View Full Version : anyone got an arai viper?
what do you think of it, i was saving for a RX7 but my local shop is doing haslam reps & others for £250 instead of £400, im not too fussy on the designs,but a bargin done the least:smt045
fizzwheel
05-07-07, 12:59 PM
I've seen a few Haslam reps in the year before last's colours ( i.e not the two colour devil / angel scheme ) that have been reduced quite a bit, maybe they are shifting old stock ?
Captain Nemo
05-07-07, 12:59 PM
i havnt got a viper, but ive got a haslam astro R,
i picked it up from the NEC last november for £209.
cant speak for the viper but the astro's excellent, great fit , maybe a little noisy....but as ive found arai have fantastic customer care.
I've seen a few Haslam reps in the year before last's colours ( i.e not the two colour devil / angel scheme ) that have been reduced quite a bit, maybe they are shifting old stock ?
no, it is the devil/angel one in thunderoad bridgend
just been to get the insurace quote:smt104
fizzwheel
05-07-07, 01:07 PM
no, it is the devil/angel one in thunderoad bridgend
I like that design lid. Its an Arai so you shouldnt have any worries with it, esepcially at that price
I like that design lid. Its an Arai so you shouldnt have any worries with it, esepcially at that priceyeah........... dont think it goes with my yellow fetish, but i think at that price, i should have got it/go & get it
Hovis,
I've got a Viper GT mate, I love it. I've got a small head and got a small (obviously!) and it's now properly broken in and very comfortable. Not particularly quiet (not as quiet as my old shark and that was slightly big) but I always wear ear plugs anyway.
Vents are very good, and I feel very secure in it. And it looks cool as feck.
You can get any design on www.gearchangeonline.co.uk (http://www.gearchangeonline.co.uk) for £279.99. They were really good, rang me to check it was me that ordered it and not a fraud and it arrived 48 hours later. :smt045
Cheers,
Matt
Fizzy Fish
05-07-07, 01:30 PM
Oi!!! I've got that one so you can't have it... :wink:
seriously it's a great lid, i've been really impressed. I know several people with viper GTs and they've all been pleased with theirs too
Hovis,
You can get any design on www.gearchangeonline.co.uk (http://www.gearchangeonline.co.uk) for £279.99. They were really good, rang me to check it was me that ordered it and not a fraud and it arrived 48 hours later. :smt045
Cheers,
Matt
links not working at the mo
is it a uk helmet? has it got the gold sticker?
fizzwheel
05-07-07, 01:31 PM
Oi!!! I've got that one so you can't have it... :wink:
Yes he can, because that means he doesnt get the Same Edwards RX7 Rep that I've got :D
Oi!!! I've got that one so you can't have it... :wink:
Yes he can, because that means he doesnt get the Same Edwards RX7 Rep that I've got :D
i did want the Edwards RX7 Rep but £500 is a lot of money, im now thinking the haslam for £250 is too much of a bargin to refuse
sorry fizz's:D
Bah, latecomers :D I had mine before Fizzy ;) Lovely lid, as said before, a bit noisier than some helmets, but ear plugs fix that problem. Fits good and vents work really well.
POO:(
just phoned them to see if they had a medium,
yup
cool can you keep it for me i will be over in ½ hour £249 right
wrong, the large is £249 the med is £399
howcome?
because its last years
eh? they are both the same
yes, but its last years model
grrrrrrrrrrrrr
:smt013
Hovis,
Yes it is definitely a UK helmet with the gold ACU sticker - the first thing I checked. Search for gearchangeonline on google, I think its actually the same company as bikersbargains who do them for the same price but didn't have the design I wanted when I bought.
I got the 'Sensu' design, some may think a bit of a colour mish-mash but I think it's cool, looks great with my black visor :cool: and it's japanese inspired design which reminds me of my travels there ;) .
Cheers,
Matt
EDIT - its www.gearchangeonline.com (http://www.gearchangeonline.com) , not .uk , sorry mate
Hovis,
Yes it is definitely a UK helmet with the gold ACU sticker - the first thing I checked.
EDIT - its www.gearchangeonline.com (http://www.gearchangeonline.com) , not .uk , sorry mate
did you get the service book? & you are 100% sure its not an import?
i know you can get the ACU stickers on ebay
cos its saying RX7 edwards reps are £374 which i have seen in other places but they are imports
It has an ACU gold sticker on the back and ECE22-05 written underneath 'Viper-GT' on the back. It came in a proper Arai box, with a proper Arai bag, a little bottle of fluid and a manual, though I haven't opened it!
Don't know if you need anything more specific than this?! I hadn't even considered that it might be 'an import', though I don't believe it is - all that matters to me is that it has the proper stickers and it was a good price!
