Arai save the day. This years Dunlop Masters series has proven to be better than ever. Lap records are being broken. The calibre of the competitors has gone up and the racing is giving the spectators and fans their monies worth. Several of our road racing heroes are reasserting themselves in the championship. Meanwhile quite a few of the riders are returning from overseas competitions. Our very own Nicole Lynch is one of those riders and has been enjoying the season so far.
Nicole has now set her personal best lap times, earned a pole position in practice and has never raced better. On the last race of July while coming into the last corner before joining the main straight, while avoiding fellow racer, she low sided her Yamaha R6 at high speed. The outside of the corner is well lined with gravel. The bike destroyed its bodywork as well as several pieces of the chassis.
Our resident superhero also went for a slide. And while her suit got away with it, she destroyed her new Arai. At first glance that’s probably not such a bad thing as the custom paint job features a mermaid and some sort of cartoon goldfish. Doing something like this to a helmet as good as the Japanese manufacturers RX7V is enough to make God cry.
After getting airborne, hitting the gravel and ploughing into the tyre wall, she was able to stand up and access the damage. A big part of this was because she was wearing PPE and her RX7V in particular.
There are a number of minimum standards that motorcycle helmets need to meet. Arai exceed all of them.
Using Formula one technology Arai employ a system called Peripherally Belted Structural Net Composite. These hand made lids employ this extremely complicated series of words gives the helmets shell flexibility as well as strength and a low weight. In simpler terms this is a belt that runs across the top of the riders eye port at an angle to the bottom of the helmet. This piece of cleverness bonds the layers of fibres in the helmet and allows it to absorb a lot more impact than cheaper helmets.
The technology has been developed in the laboratory where testing way exceeds what the regulations require and draws on real world incidents and rider feedback. This has allowed them to develop what they call the R75 standard. This determines the helmets shape which allows it to glance off objects. In simple terms the shape of the helmet ensures that the impact point actually moves and disperses the energy before it’s absorbed into the shell itself.
Arai RX7 helmets offer a tailored fit thanks to a choice of liners and cheek pads. These liners are constructed to be comfortable, manage heat and be washable. All official Arai dealers must be trained to service them.
The Arai that Nicole wrecked is a high specced racing version of the RX7V. This one has a more aerodynamic shape thanks to the spoiler on the back. We get ours from Megabikes in Dublin. Here at the office we’re absolutely delighted that she chose to wear the best. And even though she was getting cocky she still lived to tell the tale.
A huge thanks to everyone at Arai, keep up the good work what you do is more than appreciated.
