Jump to content
IGNORED

Arai Helmets Quantum 2 vs. RX7 Corsiar


s3steve

Recommended Posts

Ok, I'm an Arai head. I'm looking at these two helmets to buy for the upcoming season.

 

Is the RX7 that much better?

 

Will the extra venting of the RX7 be more noisy than the Quantum?

 

Any other thoughts on helmets??

 

lurker.gif

 

Thanks Again!!

Link to comment

That’s not quite how it works. The RX7 was designed for more elongated heads, while the Quantum 2 was design for more of a round head….

 

However I do have a round head, and with some pad modification the RX7 works for me. I went down a size on cheek pads and up a size on the crown. I could have just bought a Quantum 2, but a got a great deal on the Corsair. My RX7 doesn’t seem to be noisy at all, but I do ride behind a windshield.

Link to comment
That’s not quite how it works. The RX7 was designed for more elongated heads, while the Quantum 2 was design for more of a round head….

 

However I do have a round head, and with some pad modification the RX7 works for me. I went down a size on cheek pads and up a size on the crown. I could have just bought a Quantum 2, but a got a great deal on the Corsair. My RX7 doesn’t seem to be noisy at all, but I do ride behind a windshield.

 

What he said.

 

Each of the Arai helmet models are designed for different heads, but as already mentioned, with pad size adjustments, some of the models can be adjusted to fit your head.

 

I went to a different Arai (see my avatar) with a down-sizing in the cheek pads and the fit is now perfect. I went from an XL helmet to a large.

 

Also, I've now owned four different Arai models and all have been fairly quiet and all have been fairly well vented. But...I do use custom-molded ear plugs and usually ride with music behind a small screen on an R12GS.

Link to comment

Have you checked out the Shoei RF1000? I also have a round head shape and it fits great! I tried a Quantam 2 also and it was very close to fitting right so I think it also leans toward the round head shape.

Link to comment

I recently purchased and Arai Profile helmet. If you have not done so, go to a store and try them on. Each helmet fits a different head type and you will notice a difference between them. When you find the one that fits you best you will know it!

 

Good luck, you will not be disappointed!!!!

Link to comment

Are the Arai shields ratcheted now so they will stay up while riding like the Shoeis? I bought one a few years ago and returned it because you could only ride with it closed.The Shoei will stay up in any position at any speed.

Link to comment

I have a Corsair and I also have a Shuberth C2. Ventilation is equally good. The Corsair and the C2 are equally noisy and I find earplugs absolutely necessary with both. The Corsair is lighter, but neither bothers me from that aspect. I usually ride with my w/s fully down and on my GS last summer had a small shield that left my head fully in the wind. I find that the Arai lifts in the wind -- that might make it lighter still but it tugs on the chin strap. The Corsair also seems to vibrate when the air is anything but calm. It's really buffeting, but it's at a low but constant amplitude. The C2 does neither and consequently is the helmet I'd pick for a 500 mile day. Aerodynamically, the Shuberth beats the Arai by a significant margin. My Arai tires me easily inside of 200 miles. For shorter distances I'll usually take the Arai because it has a nice Fog City photo-sensitive shield.

Link to comment
Are the Arai shields ratcheted now so they will stay up while riding like the Shoeis? I bought one a few years ago and returned it because you could only ride with it closed.The Shoei will stay up in any position at any speed.

 

I ride with my Arai shield open all the time (on a GS). No problems!

Link to comment

As already stated, the Quantum & RX7 are for different head shapes. The quickest way to determine head shape is to try the helmets with the cheek pads removed. I fit an RX7. I have tried other helemts such as the Schuberth C1 & C2, and keep coming back to the Arai for a quality fit.

