When you realize it's time to retire a helmet as legendary as the Arai Signet, you better make very, very sure you have something extraordinary to replace it. It was time to retire the Signet. "Extraordinary" was waiting in the wings. It's called the Profile.

The Profile's unique look isn't for cosmetics. It has a distinct purpose rooted in the Arai company's philosophy and 50-year “obsession” with change for the sake of improvement, not vanity. For example, the Profile's distinctive Hyper-Ridge reinforcement band along the bottom of the outer shell is for reinforcement and added shell strength, including the area around the lower rear exhaust vents. The overall helmet shape represents Arai's newest "organic" shaping concept: narrower, sleeker, more aerodynamic instead of round and bulbous. Its purpose is "to fit the rider's head shape better, to feel more 'calm' in the wind, even when the rider turns his or her head while riding. For all of our science and pursuit of 'perfect protection', Arai's mission is to make riders more comfortable and happy when they're riding. To make them forget they are even wearing a helmet."

The Profile also represents a new level of technological innovation for Arai, which is quite a statement for a company already legendary for its decades of innovation. An exceptionally-advanced (and rare) 5-Point Laser Scanner takes the Profile's handmade and hand-shaped shell (Arai believes that human hands and brains can still do a better job than a computer at creating the best helmet shapes for human heads) and then has the laser copy of the shell design. The result is an extremely high level of detail and the tightest tolerances in Arai's history.

Reputation
One major reason for Arai's legendary reputation for unmatched comfort and fit is our belief that the shape of a rider's head (the relationship between its length and width) is as important as head size in getting the best helmet fit. That's why we go to the considerable time, effort - and expense - to create more than one interior shell shape. (Arai was the first and only helmet manufacturer to acknowledge and address the fact that not all heads are shaped the same.)

Shown are the two basic head shapes: the far left is a Round Oval (the front-to-back and side-to-side dimensions are very close); near left is the Long Oval (front-to-back dimension is greater than side-to-side). Both shapes illustrated are the same dimensional size, but obviously different shapes

The Arai QUANTUM-2 model employs the Round Oval shape. (The Long-Oval shape is used in our Profile model.)

Shell Construction
These days, there are almost as many "revolutionary" shell-construction materials as there are new helmet brands. Arai's decades of experience, research, testing, comparison and evaluation has led us to conclude that fiberglass-based construction is best at performing a motorcycle-helmet shell's main job - spreading and dissipating impact energy through strength, structural integrity and impact-flexibility. The XD's clc (Complex Laminate Construction) shell utilizes Arai's proprietary aerospace fiberglass technology to achieve a strong, flexible shell in a lightweight package.

One-Piece Liner
Arai's EPS liner is like no other, comprised of several material densities molded into a single piece. Arai pioneered this technology more than 20 years ago and is still, to our knowledge, the only helmet offering a single-piece hybrid liner and its unique benefit: the direct-fused contact area that each EPS cell shares with it neighboring cells creates a mutual support - as one is crushed under impact, the surrounding cells assist with the energy absorption. (Liner pieces that are simply fitted or glued together cannot rely on such a high-level support bond.)

Ventilation
Arai's quality is so singularly advanced that it reaches the world's highest level of racing, a place so technical, so demanding, that most other helmet makers can't even imagine it, let alone compete in it. We're talking about Formula One auto racing. (Arais are actually chosen by more than half of the F-1 grid! Including the new 2006 world champion and three of the top-five drivers.) One of the benefits of Arai's F-1 involvement - 200+ mph! - is that we learned the best way to ventilate a helmet is to pull the hot stale air out, rather than trying to push new air in. (This led Arai to introduce the world's first diffuser-mounted motorcycle helmet, the RX-7 series, one of our most-copied features ever.) The Quantum-2's ventilation employs these principles, creating a flow-thru system of exceptional cooling throughout the helmet. The top vents are recessed into the shell to reduce drag and wind turbulence over the shell's flowing-area. Again, as always, the Arai Way costs more to produce. But the Arai Way is about "better"not "cheaper".

Ventilation-Exclusive Free-Flow System
The FFS FreeFlow System combines a number of the helmet's components (cheekpads, neckroll and extended pull-down chin spoiler) to further reduce wind noise and turbulence while increasing the exhaust of hot air from the face area for more rider comfort.

Ventilation-Patented Dual-Pivot Chin Vent
First introduced on the RX-7 Corsair, Arai's patented Dual-Pivot® chin vent is a two-position dual-pivot hinge mechanism that allows for increased airflow capacity to two areas. The first vent position directs air directly to face, through a carbon-coated foam filter; the second position directs air to shield to aid occasional de-fogging.

Ventilation-Exclusive Brow Vent Faceshield
Our exclusive brow vent faceshield brings fresh air in through the shield and directs it into the forehead area. Arai prefers this method rather than punching extra holes in the critical forehead area which reduces both outer shell and inner EPS liner material where it's needed most.

LRS Shield-Removal
Arai's LRS tool-less shield-removal system has to be one of the most misunderstood shield systems on the planet. But watch racers Nicky Hayden and Kenny Roberts, Jr. swap Arai faceshields on video while wearing the helmet and you see for yourself how really easy it is.

Riders ask us why Arai continues to use side pods when others have gone pod-less? After all, pod-less systems are easier to make, requiring a simple flat surface beneath the pivot point. Yet Arai's experience says that flat spots in the curved shell shape diminish shell integrity, whereas continuing the shell's three-dimensional curve beneath the shield pivot-points (that nobody sees) maintains shells integrity.

Cooming Soon...