Airoh S4 - Arai Tour X Copy. Suprisingly Good

Surely the Acid Test is to see what the Race Teams use.A Helmet used in an extreme environment will need to perform at the highest end of the protection spectrum.And don't throw the "Well they get em free" argument,because Mr Rossi and the rest would not be putting their heads in a free helmet from "Fred Farnsbarns" if it fitted like a bucket,had an ill fitting visor and had interior foam like souffle.
Have you seen Top Racers using Budget priced helmets?

i think Anthony West of MotoGP Kawasaki wears an Airoh - am I right???
 
i think Anthony West of MotoGP Kawasaki wears an Airoh - am I right???


You are absolutely right!

image001.jpg


Here is the guy in action. I am sure he is as well protected as the Arai riders :D
 
He's off on his other bike:

Snooppy_03.jpg



Nice Airoh,by the way !!

:D
 
PS) What does QED mean?


Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" (literally, "which was to be demonstrated"). The use of this phrase therefore announces the completion of a proof of a previously asserted claim.

Used it at the end of a mathematical proof when doing exams or coursework.
 
Q.E.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" (literally, "which was to be demonstrated"). The use of this phrase therefore announces the completion of a proof of a previously asserted claim.

Used it at the end of a mathematical proof when doing exams or coursework.

So you're only mini cabbing to work your way through college.
 
Fixed :thumb

Here we go again....'my helmet cost twice as much as yours,therefore it`s twice as safe'.......yawn.

By what`s been said up to now,a person is automatically safer in an Arai,even if it mightn`t fit them properly :augie

Arais are priced at the level they are simply because some people,suckered by sales guff like 'Most of the racers wear them' (only because of clever tactics by Arai,not because of any quality or performance issue) are prepared to pay that price...just like BMW kit....not because it`s automatically X amount better.

'Perceived Quality'...it`s expensive,so it must be good/it`s cheap so it must be crap.


The often misquoted Bell Helmets sales line about 'if you`ve got a howsoever many pounds/dollar head we`re ranting about today.....' is nothing more than that....A SALES LINE.


that is exactly what i think too. as if no one's ever died wearing an arai? :eek

there's no proof at all AFAICS that wearing an expensive helmet will help in event of an accident.

having said that, i wear arais, 'cos i like them and am easily duped :D
 
You are absolutely right!

image001.jpg


Here is the guy in action. I am sure he is as well protected as the Arai riders :D

Well,that's my pontification shot to bits !

It won't persuade me to use one though. Shoei on the ZRX
Tour X on the GS
FM MX or the Tour X on the KTM
I'm Happy with what i've bought.Isn't that how it is for all of us ?
 
I seem to recall some 10 years ago a System 5 bought in Germany was illegal to use in the UK 'cos it didn't confirm to BS standards, yet mine bought in the UK (at greater cost) was legal. Therefore do we assume that the German System 5 is not safe. Of course not. The only difference was that the UK spec was thicker because of the impact test.

I agree that more expensive helmets probably have no more crash protection but maybe the quality of the finish and components is better. But in the cost of my helmet why should I pay for all the fancy marketing and free helmets to GP riders.

As long as it fits and is comfortable, and you are happy with the helmet, does it really matter if it's an Airoh, Caberg, Shoei or Arai..........
 
For some reason Arai don't seem that popular in Germany as alot of the bike shops don't stock them, POLO has just started but you will pay full price and there alot cheaper from some of the internet sites. Before I bought my Tour-X (yep I must be part of the brain washed masses!) I tried on lots of helmets, got a Caberg from work (initial fit was good but was uncomfortable after a couple of hours across the forehead and around the ears) Schuberth just seemed an odd shape :nenau (more like my head is!) and the Airoh although looking good felt cheap. I went for the Arai because it just seemed right when I tried it on, I've nearly always had Shoei's but the lining always seems to 'give' after 18months ish so the fit always ends up as sloppy, had an AGV as well, although cheaper than the shoei was much better, fit, quality, and spec (anti fog visor as standard etc). So what I'm trying to say is it really doesn't matter what the badge says, as long as your happy with it and the fit is the best it can be it doesn't matter what it costs, would I pay an extra £200 for the Arai again, damn right as I know it fits my odd shaped head the best and the fit is as good today as it was nearly 2 years ago :thumb
 
Picked one up for £120, they are £100 on eBay. I'm really impressed with the quality and overall build. You can convert it into a race helmet using the extras. The ventilation works well, the visor is quite far from face so doesn't steam up and it's relatively quite - though not as good as the System 5.

I'm sure there are those that will say it's not an Arai so don't get one but this is a very good helmet and worth a look if you want the same spec. without the price tag.

PS) The matt black one (shown) is very cool looking.

airoh3136.jpg
Looks very similar to BMW new off road helmet
 
Well,that's my pontification shot to bits !

It won't persuade me to use one though. Shoei on the ZRX
Tour X on the GS
FM MX or the Tour X on the KTM
I'm Happy with what i've bought.Isn't that how it is for all of us ?
MotoGP riders are not using the same helmets as you or I despite the name, these are bespoke units sized very specifically and are often of completely different materials. I recently read an article on this very subject but cannot find it now.
 
