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Arai Prices In Usa Vs Japan


Shinigami

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Is it just me or is the price differential for Arai helmets in Japan vs USA getting silly?

Just picked up a new RX7X In Japan -with an extra smoke shield. The fit is perfect.

In the USA the same helmet- when it becomes available (as the Corsair-X) sometime in January. will go for well north of $850. Both are Snell 2015 rated. The USA helmet includes a $38.00 Pinlock sheet in the visor, the Japan lid doesn't.

In Japan the helmet and extra shield just set me back a total of $380 (duty free, from a premiere dealer).

Mind you I live in a non helmet state so the lack of DOT is a non issue. It does have Snell 2015, JIS and FIM certs all of which exceed ECE. so it's good to go on any track.

I simply gotta say. WTF? Gobsmacked,

It's also notable, Shoei lids appear to have a smaller price differential- they're generally a little more expensive than Arai here in Japan and generally proportionately a little cheaper in the USA.

I put this down to the USA distributor.

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I am disappointed with Aria.

I have been a loyal customer since the early 90's. They made great helmets back then.

Now their stuff seems to fall apart a few months into ownership.

I bought my wife a Corsair Haslam it was right at 900.00. Fit her perfect at the show and she loved it.

Once she got on the bike, the helmet was too noisy to wear with ear plugs in.

I sold it on EBAY for 350.00 and EBAY got 60.00 of that.

I recently bought a pair of matching HJC and they fit and feel great right out of the box with the Pinlock.

I have enough money left over to buy gas for the next year.

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Nothing to do with Arai Japan, its the same the world over, it's price gouging. Almost EVERYTHING you buy in the developed west has at least a 400% markup !

That same helmet will sell in the UK for the same price in British Pounds £850 so over $1000 ! So if I ever find a cheap flight to Japan, I'll stock up with all the bike goodies I can find.

My bro used to import fishing gear from China, a simple rod reel kit was £2.49 ($4) delivered & landed all duties paid. Retail was £29.99 ($45), so 1100% markup !

Go figure if we get value for money ! Even houses here are normally 400% of build cost, so 300% profit ! :( Grr supply & demand my ARSE !

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You guys have it all wrong...become President or CEO of any publicly traded company and get à 500x salary over your middle management salaries...then pay 1000 for an Arai and wipe your butt with the change...

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I am disappointed with Aria.

I have been a loyal customer since the early 90's. They made great helmets back then.

Now their stuff seems to fall apart a few months into ownership.

I bought my wife a Corsair Haslam it was right at 900.00. Fit her perfect at the show and she loved it.

Once she got on the bike, the helmet was too noisy to wear with ear plugs in.

I sold it on EBAY for 350.00 and EBAY got 60.00 of that.

I recently bought a pair of matching HJC and they fit and feel great right out of the box with the Pinlock.

I have enough money left over to buy gas for the next year.

I like my HJC's better then my 2014 RF1200's.

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I am very interested in this topic, as I need to replace an Arai helmet that I very much liked. I have noticed as much as a $300 price difference between helmets that are available on ebay from Japan. How differently do the European and Japanese helmets fit compared to those sold in the U.S. market?

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You really need to be professionally fitted for an Arai.

Arai doesn't make a helmet for all heads like Shoei. <== Which I don't fit into.

If your head fits perfectly in an old Quantum, it might not fit correctly in a Corsair.

Find a bike show in your area and get fitted.

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When I retired my old Quantum E, I was at a loss - Arai was no longer making the Quantum and it's the only brand that fits my noggin well. The local Ducati dealer has a huge stock, and the floor rep let me try on a number of helmets on over the course of several hours. I tried a Signet Q and wore it around the store for about 1/2 hour. It's been a great replacement for the old Quantum - fits me like a glove. I'd have to dig through my receipts, but I'm pretty sure I paid something less than $600 for the Signet (solid color) in 2012.

I do find that the shield changeout is more difficult than before - IMO the small levers designed to free the shield from the side pods work only marginally well. Shield changes on an Arai are definitely an acquired taste.

