I’ve got this really cool new lid. It’s an Arai Rebel. A number of years ago, thanks to an oversight on my part, when it came to paying attention to what the idiots around me were doing, I parted company with my bike and ended up in a situation where a number of members of Dublin Fire Brigade had to lift the offending car off my head.
As I’d lost consciousness during the incident. I call it that because it’s hard to call the result of someone’s gross negligence an accident, and I was unaware of what was going on. I came around in the ‘bus’ on the way to A&E. The paramedics told me that they didn’t expect to remove a live body from the scene when they saw my head under the car.
The reason that I am still here and still able to type is because I wore an Arai helmet. The reason I chose the brand was because I liked the badge and I saw my TT hero’s wearing them. I knew nothing about helmet construction or the logic behind choosing one brand over another. I’m just vain and I like cool stuff.
But I lucked out. I chose a helmet that held its shape and protected my head. A surprising amount of stuff on the market won’t. The speed of the collision and the fact that the road was wet meant that it all went a lot easier than it might have. There are now eleven of the things here in my office, six retired, two wrecked and three current ones. In spite of what people will tell you almost six and a half grands worth of helmets over the last two decades have proven to be a fantastic investment.
I know a lot more now than I did back then, and the new Rebel with its ‘Dios Del A Muertos’ paint job is hand made by highly skilled people in the company’s Japanese factory. The lining, which sits in a shell capable of taking the impact of a car rolling over it, is tailored to fit my head thanks to the cheek pads being custom fit. The vents make it comfortable to wear all day long.
While the people at Arai have done all of this they have also built a smooth shell. Because there are no ridges, bumps or design features such as vents that won’t just fall away in the in the event of an impact the helmet won’t snag on anything in the event of it all going a bit wrong on your morning commute.
Arai have designed this R75 shape to ensue that the impact absorption capacity of the helmet is greatly increased. It does this by avoiding sending the impact of a sudden halt to the proceedings back into the rider’s head and neck. After all, its not the fall that hurts you, it’s always the landing!
Drop into Megabikes on here in Dublin to see the range, get fitted, and learn more about why a range of helmets represent the best money you will ever spend. Best of all, ask them what they wear and they’ll all tell you about their Arai. They can be contacted on 014784200.
