Description:

The ADAC tested very expensive, whether air bags can provide in biker gear for more security. MOTORCYCLE looks in addition to the future and shows what’s happening in the air bag scene.


Do good things and write about it – this motto can deal with the motorcycle enthusiastic engineers from ADAC Technical Centre in Landsberg am Lech often only partial, because between club news and ads will remain in the nearly 14 million copies distributed organ of the Association “ADAC” only little space to the right length to show that the technicians to take care of the Automobile Club also extensively about the safety of motorcyclists. For example, in the fall of 2010, as ADAC-Mann Andreas Rigling, 27-year-old engineering graduate of vehicle technology, together with colleagues innovative protective clothing examined.

Four air-bag systems (in a vest, two jackets and a helmet fitted), and in addition a passive support device designed to prevent an overstretching of the cervical spine, it had to show whether they can reduce accidents in specific situations, the risk of injury. In order to simulate the individual tests as realistic as possible processes can let Marauder Driver Rigling in preliminary tests with a dummy of a 50 km / h Suzuki Bandit 600 side slam into a stationary Ford Mondeo.

The situation corresponds to a typical crossing accident where the motorcyclist is first up and then thrown over the car and – in this case – about seven meters away from the collision point comes to rest. From the first contact between a motorcycle front wheel and crash opponents and the rough landing on the asphalt goes by only one brief second. This margin, in other accident situations be even shorter. Very little time, therefore, remains the airbag systems to be fully inflated at hand.

Release and filling of the airbag built into the products tested are not comparable with car Arbags. Pyrotechnic gas generators are in the car that the air bags are fully inflated in 20 to 30 milliseconds. The air leaks out of the passenger air bag upon impact of the occupants instantly, the entire bag is then ready for exchange. to integrate a gas generator in motorcycle protective clothing is currently hardly feasible in practice, the high temperature development is another problem.

Therefore come stocked with airbag motorcycle equipment CO2 cartridges used, whose needles are punctured when the release mechanism is activated. This happens in vest and jacket over a zip line, with which drivers and motorcyclists are connected – a system which, although has the advantage of reusability, in terms of trip time, however, is not the last word, as the tightening does the rip cord valuable time. More elegant (and faster in case of doubt) does the non-contact, because electronic triggering of the gas container of the airbag helmet. A control unit mounted on the motorcycle with the impetus for the trip. This works fine when the machine crashes into a barrier and the driver sits at this time in the saddle. But the thing has its drawbacks, when men and equipment from each other, even before the crash occurs – ie when the classical outbreaks or high-side. In the worst case, the driver is already under the guard rail, while his machine slipped yet – and has not yet triggered the airbag crash for lack of info.

The ADAC with sled tests simulated crash tests Aufblastests, drop tests on a force plate, neck strain tests, the protectors test according to DIN 1621-2 and finally the wearing of behavior of the air bags tested discharge tests show the bottom line is that there are still plenty of development and improvement There.

The best all properties which still offers the airbag-vest, which earned the only product a “good utility value, in terms of comfort but still could improve significantly. The two jackets weaken the activation period (especially the IXS model), and the airbag helmet has a very limited scope (only neck), is unconvincing in the handling and looks – to put it mildly – of getting used to. The second tested neck protection system has caused no problems with the trip duration – it is as containing constantly “in use” – but just that it is in normal everyday motorcycle fatal. The awkward handling and the reduction in mobility (key word “shoulder check”) may use in competition (Moto Cross, etc.) do not concern, are on public roads but hardly accept.

But despite the criticism have all products tested by the ADAC thankfully alone deserves praise because it first, are forward-looking steps to improve passive safety. If can the the best components together in the future, this could lead to create systems that would make the motorcycle driving even safer.