ricochetrider
Out There Somewhere
After my November get-off, my old Arai helmet was pretty well trashed. OK, I was in need of a new lid anyway. After receiving some unexpected funds, I began looking at helmets, poring over websites and reading reviews. I was very happy with my old Arai, but was looking at Shoei's Air GT, comparing it to the newer Arai helmets. In the end, I wound up getting Arai's Corsair V, one of the top of the line lids on offer from them. Looking about, I fell in love with the Harada Tour graphic, a model from 2015- after some searching, I found one in my size.
https://www.araiamericas.com/helmets/harada-tour
Web Bike World didn't necessarily love the Corsair V in his initial review -even tho the helmet scored "excellent" in most or many categories- but in the end if it only came down to ONE helmet in THE WORLD.... the guy would have take the Corsair V. Later tho, he reviewed the limited edition graphics Corsair V and shifted his tune somewhat. The bottom line is this: the Arai Corsair V helmet in Custom Graphics, is ridiculously expensive and there are a helluva lot of good to great helmets on the market for a helluva lot less money. But the Corsair V does seem to be favored by reviewers above say, Shoei and Shuberth's top of the line models.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/arai-corsair-v/nicky-5-and-2015-isle-of-man-tt-limited-editions.htm
Meanwhile back in reality-ville, I've been riding around all year (so far) in my very own Corsair V. The riding conditions have consisted of cold, windy, warm, hot, rainy, STORMY, cool, and hot so far this year.
First thing I noticed right out of the box- Arai puts three brand stickers on their "custom graphics" helmets. Now, I knew this going in- every photo of any custom graphics helmet clearly shows all three stickers- or at least two of the three. I was figuring on instantly removing definitely two of them if not all three. BUT the stickers are applied UNDER the clearcoat! so not only do you "get to" pay stupid money for these helmets, you also "get to" display the Arai name/brand to all you pass or see along your way. A total downer in my book.
The helmet performs generally as might be expected. I mostly ride behind a fairing, so noise levels are probably somewhat higher than for a rider of a "naked" bike. In cool weather, temps about 40 degrees, the helmet did not fog up, and I was comfortable enough in it. With my neoprene collar stuffed up under my chin, the airflow wasn't extreme, and the noise levels were certainly tolerable.
The weight is never really an issue for me. I think one would really have to wear different helmets back to back to discern any real weight differences from one helmet to another. The Corsair V doesn't seem crazy heavy, and it doesn't buffet wildly about like a large balloon or anything. For me, a helmet is a helmet in this regard, YMMV.
More recently it's been hot so I've spent a lot of time riding with my visor open. The noise is markedly more pronounced, but no more so than any other of the full faced helmets I've owned.
I rode thru some light showers and the helmet was predictably dry, BUT I rode thru a very intense storm last week, and the temps dropped suddenly as I rode into it. The helmet leaked a tiny bit- right in the center vent, onto my head at direct center- kind of distracting, like Chinese water torture. Also, the helmet was fogging up pretty badly. Now, admittedly the wind was howling in from say, my approximate 10 o'clock, so I couldn't really open the visor at all. I closed all vents, leaving only the chin vent open one notch. I am pretty sure the visor didn't let any water in. Admittedly, this was quite the extreme storm, although we all know that when we are seriously on the road, traveling, we're gonna ride straight thru damn near anything short of large hail, a direct hurricane hit, flash flood, or a tornado. One rightly expects one's gear to hold up under any and all conditions.
I've ridden about 600 miles in the past 3 days just noodlin around on my local roads, having a few days off. It's been hot as balls, up'ards of high 80s (F), like 89 or even 90 degrees. Needless to say I've had all vents wide open. The airflow in the Corsair V is as good and better than any other helmet I ever had. Can't really comment on noise levels with the vents open, but it didn't seem markedly increased, what with the general noise of riding at speed. Between the three top vents, both rear vents open (I rarely close the rear vents), both visor vents open, and the chin vent open there's a good amount of air flow going on. It really is quite noticeable and seems completely adequate, or better.