Link to comment

They are both great helmets...I have 1 of each...The Corsair is quite a bit louder(especially on a non or small-fairing bike), but is also cooler. It's also cut up a bit in the back for sport-bike riding positions so you can still get your head up while leaning forward. I wear a BMW Savanna jacket w/a tall collar, so the cut around the neck of the Corsair is nice for this too. I can ride for a while w/the Quantum w/out earplugs, but not w/the Corsair. The Quantum is a LOT of helmet for the money, so if it feels good on your head I would go w/it...That being said, I would still LOVE to have the new blue "Tommy-Gun" Corsair!! thumbsup.gif I'm a bit of a helmet slut...

Link to comment

Well it looks like I have some helmet testing to do. I have had a Quantum for for a number of years now and I like the way it fits but I think I'll have to give the Shoei RF1000 and the Profile a try. As for the RX7, I love the way it looks with all the venting but it seems to be for more the sport bike crowd. I can see how it would be more noisy most other helmets and cooler on a hot day.

 

Thanks for all the input! thumbsup.gif

 

As for color, I thinking Aluminum Silver to match the top case and the tank bag rail on the RT12.

Link to comment

I have the RX 7 and there is no question that it is not a very quiet helmet but any helmet that circulates a lot of air inside is going to be noisier. But whenever I take a trip that is more than a day or so, I always take the Corsair. Without question, it is the most comfortable helmet I have owned and since I wear ear plugs, the noise is not an issue with me.

Link to comment

The Shoei is a great helmet also...Luckily I was wearing one when a young girl tried to turn me into a speed-bump, some years ago. I thought they were pretty comfortable, but I would always get a pretty serious hot-spot on the upper part of my forehead after a couple of hours...So, that said, be SURE to wear it at the store as long as possible, before you buy, (or at least until they start looking at you really funny) and hopefully you can tell if it's a good fit or not. I have since found out that I definitely have an "Arai Head"

Link to comment
russell_bynum

Before you spend a gazillion dollars on an Arai or Shoei, check out a Scorpion EXO-700.

 

I've worn Arai, Shoei, Schuberth, etc, and the EXO-700 has them all beat. Anti-fog shield. Quick-change shield (not quite as quick as Shoei, but close). Removable, Washable liner. Good ventilation.

 

If they were the same price as Shoei or Arai, I'd still buy one...but they're considerably less expensive.

Link to comment
Before you spend a gazillion dollars on an Arai or Shoei, check out a Scorpion EXO-700.

 

I've worn Arai, Shoei, Schuberth, etc, and the EXO-700 has them all beat. Anti-fog shield. Quick-change shield (not quite as quick as Shoei, but close). Removable, Washable liner. Good ventilation.

 

If they were the same price as Shoei or Arai, I'd still buy one...but they're considerably less expensive.

 

EX0-700 is a great helmet, but it is the loudest I've ever tried IMHO. For about the same price you can get a Z1R Stance which is one of the quietest helmets I ever owned.

 

Now that I wear in-ear communication phones, noise is no longer the issue, but comfort, ventilation, and weight became the priority... as such the RX7 is much lighter than the Scorpion 700.

 

A word about the Z1R Stance, in the 2002 SNELL safety test it beat every helmet registered with SNELL except Schuberth which it tied with as the safest helmet. Retail was $140.00, I paid $120.00 from a sympathetic sales person after my Shoei was stolen on a road trip far from home.

Link to comment

"A word about the Z1R Stance, in the 2002 SNELL safety test it beat every helmet registered with SNELL except Schuberth which it tied with as the safest helmet. Retail was $140.00, I paid $120.00 from a sympathetic sales person after my Shoei was stolen on a road trip far from home."

 

It just goes to show you, you don't have to spend a fortune to get a good quality helmet! I haven't looked at other brands for years as I've been an Arai guy for the last 20 years. It would seem I have a lot of shopping to do!

 

Thanks for all the replies!

thumbsup.gif

Link to comment

I'm not so sure that I would trust Scorpion and Z1R helmets.

 

Look at this, and note that both of these brands had helmets fail DOT spot-check tests for 'penetration failures'.

