BamaRider
Guy
When a guy decides to buy an Arai helmet, he's about to pluck down some serious cheese, so best to know what you're gettting into.
I recently took delivery of a new Arai Vector, which replaces the Astral in the Arai lineup. The Vector best fits the long oval head. My previous Arai was a 2005 Astral.
About a year ago the Astral fell off the seat of the 1300 destroying the shield mechanism on the left side, but I was planning on a new helmet in the next year anyway so I made do with the broken Astral for the next year (not able to move shield result of the damage).
Also the interior of my Astral was beginning to show signs of age after 5 years. It looked kinda dirty, and inside the chinbar was starting to look ragged, so it was time to replace, at no time did I feel unsafe wearing the helmet, it had just seen better days, and after 5 years I was just in the mood for a new one.
This will be my 4th Arai. My first dip in Arai waters was the Quantum, made for the round oval type of noggin. I found the Quantum too noisy, because it lacked a tight fit around the cheeks. The only reason I replaced it.
I prefer tight fitting helmets, they are more quiet, and don't slide around when I move my head. I hate it when my helmet moves and my head doesn't.
If you like loose fitting, less constricted helmets, this model is not for you, it has a definite sock like fit.
Fit and finish are typical Arai- excellent. The interior, (where high end helmets tend to seperate from the mid class helmets) of the lid is plush and comfortable. Very soft and pillow like.
I like the shield of mechanisms of Arai. Easy to operate, but the shield itself does have more distortion then most, but I don't find that a problem. Arai offers several degrees of color tints for replacement shields if you choose that route. They go for a about 40$.
The Vector offers top vents for hot days, but I don't know how effective they are because of the tight fit. My opinion the vents are much to do about nothing. The shield itselt has 2 top vents for fogging, and a lower vent on the chin bar. These vents are effective. It has been my experience the vents work best if you never let the shield fog to begin with, otherwise it takes a few miles for them to catch up. On a 1300 you might have to lower the screen to promote air circulation to clear a foggy shield.
I shopped this particular helmet almost a year, and my patience paid off when I found the unit on clearence price. Full retail for the helmet last year was over 500 dollars. Close out price was 349 dollars, shipping was free. Good thing I waited to pull the trigger.
I also added the Tourmaster helmet bag, to prevent the Vector from suffering the same fate as the previous Astral. I intend to bag the helmet whenever it is not on my head. My Astral took nicks from various sources, campgrounds, cafes, garage etc, I plan to do better this time. An Arai is a serious investment so gonna treat it as such. The Tourmaster has a plush padded interior with slight padding, also has handles ala bowling bag. It should do the job short of dropping it off a cliff. In fact, if you have a bowling bag in the closet taking up space you can recycle it to your new hobby.
The vendor was Competition Accesories.
http://www.compacc.com/index.cfm
I ordered the helmet online, and the unit arrived 6 days later via UPS, no problems.
I recently took delivery of a new Arai Vector, which replaces the Astral in the Arai lineup. The Vector best fits the long oval head. My previous Arai was a 2005 Astral.
About a year ago the Astral fell off the seat of the 1300 destroying the shield mechanism on the left side, but I was planning on a new helmet in the next year anyway so I made do with the broken Astral for the next year (not able to move shield result of the damage).
Also the interior of my Astral was beginning to show signs of age after 5 years. It looked kinda dirty, and inside the chinbar was starting to look ragged, so it was time to replace, at no time did I feel unsafe wearing the helmet, it had just seen better days, and after 5 years I was just in the mood for a new one.
This will be my 4th Arai. My first dip in Arai waters was the Quantum, made for the round oval type of noggin. I found the Quantum too noisy, because it lacked a tight fit around the cheeks. The only reason I replaced it.
I prefer tight fitting helmets, they are more quiet, and don't slide around when I move my head. I hate it when my helmet moves and my head doesn't.
If you like loose fitting, less constricted helmets, this model is not for you, it has a definite sock like fit.
Fit and finish are typical Arai- excellent. The interior, (where high end helmets tend to seperate from the mid class helmets) of the lid is plush and comfortable. Very soft and pillow like.
I like the shield of mechanisms of Arai. Easy to operate, but the shield itself does have more distortion then most, but I don't find that a problem. Arai offers several degrees of color tints for replacement shields if you choose that route. They go for a about 40$.
The Vector offers top vents for hot days, but I don't know how effective they are because of the tight fit. My opinion the vents are much to do about nothing. The shield itselt has 2 top vents for fogging, and a lower vent on the chin bar. These vents are effective. It has been my experience the vents work best if you never let the shield fog to begin with, otherwise it takes a few miles for them to catch up. On a 1300 you might have to lower the screen to promote air circulation to clear a foggy shield.
I shopped this particular helmet almost a year, and my patience paid off when I found the unit on clearence price. Full retail for the helmet last year was over 500 dollars. Close out price was 349 dollars, shipping was free. Good thing I waited to pull the trigger.
I also added the Tourmaster helmet bag, to prevent the Vector from suffering the same fate as the previous Astral. I intend to bag the helmet whenever it is not on my head. My Astral took nicks from various sources, campgrounds, cafes, garage etc, I plan to do better this time. An Arai is a serious investment so gonna treat it as such. The Tourmaster has a plush padded interior with slight padding, also has handles ala bowling bag. It should do the job short of dropping it off a cliff. In fact, if you have a bowling bag in the closet taking up space you can recycle it to your new hobby.
The vendor was Competition Accesories.
http://www.compacc.com/index.cfm
I ordered the helmet online, and the unit arrived 6 days later via UPS, no problems.
They just called me this morning to finally confirm my order.