Alpinestars celebrates 50th anniversary in Los Angeles

50 years of Alpinestars, from manufacturing hiking boots in Asolo at the foot of the Dolomites to producing the amazing Tech Air airbag suit which has saved MotoGP riders from serious injury and developed a technology now available to the public.

There was a big bash celebrating the milestone in Los Angeles last week.  The Petersen Automotive Museum was turned into an amazing display of "gear porn" as Alex King who photographed it for us described it and, from the looks of it, a great party.   In attendance were: Travis Pastrana, Rick Johnson, David Bailey, Justin Barcia, Mitch Payton, Jamie Bestwick, Mike Alessi, John Hopkins, Jarryd McNeil, Chris Forsberg, Nelson Piquet Jr., Benny Solis, Cameron Steele, JR Hildebrand, Matt Powers, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Jesse Heilman, Nathaniel Curran, Grant Langston, Sal Barbier, and more.

A family run company led by Gabriele,  son of founder Sante Mazzarolo,  Alpinestars has become involved in everything from F1 to NASCAR to Motocross and of course Moto GP.   Sebastian Vettel will likely be champion again this year,  Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez both wear Alpinestars  and one of the two will be champion.  Jimmy Johnson in NASCAR,  you get the picture and  if you are reading these pages there is probably a good chance you too own and use Alpinestars products.

Happy 50th!

Biker Anatomy.

I'm pretty sure Alpinestars anticipated organ donor jokes when they commissioned David Gwyther or Death Spray Custom in London to design this special bike suit.  Look ready made for TT riders!

This is the second collaboration between Alpinestars and Death Spray Customs after the "heat signature" livery for Nelson Piquet Jr. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series machine.  Find more Alpinestars art/speed projects HERE

From Alpinestars:

The “Anatomy” suit, designed by London-based Death Spray Custom (AKA David Gwyther) was hand built in Alpinestars’ race factory in Northern Italy as part of a consistent effort to fuse art, design, technology and racing. Alpinestars invited DSC to their European headquarters last year to consult with technicians and explore the idea of creating a custom collaborative suit that would offer the same amount of protection as a standard Alpinestars suit, but with an artistic agenda as well. Gwyther, who frequently draws from motorsports and all forms of transportation for inspiration, is an avid motorcyclist and all-around bona fide gear head. He saw this partnership as new medium and a new canvas to apply his craft.

Human anatomy is a theme I have much fascination with and is something I've often visited in previous works. The anatomy model is a visual motif that, even from an early age, was intriguing as a timeless piece of art in itself. Part sculpture, part puzzle and all educational.” said Gwyther. “We see it referenced culturally in many ways from Hirst to Kaws, though my inspiration was an artist from a different field, AMA legend David Aldana. He raced in black leathers with a white skeleton over print. Think a dirtrack Donnie Darko. I wanted to create the next generation version. It's a very simple idea; the best ideas often appear that way.”
Elaborating on the project and why Alpinestars was the ideal partner, he said, “I guess the conflict of protection and the human body is never more apparent than in motorcycles and motor sport. Obviously Alpinestars understands that dichotomy more than anyone. Combining that knowledge with their technical and creative expertise made for a unique and compelling project.”

The Anatomy suit features a variety of bovine and kangaroo leathers, which were carefully selected to achieve the texture, color and effect of a traditional anatomy model. A red (as opposed to black) mesh liner was selected to further emphasize the anatomy theme. The Anatomy suit will be debuted this weekend at the Southsiders MC “Wheels and Waves” event in Biarritz France."

Can you smell the difference between rich and lean?

No secret we are big fans here at Axis and, as an Italian, there is more than a tinge of pride in the success of this company born in a tiny town in Veneto making ski boots.

I don't think you can be a gearhead and not enjoy this promotional clip, even if you don't know who Roger De Coster is!

Check it out alpinestars.com/onegoalonevisionvideo

So what did your kid do this week end?

8 years old and and companies like Alpinestars are already looking at them. And look at them ride!
It's the same in karting... in the future, perhaps pre conception genetic screening and sponsorship? :)

end of post

Gear: Durban Gore Tex

Check out this clip. I know it's an ad but tell me you don't feel like running out, buying a big BMW, KTM or in this case, a Yamaha Super Tenerè ( how's that for a cool name?) and hitting the trail for a week... Amazing piece of kit.


(Alpinestars)
end of post

Gear: Sport Touring

I think we have a fair number of riders who read Axis and I'm pretty sure an even greater number of fans of the oldest Italian technical gear manufacturer, Alpinestars.
Alpinestars have been making motocross boots since the mid 1960's, other Italian companies, Momo, Sabelt and Sparco all came later.

Alpinestars, among their many promotional efforts (could you go anywhere on the internet this past week and not run into a Ken Block Gymkhana video for example)? are producing a series on the development of their technical gear. We published the first about Adventure riding, here is the second one focusing on touring gear. Have a look


(Alpinestars TechTouring)

end of post

Adventured Development

You may have noticed from our track videos a bunch of us use Alpinestars gear and Axis Styles has been using the stuff for motorcross since before you probably knew it even existed.

What with the recent post about CG's latest adventure toy and the fact that from time to time we like to promote products we actually use, I thought you might enjoy this clip about the design process for the Alpinestars Tech Touring line of adventure riding gear.


Alpinestars Tech Touring
end of post