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gr8vfr, that is very good advise. I have been fitted, and found that the new Signet Q fits about the same as my old Profile. I'm just not sure if there is a difference in the fit of the Japanese version.

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gr8vfr, that is very good advise. I have been fitted, and found that the new Signet Q fits about the same as my old Profile. I'm just not sure if there is a difference in the fit of the Japanese version.

Hey wagzhp

I used to have an Arai Quantum F a number of years ago and tried a Shoei for a few years but was never really happy with the fit of the Shoei. Just this season I replaced my Shoei with a new Arai Signet Q and it fits better than any helmet I have ever owned. The Arai also feels VERY light compared to the Shoei and seems very stable in the wind, even when riding my wife's 1981 CB400T. My only complaint would be that the Arai is a little noisier than my Shoei but not to the point where it is annoying. I purchased the helmet around mid March from a local dealer and it was less than $650 Canadian including taxes. Maybe some cross border shopping might be in order. LOL. With the current value on the Canadian dollar that would work out to somewhere around $450.

I don't recall ever having been properly fitted for a helmet until this most recent purchase and wow, what a difference.

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Interested in following this thread as well. I am on my second Schuberth. The first was a C3 and the second a C3 Pro. In addition to the Schuberth modular helmet for longer rides I am interested in a full face helmet for around town and was looking at the Arai Corsair X. A little alarmed at that price point of just under $1000 CDN and people saying there is a lot of wind noise? My Schuberth's were in the same price area and have been really quiet to point I don't wear ear plugs unless I'm hooked to my wife's intercom on her Shoei, where I hear all the air coming into her Neotec Borealis.

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A few thoughts...

If you live in or travel to/through a state in the USA which requires helmets, the Snell, JIS, FIM and ECE certifications will mean pretty much doodly-squat in the eyes of the law. Never mind the fact that the DOT standard hasn't had any significant safety-related attention in four friggin' decades, that standard is what our states require and yes, cops have been known to cite for the lack of a DOT marking on an ECE helmet. Idiotic but it does happen. I wish horrible debilitating chronic diseases upon such people who have never heard of or simply don't care about legislative intent but that's beside the point. The good news is you can probably do like the Hardley pirates with their useless beanies and slap a fake DOT sticker on it.

I went helmet shopping while in South Korea and found the prices there on KBC helmets to be rather uncompetitive compared to USA prices. Go figure.

"You really need to be professionally fitted for an Arai.

Arai doesn't make a helmet for all heads like Shoei."

Sorry but LOL. I mean, kudos to Arai for an astounding effective brain-wa, er, I mean advertising campaign but being able to swap cheek-pads, while nice, is hardly the most important aspect to helmet fitment and never mind Shoei, NOBODY "makes a helmet for all heads".

About noise, stability, etc. Have you ever noticed how three journalists can review the same helmet and come up with three startling different opinions about how quiet a particular helmet is? The reason for this involves a number of factors. Air flow around the bike (which also means the bike itself and choice of windscreen), air flow around the chest and shoulders of your jacket, your height and even your posture on the bike can all affect results.

That's where the value of visiting your friendly local motorcycle accessories dealer comes in. I've been able to take short test rides with helmets from the shelf. That way you know fit, feel, noise, etc. for yourself.

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A few thoughts...

If you live in or travel to/through a state in the USA which requires helmets, the Snell, JIS, FIM and ECE certifications will mean pretty much doodly-squat in the eyes of the law. Never mind the fact that the DOT standard hasn't had any significant safety-related attention in four friggin' decades, that standard is what our states require and yes, cops have been known to cite for the lack of a DOT marking on an ECE helmet. Idiotic but it does happen. I wish horrible debilitating chronic diseases upon such people who have never heard of or simply don't care about legislative intent but that's beside the point. The good news is you can probably do like the Hardley pirates with their useless beanies and slap a fake DOT sticker on it.

I went helmet shopping while in South Korea and found the prices there on KBC helmets to be rather uncompetitive compared to USA prices. Go figure.

"You really need to be professionally fitted for an Arai.

Arai doesn't make a helmet for all heads like Shoei."

