Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126980
Arai computers offer custom helmet designs By Farren Williams LONG BEACH, CA, AU G 20 - The P ersonalized O rder Manage men t System (P O M S) b y Ara i i s a remarkab le compu terized graphics-design system ' th a t allows helmet buyers to design their own gra phi cs w h en p urchasing new Ara i helmets. T he com pact system si milar • d kt I' LO a es op, persona com p u. . ter, permit s bu yers to key in the type of helm et th ey perfer (the MX P ro or one o f sever'!;l stree t mod els) a nd a preselected paint p~lIern (the re a re several options availa ble for eac h helm et m od el ) ~ t~ e~ all ows the customer to " pa in t hIS new helmet on the co lo r co m p u ter monitor with the push of a bu tton. T he paint patterns break each helm et into severa l different seg me n ts, and eac h segment ca n be painted o ne of 16 different co lors. Once th e h elm et she ll is "pa inted ," the co m p u ter asks the customer severa l questions, in cluding his helmet size, hi s preferen ce for the th ickness o f cheek padding (sta nda rd, th ick or th in ), whether or not he wants Arai logos on the helmet a nd wh ether or not he wants his na'me or a nothe r message to appear on th e rear of the helmet (such a choice is limited to II letters). Whe n the cu stomer 's pe rsonaliz ed desig n is com plete, the co m p ute r prints .ou t a n order form. with .the helm et s co mp lete graphics design . rca SpeCIifi tto ns a n d th e ar d er IS sent to th e Ara i factor y in J apan , where each helmet is hand- masked a nd hand-p ainted, , Of course, th ere is an added charge forthe cus to m pa int job , ab out $100. Unfort u rna tel for helm et buyers . y . ' POMS l ~ not ge ne rally ava l1ab,le to dea! ers m . the U. S. a nd won t be available -m t~e · forseeabI.e future. A.ltho~gh Arm has 75 uruts l~, the h eld I~, Japan , there are o ~ ly o ~ e or two POMS systems availa ble m th e Uni ted States. Arai will loan . th ese uni ts to d~al ers for open h?uses and other specia l promouons ( m te~ · est~ ~ea!ers should contact their Arai distributor s). The reason the system hasn't been o ffered to deal ers in the U.S. is the enormous cost of th e POMS's corn puter hardware, particul arl y th e color monitor, accor di ng to Arai 's Roger Weston. At $10,000 per u n it, . 011 TOUGH BOOT. Atthis low pricethehigh fashionARUSA Lowrider " is moreboot forthemoneythan anyother motorcycle boot made inAmerica-or theworld,for thatmatter. Detail fordetail,itcompares with boots costing$120 or more. Classic styling. Highquality constructionoffull-grain boot leather. Handstitching. High tech heel andsolematerials. Everything about the Lowrider says longwear,rugged good looksand superb . functionality.And nowonder. The Lowriderismade by ARUSA,acompany - . dedicatedexclusivelyto motorcycle footwear,and motorcyclefootwear alone. 1-800-99-ARUSA Creditcard orders calltoll free. - Decisions. decisions. The POMS system from Arai allows helmet bu yers to custom " paint" their new helmets on a color computer screen . most deal ers sim p ly ca n ' t a ffo rd POMS, so the system won't be o ffered until th e price of the hardwar e comes down. " T he programs are ready and under develo pment," Weston sa id. " W e ' r e wait in g for a h a rd ware breakthrough, a breakthrough in co lo r . gra p h ics for PCs (pe rso na l computers )." • 011 . BIAUTlfUl PRlel.SBB. Butdon'tJookfor the Low riderinstores. This special price isonly possiblethrough mail order. Money back guarantee if not completelysatisfied. Call tollfree with credit card inf ormation. Orsendcheck, money order(sorry, noCODs)orcredit cardinfowith boot size to: -----------------Name Address City Boot size Signature VISA# -'- State MasterCard # Exp.date _ _ Zip_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Add$3.00for shipping & handling. ~~ ------. ARUSA, 12 265 SOUTH WEST 122 AVENUE, MIAMI , FL 33186