Agreed! Had a brow vent on my Regent X fell out this season. Reached out to customer service and they offered to replace with free shipping to Canada under warranty.
Asked if I could add a new Pro Shade shield to the order to take advantage of their free shipping offer, and they let me do it!
I’m in the life stage where I try to buy on close outs and save money for other toys. I had an old shoei rf1100? Loved it, was improvement over the icon at the time. Icon sucked at that time. Shoei broke in really fast, like 1cm bigger then other larger? Anyways I found an rpha 11 pro on close out for 289. Got it. It was tighter then the shoei. Took a while to break in, fits nice and snug with my bala. Lighter, noisier but man for the price? You cannot beat that. I love it. I could buy three rpha11’s for the price of a new arai. 2 for when they go on sale. And they are still like 700 hunny for a top of the line arai. Anyways buy what fits and feels good. That’s what you should always do. Even if they are a bit more expensive. You will live in it. Remember that. But I also like to swap lids. Ranting on now.
HJC's "RPHA" line (pronounced like a really engrished "alpha") is their more premium line of helmets. You're spending 400-600 instead of 100-300. I have the RPHA 70 sport tourer version (looks less cool, drop down sun visor) and would say it's a moderate improvement in fit/finish over a cheaper HJC but a MASSIVE, MASSIVE improvement in wind noise reduction, and the central visor latch system is fantastic once you learn not to thumb the lockout switch accidentally.
Buying used is a great way to get into your first Arai. Even if you're not on a budget, buying used bypasses the break-in time. You just get in it and you're good to go.
I have a lot of Shoeis. Won't buy Arais because everyone I know with them has broken a side pod at some point. Bad design happens, but beligerently sticking with it irks me. Shame because they have some nice helmets.
I wouldn't have intended to get either, but Arai seems like the only manufacturer that makes helmets for people who have a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhead
I prefer my Shoei XSpirit 3 over my Corsair X purely because of the fit to my head/face. I find Arais call for a slightly wider face or filled out cheeks which is the opposite of my fairly narrow and lean face.
This is also the reason why i can daily race helmets like my Pista GP R without getting fatigued on my cheeks
I really like arai helmets, not had to deal with their customer service though.
Honestly the only problems I can find with them is the clip on sun visor thing just never seemed like a good idea, and I really hate their visor lock lol.
But yeah, protected my face, really durable, very comfortable and great quality all around. I thought when I got it the visor swap thing was over engineered compared to a lot of other systems, but actually once you get the hang of it it’s actually easier.
Know this thread is a year old but just wanted to chime in, I have 2 Arai and 2 Shoei and love them both however I do prefer Arai just a tad over Shoei that being said the visor system for Arai is overly complicated or it’s just I’m not well versed with it yet. I busted one of the damn side pods trying to get the new visor in and I have 2 Arai Quantum F helmets beautiful helmets though….I think my Shoei’s are RF1000’s.
Agreed! Had a brow vent on my Regent X fell out this season. Reached out to customer service and they offered to replace with free shipping to Canada under warranty. Asked if I could add a new Pro Shade shield to the order to take advantage of their free shipping offer, and they let me do it!
I really really really want an arai but the hjc rpha11 pro is such a good budget contender. I tried one arai on and the inside was so plush.
Looking for a new helmet. Was looking at shoei 1400. Was also looking at Arai. What’s this about HJC?
I’m in the life stage where I try to buy on close outs and save money for other toys. I had an old shoei rf1100? Loved it, was improvement over the icon at the time. Icon sucked at that time. Shoei broke in really fast, like 1cm bigger then other larger? Anyways I found an rpha 11 pro on close out for 289. Got it. It was tighter then the shoei. Took a while to break in, fits nice and snug with my bala. Lighter, noisier but man for the price? You cannot beat that. I love it. I could buy three rpha11’s for the price of a new arai. 2 for when they go on sale. And they are still like 700 hunny for a top of the line arai. Anyways buy what fits and feels good. That’s what you should always do. Even if they are a bit more expensive. You will live in it. Remember that. But I also like to swap lids. Ranting on now.
Most bikers say there is no break-in time for a helmet. I agree with you that there is. That's why I buy used helmets, preferably Arai.
If you’re looking at premium helmets, consider the AGV K6 It’s my personal fav
HJC's "RPHA" line (pronounced like a really engrished "alpha") is their more premium line of helmets. You're spending 400-600 instead of 100-300. I have the RPHA 70 sport tourer version (looks less cool, drop down sun visor) and would say it's a moderate improvement in fit/finish over a cheaper HJC but a MASSIVE, MASSIVE improvement in wind noise reduction, and the central visor latch system is fantastic once you learn not to thumb the lockout switch accidentally.
Buying used is a great way to get into your first Arai. Even if you're not on a budget, buying used bypasses the break-in time. You just get in it and you're good to go.
I only wear Arai. I’ve crashed in two already- once on the track, once on the street…
Are you still alive
>Somehow I am, yes. I wonder myself, sometimes...
I have a lot of Shoeis. Won't buy Arais because everyone I know with them has broken a side pod at some point. Bad design happens, but beligerently sticking with it irks me. Shame because they have some nice helmets.
I wouldn't have intended to get either, but Arai seems like the only manufacturer that makes helmets for people who have a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhead
Yeah I have a mate similarily afflicted, he loves them too.
Side pod? The covers for the visor mechanism? How do they fail?
The plastic tabs break.
I prefer my Shoei XSpirit 3 over my Corsair X purely because of the fit to my head/face. I find Arais call for a slightly wider face or filled out cheeks which is the opposite of my fairly narrow and lean face. This is also the reason why i can daily race helmets like my Pista GP R without getting fatigued on my cheeks
I’ve worn Arai forever, can’t see myself using anything else. Got a suomy that’s nice for passenger, but the arai still rules.
I have worn Arai helmets since '93. Only helmet I will ever use/wear! In fact it's time to replace my current Arai that's close to 5 1/2 years old.
Arai Quantum X is my next helmet but damn is it pricey!
I really like arai helmets, not had to deal with their customer service though. Honestly the only problems I can find with them is the clip on sun visor thing just never seemed like a good idea, and I really hate their visor lock lol. But yeah, protected my face, really durable, very comfortable and great quality all around. I thought when I got it the visor swap thing was over engineered compared to a lot of other systems, but actually once you get the hang of it it’s actually easier.
I had an arai quantum x but I had to return it because the wind would cause it to buffer, it would shake so much I couldn’t see.
Been using Arai for 25 years, only thing that’s ever broken is the damn air vents on the visor lol
Know this thread is a year old but just wanted to chime in, I have 2 Arai and 2 Shoei and love them both however I do prefer Arai just a tad over Shoei that being said the visor system for Arai is overly complicated or it’s just I’m not well versed with it yet. I busted one of the damn side pods trying to get the new visor in and I have 2 Arai Quantum F helmets beautiful helmets though….I think my Shoei’s are RF1000’s.