SneakyMcC Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 I'm about 300yrs overdue a new lid. I have tried quite a lot on today, prolly most makes bar Shoei. Dunno why HG never had them? The Arai Viper/Signet models felt the best (the latter is now discontinued). Anyway, anyone got some advice? discounts etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jims4 Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Had my Arai Quantum E for 9 years now Excellent build quality Good vents Easy visor change Replaceable cheek pads Funky coloured visors easily available Impressive results when my brother crash tested his RX7 Mine still looks as good as new although its well over due being replaced. Since i got the supermoto Ive been looking at moto x lids and quite like the Arai Tour X, however unless i can get a really good deal on one over the winter i'll get something cheaper as with all the off road and green lanes Ive got planned it will get spanked up pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omi Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Love my RX7RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avus_Bub Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I'm about 300yrs overdue a new lid. I have tried quite a lot on today, prolly most makes bar Shoei. Dunno why HG never had them? The Arai Viper/Signet models felt the best (the latter is now discontinued). Anyway, anyone got some advice? discounts etc? [/ QUOTE ] Shame you've just missed the NEC show, always a good place to pick up a bargain. What about the upcoming show at ExCel ? Might be worth a squirt......... I'm a Shoei man myself and love my Haydon Z-1. Had it about 3yrs now. Great fit, quiet, IMO the best visor system too. I was very tempted by the Yellow Colin Edwards RX-7 rep at the NEC though..... But I'd already bought some new boots and will get another year or two from the Z-1. BUB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Love my RX7RR [/ QUOTE ] Are these noisy at speed? Is this the Corsair? (or summit?). I tried these on today, but they never had the medium in stock. I saw one on the www for £280 - its blue tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omi Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Yup, the Corsair. Quite noisy, but very comfortable for my head. Beware buying off the web, Arai shape the lids differently for bone structures on different continents and buying a cheap import might result in a bad fit. It's what (Japanese GP rider) was wearing when his rear tyre delaminated at 210mph at Mugello. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted December 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 Fanx for the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeDesmo Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Yup, the Corsair. Quite noisy, but very comfortable for my head. [/ QUOTE ] +1 comfy & well vented but NOISY, definitely be wanting earplugs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whisky Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Got an Arai Astro purely because I found the RX7 a bit noisy and I prefer the classic shape. Fits like a glove, Awesome lid! I would look for fit over anything else and spend as much as you can. I've heard a lot of sales people who sell both Arai and Shoei say that you either have an Arai head shape or a Shoei head shape, don't know how much truth there is in that... Its all about the pinlock visor thingy aswell, I went out this morning at about 7am for a 70 mile ride and no mist ups whatsoever, it amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee_ Posted December 17, 2006 Report Share Posted December 17, 2006 Another vote for the RX7 corsair. Mine is very comfy and light but a little noisy. The pinlock visor inserts are pretty good too. A great lid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeboy749r Posted December 18, 2006 Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 Suomy, because I live their paint jobs, but they seem to be the same profiles as Arais? Why no to Shoei Sneaky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted December 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Why no to Shoei Sneaky? [/ QUOTE ] I wanted to try the Shoei's too. They never had'em? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukeboy749r Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Come to Colly, we'll go looking together... I need a new lid too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Sneaky, the best piece of advice on this is don't take advice from anyone on what helmet to buy other than from a qualified (or at least very knowledgable) staff member in store. The questions they should be asking are about if it is pushing against your forehead or if you can feel the helmet pushing anywhere on your head. They should also get you to hold you head still and try and move the helmet around on your head to check how far it would move in a bump. One of the most important things is to tip your head back as far as you can with the lid on and check that the lip of the lid doesn't touch the top of your spine when you do this - some shape lids can do this on certain people and it can break you neck in a fall. I have a mate who runs a Hein Gericke and I have helped him out before which is how I know all this!! He has some great discounts at the moment on some Arai's (Nakano Corsair I think and a few others) and AGV's (an awesome Rossi Il Laureto for about £300). You's have to pop up to Brum to get it though but if you need anything else feel free to PM me. PS - just for the record I have teh Astro R Schwantz rep and the missus has got the Colin Edwards Laguna Seca Corsair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted December 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 Fanx busby007, I was in Brum on Friday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Busby007 ..... i have been looking at getting an Arai Viper GT - Web, which is new for 07, this will be my first helmet and i want one which is quiet and comfortable, i will be popping into Hein Gericka on Saturday (but not the brum branch), is this a good choice (dependant upon it fitting correctly of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Hi Hudson. My personal feeling on lids is that if an Arai fits your head shape properly then buy an Arai. They genuinely are the best constructed lids and ALWAYS come out top in the impact tests. The other thing with Arai's is that the UK models pass the tougher American safety tests (Snell tests) whereas other companies (AGV, Shoei, etc) actually produce different, lower quality lids for Europe as they don't have to pass these tests by law. MCN performed the Snell tests ona variety of lids a few months back and the results were not pleasant reading if you owned anything but an Arai! Having said that, nothing is more dangerous than an ill fitting lid so that has be top priority. The Gericke guys are normally top notch and have all done the Arai and AGV technicians courses as part of their training so should know their stuff. The Viper GT is a great lid and would seem to offer you want you want - sporty shape and design of the RX7 but without so much wind noise. Try the Astro R too - it has the same shell shape as the RX7 and the venting is somewhere between the Viper and RX7. If you get the Arai ask them to show you how all the inside comes out for cleaning too - it's very useful to know. And