Arai Chaser review

Having gone to Derby and back yesterday, it gave me a chance to test
out my new Arai, the purchase of which I had been eagerly awaiting for
a while.

1. If fits, and hence doesn't try and lift of my head at speeds over
70mph like the old Quantum used to.

2. By **** it's noisy. I may have to get some earplugs for the France
trip - 5 hours straight of that will render me almost deaf. I don't
know why it's that much noisier than all the other Arais I've had.

3. These little levers used to remove the visor - WTF are they all
about? Annoying little fuckers, aren't they? Specially when they fall
inside the side pod and you need something to prise them out again.
What was wrong with the old system of just twist and pull, eh?

Overall, #1 trumps #2 and #3 (just) but overall it's not quite the
"oooh, this new lid is *lovely*" experience I was hoping for.

 

They all do that, sir. The side pods create quite a bit of turbulence
which manifests as noise.

I finally remembered to wear some earplugs while riding at the weekend.
After months of forgetting, I put a pack in my trouser pocket so I'd
have some handy. Somewhere around Kettering I had to pull over and take
them out. Hateful things.

I've had Arais with those little levers for 8 years now and never had a
problem with them, other than being a bit of a PITA to engage when
trying to remove the visor.

Might try a Shoei next time (if I can get my head in, anyway - I have an
Arai-shaped head) as their visor mech looks quite tidy.

 

Yes, but I've had four Arais now, all with side-pods and this one is
*far* noisier than the others.

I've never like using them, but I might have to get some for France as
it's a long old schlep.

I can't see that they add anything apart from making the operation even
more fiddly. The visors (and hence locking mechanism) are exactly the
same as the old ones which just "twist and pull". It took me a couple
of minutes to swap over to a clear visor on the way back last night,
whereas I reckon I could have changed one over on my old Quantum in
seconds.

Shoeis (and many other manufacturers) just don't fit me comfortably,
but we've done this argument to death, and very recently!

 

As the saying goes, there are old bikers, & there are bikers who never
wear earplugs but can still hear properly; however there are no old
bikers who never wear earplugs but can still hear properly.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

Yes. I know.

 

What?

 

Five past ten.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

Is that what it says on your bit of paper?

 

<confused>

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)

 

He's fallen in the water.

 

According to Lozzo, that's bollocks.

For me though, the Arais are too narrow and I have problems getting them
over my head. On some models the chin bar is also too close. Same with
the Sharks. Shoeis and AGVs are wider and fit me better.

 

heh.

 

Le Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:15:07 +0000, Switters a écrit :

Some sort of BGN syndrome?

 

Yes, thankyou Mr Murray.

Standards really are dropping round here.

That's exactly the problem I had with Shoei last time I tried - I simply
couldn't get my head in. And my head is *small*!

 

One of the reasons I wear earplugs is that I seem to be sensitive to
pressure effects. The noise isn't generally too bad, but the
suction/compression stuff can be painful.

 

It's not the snappiest saying I've ever heard.

 

Try it with a German accent, it makes all the difference.

--
Krusty

'03 Tiger 955i
'02 MV Senna (for sale) '96 Tiger (for sale)
'79 Fantic Hiro 250 (for sale) '81 Corvette (for sale)