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Arai Rx7Rrv Spencer (Rothman)


Shinigami

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Just picked this up in Tokyo, have wanted one for quite a while. I prefer the Japan spec helmets as they use the next-size down shell for 59-60cm head size vs the US spec helmet. Much quieter and rock-solid fit. My previous Japan spec RX7RRV scored a major save when I got hit in May this year.

They are around $250.00 cheaper in Japan as well.

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Is it DOT approved?

I've tried to do the same. (I'm Japanese)

Despite the fact that Japanese standards are much stricter, none of the helmets I saw in Japan were DOT approved, and I ended up buying one here.

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I purchased a Japanese spec Vector off of flea bay and it is not DOT approved- only Snell -which is not really that big of a deal. If you are really worried about the DOT sticker- Somewhere out there someone has to be selling DOT helmet stickers. In my 4 years of wearing this particular helmet I have never been questioned about it. Checking for a DOT sticker on helmets may be common at Daytona Bike Week but most cops wouldn't think about checking that.

I was wondering about the shell size, my normal Medium Arai didnt fit as snug as this Japanese spec does.

Could you post a few more pictures? looks like a sweet lid. Arai helmets-especially the RX7 series- are motorcycle porn.

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I have worn Arai continuously for the past 20 years (excepting a small break with a Shoei).

I have both a Vector and an RX7RRV, which I also purchased direct from Japan in January from Ghost Town (http://english.ghost.co.jp/), at a delivered cost of US$464. Ghost Town were good to deal with, but (and no disrespect intended) English is not their first language. I had some funny emails where I was trying to persuade them to write-down the value to duck under my local sales tax threshold but they replied that they "would not take part in crime". Good on them!

They are both great lids but they do have a different focus, with the RX7RRV being much more race-focussed, which means it is lighter and has better aerodynamics, but it is also a lot noisier (wind noise) and IMHO not as comfy as the Vector. I only bought the RX7 for it's looks, and I reckon the Johnny Rea replica styling is glorious. The helmet is uncannily steady at any speed and angle.

The Vector is probably the better street helmet, it has a nicer lining and is quite a bit quieter, but does suffer from a little bit more turbulence.

I do love the look of the Spencer colour scheme (I had one of the originals back in the day); my other all time fave is the Schwantz Pepsi colour scheme. Helmet colour schemes have certainly got a lot "busier" and I'm a fan of the simpler styles.

My helmet came with a label stating it was for Japan or race use only and did not necessarily comply with my local helmet laws. Threw that in the bin, and would consider it exceptionally unlikely that this will ever be an issue for me with The Law.

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SNELL testing standards are much higher than DOT, if fact, SNELL won't even test modulars or some helmets with internal sun shades due solely on their construction. So safety wise, having SNELL and not DOT approval shouldn't be something to worry about and as far as being legal, I doubt very much that any law enforcement officer would even think about checking the helmet for a sticker, especially if it's a full face helmet. However, if it was one of those "salad bowl" jobs the cruiser guys like to wear, then you might want to look for a DOT sticker to place on it somewhere. At least that's my take on it.

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If I still lived in California, I too would worry about not having a DOT sticker, simply because this is what LEO's expect to see on a helmet there. Of course the other ratings (SNELL, JIS, FIM) on the helmet are moire than adequate.

For me this is a non issue as I am using this helmet for track use and canyon runs in-state. And as I'm in a non-mandated helmet state, they don't care about stickers.

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In the past, I always removed the DOT stickers from my helmets as they look really ugly/crude (Compared to like the Snell or British certification stickers). Once in a while, I still use my older helmets for variety, but I do worry about the now more stringent requirements from the CHP and City Police to have DOT certification evidence on MC helmets.......

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No helmets are "approved" by DOT, Snell or BSI. The helmet manufacturers self-certify their own helmets to the various standards required where they intend to sell their helmets. In many cases, the same helmet will pass more than one standard, but only one sticker is applied because that is all that is required to sell the helmet in a particular market. I would be happy to trust my safety to an Arai helmet carrying any sticker or none at all (provided I knew it was a genuine Arai and had not been damaged). The local gendarmes may not be so understanding, but fortunately, they are easily placated with a nice-looking eBay sticker...

Ciao,

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Member Contributer

No helmets are "approved" by DOT, Snell or BSI. The helmet manufacturers self-certify their own helmets to the various standards required where they intend to sell their helmets. In many cases, the same helmet will pass more than one standard, but only one sticker is applied because that is all that is required to sell the helmet in a particular market. I would be happy to trust my safety to an Arai helmet carrying any sticker or none at all (provided I knew it was a genuine Arai and had not been damaged). The local gendarmes may not be so understanding, but fortunately, they are easily placated with a nice-looking eBay sticker...

Ciao,

I was curious about this as I was always under the impression that Snell did do the testing and that the manufacturer supplied and paid for the testing. So I asked the person at the Snell booth today at the IMS show. The person was actually a test engineer had clarified what Snell does.

According to her, the helmet maker must supply the helmet to Snell and Snell will do all of the testing and if the helmet passes, then the helmet can then be eligible for a Snell sticker, which the helmet maker buys from Snell. After the helmet hits the store shelves, Snell will do a random sampling of Snell certified helmets by buying them off the shelf and do another test on these units to make sure they still pass the testing procedure. She did add that it is the DOT testing that is done by the helmet manufacturer themselves. She did not say what the ECE process was.

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