Honda’s New Take on Motorcycle Airbags

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Honda is working on new motorcycle-mounted airbag systems that will deploy, detach, and stay with the rider as they leave the motorcycle. (Honda/)

Airbags are increasingly accepted as effective safety aids in motorcycle apparel—to the point of being mandatory in some racing classes like MotoGP and World Superbike—but motorcycle-mounted airbags have struggled to get the same adoption. Honda might have the solution to that problem.

Honda pioneered airbag technology for motorcycles. After showing multiple Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV) prototype bikes with airbags, the firm launched its first production version in the Gold Wing back in 2006. Seventeen years later, the Gold Wing remains the only airbag-equipped bike on the market, but airbag-equipped gear has burst (no pun intended) onto the scene in the meantime.

Multiple companies including Alpinestars currently have lines of airbag-compatible clothing and vests that can be worn under conventional jackets or racing suits. (Alpinestars/)

Both technologies have their own problems. Traditional, car-style airbags, as used on the Gold Wing, only work on motorcycles in very limited circumstances. The rider needs to be sitting in a predictable position and the impact has to be head-on for the airbag to be as effective as possible. There are plenty of Gold Wing owners who can attest to the airbag’s effectiveness, but the idea hasn’t spread to other models. Meanwhile, airbags fitted inside protective clothing have also proved their worth on many occasions, but opting to wear them limits your clothing choice considerably, and the airbags are inevitably limited in size.

Related: Airbag Parachute System Under Development

This variation would deploy from in front of the rider’s legs and wrap around the torso, protecting the chest. (Honda/)

Honda’s latest idea is to create a motorcycle-mounted airbag that works like a clothing-mounted one, wrapping around you in the event of an impact and then detaching from the bike, so the airbag goes with you rather than staying with the motorcycle. Honda has filed multiple patent applications for the system, showing a vast array of different designs, but all featuring the same characteristics.

This illustration shows how the airbag would deploy from in front of the rider. (Honda/)

There are two main versions of the Honda idea, differing mainly in the position of the airbag. The initial version puts the airbag and its inflator (presumably a chemical-based gas generator, but the patent doesn’t go into detail about that part of the technology) in the front part of the bike’s seat. In an accident, the airbag fires upward between your legs (!) and is shaped to wrap around either your torso or shoulders. Several different styles are shown in the Honda patents, largely focusing on protecting the rider’s chest.

The second variation deploys from behind the rider and wraps forward around the torso, protecting the back. (Honda/)

The second variant uses the same idea, but puts the airbag and inflator in the rear part of the seat, just behind the rider. From here, the airbag wraps forward around the rider, going under his or her arms and again protecting the chest, while an additional airbag section covers the rider’s back. Again, Honda has suggested several different designs for the shape of the airbag. This version looks both more effective in some respects, particularly the back protector element, and having the explosive airbag behind you rather than between your legs might be preferable…

In this illustration, you can see where the airbag deploys from behind the rider. (Honda/)

Both versions use a system that allows the airbag to disconnect from the inflator and bike as soon as it has inflated, sealing the bag so it remains inflated for the duration of the crash. The system described in Honda’s patent application is one that uses the pressure in the airbag to deduce when it’s filled, activating the detachment mechanism, which then uses heat to seal the bag. A check valve in the airbag allows it to deflate at a controlled rate, cushioning impacts as it does so.

While there’s no guarantee that a patent will become a viable product, Honda’s idea seems to be sound, provided the airbag can be inflated fast enough to envelop the rider in an accident, and the chosen shape can accommodate riders of different shapes and sizes. It promises to offer the benefit of airbag-equipped clothing, regardless of what you’re actually wearing at the time of an accident, and given the relatively low cost of automotive airbags it shouldn’t lead to a huge increase in the price of bikes fitted with the system.

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