ARAI TOUR X Motard Silver or Black

[pgs0971]

I have read the various posts on this lid and have been looking at getting one myself.

Being wary of a few interent companies I found that are knocking these out at £110 less than retail of £349.99 I contacted Phoneixnw and Apico who are the official UK importers.

They both advised that the official price is set at £349.99 across all the official dealers which is what you should expect to pay unless you are lucky and find one on special offer.

If you were to buy the helmet from a non-authorised dealer then the warranty would not be honoured at an official dealer should you require aftersales assistance. All of them also carry a serial number which again would only be valid through an authorised dealership and are checked when taken in to them.

I contatacted one of the internet companies with this information and they insisted that all of their ARAI helmets are genuine and carry the warranty except that the warranty is only valid if you send it back to them directly which rarely happens as they are such a good quality brand !

My questions are : Has anybody else bought one from a non authorised dealers and is the £120 saving worth taking a punt on bearing in mind these companies insist they are the same as any other Arai purchased from an authorised dealer ? Is this too good to be true ? If they are making a saving, are they simply passing it on to the customer ?

Sorry if this is going over old ground
Thanks
Pete

[Robster]

Bought my Motard Silver about 6 weeks or so ago off t'internet for £240 delivered, having tried on a full priced £349 model in Infinity earlier in the day.

I had a call from the seller within a couple of hours of purchasing online to advise me the lid was in stock and that as it was a Saturday, it'd be sent out on the Monday and should be with me on the Tuesday. Lid arrived on Tuesday exactly as expected.

No problems at all with it as far as I can see. That said, who really has ever had cause to return a helmet under warranty? I think if I did have to return my Arai to the dealer I'd have no problems at all though.

I'm the same as you, being very wary of paying out for a lemon, something to do with being born and brought up in Scotland by Yorkshire parents (as my Dad tells me, "A Yorkshireman is like a Scotsman - only meaner") but I'm a happy chappy so far.

[icenian]

first of all, talk to Harry at Owens Honda and see if he can help:
http://www.xrv.org.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3287

Personally, I looked on ebay and picked out sellers who'd got good feedback for selling lots of Arai lids before (rather than, say, they guy in HK who sold electronics and car parts, and just seemed to have acquired a could of Arais). Bear in mind a foreign-sourced Arai will be as good as a UK Arai, but it will probably not have the various markings etc. ; my Corsair has "ECE22-05" painted on the back and the orange "E4" label on the strap. Without the right markings it may technically not be road legal in the EU.

After all that though, I got the best deal from Harry for an official UK Arai!

If Harry can't help, try http://bikersbargains.co.uk/. They claim all their helmets are ECE2205 certified, though I'd probably check with them that they carry the right markings before buying...

Finally check the date of any cheap lid you find!!! There should be a date label on the strap. Arai say a helmet lasts for 5 years of use, or 7 years from manufacture, so any date prior to "11/04" means you won't get your full 5 years use out of the helmet.

I've seen helmets up to about 4 years old even in official Arai dealers...

[Robster]

Yup, mine came from Bikers Bargains too.
http://www.shop2.biz/secure/bikersba...-p-1-c-13.html

Like I said, very helpful, friendly guy. I was wary of out of UK Ebay sellers, and none of the UK based sellers were as cheap as Bikers bargains and all charged for delivery on top.

Just checked out the markings on my helmet (cue Frankie Howerd style "Ooooh no Missus, shut yer face" etc etc) and the results just in are:

It has ECE22-05 on the back, along with a ACU Gold Sticker should you wish to thrash it round a track. Inside on the strap I have the Orange E4 label and the date is 03/06.

Which in my understanding spells out BARGAIN in big illuminous letters!!

[pgs0971]

Bikers bargains and Gearchange online appear to be a similar website. Rang them again and they confirmed (as you did Robster) that all the markings are there and legit. I've put my order in and it should be here by tomorrow. Paid on credit card as a back up should things go Pete Tong.

Thanks
Pete

2001 RD07 R/W/B

[Robster]

Good man.....which flavour did you go for?

[pgs0971]

I went for the Motard in Silver.

I asked my wife for a second opinion and can you believe she had the check to be sarcastic ? Next time she asks me if her "Bum looks big in this" I may not lie ! he he he !!!

[Chad]

I went for the Motard in Silver.

I asked my wife for a second opinion and can you believe she had the check to be sarcastic ? Next time she asks me if her "Bum looks big in this" I may not lie ! he he he !!!

dont do that otherwise your ass will be grass and she'll be the lawnmower

[pgs0971]

I received the Arai yesterday and it is a genuine bargain from what I can see. I was interested about any comments regarding headphones and noticed from another thread that Robster has mentioned them.
Has anybody managed to find "Flat" earphones that can be used with an mp3 player / phone etc at all ? I've asked at the bike shops but they say that it isn't thought to be safe to listen to music when riding ! I thought the intercom systems such as Autocom allowed this function as well as being an intercom ??

[Chad]

I received the Arai yesterday and it is a genuine bargain from what I can see. I was interested about any comments regarding headphones and noticed from another thread that Robster has mentioned them.
Has anybody managed to find "Flat" earphones that can be used with an mp3 player / phone etc at all ? I've asked at the bike shops but they say that it isn't thought to be safe to listen to music when riding ! I thought the intercom systems such as Autocom allowed this function as well as being an intercom ??

i use my autocom with the ipod and its great the earphones they supply are flat and fit nicely in the tour x