The Arai Rapide is a major new addition to the retro helmet genre, which at this stage must surely be the fastest growing sector in the world of motorcycle helmets.
The Arai Rapide series of helmets are among the best designed and engineered in their market segment, offering full modern safety features and what is probably the most customisable interiors of any helmet in the retro-modern space.
The outer shell is made from PB e-cLc, and it’s paired with an impact absorbing EPS liner. Inside the helmet you’ll find a padded antimicrobial liner that’s designed to be tailored to perfectly fit the head of the wearer, you can adjust the thickness of various interior padded elements to get a millimetre perfect fit.
For safety the Arai Rapide helmets are fitted with the Emergency Release System (ERS), allowing medical personnel to safely remove the helmet with a reduced risk of exacerbating any neck or spinal injuries. The helmet is certified to the ECE 22-05 European standard which is also accepted in many countries outside the EU, and it’s very likely that a DOT version is on the way.
One of the issues that some retro full face helmets can tend to suffer from is a lack of ventilation compared to their more modern-looking counterparts. The Arai Rapide does a great job of addressing this issue, with a Free Flow System (FFS) made up of hidden multi-stage air channels in the EPS liner that are fed directly by the adjustable brow vents in the visor. Additional ventilation is also provided by the chin bar vents which help keep the visor from fogging.
Arai are offering the Rapide in a series of models including the HA, the Number, and the Neo, all of which come with different shell art and sizing ranging from XS to XL. The visors are all replaceable with both tinted and clear available, and you can buy replacement interior padding and cheek pads when needed.
Above Video: The review of the Arai Rapide from the team at MotoLegends
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
