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The New Honda Motorcycle Equipped with Airbag Is Impressing the Market and Promises to Elevate Safety Standards for Motorcyclists. Discover All the Details About This Innovative Model, Which Hits the Market with an Approximate Value of R$ 304 Thousand.
The deployment of the airbag system after a collision can be the difference between life and death. Currently, all cars have this safety mechanism. However, in the motorcycle market, this system is still not very present. Now there’s a new Honda motorcycle equipped with an airbag.
Honda’s New Motorcycle System Is Old
It is worth noting that the airbag was invented in 1953 by John W. Hetrick, but it was only used in 1973 in Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Buick. Mercedes-Benz popularized it in the S-Class in 1981. Among motorcycles, the GL 1800 Gold Wing from Honda was the first and only motorcycle on the planet to have an airbag, introduced in 2006.
The current generation of the new Honda motorcycle with airbag still carries this technology, but it is rare to find one of them on the streets due to the high price. The model with airbag starts at R$ 304 thousand and only 33 units were sold from January to September 2024 in Brazil. Therefore, the popularization of airbags in motorcycles is still a long way off.
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Focusing on the safety features of the new Honda motorcycle with airbag was and is closely related to its customers, motorcyclists who seek comfort to cover hundreds of kilometers a day, who prefer a steadier ride without excesses, and with total safety, instead of pure performance like that of the super-sport Honda Fireblade.
To implement the airbag system, which was until then exclusive to four-wheel vehicles, Honda had to reinvent the equipment. The generous dimensions of the model facilitated the task of positioning the system without compromising drivability and aesthetics, but it necessitated the development of a specific airbag for motorcycles.
Disadvantage of the New Honda Motorcycle with Airbag
According to Honda, the airbag was installed to protect motorcyclists in the event of frontal collisions. Studies indicate that this type of accident is the most frequent, accounting for 68% of cases. Since motorcycles do not use seat belts, it was necessary to develop a much larger bag than those used in cars.
In an impact, it is common for the motorcyclist to be thrown from the vehicle, which led the manufacturer to develop an inflatable bag with a different shape and straps to keep the airbag in the ideal position.
Honda’s studies for the application of the airbag equipment on the new Honda motorcycle began in 1990, and various stages of development confirmed the validity of its application in the Gold Wing. However, there are restrictions on the dissemination of the system in other types of motorcycles. Among these obstacles, in addition to the weight and high cost of the system, there is the possibility of the airbag accidentally deploying while going over a pothole or bump.
New Safety System for Motorcyclists
In addition to the new Honda motorcycle with airbag, a cheaper alternative is the jacket equipped with airbags. In professional motorcycling, such as in MotoGP, it is mandatory for all riders to wear suits with airbags. Inflatable jackets have an airbag built into their seams, like the Armor Airbag jacket from Texx, which has an average price of R$ 2,600.
To activate the airbag, a cable from the jacket is attached to the motorcycle. The motorcyclist must always remember to connect this piece from the jacket to a fixed point on the motorcycle to ensure the equipment functions correctly. In a collision, when the motorcyclist is thrown away from the motorcycle, this cable stretches and activates a CO2 cylinder that is attached to the jacket to inflate the bag.
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