Arai Motorcycle helmets, our philosophy

 

Round and smooth is often nature's way of making something strong and protective, the eggshell being a great example of this form. Mitch Arai, the head of Arai in Japan in the 1970's, and the son of Hirotake Arai, knew that shell strength was important in a motorcycle helmet to resist the penetration of sharp objects and maintain its shape in an impact. He also realised that a round shell, devoid of as many protuberances as possible - bearing in mind that it needs an aperture for vision and a visor fixing mechanism - would be better able to glance off an object in a collision. A smooth shape would divert energy and minimise the direct energy the helmet has to deal with. 

Forty years later, this philosophy still drives helmet design at Arai, and you can see it expressed in the company's latest RX-7V model. The RX-7V represents the summit of what Arai has learned in all those years of the meticulous development of helmet design and features the PB-SNC and VAS concepts.

Arai Philosophy

Arai has always been aware of the gulf that separates laboratory tests of motorcycle helmets from the real life conditions of an accident on the road or track. 

The company points out that a typical lab test simulates a speed of 28kph/17.4mph. In an accident four times faster, at 100kph/62mph, the impact energy of the collision rises by a factor of 12.

Arai accepts that not even its own products can provide absolute protection at that kind of speed, which is why, as well as building a strong helmet shell, it focuses on what it calls its "glancing off" philosophy. The aim is to let the helmet slide over and glance off objects. You can see the proof of Arai's work in this area by comparing photos of the company's earliest products against the svelte form of the new RX-7V.