Sorry but LOL. I mean, kudos to Arai for an astounding effective brain-wa, er, I mean advertising campaign but being able to swap cheek-pads, while nice, is hardly the most important aspect to helmet fitment and never mind Shoei, NOBODY "makes a helmet for all heads".

About noise, stability, etc. Have you ever noticed how three journalists can review the same helmet and come up with three startling different opinions about how quiet a particular helmet is? The reason for this involves a number of factors. Air flow around the bike (which also means the bike itself and choice of windscreen), air flow around the chest and shoulders of your jacket, your height and even your posture on the bike can all affect results.

That's where the value of visiting your friendly local motorcycle accessories dealer comes in. I've been able to take short test rides with helmets from the shelf. That way you know fit, feel, noise, etc. for yourself.

I gotta find one of those "friendly local motorcycle accessories dealer's". When the question has come up around testing the helmet the answer has always been - NO. But feel free to run really fast around the store with it on, but don't leave the building or you bought it. The five helmets my wife and I have had have come from five different stores but all had the same attitude around short test rides - nope. Your observations around what creates noise are spot on. I'll just go with what feels the best and take my chances, its worked out fine so far. Sure would like to pay less for a quality helmet in Canada though.

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gr8vfr, that is very good advise. I have been fitted, and found that the new Signet Q fits about the same as my old Profile. I'm just not sure if there is a difference in the fit of the Japanese version.

Hey wagzhp

I used to have an Arai Quantum F a number of years ago and tried a Shoei for a few years but was never really happy with the fit of the Shoei. Just this season I replaced my Shoei with a new Arai Signet Q and it fits better than any helmet I have ever owned. The Arai also feels VERY light compared to the Shoei and seems very stable in the wind, even when riding my wife's 1981 CB400T. My only complaint would be that the Arai is a little noisier than my Shoei but not to the point where it is annoying. I purchased the helmet around mid March from a local dealer and it was less than $650 Canadian including taxes. Maybe some cross border shopping might be in order. LOL. With the current value on the Canadian dollar that would work out to somewhere around $450.

I don't recall ever having been properly fitted for a helmet until this most recent purchase and wow, what a difference.

I have not ruled out cross boarder shopping, and the Canadian market might be a very good option. Thanks, I hadn't though of that. I know what you mean about the differences between the manufacturers. I had a Shoei RF1000 that I liked well enough, but once I tried on the Arai Profile I knew I found the right helmet for my head shape. I have tried on the Shoei RF1100, and it was ok, but still not as comfortable as the Profile. I have yet to try on the new Shoei RF1200 and Arai Defiant, and need to give them a try before I buy anything.

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The new RX7X (Corsair X in USA) Japan model has a lot more interior room than the previous model.

In the case of the previous Corsair-V (RX-7RRV in Japan) I have found that the USA lids run one full shell size bigger than the identically marked Japan market counterpart at the transition size of Large (59-60).

For instance, I wear a 59-60 Corsair-V. That's based on a smaller shell in Japan and is a very snug race fit on my noggin, but sloppy on the American market model which uses the next bigger shell.

I tried on the new 60-61 model and it was like Sputnik on my head. Super loose. The new model produces a good touring fit in the same size compared to the previous one.

I was happy with the old shield system, but the new one is certainly easier to use for the uninitiated.

But to get back on topic, how does Arai USA justify DOUBLE the price as in Japan for the same item? I'm all for a company making a healthy margin but something doesn't add up right here.

I also noticed vendors like Revzilla that projected shipments in October now say January so either the demand is huge or something else is up

(edited to add obligatory "pics or it didn't happen" photo.)

.post-12595-0-38162200-1443738669.jpeg

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About noise, stability, etc. Have you ever noticed how three journalists can review the same helmet and come up with three startling different opinions about how quiet a particular helmet is? The reason for this involves a number of factors. Air flow around the bike (which also means the bike itself and choice of windscreen), air flow around the chest and shoulders of your jacket, your height and even your posture on the bike can all affect results.