:hide just to put the cat amongst the pigeons
i have had a number of helmets 2 tour x
an airoh mattise flip front a roof boxer
the roof boxer i had for 13 months cost £250 warn aprox 50 times and the clip on the chin bar broke it missted up like a barstard at the first oprtunity
the airoh cost me £99 have had it for aprox 4years use it 3 times aweek and have done for for most of the time that i have had it and it still does what it said on the box apart from being as quiet as the boxer
my ex did not like it and bought me a tour x which i killed on a car killing experdition last year the one thing you seem to get is a lid which does not slacken off quite as fast as the aoroh (subjectivly)
and to realy put the :hidecat amongst the pigeons :hide
i had an old polycarb lid over 20years old and a shark of less than 5 which in the same day i tested to distruction both full face
using a 7 lb sledg hammer and a garden fork for the penitration test
the result(in the best subjective manour)
it took me 15 minutes to totaly distroy the shark
and 3 1/4 hours to kill the old poly carb with all its age related micro cracks (remember them):rob
and what i ride in both the tour x and the airoh
the only way to garantee your survival from head injurys is to not bang your head in the first place:potkettle
 
BTW, most deaths in motorcycle accidents attributable to crash helmets occur from 'brain spin'. This can happen when your head slides down the road and the lid grips and slips causing the layers (like an onion) of your brain to become detatched.

I remember maybe 20 years ago, the Simpson Star Wars was a fantastic, top of the range car helmet that Nascar and F1 drivers used, but it couldn't pass the BS tests for bike use. Why? Because its shape (it had a few sharpish angles around its 'snout') meant that it would dig into the road surface, just as described above.

So, I have to ask the question, if we're all so concerned about buying the very best head protection, why are we considering either of these helmets which deviate from the traditional rounded shape?

Paul G
 
Think I'll add my thoughts on this subject. The advice / opinion I would give to anyone asking me would be to buy the best you can afford. Like most things in life we all have a price we can pay for anything. I use an Arai because I liked the fit when I bought it. I thought it was value for money despite the high cost. It has never let me down and looks and feels as good as ever, 5 years on. I've no doubt that other makes are probably as good value for money but I am happy with my preferred choice. Anyway, what a boring place this would be if everyone liked and bought the same things. Some of us seem to be getting hot under the collar. The Airoh certainly looks nice, but I think I'll stick with my Arai Quantum F. Just wish Arai made a suitable flip lid.
 
I remember maybe 20 years ago, the Simpson Star Wars was a fantastic, top of the range car helmet that Nascar and F1 drivers used, but it couldn't pass the BS tests for bike use. Why? Because its shape (it had a few sharpish angles around its 'snout') meant that it would dig into the road surface, just as described above.

That`s not quite correct.....it failed because it had four degrees too little peripheral vision through the small eyeport.
 
:
i had an old polycarb lid over 20years old and a shark of less than 5 which in the same day i tested to distruction both full face
using a 7 lb sledg hammer and a garden fork for the penitration test
the result(in the best subjective manour)
it took me 15 minutes to totaly distroy the shark
and 3 1/4 hours to kill the old poly carb with all its age related micro cracks (remember them):rob


with respect I think that you are missing the vital point on helmet design: They are designed to destruct on impact therby absorbing the force of the crash within the helmet rather than your head. A poly-carb helmet will not aborb the blow but will accelerate it either within the helmet (at your head) or by bouncing back on the road (or obsticle) at such a force that the neck could be broken.

My view on all of this:

Any helmet of the design of the TourX will not be the safest design in an accident, - due to the weak design of the chin bar. A safer helmet design would be a true road race design helmet like an Arai Astro.

Arai helmets are very expensive for what they are in part due to the UK importer who appears to fix prices. Their design compared with a £like for £like in my opinion is very high and dated. They are heavy and noisy due to the awful design with the ear pods (on true full face). They internally are also very deep so sit low on the brow, - and when on bike with low bars (like a 916) you have quite a restricted view as you end up looking towards the top of the helmet.

Me, I have had many Aria's, bought one of the first Freddie Spencer rep's when they arrived in the UK (£120), still have a Astro J but seldom wear it due to the restricted vision and noise (as mentioned above). I alternate between a Shark RSR on track as it feels very secure has a very wide chinbar, really thick visor and it is lighter than an Arai. My everyday helmet is a Shoei X Spirit, in my opinion the best helmet around.
 
A few years ago...I was travelling about 40mph down a steep hill a passing parked cars when a car turned their steering wheel to the right and moved out resulting in me clipping him (i'm wiser now). At the time my crash helmet cost under £100.00. I flew over the bonnet and landed on my head on the tarmac, then slid along the road. The helmet's inside broke into three, the outer shell had friction scuffs and melted. I had a very sore neck for weeks as a result-...neck collar etc. The ambulance man said that the helmet saved my life. You see I was on a push bike at the time-my lid was a Giro MTB(top of the range)-but rubbish compared to even the cheapest of motorbike lids we have today.

I think in most cases is it not the neck injury that kills you as a result of a fall and or the brain touching the skull on impact? Are there cases where the lid has infact failed resulting in an injured rider that would be ok if they had a 'better more expensive lid'. Riders get killed every week on our roads- if it was as a result of 'cheap lids' contributing to this then surely something would have been done by now. Save your money if it is an issue, don't buy the cheapest lid but one that conforms to BS etc then you'll have more money to spend on a neck brace? I think the snapping of your neck is more likely to kill you than anything else involving a head impact accident.

Having said all that though I ride with an Arai Tour X because it fits great, because I can, I like the look and the colours you can get spares, change the insides to various thickness, buy aftermarket cool visors and yes it is as much a fashion statement as anything else etc. I wouldn't buy a 'cheap lid' on that basis. . . . . but I would buy a cheaper lid......................maybe not.
 


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