The Arai difference.. what a difference!!!

jay-d

jay-d

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I've always had cheap helmets.. first one was some X name and my second one was a Scorpion EXO-700. Not a bad helmet for the couple of years that I owned it!

A couple of things really bothered me about the Scorpion, things I didn't realize when I bought or knew existed because I didn't have that many kms under my belt to know any better.

1. The wind noise, specifically the noise that was woooooshing by my ear or the vents on the helmet.

2. The wind coming from underneath my chin and hitting my eye lashes .. this was the most annoying !

3. When caught in the air stream of a truck, my head would bobble tremendously, like a bobble head.

4. The constant buffeting, and I hated doing shoulder checks because as soon as I would turn my head, the helmet felt like a flap on an airplane wing and catch a bunch of air.

After lots of reading, I decided to go with a very expensive helmet.. not because "it will protect my head better" but because of the aerodynamic features. I opted for an Arai RX-Q.

arai-rx-q-talon-grey-helmet.jpg


After a couple of trips on the highway.. wow!

1. This helmet has a different noise.. it's more of a humming compared to a wooshing. It's tolerable and it's on the outside of the helmet, not beside my ear!

2. No more buffeting.. this helmet feels like I don't even have a helmet on my head! The visor is MASSIVE, it's wider and taller. The Scorpion has a ridge at the top that prevented me from seeing the horizon if I was tucked in-- not the Arai, there's so much view!

3. Passing trucks.. hah, what a breeze.. literally!

4. Shoulder checks are so simple.. there is absolutely no drag when I turn my head!

All I can say is, going from a Scorpion to an Arai.. it was sure worth the $700 I paid for it!! I really enjoy putting on my helmet now.. I cannot wait to ride to work tomorrow morning!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

For those wondering.. I went from an XL Scorpion to a L Arai. I don't know if that alone would have made the difference (I don't think so) but just putting that out there. The Arai is just so balanced on my head.
 
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Thats exactly how I felt when I purchased my Suomy!

You won't even bother putting a cheap helmet on your head now, u are now spoilt
 
I have one myself (exo700) and find the wind noise to be loud. Question though, do you wear ear plugs ? Also did you get the "wind" curtain attachment for it?

thanks

tt
 
I have the Scorpion EXO1000. I don't experience a very loud whoosh. It sounds like I'm inside my car, fairly quiet. I only hear the whooshing when I open up the vents.
It's amazingly comfortable and fits just right. The air pump adds for a nice feature when you want to tighten it a bit. Also the drop down tinted visor is a HUGE plus when it comes to sunny days. No need to change visors. I give it 9/10!
 
I have a $250 Shark RSR2 with all the above features, price has nothing to do with it, the msrp on my helmet was $600. Absolutely no need to spend stupid money on a helmet to get good/premium features, just need to do a little smart shopping. What you need to really say is "once you put a good helmet on your head you won't go back".
 
I have an exo 700 and dont experience what your talkin about. I dont even have the wind attachement!! Plus i wear headphones/earplugs so the wind on my ears is non existent!
I really love how easy it is to change, its a top nothc system on the scorpion and i cant justify $700 for a helmet!
 
Replaced my Scorpian with a Shoei and what a difference. The saying "you get what you pay for" really applies here.
Can't put a price on comfort!
 
2live&ride said:
Replaced my Scorpian with a Shoei and what a difference. The saying "you get what you pay for" really applies here.
Can't put a price on comfort!
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lol..I'll just repeat what I said above...as long as you don't care about the newest graphics you really don't have to pay despite what the marketing departments or major manufacturers would have you believe.

It's worth repeating too because there's a lot of people trying to get into riding that live under the misconception that they have to pay $500+ for a half decent helmet etc and that is simply not true.
 
Arai is worth every penny, those who say otherwise, simply haven't tried one on.

Enjoy and ride safe.
 
the rx q has the worse liner out of all the other arais. dunno how arai messed up on this one. if you try the rx q then the vector or even vector 2, you will instantly know the difference. the liner in the vector series is way more comfy.
 
