Hi all. I don't know if anyone else here has been entertaining the idea of an airbag vest or jacket, but I thought I'd share something I've learned.

I had been kicking around the idea of getting one for a while (I don't heal as fast as I used to), and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't watch Ryan FortNine's review of airbags with particular interest. I eventually decided to go with the Dainese Smart Jacket (actually a vest), and picked one up Sunday. This unit powers up when you zip it, and goes into a "standby" mode until it senses the bike running OR you go over ~6mph, at which time it goes full "armed" and ready to deploy. It worked great on my BMW R1200GSA. It went fully armed as soon as I started the bike, and stayed that way throughout my commute. Today on the Wing, the vest kept going into standby every time I stopped for a redlight or stop sign. It seems that the Wing is just too darn smooth for the vest to realize you're on it. It would "arm" once I got moving again. Unfortunately this would mean that if I got hit while at the redlight (one of the advertised features of the vest), I'd be completely unprotected.

I'm now going through the process with the vendor to return the unit and go a different route.

Stay safe out there...