room. They say you shouldn't wear under a one piece and many two piece connected suits. This is because when inflated it rises up under the helmet to mobilize the head to protect the neck. This pulls the jacket up a few inches and if it's attached to the pants it you could end up with a significantly higher voice or worse.
Like the new RLET's tool ?

The Helite I believe is primarily meant to wear over whereas the Klim is meant to wear under. They show you how to measure and have a formula to gauge whether your jacket has enough room. They say you shouldn't wear under a one piece and many two piece connected suits. This is because when inflated it rises up under the helmet to mobilize the head to protect the neck. This pulls the jacket up a few inches and if it's attached to the pants it you could end up with a significantly higher voice or worse.
Like the new RLET's tool ?
Hopefully not that bad but I still wouldn't want to risk it.