Ride with Protection using New AIRBAG Technology! Hit*Air.

Our family has been involved with SMDR for 10 years now and we look forward to another 10 or more. We’ve been racing motocross, street riding, running ATV’s, trail riding, and meeting great people involved with the industry along the way.  We love the sport of motorcycling; unfortunately we’ve also had our more-than-fair share of visits to the Hospital Emergency room.

Many of you know me, and my continuous ability to execute some spectacular crashes. Our son Nate had his first serious wreck this spring and was flown out of Budds. The increased popularity of the sport, and the seemingly increased performance of these motorcycles, is now making headlines with regard to influencing serious injury. Both at the professional and amateur levels, we now routinely hear about life-changing crashes associated with neck and spinal cord injuries. The risks are high and I’ve been asking why there isn’t better safety equipment available.

Well, I finally got an answer that I like.  When Nate was racing the Loretta’s Regional at High Point this year, we were introduced to a product called the Hit*Air Airbag Safety System. It’s an airbag vest (jackets too) that fully protect the neck, spine, tailbone, lungs and ribs in the event of a high-speed separation from the motorcycle.  The concept is simple and reliable. If you crash your bike and inflate the bag, you are instantly surrounded by a protective, but not overly cumbersome, airbag…it’s an awesome feeling. After inflation you can keep racing as the bag automatically deflates.

After seeing it in action I knew this could have a huge impact on the safety of our kids (old and young), so I decided to help bring this product to the US (there have been thousands sold in Europe and Japan since 2002). We began trail riding, practicing, and racing with the vests to test them. They worked great. After a few minutes of riding we never even noticed the C02 cartridge or the lanyard. In fact the vest alone provided ample roost protection and is far more comfortable than a standard chest protector. Needless to say, it has already saved me from injury on several crashes, and we’ve witnessed numerous airbag “saves” at MAMA races. If you feel safer in a car with an airbag, and you should, there is every reason you should wear one of these jackets or vests while riding your dirt bike or street bike. As with helmets, safety gear won’t be accepted by all.  But for those who are looking for extra protection as their kid goes for “the big double,” practice or racing, now the technology exists.  It’s affordable, attractive, completely reusable, and it works.

A friend of ours was recently riding his street bike on I95 in DC and was cutoff at 70mph. He was pushed into the guard rail and ejected from the bike onto the highway. Luckily he was wearing an airbag jacket. No joke…he walked away from that crash citing the airbag saved his life. His name is Mitch Kehn, and you can see his totaled bike sitting at Bob’s BMW in Jessup.

If you’d like more information, log on to www.gohitair.com, email us at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or call the Hit*Air office at 301-392-3779. As an SMDR sponsor, you can order vests and jackets directly from the distributor at 15% off.