I can take some photos of the helmet and stuff in the box when I get home if it helps?
Cheers,
Matt
Hovis is checking as ive explained to him that cheap arais are usually snell imports, NOT UK spec ones-any probs with it and arai UK WILL NOT deal with, also there are fake arais out there aswell.
How do i know? I work at Hein Gericke and weve had a few snell/imports and fake arais in to be checked over.
Hovis is checking as ive explained to him that cheap arais are usually snell imports, NOT UK spec ones-any probs with it and arai UK WILL NOT deal with, also there are fake arais out there aswell.
How do i know? I work at Hein Gericke and weve had a few snell/imports and fake arais in to be checked over.
how can you tell? as i know you can get the gold stickers from ebay, i think the one in thunderoad are genuine
but the ones on the site cartwrim posted are £374 for the RX7 instead of £499 you would think that a shop would not get imports & put the stickers on them selves, but who knows?
there is a edwards rep on ebay private seller he said he paid £499 but when i asked he said it did not have the gold sticker
is there any other way of telling.
how can you tell? as i know you can get the gold stickers from ebay, i think the one in thunderoad are genuine
but the ones on the site cartwrim posted are £374 for the RX7 instead of £499 you would think that a shop would not get imports & put the stickers on them selves, but who knows?
there is a edwards rep on ebay private seller he said he paid £499 but when i asked he said it did not have the gold sticker
is there any other way of telling.
They have snell on the back, and if you look at the little red label inside the helmet on the strap they should have number-if that number is blanked out, its a fake arai
Shops do put the gold stickers on themselves.
have a look at what arai say:
http://www.araihelmet-europe.com/php/language.php
They have snell on the back, .sorry but whats snell?
and if you look at the little red label inside the helmet on the strap they should have number-if that number is blanked out, its a fake arai
Shops do put the gold stickers on themselves.
sooooo......... how come this place
http://www.gearchangeonline.com/
is selling them with gold stickers for £150+ less then you?
Snell is the European level of testing, instead of the Gold ecu sticker, it has Snell on the back.
Ive had a look at that gear change online and im wondering hwy they have rx7's sooo cheap! i deffo be suspicious.
Ive had a look at that gear change online and im wondering hwy they have rx7's sooo cheap! i deffo be suspicious.
i am,
& dont think i would buy one off the net anyway
cartwrim got a £400 viper with gold sticker for £280 & this was not in a sale, it was when they 1st came out.
and the guy in HG said arai tell you what to sell them for, thats why they wont knock anything off the price
have a look at what arai say:
http://www.araihelmet-europe.com/php/language.php
cant find anything on the saftey markings
ralph wiggum
05-07-07, 07:04 PM
I've got an Arai Viper GT Sinistar.
I absolutely love it, soooo comfy, chin spoiler is nice and vents galore. Paint scheme is pretty :D I happy to think its quite quiet too. But I am getting used to wearing ear plugs as they are sooo nice tbh.
Hovis,
I sent an enquiry to gearchangeonline earlier to ask them if their helmets were imports, this is the reply I have received:
' Hi Matt, the helmet you have purchased from ourselves is the European spec ECE2205 which is the legal requirement for our roads. Please call 01724280888 for further information. Gearchange'
I have taken some photos of the helmet, it has all the correct markings, inside and out, and there is no doubt whatsoever that it is a genuine Arai helmet - the quality is just too good for it to be a 'fake' or anything. From the inside lining, to the paint finish, weight, feel, everything. I've been in to my local bike shop and compared it to the ones on their shelves and it was exactly the same. For some reason they just seem to sell them at more realistic prices. I know they are a relatively new website, in fact I think my order was number 000010 or something, implying I was the tenth person to place an order so maybe they're just undercutting to get customers?
To be honest, even if they were 'imports', an arai is an arai, they don't make lower quality helemts for other countries, their helmets meet the requirements for all countries so they just have whichever sticker on the back that is relevant for that country. So if you're worried about your head, you don't need to be, and if you're worried about plod / trackday inspector they will be satisfied by the ACU sticker. Get one, they're cheap!
Here are the photos of my helmet (steady!:smt077)
Any more questions about it mate, just give me a shout but I think they're pukka. :)
Cheers,
Matt
it seems your helmet is up to stadard then:cool: but to sell them at that price they must be paying less than HG unless HG are making a lot more profit?
i would like to hear what PAWS has to say about this, as the guy in HG said you will not get a cheaper price on an arai as arai set the prices.
the usa & china arai's are not up to our standard, & will not be serviced by arai in this country AFAIK?
Yep, I do believe it is fine!
This is just my opinion but I would imagine that Arai sets the prices for helmets to be sold through their '5 star dealers'. I.e., they will not want one '5 star dealer' selling cheaper than another. But afaik, gearchangeonline are not a 5 star dealer and thus they can get away with selling them cheaper.
