How bl00dy much !!!!!

But yeh, Arai ftw, cus it fits on my noggin

Originally Posted by Amanda

If you wanna spend £50 on a few bits of plastic to protect your head then thats your choice, I have an Arai cos I believe it will protect me better!)

You can't compare an Arai to a £50 quid piece of plastic, then use that to justify the price.

I think there's a big difference between a £50 lid such as a Takachi or a Nitro, and a £150-200 HJC, AGV, etc. I don't believe there is the same difference in protection between those reputable £150 quid helmets and the Arai. Sure there are things such as nicer linings, aftersales service, etc, etc, that justify some of the premium, but there is no denying that the badge costs money.

Originally Posted by Cymraeg_Atodeg

It doesn't.

I know from a dealer that they buy the rrp £370 Arai Chaser for £195

Amanda, you manage an HG store, tell us what markup you have on an Arai lid, versus the equivalent spec HJC?

There are also brands which I believe are not as safe, but still charge decent money such as Caberg.

You can't justify it because you've crashed in one either, because how do you know that the HJC, AGV, etc wouldn't have also left you unharmed in the same crash?

I've heard people try to justify the cost on fit as well, 'cos an Arai fits you better than any other lid. That's a personal justification only and doesn't apply to anybody else, because you have an Arai shaped noggin. They don't fit me and certainly don't fit everybody, so you can't say "try an Arai, it'll definitely fit better"

If anyone wants to pop into the store and enter into a discussion about why I believe Arai will protect me better than a £50 helmet then I would be more than happy to tell them.

Actually col, some arai lids have lower safety passes than some cheaper lids.

I remember reading last year about their average safety performance, which was no better than sub £100 lids.
My first lid was a lazer, it had the 5 star rating or whatever it is so no worse than my arai.
Most lids will meet a decent standard of safety, as long as they have the test sticker on it i guess.
I didnt choose mine on the safety aspect, i chose mine on comfort, then design.

BTW, arai dont allow dealers to discount, thats why the prices are not much apart regardless of where you go unless its unofficially imported, price fixing i guess, they wont allow you to stock their lids if you do discount, two different arai dealers told me that.

Everything we buy has a badge premium, you think bmw's do a better job of getting you from A to B than a vw or ford? course they dont, do you think a £1000 handbag had the same level of effort put in to it to design and make it as a £500 lid, of course it doesnt

Originally Posted by Amanda

If anyone wants to pop into the store and enter into a discussion about why I believe Arai will protect me better than a £50 helmet then I would be more than happy to tell them.

Who on this thread do you think would try to argue that? (OK, Simesb maybe, but is he seriously trying to say a £50 quid lid is as safe as a £300 Arai?)

Price is not all about safety anyway. My wife has a bottom of the range HJC that was £80 quid. I believe it's just as safe as my HJC, but it doesn't have removable linings, sun visor, pinlock, etc, so the price difference is about features, not safety. Her helmet probably hasn't done more than 2000 miles in 4 years, so she doesn't need them. So is her £80 quid HJC safer than an £300 Arai? If you look at Specialones post above maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I'm happier that she is wearing that than a £29.99 unbranded plastic shell out of Aldi.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Who on this thread do you think would try to argue that?

But could she catergorically say that a £50 helmet wouldnt protect her as well as an arai?
If it protects your head and you live, it worked, end of, i would say 99% of lids available on the market would do just that, perfectly well.
Id trust my lazer lid just as much as my arai.

Originally Posted by specialone

But could she catergorically say that a £50 helmet wouldnt protect her as well as an arai?

Categorically, no. But I'd still be happy to put money on it. These really cheap helmets (Takachi, Nitro, etc) are built to pass the tests (ie: be strong in the areas that they know get tested), they haven't gone through the same R&D into how to protect the human head. I think you do at least need a "reputable" brand. Maybe your Lazer was a good one, but I wouldn't trust my Caberg compared to my HJC, you only need to stick it on your head to tell the difference, and some of the really cheap stuff you only have to pick it up and look at it. I'll let you try the Caberg next time you're in my garage.

Originally Posted by specialone

If it protects your head and you live, it worked, end of, i would say 99% of lids available on the market would do just that, perfectly well..

I think that depends how hard and where/how you hit your head.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

OK, Simesb maybe, but is he seriously trying to say a £50 quid lid is as safe as a £300 Arai?

I am serious; prove to me that a £50 ECE 22.05(?) lid it is not 'as safe' as a £300 one

No two accidents are the same, but they have many common factors. Statutory tests are designed around these common factors, and helmets are designed to pass these tests so they can legally be sold. They may go about passing the test in different ways, but the all pass the same tests. Where the UK government has tried to show how helmets have performed relatively, Arai and Shoei have dismissed the results as flawed.

People like lids they have crashed in, and with good reason; people like to feel they can trust their safety gear. People like a light, comfortable helmet for obvious reasons.

I used to have an HJC, but now have an Arai. I am willing to pay the premium as I find the Arai a much 'better' helmet, but I don't kid myself that it is necessarily 'safer'

[DarrenSV650S]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

These really cheap helmets (Takachi, Nitro, etc) are built to pass the tests (ie: be strong in the areas that they know get tested), they haven't gone through the same R&D into how to protect the human head.

How do you know

Originally Posted by simesb

Not this old **** again. There is no evidence that the Arai will protect you better (except the SHARP test where they come off worse, so obviously isn't relevant) - anecdotal evidence doesn't count because you didn't crash twice in different helmets.

What I will say about Arai is that I find them more comfortable than some others, and I find the aftersales good, and the linings are of a nicer material. Do I think they are safer? No. Do I think that the overall quality is worth a premium? Yes.

+1

Originally Posted by mikerj

If you had also crashed twice with a cheaper brand of helmet and received head injuries each time then you may have had a valid argument...

+1

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Categorically, no. But I'd still be happy to put money on it. These really cheap helmets (Takachi, Nitro, etc) are built to pass the tests (ie: be strong in the areas that they know get tested), they haven't gone through the same R&D into how to protect the human head. I think you do at least need a "reputable" brand. Maybe your Lazer was a good one, but I wouldn't trust my Caberg compared to my HJC, you only need to stick it on your head to tell the difference, and some of the really cheap stuff you only have to pick it up and look at it. I'll let you try the Caberg next time you're in my garage.

I think that depends how hard and where/how you hit your head.

You have basically just said the arai is weaker in the areas the test tests! If it were me i'd rather go by the only rating system we have, rather then guess.