Fit & comfort is where Arai really clinches the deal, although perhaps the other side of this (if you want a certain graphic) is your head may not fit a desired helmet model. But their intermediate oval shape is perfect from my head. I had been talking to the folks in the not-too-far-away Service Pavilion, one of the premiere dealers of Arai helmets, bu tended up buying my helmet online because the Harada Tour was a leftover model and sizes were limited across the board. I took my new helmet down to the Service Pavilion and they dialed in the fit, selling me different thickness cheek pads.
What's not to like?
1: Price. Crazy expensive, the Arai custom graphics helmets run around 900 to 1000 dollars! I got mine as a "leftover" and I had some gifted money in my hand so my out-of-pocket cost was wildly reduced- the only thing that made this fabulous helmet affordable for me. I simply would not, could not pay full retail price for a custom graphics Arai.
2: Coulda leaked less in the storm.
Although do I really have a right to expect to be bone dry in a howling maelstrom?
3: The whole sticker-under-the-clear-coat thing, for one.
Admittedly, this may simply be a personal quirk of mine, call it an idiosyncrasy- that I don't like stickers and brand advert media all over stuff I own.
4: This week, I was cleaning the helmet and realized that the "patented AirWing & DF-10 Diffuser" went missing somewhere along the line! Guess it came off during a ride!? So much for that fancy goo-gaw. Guess it just wasn't up to the sheer velocities at which I ride!
Sadly, although parts for helmets are available, it seems Arai does NOT stock this bit for replacement!
WTF, Arai. If you are gonna add external goo-gaws to your fancy schmancy helmets, let's make certain they don't then fall off, shall we? And if they DO fall off, can we have another, please?
In conclusion, I'd have to say that I wish I could compare this to the GT Air by Shoei, the only other helmet on my short list. Shoulda coulda woulda, but in the end I do love Arai as a company, and cannot deny the overall fit, finish, and high quality of this or any other Arai helmet. The Arai, in comparison does carry more safety ratings than the GT Air- which, because of its retractable sun shield, loses certain ratings- although the shield is placed outside the helmet's Inner shell structure. BUT, blah blah blah. I bought the Arai.
"Worth" the money? Well, I guess that's just about 100% subjective now isn't it? It looks good, feels good, performs as expected, and will certainly do its job in the event of a crash.
Cheers guys.
Shiny side up.
Tom
https://www.araiamericas.com/helmets/harada-tour
Web Bike World didn't necessarily love the Corsair V in his initial review -even tho the helmet scored "excellent" in most or many categories- but in the end if it only came down to ONE helmet in THE WORLD.... the guy would have take the Corsair V. Later tho, he reviewed the limited edition graphics Corsair V and shifted his tune somewhat. The bottom line is this: the Arai Corsair V helmet in Custom Graphics, is ridiculously expensive and there are a helluva lot of good to great helmets on the market for a helluva lot less money. But the Corsair V does seem to be favored by reviewers above say, Shoei and Shuberth's top of the line models.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/arai-corsair-v/nicky-5-and-2015-isle-of-man-tt-limited-editions.htm
Meanwhile back in reality-ville, I've been riding around all year (so far) in my very own Corsair V. The riding conditions have consisted of cold, windy, warm, hot, rainy, STORMY, cool, and hot so far this year.
First thing I noticed right out of the box- Arai puts three brand stickers on their "custom graphics" helmets. Now, I knew this going in- every photo of any custom graphics helmet clearly shows all three stickers- or at least two of the three. I was figuring on instantly removing definitely two of them if not all three. BUT the stickers are applied UNDER the clearcoat! so not only do you "get to" pay stupid money for these helmets, you also "get to" display the Arai name/brand to all you pass or see along your way. A total downer in my book.
The helmet performs generally as might be expected. I mostly ride behind a fairing, so noise levels are probably somewhat higher than for a rider of a "naked" bike. In cool weather, temps about 40 degrees, the helmet did not fog up, and I was comfortable enough in it. With my neoprene collar stuffed up under my chin, the airflow wasn't extreme, and the noise levels were certainly tolerable.
