RST Fusion Airbag leather jacket

[Potter]

I don't know if any of you subscribe to Motolegends emails, but they release some quite interesting reviews.
The email is too long to copy and paste but they have a video reviewing this jacket and whilst I might not be buying one right now it is interesting to read/watch.

Worth subscribing to their newsletters as well if you like reading about bike gear.

https://www.motolegends.com/jackets/rst ... black.html

[weeksy]

WHat's the costs for the lease ?

[Horse]

WHat's the costs for the lease ?

Spin had details on yesterday's "Elevenses" of a Ducati branded waistcoat which, IIRC, didn't need the annual fee.

[Supermofo]

WHat's the costs for the lease ?

Looks like 120 a year or 12 a month and you can cancel the sub over winter say.

Nice looking jacket.

[weeksy]

I do wonder how much in a road context having an airbag jacket it likely to be of massive benefit over a standard one. On track, i can kinda get the race suits having the airbag functionality... but just a jacket... Mmmm not so sure.

[Horse]

If you're really bored, there might be discussions in SA

[weeksy]

If you're really bored, there might be discussions in SA

Don't want to sound harsh, but it's not a section i give a lot/any attention to mate sorry.

I know you guys put a lot of time and effort into it, but it's not really my thing.

[Potter]

WHat's the costs for the lease ?

C&P from the email...

In essence, you buy the jacket, which comes with the airbag and all the necessary hardware. And you then lease the ‘brains’ module directly from In&Motion. This module clips into the back protector. There is an option to buy the control unit but, in our view, this would not make a lot of sense.

Now the RST Fusion jacket costs £449.99. That’s expensive for an RST leather jacket, without a doubt. But bear this in mind. The standalone In&Motion airbag vest on its own from Klim costs £370. Which makes this jacket look like a bit of a bargain.

The control unit can be leased for £12 a month or £120 a year. Now, all the while you are leasing it, the product remains under warranty. If you rent monthly, you can, say over the winter, cancel the lease but, if you do this, you have to send it back to France. Alternatively, you can hold on to it and reduce the monthly payment to £4. But be aware that during this time your airbag will not work on the bike!

You can update your unit to get the latest version of the algorithm by using the app., or it will update itself automatically when you recharge the unit, provided that it is within reach of a Wi-Fi connection. Once charged, the unit is good for 20 hours of riding or 15 days on standby; but again the app. will keep you informed as to the state of the battery.

Once you’ve leased the unit for three years, you can buy it for a reduced price of £99. But, in our view, you wouldn’t do this because the vest would be out of warranty. And if In&Motion ever wanted to upgrade the box, you would have to buy another one. If you’re leasing it, it would simply be replaced.

There is an option to buy the unit outright from the outset. The cost would be £399. And for this you would get lifetime updates via the internet. But, again, after the second year, you will have no warranty, so once more we see leasing as the most cost effective and sensible route.

All of your dealings in this regard will be directly with In&Motion’s UK office. The seller of the jacket/vest has no involvement in that part of the process. Their website, if you want to check things out, is www.inemotion.com.

Some things you might want to bear in mind. When one of the Italian airbags goes off, you’re in for a long wait and a large bill. With the Fusion jacket, you can have three inflations before it needs to be inspected, not by the boffins in north an Italy, but by the boffins over here up in northern England.

The jacket and the airbag may well be able to withstand up to 20 inflations, but the reason that RST want to check the jacket out after three inflations is because the force of an inflation is such that it can put excessive strain on the structure of the jacket and the stitching on its internals. There is currently no charge for this inspection. There is one point you should bear in mind, however. If you’ve had three inflations with this jacket, you might want to consider taking up a different hobby, and potentially consider buying a car!

[Potter]

You can have the jacket professionally inspected after just one inflation. Again there would be no charge for this. Whenever you do have an inflation, you’ll need to replace the Argon gas cylinder. The cylinder, by the way, sits in a recess in the back protector. And that’s important, because with some of the lanyard-operated airbag vests out there the cylinder sits right up against the rib cage in a way that looks as though it could cause serious damage in an accident if the vest didn’t inflate. A replacement gas cylinder will cost £90.

