Upgraded my riding gear with an Arai RX-7X helmet: First thoughts

I’ve always been a sucker for intricate artwork with complex designs and multiple colors.

BHPian TRR recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

A minor update to catalogue here. The bike has just done 46,4XX kms as of this update.

Will detail more of the bike ownership in a separate post. Been an eventful 3,000 kms since the last post with long rides, multiple visits to Hafiz’s place and some OEM part shopping from Japan.

But this post is more of a gear update. More specifically, on the helmet front.

First off, I was able to procure a set of photochromatic (transition) visors for my HJC RPHA11 from the UK. These are in the Red reflective color and have been somewhat of a revelation to me. The visor is almost clear in low light conditions (<5% tint) and are fully tinted under bright sunlight. Plus, the red visor gives everything a bluish tint in well-lit conditions, making for a ‘cooling’ kind of sensation on the eyes (could just be placebo). This has been incredibly convenient for me as I no longer have to swap out my visors on long rides or even the office commutes. Even with the ease of changing visors on the HJC, this has just made things so much easier. Well-worth the spend, I feel.

In their somewhat clear stage, halfway through the transition.

And the visor under bright sunlight, almost fully opaque from the outside, appropriately tinted from the inside

The second update is a bit more significant. I am now the proud owner of an Arai RX-7X. While the HJC is up there and is an excellent helmet on its own, I always wanted to move to the big leagues and get an Arai / Shoei. I’ve always been a sucker for intricate artwork with complex designs and multiple colors. The RX-7X in the Oriental Blue Frost colorway fit this perfectly. On a recent visit to Singapore, I was able to pick up this stunning helmet. This version carries many traditional oriental designs, from the artwork inspired by the ‘Great Wave off Kanagawa’ (one of Japan’s most famous artworks), the Dragon on top, the Koi fish at the back and the multiple flowers adorning the helmet all around. All this is on a matte blue background.

The frontal view

The front left

The left side of the helmet (the waves dominate this side)

The rear left side (the large flower is in almost fluorescent red IRL)

From the rear (the large Koi takes centre-stage here)

The rear right (same as on the right, the flower is a fluorescent yellow IRL)

The right side (again dominated by the waves)

And the front right side (can see Mt Fuji at the bottom, similar to the front left)

And finally, the Oriental dragon on top

Planning to get the tinted visor and the rear spoiler for this a few months down the line.

I have just ridden for a short jaunt of 100-ish kms so far with this and am impressed with the stability and ventilation it offers. Can instantly feel the coolness seep in once the vents are open. There is almost no wind buffeting at speeds up to 100 kmph. The view out is excellent and it seems to handle wind noise better than my RPHA11

Will drop a more comprehensive review once I have used this for a few 1000 kms, including maybe a comparison with the HJC RPHA11. For now, the Arai will be reserved mostly for out-of-city rides, while the HJC will fill in the commuter duties. The HJC is little over 3 years old so I plan to use both helmets side-by-side for a while. Will allow me to better understand the differences in the characteristics between these two helmets as well.

That's it on this update

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