The weight is never really an issue for me. I think one would really have to wear different helmets back to back to discern any real weight differences from one helmet to another. The Corsair V doesn't seem crazy heavy, and it doesn't buffet wildly about like a large balloon or anything. For me, a helmet is a helmet in this regard, YMMV.
More recently it's been hot so I've spent a lot of time riding with my visor open. The noise is markedly more pronounced, but no more so than any other of the full faced helmets I've owned.
I rode thru some light showers and the helmet was predictably dry, BUT I rode thru a very intense storm last week, and the temps dropped suddenly as I rode into it. The helmet leaked a tiny bit- right in the center vent, onto my head at direct center- kind of distracting, like Chinese water torture. Also, the helmet was fogging up pretty badly. Now, admittedly the wind was howling in from say, my approximate 10 o'clock, so I couldn't really open the visor at all. I closed all vents, leaving only the chin vent open one notch. I am pretty sure the visor didn't let any water in. Admittedly, this was quite the extreme storm, although we all know that when we are seriously on the road, traveling, we're gonna ride straight thru damn near anything short of large hail, a direct hurricane hit, flash flood, or a tornado. One rightly expects one's gear to hold up under any and all conditions.
I've ridden about 600 miles in the past 3 days just noodlin around on my local roads, having a few days off. It's been hot as balls, up'ards of high 80s (F), like 89 or even 90 degrees. Needless to say I've had all vents wide open. The airflow in the Corsair V is as good and better than any other helmet I ever had. Can't really comment on noise levels with the vents open, but it didn't seem markedly increased, what with the general noise of riding at speed. Between the three top vents, both rear vents open (I rarely close the rear vents), both visor vents open, and the chin vent open there's a good amount of air flow going on. It really is quite noticeable and seems completely adequate, or better.
Fit & comfort is where Arai really clinches the deal, although perhaps the other side of this (if you want a certain graphic) is your head may not fit a desired helmet model. But their intermediate oval shape is perfect from my head. I had been talking to the folks in the not-too-far-away Service Pavilion, one of the premiere dealers of Arai helmets, bu tended up buying my helmet online because the Harada Tour was a leftover model and sizes were limited across the board. I took my new helmet down to the Service Pavilion and they dialed in the fit, selling me different thickness cheek pads.
What's not to like?
1: Price. Crazy expensive, the Arai custom graphics helmets run around 900 to 1000 dollars! I got mine as a "leftover" and I had some gifted money in my hand so my out-of-pocket cost was wildly reduced- the only thing that made this fabulous helmet affordable for me. I simply would not, could not pay full retail price for a custom graphics Arai.
2: Coulda leaked less in the storm.
Although do I really have a right to expect to be bone dry in a howling maelstrom?
3: The whole sticker-under-the-clear-coat thing, for one.
Admittedly, this may simply be a personal quirk of mine, call it an idiosyncrasy- that I don't like stickers and brand advert media all over stuff I own. 4: This week, I was cleaning the helmet and realized that the "patented AirWing & DF-10 Diffuser" went missing somewhere along the line! Guess it came off during a ride!? So much for that fancy goo-gaw. Guess it just wasn't up to the sheer velocities at which I ride!
Sadly, although parts for helmets are available, it seems Arai does NOT stock this bit for replacement!
WTF, Arai. If you are gonna add external goo-gaws to your fancy schmancy helmets, let's make certain they don't then fall off, shall we? And if they DO fall off, can we have another, please?
In conclusion, I'd have to say that I wish I could compare this to the GT Air by Shoei, the only other helmet on my short list. Shoulda coulda woulda, but in the end I do love Arai as a company, and cannot deny the overall fit, finish, and high quality of this or any other Arai helmet. The Arai, in comparison does carry more safety ratings than the GT Air- which, because of its retractable sun shield, loses certain ratings- although the shield is placed outside the helmet's Inner shell structure. BUT, blah blah blah. I bought the Arai.
"Worth" the money? Well, I guess that's just about 100% subjective now isn't it? It looks good, feels good, performs as expected, and will certainly do its job in the event of a crash.
Cheers guys.
Shiny side up.
Tom
Last edited:
Hopefully it will give others some good info.
