January 19th At the Brewers Arms in Wanborough.

Congratulations to the following members who have passed their Advanced Tests recently:

 

 

 

Position	Nomination
Chairman	Bob Fram
Group Hon. Secretary	Peter Genet
Group Hon. Treasurer	Winston Castle
Group Membership Secretary	Gary Franks
Bike Co-ordinator	John McKellar
Committee Member	Ed Deacon
Committee Member	Mark Sealey
Committee Member	Phillip Colbourne

 

 

 

Lee came with many examples of Air Vests to show us.  The company is Helite Airbag Protection and this firm is a leading player in the field of Airbag protection for riders, be they equestrian commercial, private or sport motorcyclists.

 

It started out as a French company at the beginning of  the millennium and is very well known all over Europe for Body Trauma protection being used by all of the emergency service motorcyclists and is mandatory in national cross country riding.

 

They started trading in Britain five years ago, initially with the equestrian riders, being shown as a new product at shows.  The second year saw some dealers getting involved and in year three the customers really started buying in large quantities.  Over the last two year the public sector has started using these air vests and they are now being worn by eleven police forces, the whole of the London Ambulance Service, Cheshire Fire Brigade and a number of Blood Bikers who receive an extra discount.  In 2018 it will be compulsory to wear one in MotoGP.

 

The vest is worn over the top of the usual motorcycle jacket, and they are designed to take account of the back protection plates in some jackets.   They come High Viz or black and are size adjustable.  It is important that the correct size is worn as the inflated jacket protects vital organs, kidneys, spine, neck, collarbone, heart, ribs, liver and cocyx area.

 

It is attached to the motorbike frame by a lanyard which discharges the CO2 canister after 30/35kg pull so it will not inflate if you forget to unclip before dismounting.  We were given a demonstration of the inflation and it is extremely impressive, being completely inflated within 100 milliseconds, it then gently deflates

 

The vest is re-usable and we were given a demonstration on replacing the canister for future use.  The used canister is to be disposed of as it is not re-useable. 

 

Prices start from £400 for a standard vest to £800 for a leather jacket with the vest built in.  RoADAR members would be given a 10% discount on the night.

 

This product looks like a real life saver and the demonstration was fascinating, thank you Lee.