 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/2005s218.pdf

 

The DOT hires contractor labs to test helmets that are already sold on the market, and already labeled with a DOT sticker by the manufacturer. That's because the DOT doesn't systematically test helmets before they go on the market; the DOT just trusts the manufacturers to test themselves, and merely does some spot checks of a few models after they go on the market. Some helmets fail for bad labeling, which is not serious, but the Scorpion and Z1R were among the brands that had serious failures in the 2005 tests. Penetration means that a striker penetrated all the way to the scalp of the dummy head.

 

The manufacturers don't trumpet these test results. They just market the pretty graphics and comfort features. The government doesn't trumpet these test failures either; you've got to dig to find them. I know about this because my previous helmet (Fulmer Modus) is one of the failures on that list. So I wanted a replacement. I checked to verify that the Shoei RF1000 passed before I bought that.

Link to comment
I'm not so sure that I would trust Scorpion and Z1R helmets.

 

Look at this, and note that both of these brands had helmets fail DOT spot-check tests for 'penetration failures'.

 

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/comply/fmvss218/2005s218.pdf

 

The DOT hires contractor labs to test helmets that are already sold on the market, and already labeled with a DOT sticker by the manufacturer. That's because the DOT doesn't systematically test helmets before they go on the market; the DOT just trusts the manufacturers to test themselves, and merely does some spot checks of a few models after they go on the market. Some helmets fail for bad labeling, which is not serious, but the Scorpion and Z1R were among the brands that had serious failures in the 2005 tests. Penetration means that a striker penetrated all the way to the scalp of the dummy head.

 

The manufacturers don't trumpet these test results. They just market the pretty graphics and comfort features. The government doesn't trumpet these test failures either; you've got to dig to find them. I know about this because my previous helmet (Fulmer Modus) is one of the failures on that list. So I wanted a replacement. I checked to verify that the Shoei RF1000 passed before I bought that.

 

Yea, the test show the EX700 from Scorpion, but I fail to see the Stance by Z1R. The Z1R "Metro" is their absolute bottom of the line open face, not the full-face Stance... apples and oranges my friend.

Link to comment
Yea, the test show the EX700 from Scorpion, but I fail to see the Stance by Z1R. The Z1R "Metro" is their absolute bottom of the line open face, not the full-face Stance... apples and oranges my friend.

 

I didn't say they tested your exact model.

 

They tested a Z1R-brand helmet, and it failed a penetration test. Z1R was putting helmets on the market with DOT stickers, and when spot-checked the model that the DOT happened to test failed. That tells me something about the trustworthiness of DOT-compliance claims by the Z1R brand.

 

BTW, the Z1R helmet they tested was actually manufactured by HJC. That's from the test report. Maybe your Z1R helmet was manufactured by somebody else.

 

Anyway, if you're happy with your helmet, I'm happy for you.

Link to comment

There are definitely SOME items I will skimp on a bit, to save a few dollars(to spend on a new bike), but my helmets not one of them...There probably are some good, new helmet makers out there, but until they prove themselves through many years of riding/racing & wrecking - I'll stick to the major manufacturers and pay the "gazillion", or maybe $250 extra dollars or so it takes to buy a premium helmet that I WILL trust with my life...

Link to comment

I am on my second Arai Corsair and really like the helmet. It is however not the quietest helmet but I use custom ear plugs so noise is not an issue. The Corsair is incredibly light and vented very well which is good here in SoCal. When I was shopping I almost bought the Shoei RF-1000. Seemed to be quite similar and a better value. A shop where I buy some gear maded me such a great deal on the Corsair I could not walk away. My next helmet or extra helmet will be a flip face.

Link to comment

I'm late to jump in on this, and I haven't read the other posts in this thread, but I have worn both helmets. I wore an RX-7, which I thought was really comfortable, for about a year. I tried on a Quantum 2 one day and was surpised at how much better it fit. I guess I have a more rounded head.

 

I find the Quantum to be much quieter than the RX-7 - not surprising given that it has fewer vents. I think both helmets breathe just fine, though.

 

If I had to pick just one to have for the rest of my life, I'd have to go with th Quantum.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...