Department of Transportation (facsimile legal documents), August 1977 (at Google Books). ^ a b c d Tuttle, Mark (23 October 2019).Motorcycle Sport & Leisure, January 2004, pp.062–067. Interview with Michio Arai by Laurent Benchana. ^ a b c d e The story of Arai: Thinking ahead.Power and Associates Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction studies. Accolades įrom 1999 to 2011, Arai was ranked first in customer satisfaction in all thirteen annual J. It was expected that under this particular test, rounder, smoother shells would perform better, and the first helmet to pass the new ECE 22.06 test was an Arai: the Quantic. Extra sensors measure the twisting forces transmitted through the helmet to the rider's head. And so 22-06 tests incorporate impacts against an anvil with a 45-degree angle. It is now accepted that such blows can cause severe brain injuries as the brain potentially rotates violently inside the skull, causing tears in the brain's structure. Ģ2-06 also measures what is known as angled impacts. And this is important because, under the old system, it was theoretically possible for manufacturers to reinforce their helmets in the known areas. Under ECE 22-06, the testers randomly choose three further test points from a selection of 12. One of the criticisms of the ECE 22-05 was that the impacts were always directed at the same five points on the helmet. Unchanged since 2005, the United Nations eventually updated the standard to the newer ECE 22.06. But perhaps the most crucial test measured a helmet's ability to absorb the energy of an impact. The standard mandated numerous tests in a whole host of areas: the shell, the strap, the visor, the field of vision, and so on. The fifth amendment, 22-05, took effect from March 2005. The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) at the United Nations developed this testing for helmet safety, UN Regulation 22. Arai Quantic and the new ECE 22.06 standard įor many years the safety standard that applied to motorcycle helmets sold in Europe had been ECE 22-05. A number of Arai helmets meet FIA requirements for Formula One and other motorsports. Safety Īll Arai helmets sold in the US are made to meet or exceed Snell Memorial Foundation safety standards. Shells are assembled inside a concave metal mould, moulded using a process pioneered by Arai, inspected, and cured in a kiln before further processing and inspection. Technical aspects Īrai's helmets are hand-built, with each fibre-reinforced plastic shell incorporating multiple reinforcing parts laid onto a round base (known as a "bird's nest"). In 1983, Dutch-Belgian former motorcycle road racer Ferry Brouwer formulated a business plan to bring Arai helmets to Continental Europe, creating the Dutch Arai Europe division. became the first official Arai racer outside of Japan (followed by Freddie Spencer, the first non-Japanese Arai-contracted Grand Prix rider). Despite approaching top American racers and with hopes of Dave Aldana agreeing, it was not until 1978 that Ted Boody Jr.
Arai was approached by New Jersey-based motorsport accessory retailer Roger Weston, who later managed the Arai Helmet Americas division, with a goal to recruit an American racer from the Daytona 200 to wear an Arai helmet. Hirotake Arai's son Michio had spent time in the United States, recognizing a potential market for their helmets (which was dominated by Bell at the time).
After being awarded a Japanese Industrial Standards license in 1950, Arai began manufacturing and selling the first Japanese motorcycling helmets, designated H.A. He wore an industrial safety helmet when riding his motorcycle and established a new business, the Arai Hirotake Shoten Co.
When Japanese construction industry unions made protective headwear compulsory, Arai produced safety helmets for construction workers, made from a resin outer shell lined with cork (which has since been substituted with expanded polystyrene). Īfter production was stopped during WWII, Hirotake Arai created the Arai Sewing Machine Company, which produced and exported T-shirts and overalls in occupied Japan in the late 1940s. His son, Hirotake Arai (who succeeded his father in 1930), a keen motorcyclist, was approached to create a new design of sun-barrier caps for the growing Imperial Japanese Army, which was later involved in the 1934 invasion of China, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II. 2.2 Arai Quantic and the new ECE 22.06 standardĪrai's origins can be traced back to the production of kepi-style caps by Yuichiro Arai in 1900.