Helite Electronic Airbags.

[Ex-Call Centre Chimp]

I'm thinking of buying one of these and they're far cheaper from FC Moto even taking VAT & delivery into account but I'm sure I read somewhere that any system upgrades mean taking/sending the vest back to the place of purchase.
Is this right or have I made it up?
As usual TY in advance for your help Comrades.

 

[LockieP]

I’ve had one for 18m or so & I haven’t heard of the need to send it back for update. I bought mine as a refurb & it cost about half the full price. I’m going to go smaller as I’ve lost some weight & mine need a better fit. Going to buy the replacement from Sportsbike Shop £595ish. I’ve considered FC Moto & the like but I’m not convinced the overall saving makes it worth it especially if I need to return it due to problems.
Charge lasts me a week or so but gives you plenty of warning by the LED changing colour green to amber. I keep a charging lead at work anyway. I ride about 1500m per month.
I wear mine mainly Autumn on. They are heavy so uncomfortable when it’s hot.

 

[Ex-Call Centre Chimp]

Excellent.
TY, I appreciate the information.

 

[HGS]

Not sure if you can with an EU purchase but with the Helite UK site, you can register a new purchase and get 4 years warranty
But you do need to have it serviced every 2 years
No idea what the service entails

 

[mort77uk]

I’ve got an E Turtle & I was going to buy the fork sensors from XL Moto as they were cheaper, so I emailed Helite UK and asked if they’d be covered by UK warranty - they said no as it’s an “unlicensed sale”
So I asked for a discount code which gave me 10% off my order with them. If you email [email protected] and ask about the warranty & ask for a code they might oblige….

 

[Ex-Call Centre Chimp]

Thanks all.

 

[littleade]

Have you considered one of these instead?

Dainese D-Air Smart Mens Jacket

www.infinitymotorcycles.com

 

[LockieP]

I’ve had one for 18m or so & I haven’t heard of the need to send it back for update. I bought mine as a refurb & it cost about half the full price. I’m going to go smaller as I’ve lost some weight & mine need a better fit. Going to buy the replacement from Sportsbike Shop £595ish. I’ve considered FC Moto & the like but I’m not convinced the overall saving makes it worth it especially if I need to return it due to problems.
Charge lasts me a week or so but gives you plenty of warning by the LED changing colour green to amber. I keep a charging lead at work anyway. I ride about 1500m per month.
I wear mine mainly Autumn on. They are heavy so uncomfortable when it’s hot.

I

Have you considered one of these instead?

Dainese D-Air Smart Mens Jacket

www.infinitymotorcycles.com

I’ve looked at these as an alternative to replacing my Helite air vest but I think sizing of the jacket(s) you wear it under is critical as you need to be sure there’s enough room for it to inflate.
Also I think the Helite is the only air vest that protects your hips as well as holding your neck.

 

[Ex-Call Centre Chimp]

Have you considered one of these instead?

Dainese D-Air Smart Mens Jacket

www.infinitymotorcycles.com

I did, TY but having seen the protection a Helite offered a friend in a bad crash I've decided that's the one for me.
TY again for the suggestion though.

 

[Redboots]

Just a question, out of interest, are any of the airbags mentioned in this thread EN 1621-4 compliant?
I can find no information on Helites site.

 

[casbar]

Talking yesterday to a friend who's IAM group had Helite in for a talk and demo. We all have the tether ones at the moment. According to Helite they can track the electronic ones and they have a 7% failure rate. Now that doesn't sound very good if you're one of the 7%. I'll be sticking to my tether one

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I did, TY but having seen the protection a Helite offered a friend in a bad crash I've decided that's the one for me.
TY again for the suggestion though.

What was wrong with the Helite, in his crash?

 

[Morety]

Just a question, out of interest, are any of the airbags mentioned in this thread EN 1621-4 compliant?
I can find no information on Helites site.

Yes, they are compliant. Each vest comes with a pack, inside of which there's an EN 1621-2:2014 certification tag, although that's specifically for the hard back protector they use. The independent testing and certification lab used to certify them has tested them to be within 100mS inflation time (actual tests for the Turtle 2 for example show a tested time of 0.094 seconds, within the CE standard of 100mS for a level 2 protective inflatable device). Why they then don't also have the EN 1621-4 accreditation I'm unsure of but they are endorsed by the police and by IAM who are amongst their users and they've been out for years, proven and reliable in the equestrian world, for which the designs were originally used (and continue to be). The manual one is the one I use as I don't trust any electronic devices to reliably deploy with 100% certainty.

Here's a video showing a police rider walking away from a crash which could have killed him, thanks to his wearing a Helite vest, although there's an obvious question "was this accident avoidable?" as the rider in question failed to anticipate and slow for the hazard of the emerging driver. Whatever his misjudgement, the vest certainly played a part in preventing serious injury or a fatal crash.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Yes, they are compliant. Each vest comes with a pack, inside of which there's an EN 1621-2:2014 certification tag, although that's specifically for the hard back protector they use. The independent testing and certification lab used to certify them has tested them to be within 100mS inflation time (actual tests for the Turtle 2 for example show a tested time of 0.094 seconds, within the CE standard of 100mS for a level 2 protective inflatable device). Why they then don't also have the EN 1621-4 accreditation I'm unsure of but they are endorsed by the police and by IAM who are amongst their users and they've been out for years, proven and reliable in the equestrian world, for which the designs were originally used (and continue to be). The manual one is the one I use as I don't trust any electronic devices to reliably deploy with 100% certainty.

Here's a video showing a police rider walking away from a crash which could have killed him, thanks to his wearing a Helite vest, although there's an obvious question "was this accident avoidable?" as the rider in question failed to anticipate and slow for the hazard of the emerging driver. Whatever his misjudgement, the vest certainly played a part in preventing serious injury or a fatal crash.

I wear mine on the road bikes