#alpinestars

Astars brings off-road airbag protection to the masses

Longtime readers will know that we are big proponents of motorcycle airbag equipment here at Motorcycle.com. Our own Troy Siahaan experienced the benefits of the technology first hand, after the airbag on his Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 vest deployed in a collision with a car.

Going fast and looking good

Boots: Alpinestars Supertech R Vented

When I find riding gear that I like, I tend to wear it quite a bit. With the exception of the discontinued waterproof Dainese boots, the items I wore at the 2023 Harley-Davidson Road Glide CVO and Street Glide CVO introduction are the current uniform I wear on almost all of my rides. It is comfortable, practical, and if I weren’t in the business of reviewing riding gear, it would keep me happy for years to come.

For years, if you wanted to be protected by Alpinestars, you could get all kinds of coverage from your toes all the way to your… neck. The single piece of protective gear missing – and it was a glaring hole in the company portfolio – was helmets. The dirt guys got their wishes answered a few years back with the Supertech M10 helmet, but street and track riders were still missing out.

Unless you’re a world-class rally racer, an afternoon spent riding with Red Bull Factory KTM’s Toby Price aboard his booming 450 isn’t a common experience. Note I said riding with, and not alongside Price. The only time I was alongside the man was when he stopped and I caught up. End the day with a cozy fireside chat including Price, Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec, and Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Skyler Howes and you’ve the ingredients for memorable uniqueness.

I might as well just come out and say it: In my years as a motojournalist, I’ve had the pleasure of testing dozens of track leathers, from ill-fitting, inexpensive off-the-rack items to full-on custom-sized suits, and the Alpinestars Fusion Race Suit is the most comfortable and best breathing one I’ve ever had the pleasure of donning. Since that’s my opinion, I figured I shouldn’t string you readers out. However, if you want to find out why I feel this way, I’d be happy to tell you. 

–We’re constantly on the look for great deals on motorcycle gear. We’ll be updating this post each week with the latest sales on gear and accessories, so keep checking here for new deals.

While in Spain on the 2024 Triumph Street Triple R/RS intro, I crashed during the street portion of the ride. As much as I’d like to let this mishap go down the memory hole, it gave me the opportunity to abrasion and impact test some gear. Let’s set the stage, shall we: By making a series of small mistakes in an S-bend that combined to tuck the front end and put me on the ground at about 60 mph, I landed on my left knee and hip, followed by my torso and the underside of the left arm – all fairly typical of this type of crash. In those few seconds of sliding, the Alpinestars Caliber Jacket did its job of protecting my hide by sacrificing its hide. I won’t get into the specifics of the Alpinestars Caliber Jacket’s construction in this review. You can read about it here. What I want to focus on is how it performed in the crash, how much damage it sustained, the repair process, and why I decided to have it repaired.

I’ve been wearing Alpinestars Copper Denim Pants in one form or another for seven years, and while I’ve been quite happy with how they looked like traditional jeans and provided comfort off the motorcycle, none of our staff of MOrons have put them to the ultimate test until now. If you’ve read my recent 2024 Triumph Street Triple 765 R/RS Review, you know I did a little pavement surfing on an Andalusian highway. Naturally, to further my embarrassment over my first crash at an introduction since 2015, I need to document the condition of every piece of gear that contacted the pavement so that you, dear reader, can judge the efficacy of the protection provided by my riding kit. The short version is that the Alpinestars Copper 2 Denim Pants sacrificed themselves so that my legs could escape unscathed. 

I’ve been searching for the perfect brown leather jacket for years. For some reason, this color appeals to me more than the classic black or multi-colored gear. However, to my eye, brown is a color that is difficult to get right. I’ve seen too many items with a burgundy tint that really doesn’t appeal to me. When I discovered the Alpinestars Caliber jacket, I knew I’d found the jacket I was looking for. 

Maybe think of this as more a second opinion than a review, since Ryan Adams already wrote quite a bit about Alpinestars’ latest Tech Air 3 vest in Best Motorcycle Airbag Jackets last week. While he was posting that, I was attending the Los Angeles premier of the new vest last Wednesday. I haven’t spent enough time in the thing to know how I really feel about it yet, but I can highly recommend The Bike Shed’s breakfast burrito.

Motorcycling airbags systems have now been in development for upward of 30 years. Companies like Alpinestars and Dainese have brought products to market, revised them, updated them, and developed new airbag systems to cover a broad range of motorcycling such as track riding, commuting, and off-road riding. We’ve seen these systems go from being integrated into specific garments, to standalone units that can be worn universally (with proper fitment). Now, we even have subscription-based systems that offer a lower barrier to entry price-wise than initially available.