If it sounds too good to be true...

TK4 said:
They take great pains to never show you the back panel were the DOT sticker should be....
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Pfft, you can get those on rolls at places like Dover and stick them on whatever helmet you want. Boom, instantly DOT certified and perfectly legal! /s
 
This stuff has been going on with (solid body) guitars for ages. It's cheaper than ever to set up for small volume production of direct copies, and the internet provides a ready marketplace. Anyone who expects to get a real Arai for that price gets what they deserve, identical to anyone expecting a Gibson for $300.

(As an aside, we roll our eyes now, but people did the same about Japanese stuff in the 60's. The quality is improving fast, especially as R&D is accelerated by blatant thievery, which the Japanese once had a reputation for as well. Back to guitars, there is a line from Squier - Fender's budget line - that were made in China but had excellent build quality. They moved production to Indonesia and quality suffered, making the Chinese versions instantly more desirable. I just sold one for $200 more than I paid for it...)

The other side of the coin is that this is mostly intended for sale within Asia to a market where $300 CAD for a helmet is reltively big money. When I rented a motorcycle in Thailand a few (a lot of) years ago, the provided helmet was about as safe as a colander and an elastic band. These would be a massive improvement. Speaking of Thailand, you could get almost anything in a counterfeit version when I was there. I still have a ripoff Yamaha MotoGP team collared shirt from when Rossi was sponsored by Gauloise (aka Go!!!!!!!!!). It's good from far, but far from good...
 
GreyGhost said:
If they are going to knock off everything else, I don't know why they would bother skipping the fake sticker.
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You used to be able to buy a whole roll of them at the show.
 
Priller said:
The other side of the coin is that this is mostly intended for sale within Asia to a market where $300 CAD for a helmet is reltively big money. When I rented a motorcycle in Thailand a few (a lot of) years ago, the provided helmet was about as safe as a colander and an elastic band. These would be a massive improvement. Speaking of Thailand, you could get almost anything in a counterfeit version when I was there. I still have a ripoff Yamaha MotoGP team collared shirt from when Rossi was sponsored by Gauloise (aka Go!!!!!!!!!). It's good from far, but far from good...
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Sometimes big brands will license their name to local manufacturers in developing countries, just to capture a market that wouldn't have been able to afford their real product.

When we lived in Thailand, there were two different kinds of Pringles on the store shelves, Thai Pringles for $1 and the US Pringles for $4. The Thai Pringles tasted like crap, but the locals bought them because that was what they could afford, while the imported US Pringles were bought by the ex-pats who knew what Pringles were supposed to taste like.

We bought Givi topcases from the official Honda dealership, so we were confident they weren't knock-offs despite the fact it was super-cheap. However it was made of such flimsy plastic, you could break into the case with a wet noodle. I suspect Givi just licensed their name to a local manufacturer because there was no way a local could afford a genuine Givi case made in Italy and imported to Thailand.
 
If you dont go shopping on a bingbow wang market website, and read English ie; excellent best quality mens racing motocross super helmet, you'll probably never need to worry about buying a fake and wasting time and money chasing down vendor reverse charges.
 
Lightcycle said:
Sometimes big brands will license their name to local manufacturers in developing countries, just to capture a market that wouldn't have been able to afford their real product.

When we lived in Thailand, there were two different kinds of Pringles on the store shelves, Thai Pringles for $1 and the US Pringles for $4. The Thai Pringles tasted like crap, but the locals bought them because that was what they could afford, while the imported US Pringles were bought by the ex-pats who knew what Pringles were supposed to taste like.

We bought Givi topcases from the official Honda dealership, so we were confident they weren't knock-offs despite the fact it was super-cheap. However it was made of such flimsy plastic, you could break into the case with a wet noodle. I suspect Givi just licensed their name to a local manufacturer because there was no way a local could afford a genuine Givi case made in Italy and imported to Thailand.
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The stuff in the MBK Center at the time (so much!) was definitely not licensed, but it was cheap...

When we were in Chiang Mai, I rented an amazing NC30 to ride some of the roads through the Golden Triangle. I hadn't packed any gear (big mistake), and wasted the better part of a day trying to find a decent helmet, gloves, and a leather jacket. I did find the equivalent of a $99 DOT helmet, and settled for a pair of work gloves that would likely have come apart before I even hit the ground in an off. The jacket was a bridge too far, though. Couldn't find anything anywhere, let alone one in farang sizing. I'm sure it'd be easier now, but those were the days of internet cafes and asking around...
 
Lightcycle said:
Sometimes big brands will license their name to local manufacturers in developing countries, just to capture a market that wouldn't have been able to afford their real product.

...
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DOT = Department of Transport and no DOT never did that anywhere in the world. The moment the vendor implied DOT inspection certification in the product description they became scammers.
 
Lightcycle said:
Sometimes big brands will license their name to local manufacturers in developing countries, just to capture a market that wouldn't have been able to afford their real product.

When we lived in Thailand, there were two different kinds of Pringles on the store shelves, Thai Pringles for $1 and the US Pringles for $4. The Thai Pringles tasted like crap, but the locals bought them because that was what they could afford, while the imported US Pringles were bought by the ex-pats who knew what Pringles were supposed to taste like.

We bought Givi topcases from the official Honda dealership, so we were confident they weren't knock-offs despite the fact it was super-cheap. However it was made of such flimsy plastic, you could break into the case with a wet noodle. I suspect Givi just licensed their name to a local manufacturer because there was no way a local could afford a genuine Givi case made in Italy and imported to Thailand.
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sprinkled brembos bruh (vs 'bybre')
 
Trials said:
Did I have my B.S. filter turned up too high?
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Nobody was referring to the DOT selling their brand for use overseas. He was referring to companies like Arai, Shoei etc who allow other manufacturers to use their brand name to enter a market they don't have.
That part went over your head.

Sent from my SM-A530W using Tapatalk
 
TwistedKestrel said:
I wasn't expecting it to be actually the exact helmet we were talking about... oof
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I note it is missing the Arai signature visor covers on the side. Wonder if they only stick them on for the sales photos, or whether they send a set with a couple strips of double sided tape...
 
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