Additionally, helmets that flow tons of air like the Corsair are going to be more noisy due to the vents. Some vents are quieter than others, but some vents don't flow as much air either. You have to decide which is more important, air flow or decibels. My older Arai helmets are quieter than my Corsair, though the fit is nearly identical. The big difference is the Corsair has 10 vent holes and you could even call it 12 if you counted the two that are on the air tunnels.

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I will entertain any legitimate explanation for the price difference.

I understand the dollar-yen ratio but it's exactly where it was when I first started buying my Arais in Japan in 2007.

I understand warranty support, but that was all of useless for a three year stretch when the US distributor website was a toxic hellstew of uselessness for the issues with my USA bought Corsair V and the "certified dealer" referred me back to the distributor because they couldn't handle it (chin vent issues)

I understand DOT cert and possibly liability insurance, but that's immaterial to me and my circumstances, and cannot possibly account for a double cost difference.

So what have I missed here?

I understand this is irrelevant to many of you. I go to Japan multiple times per year so I can check the fit directly, and if I have a warranty problem I can solve it with ease (commonly with a whole new replacement from my preferred dealer... because, Japan).

But this difference just puzzles me, and bugs me the more I think about it.

And also, yes I have had my head smack pavement at high speed in a Japan market Arai, and it worked exactly as advertised.

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Havagan recently purchased a Schuberth. It is a good looking helmet.

After an hour of riding he looked like a Cylon when he took the helmet off.

After three days of riding, he kept saying the helmet was starting to get broken in...

He still looked like a Cylon.

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I will entertain any legitimate explanation for the price difference.

American Lawyers

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Sitting in the lounge here at Narita - just had the funny experience of two guys behind me in the express elevator to the departure deck commenting on how smart I must be to have bought an an Arai in Japan due to the "enormous" cost difference. Remarkable, the things you hear with your headphones in and the audio off.

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We get equally ripped off here in the UK too.

I bought my Rukka suit from a German-based website and saved myself over £500.

I thought membership of the EU was supposed to sort all of that out.

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tbzep's assessment about the cost of liability is probably the most spot-on response to the topic question. An article about sports helmets from 1988 said that more than half the cost of the helmets was related to the cost of insuring against product liability suits. That's just for ball game helmets! And when Bell temporarily left the US market I recall product liability insurance costs being part of the issue there too.

EhViffer: The local Cycle Gear shop was willing to let me take helmets out for a spin. YMMV.

Shinigami, yeah, no doubt it's the same helmet, just with different stickers to make different markets happy. I wouldn't be surprised if they left off the DOT mark for local markets just so the Japanese wouldn't end up with the impression that the helmet is crap because of the US DOT compliance.

And FWIW I never had issues with Arai's warranty service. I always found it superlative, with bits like vents, chin filters, side pods, etc. arriving two days after the phone call and never even a mention of money. While that poor excuse for a web site was getting up to speed, their super secret direct phone number still worked just fine. The web site is a PITA I admit. Especially after being accustomed to having the magic phone number.

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Has anyone bought a helmet from Service Pavilion? I bought replacement side pods from them, but never a helmet. They seem to have a large selection of Arai products.

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Product positioning as well. For example, Mercedes Benz is a "luxury brand" in the USA, but they sell all sorts of vehicles in Germany, so they can only charge a smaller premium there. Arai is at the pinnacle of motorcycle helmets in the USA (among non-BMW riders, I should say!), so they price them accordingly. Sure, they'd sell more helmets if they were cheaper, but their accounting probably suggests that they will still make more money selling fewer, but more expensive helmets.

Way back when I lived in California and Held gloves were only available from Helimot, I took advantage of the fact that they were much less "exclusive" and much cheaper in Germany--an easy decision, as I was travelling there fairly often. Virtually everything is inexplicably more expensive in the UK, so I've had a lot of practice in searching for the best prices for things around the world! Motorcycle helmets are not even subject to (20%) VAT in the UK, but the UK importers still manage to make them more expensive than those purchased in Germany (with VAT). The EU doesn't stop anyone from charging high prices, but it does tend to stop the manufacturers and distributors from preventing the consumer from shopping in other EU countries.

By buying a "premium" helmet where it is sold more cheaply, you "win" the game!

Ciao,

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