also remember that if you go to any race meeting where there is an Arai truck (all WSB, Moto GP and most BSB) they will deep clean and insoect your lid for nowt and make it look brand new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Cheers for that, i did pop into the shop and tried on a viper GT.... just fine, i take and XL !!! But found it very nice and i agree about the Snell tests the guy told me about how good they are in comparison to ''others'' and that they far exceeded the level that they need too.... which quiet frankly is all my rather precious head deserves, thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Cheers for that, i did pop into the shop and tried on a viper GT.... just fine, i take and XL !!! But found it very nice and i agree about the Snell tests the guy told me about how good they are in comparison to ''others'' and that they far exceeded the level that they need too.... which quiet frankly is all my rather precious head deserves, thanks again. [/ QUOTE ] Top job. Enjoy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avus_Bub Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Blimey, it's a wonder Shoei, AGV, Nolan (X-Lite), Suomy et all sell any helmets at all with Arai being the only helmet that will save you in a crash. I better order my Edwards rep' RX7 ASAP if I want to live the next time I fall off!! BUB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Blimey, it's a wonder Shoei, AGV, Nolan (X-Lite), Suomy et all sell any helmets at all with Arai being the only helmet that will save you in a crash. I better order my Edwards rep' RX7 ASAP if I want to live the next time I fall off!! BUB [/ QUOTE ] If you read the post I point out the most important thing is that a lid fits you properly - an Aria shell shape won't fit everyone. I also made note of the fact that the other manufacturers only produce the garbage they do in europe because of the poor safety standards here. However, if someone is more interested in the pretty pattern or the fact that it is £100 cheaper as opposed to giving themselves the best chance of survival in an accident then who am I to question their judgement. I take the view that riding a bike puts me in the firing line as it is so anything that I can do to minimise my chances of having something nasty happen is a good thing. People come in my mates shop who are happy to spend £10k on a 180mph bike but moan about having to spend £100 on a lid. These are the same morons who ride the bike in jeans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avus_Bub Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 [ QUOTE ] If you read the post I point out the most important thing is that a lid fits you properly - an Aria shell shape won't fit everyone. [/ QUOTE ] Agreed. That is the single most important piece of advice you can give when trying any item of safety equipment. [ QUOTE ] I also made note of the fact that the other manufacturers only produce the garbage they do in europe because of the poor safety standards here. [/ QUOTE ] See this is the bit where my scepticism chip kicked in. It's quite ironic and very funny indeed that you bang on about an independent safety standard for helmets from a country where you don’t even have to wear one by law!!! The brain can only take so much and when you're dealing with top of the range helmets, IMO fit, comfort, venting, and even pretty colours are more important than an irrelevant test carried out in the USA. Here are a couple of quotes from motorcyclistonline [ QUOTE ] The COST 327 study investigated 253 motorcycle accidents in Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom, from '95-'98. Of these, the investigators selected 20 well-documented crashes and replicated the impact from those crashes by doing drop tests on identical helmets in the lab until they got the same helmet damage. This allowed them to find out how hard the helmet in the accident had been hit, and to correlate the impact with the injuries actually suffered by the rider or passenger. The COST 327 results showed that some very serious and potentially fatal head injuries can occur at impact levels that stiffer current helmet standards—such as Snell M2000 and M2005—allow helmets to exceed. And remember, these guys are investigating crashes in Europe, where Snell-rated helmets are a rarity because they can't generally pass the softer ECE standard required there. [/ QUOTE ] Not garbage just a different type of testing (softer). [ QUOTE ] If you ask most head-impact scientists or the representatives of the European helmet manufacturers how they like the Snell M2000/M2005 standard, they will generally tell you it's unrealistic, based more on supposition than on science, and forces manufacturers to make helmets that are stiffer than they should be. [/ QUOTE ] Or - [ QUOTE ] If you ask the representatives of many of the top Snell-approved helmet companies, they'll say the Snell standard is a wonderful thing, and they'll imply helmets certified to lower-energy standards—that would be any other standard in the world—are suspicious objects, like smoked clams from the 99 Cents Only store. And not as good at protecting you in an extremely high-energy mega-crash as a Snell-approved helmet is. [/ QUOTE ] It'a great read [ QUOTE ] People come in my mates shop who are happy to spend £10k on a 180mph bike but moan about having to spend £100 on a lid. These are the same morons who ride the bike in jeans [/ QUOTE ] Yes well this one will run and run but it always make me smile when I see a Gixer rider with a race can and a £89.99 plastic lid BUB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanG Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Arai RX7 saved my head a few years back... very comfy if a little noisy on long journeys (should have remembered earplugs! Costs a fortune, but what price life?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busby Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Bub, you make some good points but go a few months back in MCN and take a look at the results of the tests they did. Totally independent with nothing to gain from saying one lid is better than another and with tests carried out with their people present - the Arai's trumped everything. If the Snell tests are irrelevant and produce lids "stiffer than they should be" why does every Moto GP rider on the grid wear either an Arai or a US spec lid from the other guys? It's more expensive to produce a stronger helmet so the manufacturers don't do it here because they are not obligated to. Arai do, regardless of legal obligation and that coupled with the after sales care - xraying crashed / dropped lids for free to check for damage - is why I would always get someone to try them first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avus_Bub Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 I must admit, I missed the MCN test. Read the report I posted, as I said it's very informative. [ QUOTE ] If the Snell tests are irrelevant and produce lids "stiffer than they should be" why does every Moto GP rider on the grid wear either an Arai or a US spec lid from the other guys? [/ QUOTE ] Can you prove that? I'll maintain that when you're buying a mid to top of the range lid there really isn't anything in it safety wise and it's more down to fit, finish and looks. Merry Christmas!!! BUB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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