We are not going to tell people that they should wear an airbag vest or an airbag jacket, in the way that we are usually more than prepared to tell people that they should buy the best helmet they can afford. Of course, we can see why some people feel that they want to, or should, wear an airbag vest of some description. As we’ve said it’s all about your approach to risk; the bike you ride, how you ride, where you ride, when you ride, and so on.

An airbag is never going to be cheap. If you purchased this particular jacket and the control module outright you’d be in for £750, but you’d only have a warranty for the first two years. If you bought the jacket and leased the brains for four years, you’d be in for £930. The benefit of leasing, obviously, is that, even after four years, the system would still be under warranty. Is this a lot of money? We can’t say. Many people would think nothing of spending that or more on an after-market exhaust or a suspension upgrade. Both of those might make you feel better about your bike. But neither are potentially going to be able prevent a long stay in hospital.

I still don’t currently see myself riding with an airbag vest, but that doesn’t mean that I never would. But if I’m travelling long distances at speed, I will usually be in a technical jacket. And in these circumstances, I would not want to wear one, because I cannot see the point in wearing an expensive technical jacket, and then preventing it from doing its job by wearing an airbag over, or under, it By contrast, if I’m wearing a leather jacket, I’ll usually be riding locally at embarrassingly low speeds, so wouldn’t feel I needed to wear one. So, right now, much as I appreciate what an airbag vest can do, and much as I am impressed with the RST Fusion, it’s not yet for me.

For you, though, it might well be a totally different story! And if you want to combine an airbag with a cool-looking, café-racer jacket, there’s nothing out there that comes close to the Fusion.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

A nice 80s paddock jacket in lairy colours would suit you better.

[Supermofo]

Looking at the RST stuff this is quite nice (must be channelling my inner hipster)
https://www.rst-moto.com/iom-tt-brandis ... acket.html



But considering a lot of the RST stuff was getting decent CE ratings disappointing this is only an A rating. My brother got an RST leather in the sale the other day AAA and £150

[Potter]

There is actually a lot more info and review in the Mototlegends email, so like I said it's worth subscribing.

FWIW I've also bought stuff from them and they were faultless in delivery and everything else, they seem like good guys.
His reviews are also pretty honest, even if it means putting you off the product, but I suppose they want you to choose the right thing and that prevents returns.

His review of Ewan Mc's Belstaff jacket is - "...basically it's shite for any sort of serious touring, but it looks cool and looking cool was obviously more important than anything else to him, so if you want a decent touring jacket then walk away, but if you want to look cool then buy one..."

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I quite like that in black, but £300 is a bit steep for what looks like the £50 jacket I had in 1985

[weeksy]

Looking at the RST stuff this is quite nice (must be channelling my inner hipster)
https://www.rst-moto.com/iom-tt-brandis ... acket.html



But considering a lot of the RST stuff was getting decent CE ratings disappointing this is only an A rating. My brother got an RST leather in the sale the other day AAA and £150

XSR900 has won then for the new bike purchase

[Potter]

Looking at the RST stuff this is quite nice (must be channelling my inner hipster)
https://www.rst-moto.com/iom-tt-brandis ... acket.html

I really like that, it's the Oxblood, it's my favourite colour for anything leather.

[Supermofo]

Yeah I've ordered stuff from MotoLegends always had good service. They are a bit brand/style focused but why not it's their shop. Their YouTube stuff is in depth too so you can get a good look at it as well if again with a large dose of their own way of doing it.

Never actually been to the shop but it's on my ride to list

[Potter]

He doesn't look very happy about wearing it though does he

[Horse]

But considering a lot of the RST stuff was getting decent CE ratings disappointing this is only an A rating.

Good grief! Is it made of tissue paper, painted to look like leather?

[Supermofo]

Good grief! Is it made of tissue paper, painted to look like leather?

It isn't good is it, I'd expect a leather jacket to do better than that. Having said that I've seen a few leather jackets with A and AA. But what's odd is RST seemed to do a reasonable job of having a few higher rated jackets etc. As I said my brother paid £150 for a AAA rated RST leather jacket.

[arthur96]

I've also switched to a leather airbag jacket for my daily motorcycle commute, and it's really great as it offers extra protection in the event of a fall. The only problem is the gas canister, which really isn't cheap!