Toe Down
Registered user
I've been looking to change my off-road lid and thought I'd wait for the new Tour X. Phoenix, the UK Arai distributors told me they'd be here by May, then June and then 'definately' July.
Well as you know (however it seems many Arai 5 star dealers don't!) they're now here in limited quantities. Distribution of colours and sizes seems quite random and I had a hell of a job to find a white in XL. My local dealer, who'd only been supplied with black versions, called Arai to order one. He was told that only black had been imported so far and white models were in the next mixed batch arriving in September. I've since found out that the Long Way Down paint jobs that will also be in that shipment.
I decided to call around and see if this was true. I found black, white, grey and motord colours available but usually in limited numbers and not an XL in white (doh!)
My local dealer tried again to source one without success. In the end I called the Phoenix marketing department and told them it shouldn't be this difficult to buy their products and asked them to check what they imported and to which dealers they shipped them.
Eventually they came up with two dealers in the South East that should have a white XL in stock. These were Sondel Yamaha and Helmet City. (www.helmetcity.co.uk)
I called Helmet City who were very helpful and I collected it later that day - they stayed open late to wait for me. The good news is that they also offered a 10% discount (I opted for a spare dark tint visor worth £45 instead - NB on back order)
They had a good selection of plain colours and Motard versions on the shelves.
I wore the new lid on the way home in the rain/sun/rain. First impressions are...
1. Heavier than I expected but still OK - label said 1680 gm for this shell size.
2. Multi position visor is useful particularly as I hadn't yet fitted the clear pinlock insert that comes as standard.
3. Seems water tight, although I was lucky not to get a real drenching.
4. Much quieter than my old Shoei off-road helmet (not a Hornet)
5. Ventilation seemed good - it was humid but not a real hot day test so I'll reserve judgement when & if the sun does its job this summer
6. The visor didn't rattle or cause any head wrenching issues for me up to circa 80 mph and in high cross winds
7. IMO The metallic white finish has a real depth and looks cool
8. The finish is excellent
9. Fitted with QR tabs to facilitate the easy removal of the cheek after an accident.
10. The visor has a slight distortion - can give the instrument panel a 'wrap around' look when looking down
11. The multi lingual handbook is useless and covers (badly) the entire range. It's not too difficult to work out the vent system.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the Tour X and the service from Helmet City.
Well as you know (however it seems many Arai 5 star dealers don't!) they're now here in limited quantities. Distribution of colours and sizes seems quite random and I had a hell of a job to find a white in XL. My local dealer, who'd only been supplied with black versions, called Arai to order one. He was told that only black had been imported so far and white models were in the next mixed batch arriving in September. I've since found out that the Long Way Down paint jobs that will also be in that shipment.
I decided to call around and see if this was true. I found black, white, grey and motord colours available but usually in limited numbers and not an XL in white (doh!)
My local dealer tried again to source one without success. In the end I called the Phoenix marketing department and told them it shouldn't be this difficult to buy their products and asked them to check what they imported and to which dealers they shipped them.
Eventually they came up with two dealers in the South East that should have a white XL in stock. These were Sondel Yamaha and Helmet City. (www.helmetcity.co.uk)
I called Helmet City who were very helpful and I collected it later that day - they stayed open late to wait for me. The good news is that they also offered a 10% discount (I opted for a spare dark tint visor worth £45 instead - NB on back order)
They had a good selection of plain colours and Motard versions on the shelves.
I wore the new lid on the way home in the rain/sun/rain. First impressions are...
1. Heavier than I expected but still OK - label said 1680 gm for this shell size.
2. Multi position visor is useful particularly as I hadn't yet fitted the clear pinlock insert that comes as standard.
3. Seems water tight, although I was lucky not to get a real drenching.
4. Much quieter than my old Shoei off-road helmet (not a Hornet)
5. Ventilation seemed good - it was humid but not a real hot day test so I'll reserve judgement when & if the sun does its job this summer
6. The visor didn't rattle or cause any head wrenching issues for me up to circa 80 mph and in high cross winds
7. IMO The metallic white finish has a real depth and looks cool
8. The finish is excellent
9. Fitted with QR tabs to facilitate the easy removal of the cheek after an accident.
10. The visor has a slight distortion - can give the instrument panel a 'wrap around' look when looking down
11. The multi lingual handbook is useless and covers (badly) the entire range. It's not too difficult to work out the vent system.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the Tour X and the service from Helmet City.
but maybe that's no bad thing 