Pegassus said:
$700 for a helmet? Really? I'll pass, sorry but that's just too much.
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That's understandable.. 3 years ago, I would never have imagined spending $700 on a helmet but since my photography business has taken off and I spend thousands on lenses.. $700 is almost pocket change.

TwoTires said:
I have one myself (exo700) and find the wind noise to be loud. Question though, do you wear ear plugs ? Also did you get the "wind" curtain attachment for it?

thanks

tt
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I always had to wear ear plugs when I was going on the highway.. now with the Arai, still will.. but even if I forgot it won't be a nuisance!

Dayao12 said:
I have the Scorpion EXO1000. I don't experience a very loud whoosh. It sounds like I'm inside my car, fairly quiet. I only hear the whooshing when I open up the vents.
It's amazingly comfortable and fits just right. The air pump adds for a nice feature when you want to tighten it a bit. Also the drop down tinted visor is a HUGE plus when it comes to sunny days. No need to change visors. I give it 9/10!
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I really liked Scorpion, but I was sick of all the buffeting and lack of balance. The EXO 1000 is a very heavy helmet and I just wanted something on my head that didn't feel like it was there.

tigster said:
Arai is worth every penny, those who say otherwise, simply haven't tried one on.

Enjoy and ride safe.
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Right on!! It's not the same as trying it on in the store.. it's actually wearing it while riding when you realize holy crap, this helmet is phenomenal! I'm all about putting my money in companies that aren't a monopoly or all they care about is profit. Arai is family owned still and hand made.. felt good giving them my money!

SkyRider said:
the rx q has the worse liner out of all the other arais. dunno how arai messed up on this one. if you try the rx q then the vector or even vector 2, you will instantly know the difference. the liner in the vector series is way more comfy.
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Yea, read about this.. coming from an EXO 700.. the RX-Q is comfy as hell!!
 
I'll back up the "pay for whacha get!"

I have a Shoei I paid a chunk for (getting a little old now) and my wife has a HJC we got for pretty cheap. We got caught out one eve when I only had my tinted visor and once it got too dark we swapped lids for the highway ride home. After that ride I felt so bad for making her wear a cheapo helmet. It was way more noisy than my Shoei and had the aerodynamics of a cinder block.

There is a lot of technology put into premium helmets, and although you can get 'similar' features on cheaper products, they won't work quite as well and lack durability and quality.

They might protect your head equally (and I have my doubts about that), but from the day you buy it to the day you destroy it in a wreck you'll enjoy the time spent in it much more.
 
Its obvious that you still have not attempted to put a new visor on ;P Good luck friend =)
 
I've had Arai Quantum 2 for last 5 years. I agree it is an above average helmet. But is it worth the $500+ msrp? Don't think so. Arai still has probably worst visor change mechanism out there. Wear what's comfortable for ya.
 
Whether you're wearing a $700 Arai or a $200 HJC you should be using hearing protection so wind noise shouldn't be a problem with either. Fit and comfort is everything and it doen't have anything to do with the price of the lid. If a cheap helmet fits your noggin better than an Arai you should go with it. Another feature that's important to me is the visor mechanism because I don't like wearing sunglasses to ride and would rather swap out my tinted shield for a clear one when the sun goes down. My Shark and Shoei are definitely my favorites in this department and that's the reason I've stayed away from Arai.
 
Cha0s00100 said:
Its obvious that you still have not attempted to put a new visor on ;P Good luck friend =)
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There is a proper way of removing and installing an Arai visor, if you don't know how to do it, you will be very frustrated and WILL break something. (ask me how I know :P )


Once you learn how to do it, you'll be surprised how easy and quick it is.

[video=youtube;8IfuA9b_75g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IfuA9b_75g[/video]
 
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ajaxguy said:
I have an exo 700 and dont experience what your talkin about. I dont even have the wind attachement!! Plus i wear headphones/earplugs so the wind on my ears is non existent!
I really love how easy it is to change, its a top nothc system on the scorpion and i cant justify $700 for a helmet!
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I just picked up the exo 700 and am very happy. I don't experience any of the stuff the OP complained about.
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