Also, most places that sell Arais, such as jsaccessories, cissburyleathers, sportsbikeshop, to name a few, are selling online but they also have shops incurring overheads. Gearchangeonline have no shop thus can turn a profit selling at a lower price.
If you imagine the average quiet bike shop on a Tuesday, with two assistants in all day and they sell 5 items, one of them being an arai helmet, they are paying all day for the rent, overheads etc on the shop plus paying the staff, so making a low profit on the items. Alternatively, a completely online shop with minimal overheads can make the same profit selling at a much lower price.
The rest of the stuff that gearchangeonline sell doesn't seem to be that much cheaper than the competition but why not snap up that helmet you want while it's cheap?! :D
Cheers,
Matt
AFAIK Arai helmets are tested to the same standard no matter where they are sold in the world. There is a variance in shape for different markets, since different locales have different head shapes.
Also, the Snell test is the USA standard, and from memory is the highest (hardest to pass) test, of the standard locale tests. They do kerb tests and penetration tests that the EU and other areas don't do. A while ago, when MCN was on it's high horse (;)) about helmet safety, they wanted the eu to come up to Snell standard.
Anyway, Arai's all exceed the Snell test no matter where they are destined for sale, unlike some other brands.
POO:(
just phoned them to see if they had a medium,
yup
cool can you keep it for me i will be over in ½ hour £249 right
wrong, the large is £249 the med is £399
howcome?
because its last years
eh? they are both the same
yes, but its last years model
grrrrrrrrrrrrr
:smt013 just been to try them on the large @ £250 is to big, so they wanted £400 for a medium
Hovis,
I sent an enquiry to gearchangeonline earlier to ask them if their helmets were imports, this is the reply I have received:
' Hi Matt, the helmet you have purchased from ourselves is the European spec ECE2205 which is the legal requirement for our roads. Please call 01724280888 for further information. Gearchange'
I have taken some photos of the helmet, it has all the correct markings, inside and out, and there is no doubt whatsoever that it is a genuine Arai helmet - the quality is just too good for it to be a 'fake' or anything. From the inside lining, to the paint finish, weight, feel, everything. I've been in to my local bike shop and compared it to the ones on their shelves and it was exactly the same. For some reason they just seem to sell them at more realistic prices. I know they are a relatively new website, in fact I think my order was number 000010 or something, implying I was the tenth person to place an order so maybe they're just undercutting to get customers?
To be honest, even if they were 'imports', an arai is an arai, they don't make lower quality helemts for other countries, their helmets meet the requirements for all countries so they just have whichever sticker on the back that is relevant for that country. So if you're worried about your head, you don't need to be, and if you're worried about plod / trackday inspector they will be satisfied by the ACU sticker. Get one, they're cheap!
Here are the photos of my helmet (steady!:smt077)
Any more questions about it mate, just give me a shout but I think they're pukka. :)
Cheers,
Matt
this looks good?
AFAIK Arai helmets are tested to the same standard no matter where they are sold in the world. There is a variance in shape for different markets, since different locales have different head shapes.
Also, the Snell test is the USA standard, and from memory is the highest (hardest to pass) test, of the standard locale tests. They do kerb tests and penetration tests that the EU and other areas don't do. A while ago, when MCN was on it's high horse (;)) about helmet safety, they wanted the eu to come up to Snell standard.
Anyway, Arai's all exceed the Snell test no matter where they are destined for sale, unlike some other brands.
Minimatt posted the link calling into question snell tests. Yes they maybe the toughest test but they are to easy to pass (according to the article) allowing your head to suffer 300 G and still pass. The article was saying that helmets should be softer than snell require to cushion your head more from an 8ft fall to the ground than an 80 mph crash into a brick wall (your body wouldn't survive that anyway)
AFAIK Arai helmets are tested to the same standard no matter where they are sold in the world. There is a variance in shape for different markets, since different locales have different head shapes.
I worked for a UK based helmet manufacturer for 3 years as a sales rep, also got involved in a little design work.
From talking to the people who tested our helmets for us before we submitted them for official testing, it is virtually impossible to make a helmet to conform to all international helmet testing standards. It just cannot be done. Arai will be making seperate shells and liners for all different markets, same as we used to.
Snell is the European level of testing, instead of the Gold ecu sticker, it has Snell on the back.
Snell is one of the American testing agencies, it is not European. Europe recognises the ECER tests only.
A while ago, when MCN was on it's high horse (;)) about helmet safety, they wanted the eu to come up to Snell standard.
When MCN finally employ a journo who has a clue what he's writing about I'll start buying their paper. They may be able to ride fast, but they certainly aren't journalists.
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