When Arai officially launched their all-new MX-V helmet, Enduro21 headed out to their European headquarters in Holland to what find out exactly what it takes to get Arai’s seal of approval…
Words & Photos by Llewelyn Pavey
Helmet safety is probably the biggest black hole in dirt bikes. Even with all the standard tests and EC approval in the world, there is very little information regarding the quality and design of helmet safety. Arai Europe and Apico/Vesty invited us to the Arai Inspiration Centre in Holland to learn a little more about the in’s and outs of helmet safety, production and what makes an Arai unique.
Inspiration
The Arai Inspiration centre is a testing facility used to educate their European dealers about the philosophy of the brand. Here they have the ability to loosely replicate the tests used by the world’s regulatory organisations, including the EC approval, DOT and Snell tests. Arai also have their own testing standard, incorporating elements from all the various standard tests, as well as a few of their own.
The Wall of Fame
If anything is going to enthuse someone, then a wall full of helmets that saved lives is that thing. The entire wall of the inspiration centre is covered with a collage of helmets that have graced the heads of some of history’s greatest motorsport competitors. It’s an impressive sight.
The Philosophy
Arai have some very strong opinions regarding design and they back them up with some sound logic. Without bad mouthing any competitors they explained the ins and outs of helmet production and why they feel they are superior. The idea, simply put, is that an tremendously hard outer layer, with a cushy soft layer liner makes for the safest design. When explained and demonstrated by dropping a 3kg spike through the ventilation hole, it seems to make a lot of sense.
Rounder than a round thing
Arai wholeheartedly adhere to the R75 concept. It’s not a new idea; it was once a requirement of testing standards. The principle is that around the body of the helmet should have a radius of 7mm. Their opinion is that a rounder helmet is safer because it’s more likely to slide during a crash and thus reduce potential transfer of kinetic energy to the head. They believe helmets with protrusions are more likely to add rotational forces and that isn’t pleasant for your noggin. It most definitely is a principle that makes sense, especially when you’ve seen the PowerPoint presentation.
Strong as an OX – Cushy like a pillow
The outer shell of Arai is designed to be outrageously strong. They were quite happy for us to stand on an unfinished shell with an employee’s head inside it. They do NOT flex. The internal expanded polystyrene shell of an Arai is unlike any other helmet in the world. They own the patent on a clever, multi density design. The result is an EPS liner that has different hardness foam for the different hardness parts of your cranium. It’s an Arai exclusive.
The proof is in the pudding
Watching an Arai get smashed by heavy lumps of metal just for our learning was an impressive display of faith in their product. More notable was the visual result, whilst the outer shell stood up to the substantial forces placed through it, the inside foam took a fair crumple. I can’t make a definitive statement, I’m not a helmet tester, but what was more impressive than watching helmets smashed around was their logic. The company really believe in their principles of helmet design. For every question we asked, they had a solid, logical and scientific answer. I’m not a scientist but I most certainly buy into their pitch and despite a strong level of scepticism, now I’d rather have an Arai on my head.
Want to learn more?
A 600-word article isn’t enough to explain the real details of their helmet production; you can read the entire literature of the ideology and science behind an Arai helmet
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