Shoei or Arai....What's your preference and why!

[busabrother]

comfort

[Racer 222]

As one who sells helmets. It is easier to fit the majority of people in an Arai. They are the only company that makes different shell shapes. All other brands have just one shell shape. Most people are in the wrong size helmets. A lot of people purchase helmet to fit their face not their heads(cheek squeeze). I have worn shoei up until my last wreck at the track. The only injury I sustained in that 85mph get off was a cut on my cheek from the breath guard. I went with a Arai this time and the fitment is better as well as the ventilation.

I am not a fan of the flip up helmets. To my knowledge I don't believe any of them are snell approved. Which means a no go for me. I understand the reason people wear them and I would much rather see someone in that than nothing. Anything less than that and you are asking for more trouble than you can imagine. Don't mean to sound preachy but I care about you all.

[nitrousjunkie]

I have 2 RF-900's, just got a Corsaire, still in the get to know it stages, but its a nice helmet with excellent air flow and cooling properties.Thats important where I'm at, its 120 plus now during the day!

[Scooter]

I have used Shoei and Arai. It seems that every 3 years I'm spending another $500-$600 for a new lid.

Anyway, I stay away from Arai nowadays because of a few "little" problems I kept having. The plastic shield vents and the side plates kept cracking and/or breaking off. It got to the point that I had to bring a roll of electrical tape with me so I could seal up the missing vents if it started to rain. The fit and quality of the actual helmet was outstanding, but the plastic parts were sub-par.

Oh, and I prefer how the Shoei shields snap on/off. I think the lack of side plates makes it quieter than the Arais. YMMV

[zukracer]

shoei, mainly because of comfort. Have had several kinds, and while I'm not made of $$$ I also think, well this is my mellon this thing has to protect, maybe I should get something a little better than the $50 DOT approved bucket So Shoei's higher standards and crash test ratings help as well

[nitrousjunkie]

I rode my bike to work today, I can say the cooling properties of the RX-7 Corsaire are great, 130 plus degrees and my head barely broke a sweat, I opened all the vents before leaving work, yeah its a little noisey, but I bought the helmet for the features primarily the air flow.Great helmet, perfect fit , well worth the money! NJ.

[MrHans]

shoei because it fits my head better than arai. rf900s for wife and I , gonna get her a duo-tec and a rf1000 for me late in season...

[MoosesBusa]

I've had both in the past year. The Arai RX-7 Corsair had more room from my mouth to the chin bar and the built in speaker pockets were nice and deep. The Arai was vented better and the shield stayed fog free without the nose piece. Weight is close to the same between the two.
The Shoei RF-1000 fits better and has a shield replacement system that is truly easy. It has speaker recesses but no speaker pocket. I like the shield gap button to keep fogging down and I also like that it came with the neck sock and nose Piece. The Shoie's rear fin design eliminates the drag I got with the Arai at HIGH speeds ( which are frequently attained ) and the price tag was $100's better.
Both have removeable liners, Both have superior build quality and Safety features, Both have cool graphics and both are fine helmets.
You asked, I answered

[sTRadaBuSSa]

currenyly have a shoei but the next will be nikki haydens replica arai, love the stars and stripes!

[mschivs173]

Shoei b/c it fit better

[shenoyp]

Shoei X-11 ...great noice protection, and perfect fit for me!!

[paulos]

i got shark foggy rep thats ok but the inners need replaceing.my father has got a simular helmet like ninja eater has got.i've tryed it seems ok just abit to big for me head.

[Bryabusa]

All the top names meet the same safety specs.. go for the best fit.

This is all you need to know.

[mjn]

I haven't owned an Arai for nearly 20 yrs, but when I went shopping for a lid earlier this month, I couldn't find an Arai that fit my mellon. Granted, few dlrs in my area stock the high end helmets, so i was only able to try on a few...

I ended up with a Shoei RF1000. I love it. It's light, very aerodynamic, (head doesn't move around at speed) and comfortable. It was a little tight at first, but the 900 mile ride I took this month has it fitting perfect now.

[JROCK]

SHOEI JUST AS GOOD BUT CHEEPER

[Over_Easy]

Many helmets are designed w/ different shapes ie.. Arai tends to fit a longer shaped head as a Shoei leans more for the rounded head rider.

I believe you have it backwards. The Arai fits round-shaped heads better (and claims such) while the Shoei fits egg-shaped heads better (what the equipment sales mgr. at the dealer told me).

I have a rounder head and the Arai fit snug all the way around, while the Shoei had some space between the top of my head and the padding inside the helmet. BTW I have an XL size head.

Also, the Arai has better padding inside (hand washable and replacement padding available).

[rrookey]

Laughing at the issue about $$$$$$, it's your brain!!!! is there a $$$ value to it!!!! but you will buy those $100.00 sneakers!!!!!!!!! Go with the Arai, I have an RX-7 double Eagle, worth every cent!!!!!!! can't image living without it!!!! even bought my son a Arai Astral-X..................

[SpeedAdict]

fits my mellon better and is a little cheaper. Find on that fits your mellon the best. I wish the could do helmets like the old coke challenge. All of them wrapped in paper pricless and you get to try them on and find the one that fits best for you.

[Cykill]

Shoei, but no other reason than they just seem to fit the shape of my skull better than anything else on the market, that i have tried.

[Dabusaboy]

shoei over the arai just due to the little problems with arai like the rubber lining on the bottom falling off and the fact that they still havent updated their visor changing method.