Like many, I'm a devote of Arai helmets.  I currently have a Corsair V and prior to this one I had a Corsair RX-7.  The helmets are brilliant; they fit me perfectly, are astoundingly well vented, and the attention to detail is superb.  Except for the bloody sidepods.  These flimsy contraptions, that anchor the visor to the side of the helmet, are the most delicate afterthought of a design element.  They're the equivalent of driving your brand-spankin'-new BMW M3 home only to discover that the German engineers wired on the exhaust system with bent coat hangers because they got lazy at the end.  In short, Arai sidepods suck.

I don't think I'm hard on helmets.  I treat them right, keep them clean, put them in their case when I take them off.  I do put the shield up from time to time when I stop on my bike, but other than that, I don't toss them around.  But...I seem to have a gift for mysteriously breaking sidepods.  On my RX-7, I broke the little inner tab on the sidepod which rendered it inoperable, and I couldn't figure out how I'd done it; the helmet was just sitting on the garage shelf.  And then on the new helmet, I not only broke another inner tab on one of the sidepods but the other sidepod developed a crack near the upper tab; again, this seemed to happen when the helmet was just sitting there.  But then last night, as I was installing the new set of sidepods ($45! Ouch!), something occurred to me.

If you've installed a shield on an Arai you're familiar with the technique, but suffice it to say that you have to basically deflect the hinge-end of the shield to wedge it into place under the sidepod hinge.  When the shield is installed and down, all the parts fit together nicely.  But when you push the shield up, it stresses the hinge under this deflection.  And when the hinge is stressed, it pushed against the sidepod, putting a bunch of extra stress on the little fragile retaining tabs.  (And the sound and the feel of this operation is horrible; I always think all the parts are just going to violently snap.)  But that's when it hit me:  I store the helmet with the shield up, in order to air it out.  So here's my guess.  The reason I've been breaking the sidepods is that I let the helmet sit with the shield up for an extended period of time, thus placing a great deal of unusual stress on the tabs on the sidepods because they're most stressed when the hinge is in the open position, as when you're installing the shield).

You all will please forgive me for this lengthy yet banal discourse, but...what do you think?  Sound plausible?  I'm going to put my theory to the test by not letting the helmet sit on my garage shelf with the shield up when I'm not wearing it.  My bet is, my sidepod troubles will abate.  Anyone else have this same issue?

I keep one visor in my Arai and only use it for daytime riding. Stored closed.

When I swapped out the stock shield for the iridium, I swore I was going to break something. Impossible to get on compared to my RF-1000. I hope to God I'll never have to change it again!

after putting an iridium on my suomy ill never change the shield again either. i think id rather buy another one and leave a clear shield on it 

Sorry that the Arai fit you so well considering your luck with breaking the shield parts.

One thing that Shoei has in spades over the competition is changing shields. Hell, after a few times you can do it with 1 hand.

I just broke a sidepod on my Arai a couple days ago - changing the shield.  Now I can't ride till I get another.  This is a poor design.  I always break the same (right) side.

I've only ever broken one side pod... and it was replaced under warranty in like a week

that said, I generally store the lid visor down, kinda 'cracked' open. never put much thought into it

Maybe I'm just lucky but I've only broken one side pod in 4+ years of wearing Arai helmets...most of it wearing only one helmet, year round in all weather, and opening it at virtually every stop light. I broke the pod opening it a bit too rough at a stoplight.

I never really thought about it, but I usually store my helmets with the shield up...although it is usually no more than 2 days or so before I use it again, so it doesn't just sit for weeks.

Not saying your theory doesn't have some merit...I just may be lucky.

Do you make sure to lubricate the side pods every so often? I've noticed the shield movement gets sticky and removing/replacing them is a pregnant dog if you don't put a little silicone in there on occasion. I would think that could also lead to more stress on the side pods.

I'd say your idea has some merit.  I normally store mine with the visor just cracked open a little.

Quote from: Triple J on June 12, 2009, 10:23:10 AM
Maybe I'm just lucky but I've only broken one side pod in 4+ years of wearing Arai helmets...

If you're lucky then I am too.  I've been using Arai for 4+ years too and I've never broken a side pod (knock on wood).  It's pretty normal for me to remove the shield 2 or 3 times during a ride on the weekends to clean the bugs off it (w/o taking the helmet off).  For all of those that complain about the shield changing system, I've owned Shark and Shoei as well and the Arai is by far the easiest IMO.

 I haven't broke a side pod yet, but I'm glad I'm not the only one has a hard time and cringes when removing/swapping the shield.
I usually put my helmet in its bag upside down to help it vent and dry if its not to dirty right after riding. I made this a habit because as much as I paid for my RX-7, I don't want to mildue or allow it to sit around with the visor up to get bumped or scratched by one of my kids. 

 

removing is easy... I can do it while wearing the lid 

installing... not so much. from what I've seen/experienced you gotta be rougher than you think is necessary. IIRC it's on youtube