Arai vs Shoei | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Arai vs Shoei

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I have a Shoei RF-1100 and it has good ventilation but fogs a lot, is pretty noisy and starts to hurt after having it on for a while so eventually I want to get a Shark, heard those one's are good and they look nice too.
 
AngelEyez said:
What? no shoei for the passenger? lol.
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Ha!

Actually, my passenger and better half has a Shark S-series. It's a bit old and she likes riding (on the bike...), so we're looking at a Shoei.

Was just saying, if you wanted to spend as little as possible for an occasional helmet or for whatever reason, could do worse than a VCan. At least they're safe.
 
whichever one fit your head properly !!! you have to try it on. Even the brand ie Arai: Corsair V, RXQ, Vector etc.... the shell size are different........
 
Shoei gives you two stickers with a helmet purchase. Does Arai?

With that sticker on the window (and some bullet hole stickers), my Honda Accord has never looked cooler...
 
honduhmatic said:
Shoei gives you two stickers with a helmet purchase. Does Arai?

With that sticker on the window (and some bullet hole stickers), my Honda Accord has never looked cooler...
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ya saw a pick-up with an alpinestar sticker on the rear window. i instantly felt the connection when i saw it.
 
NealT said:
ummm...no, helmets sold must meet certain stds (dot, snell, ece, etc) but generally price gets you more helmet shell sizes, better furniture, lighter materials though they will all meet the same standards.

More importantly find the helmet brands that fit your head correctly, check webbikeworld.com for a great guide on helmets along with great non-biased reviews. Also look at the british sharps tests http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/

Then go and try those brands out and find the right model that fits, then maybe start looking at graphics etc.

Both Arai and Shoei are reputable japanese brands, there are a multitude of other reputable brands as well such as Shark, Ogk, Agv, Schuberth, etc.

IMO fit is most important, construction quality, brand and graphic design follow in that order.

Good Luck, ride safe
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I agree with most of what you said, however I think one important point I need to add. Although you are correct all helmets have met certain standard. The standard just require that you meet the minimum standard to acquire the specific ratings. However, the better helmets such as Arai and Shoei do not just meet the minimum standards. I feel much better with a helmet that got an A, than helmets that just passed, so for analogy sake, received a D. Although they all pass the course, I'd rather have the A student on my head, than a D student. Just my take.
 
daisoman said:
Pfffff my Arai came with 6 stickers! 4 small 2 large. And a DVD with lube. Lol
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OK, now that's impressive!

Granted, if you spent the price difference between the Arai and Shoei in the wrong part of town, you could do even better...
 
FriendlyFoe said:
This thread is terrible (as usual)

Arai makes different shell shapes and is very specific on their website as to which model is which, from round oval to long and narrow. Arai is one of the only companies with a helmet that truly fits people with a narrow head (like me).

The shoei rf1000 is a round oval fit, i never tried on the 1100 and dont know their line specifically so i'll say so! I've always been under the impression that all of their helmets are round oval.

The SHARP motorcycle test, by most sources is believe to be incredibly flawed, doesn't give any real information beyond a star rating and is of little value to anyone.

Pannon motorsports in sauga sells shark, or at least they did.
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Yes, Pannon use to carry Shark however Pannon is no longer around. It doesn't seem like any stores in the GTA carry a broad selection of Shark helmets. Most stores that carry Shark only have one or two models.
 
After nearly 40 years of riding and racing I’ve worn all the major brands. Started out with Bell but switch to Shoei because they use to have reps at the races doing service, inspections and offering replacement when they found detrimental damage. It didn’t hurt that I found them a better fitting, higher quality better price then what Bell had become, Without a doubt the most feature filled, accessorized helmet I ever bought was my Shoei XSP. It came in a super plush, proper helmet bag complete with soft lined compartment for extra visors. Not some el cheapo drawstring bag like all my others past and present.
Soumy makes Ducati branded helmets. Both the wife and I have been wearing them for the last 10 years. She because of the fit and graphics. Me because of fit and a free high quality helmet is something you’d be dumb to walk away from.
I Just bought my first Aria, a Corsair V. The two main reasons have not been mentioned yet.
First, both the wife and I wear glasses and it’s not always easy to fit them inside a tight fitting helmet, regardless of brand. My new Aria is a breeze to slide glasses into and over my ears.
Second, the Aria has more relief at the back so it’s easier for an old fart like myself to keep my head up when I’m in a tuck without the helmet hitting my collar and forcing the helmet down. Plus, the larger view opening means I have better forward visibility in the tuck position.
I just wish, (given the price) it had come in a proper helmet bag like my old Shoei XSP.
 
