ARAI HELMET FACTORY TOUR
P102
Feature
Arai's testing
facility
ensures the
helmets will
pass any test
thrown at
them.
home just how much abuse a
helmet must take, and these
impacts are defined and repeat-
able, while a motorcycle crash
on the street or track can be
completely unpredictable. And
I should know, I've had many.
In a way, it can almost make
your stomach turn, but it's also
reassuring to see the kinds of
make the most protective helmet
possible for your head.
"We are truly obsessed with
protecting people. This isn't a
gimmick," says Weston. "We
can't do it cheaply. We won't do
it with robots."
Indeed so. When I started
this job as a motorcycle writer
15 years ago, I never thought I'd
the people running the company
but especially the workers.
Everyone needs a job, but the
immense pride these men and
women have in their work was evi-
dent from the Shell Experts to the
wet sanders, the graphics ladies,
and particularly the man boxing
the helmets at the end, who did
it with Ninja-like speed (I think he
impacts an Arai is capable of
withstanding before it reaches
the mushy stuff between your
ears.
Despite surpassing the vari-
ous tests at the Arai facility, it's
a fact of life that no helmet can
protect against all accidents. Arai
is uncomfortable with this facet
of the job but knows through the
enormous channels of human
labor and quality control they
have done their absolute best to
get the chance to visit the fac-
tory of the helmet I had my first
high-side crash in. That crash
was a belter, everything was
sore, the helmet was trashed,
but it did its job absolutely
perfectly. The Arai facilities we
visited, as well as two-day ride
thanks to Honda Motorcycle
Japan (more on that in the gear
review of the new Regent-X
coming soon), showcased just
how important Arai is not only to
was showing off a little for the
assembled journalists).
The human touch will always
have more meaning than that
of a robot, and I'll admit to not
appreciating just how many
people and departments are
involved in making an Arai what
it is. The blue oval at the front of
my street Corsair-X now has a
lot more meaning to me than it
did before. CN
