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Arai Helmet
Arai Helmets Mean Family Pride and Tradition
Over 65 years ago a hat maker in Japan, Hitotake Arai,
started a business known as Arai Helmets. He was well
known as an artisan, a craftsman, and a man who loved
motorcycles. His focus was the advancement and
innovation of helmet design and safety. Mr. Arai
achieved great success because of his design innovations
and, for these reasons, Arai helmets have been exhibited
in art museums and copied by other helmet manufacturers.
Today, Michio (“Mitch”) Arai, also a life-long
motorcycle rider, runs the company with the assistance
of his son, Akihito, making it a third generation,
family-run business. As stated by the company, “If your
family name is on the product, how well would you make
it?”
Exceptional Quality
Every Arai helmet is 100% handmade and is sold new with
a full 5-year limited warranty. While Arai began
offering this warranty about 12 years ago, only recently
have other motorcycle helmet manufacturers begun
extending their warranties past one year.
The company also prides itself in offering comfortable
multiple-density foam comfort liners that are hand-fit
into place. It is well known that each craftsman in the
manufacturing process signs the helmet shell and that
the helmet is inspected for quality at least three times
during construction.
In a statement from the company, Arai Helmets claims to
offer “tradition with daring.” They describe their
company philosophy as blending “a conservative sense of
tradition, a Zen-like awareness of the natural
interrelation of things, and a hunger to know what
works, what doesn’t, what stays, what goes. And what’s
next.”
This company devotes itself to quality above all else.
It reportedly is the only helmet company in production
today with a single quality standard for every helmet
model. They do not compromise comfort, fit, finish,
quality or safety to fit a pre-determined retail price.
The same helmets you can buy in the store are also worn
by A-list motorcycle racers, Formula 1 and Champ/Indy
Car racers, and many well-known NASCAR drivers.
Customer satisfaction reflects the quality of Arai
helmets – they are ranked Number One in all seven J.D.
Power & Associates Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction
Studies. The RX-7 series helmet was the single highest
ranked helmet in the 2004 study. In addition, as
required by law, all Arai helmets meet the Federal motor
vehicle safety standard, as certified by the Department
of Transportation (www.DOT.gov). In fact, Arai helmets
don’t just meet the 35 mile-per-hour impact requirement,
they beat it.
In addition to the safety and customer standards
detailed above, Arai’s internal Snell test procedures
are so strict that their helmets undergo twice the
number of drops required by Snell standards. This means
the helmets are able to withstand potentially harmful
G-force impact loads passing through the helmet and the
head.
Why Choose an Arai?
According to the company, an Arai helmet doesn’t just
feel good for an hour or two. It’s made to be
comfortable all day – and to maintain its comfort and
good looks for years, long after an inexpensive helmet
has become loose and shabby.
Arai helmets are well-known for their lower weight (from
using “proprietary aerospace fiberglass”), outstanding
scratch resistant face shields, lower center of gravity
(“to take weight and stress off of the neck and head”),
replaceable cheek pads for a more custom fit, soft
multiple-density liners and diffuser ventilation systems
that work. No one will argue that the better and more
comfortable you feel, the longer you will want to keep
riding – that’s why you should choose an Arai helmet.
About the Author
Valeria Vegas has a Masters degree in Writing and regularly writes for a local newspaper. She
also teaches writing workshops in
San Francisco and has taught high school
English. As a freelance job, she corrects essays for the
SAT and ACT through
Pearson scoring as well as write copy for websites. She is the
Associate Editor of a literary magazine, edit manuscripts for Behler
publications, and works for authors independently.
One of her stories was named Notable Story of 2004 by
Million Writers. She is a regular contributor to
http://My-Motorcycle-Helmet.com .
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