gixxeranyone said:
I agree with most of what you said, however I think one important point I need to add. Although you are correct all helmets have met certain standard. The standard just require that you meet the minimum standard to acquire the specific ratings. However, the better helmets such as Arai and Shoei do not just meet the minimum standards. I feel much better with a helmet that got an A, than helmets that just passed, so for analogy sake, received a D. Although they all pass the course, I'd rather have the A student on my head, than a D student. Just my take.
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True, but I don't think (correct me if i'm wrong) that the degree of pass is available to us from the helmet manufacturers, I wish it were though.
I would of course be more suspect of really cheap no name DOT lids but going with the mainstream manufacturers where they meet the ece and/or snell 2010 requirements is a much safer route.
 
Stephen W. said:
After nearly 40 years of riding and racing I’ve worn all the major brands. Started out with Bell but switch to Shoei because they use to have reps at the races doing service, inspections and offering replacement when they found detrimental damage. It didn’t hurt that I found them a better fitting, higher quality better price then what Bell had become, Without a doubt the most feature filled, accessorized helmet I ever bought was my Shoei XSP. It came in a super plush, proper helmet bag complete with soft lined compartment for extra visors. Not some el cheapo drawstring bag like all my others past and present.
Soumy makes Ducati branded helmets. Both the wife and I have been wearing them for the last 10 years. She because of the fit and graphics. Me because of fit and a free high quality helmet is something you’d be dumb to walk away from.
I Just bought my first Aria, a Corsair V. The two main reasons have not been mentioned yet.
First, both the wife and I wear glasses and it’s not always easy to fit them inside a tight fitting helmet, regardless of brand. My new Aria is a breeze to slide glasses into and over my ears.
Second, the Aria has more relief at the back so it’s easier for an old fart like myself to keep my head up when I’m in a tuck without the helmet hitting my collar and forcing the helmet down. Plus, the larger view opening means I have better forward visibility in the tuck position.
I just wish, (given the price) it had come in a proper helmet bag like my old Shoei XSP.
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The new Shark helmets are supposed to offer some additional features for fitting your glasses in properly.

I got stress cracks in my last pair of glasses from my old Scorpion EXO-700 helmet.

NealT said:
True, but I don't think (correct me if i'm wrong) that the degree of pass is available to us from the helmet manufacturers, I wish it were though.
I would of course be more suspect of really cheap no name DOT lids but going with the mainstream manufacturers where they meet the ece and/or snell 2010 requirements is a much safer route.
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On the Sharp site from the UK government, you can see details about how they were rated. They show hotspots for where there was lots of force transferred to the head and apply a 1-5 star rating based on that.
 
Mr.K said:
The new Shark helmets are supposed to offer some additional features for fitting your glasses in properly.

I got stress cracks in my last pair of glasses from my old Scorpion EXO-700 helmet.



On the Sharp site from the UK government, you can see details about how they were rated. They show hotspots for where there was lots of force transferred to the head and apply a 1-5 star rating based on that.
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The Sharp results i've seen, I was more referring to the wider standards testing like ece or snell when referring to the unavailability of results.
 
For my 'day job', I've observed drop testing, worked with strain gauges and created test fixtures. I've moved on to supplier quality since but I remember my lab days...

In my opinion, the SHARP test is pretty good and comprehensive. Granted it is instrumented testing so it may not account for all factors. (I doubt there's volunteers out there who are willing to crash the helmets and see what happens!)

If someone has a reason-based argument against it (based on solid mechanics, vibration damping, mechanics of materials as opposed to someone - likely a manufacturer - saying "oh it's not good!") I'd like to hear it.
 
I've been following this thread since the start.
I currently have a Joe Rocket helmet. Just something i bought as a starter helmet which solves the basic purpose but I do have a couple of complaints about it.
I feel it's heavy for my head and there is a significant amount of noise when riding fast. And I also find it very difficult to turn my head even slightly on do a quick blindspot check.

I had been looking at the Shoei helmets (haven't tried one on yet since I was going to wait till next season to buy one).
The Arai Corsair V is just WAY too expensive. I was condering the X-12, but that's very pricey too and I read a bunch of reviews that said the RF-1100 is a much better bang of the buck.

How does the RF-1100 do in the "noise", "weight" and "aerodynamics" categories?
I understand the fit is the most important, but I don't want to bother trying on helmets that don't even fit the basic criteria.
Any other helmets that fit the above criteria and might be worth a look??

Thanks!
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