BMW Motorrad->ke1398 has partnered with Alpinestars to develop a new airbag-equipped jacket that will provide riders with new layers of safety and convenience. If this kind of partnership sounds familiar, it’s because other motorcycle companies have ventured into similar collaborations with apparel makers. Dainese actually has two similar partnerships in place, one with Ducati->ke622 and another one with Peugeot->ke2271.
But the BMW-Alpinestars alliance hopes to take the technology to the next level with a product that makes full use of the latter’s patented Tech-Air technology. A BMW Motorrad jacket will be the first fruit of this collaboration, followed by a waistcoat containing Alpinestars’ Tech-Air airbag technology. More items are expected to follow suit although an announcement on what they’re going to be has yet to be made.
The new products will also use Alpinestars’ integrated computer systems so instead of linking the jacket to the motorcycle’s system, the rider can just put on the jacket and get on the bike without having to worry about any manually syncing the jacket to the bike.
This is a smart business move for BMW, even though it puts into question a similar arrangement it has with Dainese. From how it looks, though, BMW appears to be leaving behind Dainese and moving forward with Alpinestars as its new safety tech partner. The inclusion of the word "exclusive" in the BMW press release is a good indication of this particular scenario.
Pricing details haven’t been released, too, but I suspect an announcement to come shortly.
Continue reading to read more about BMW's technology partnership with Alpinestars.
Why it matters
Everyone knows where I stand when it comes to motorcycle safety. I’m all for any company who puts the time and effort into creating new technologies that take the levels of safety to new heights. This is what the BMW-Alpinestars partnership wants to accomplish and I’m really excited to see what comes out of it.
Granted, the concept of air bag jackets isn’t entirely new in the motorcycle world. Other companies have developed their own proprietary technologies catered towards the advancements of their products. But this is one of those times where the more variety there is in the market, the better of riders will be in the long run.
Save for a few details, BMW and Alpinestars have been tight-lipped on their collaborative plans. We already know that a jacket and a waistcoat will head to the market soon. What we don’t know are the other safety and tech items the two companies have in store for u.
Whatever they may be, I’m confident that BMW and Alpinestars will have a successful partnership in the coming years. Both firms will lean on the other to develop these items, all for the benefit of keeping riders safe on the road, wherever they may be.