I'm a Shoei fan because they fit my head, I wear glasses, and are GREAT helmets. I currently use the Shoei X-14. But I wanted a few more helmets (TX is HOT and helmets stink) so I decided to get a graphic and a modular helmet.
Now, here is the rub. I'm cheap. It's not that I won't spend money, it's that I don't want to spend more than I need to.
Well if you don't know it already, Shoei is a Japanese company and their helmets are made in Japan (see neat video of how they are made).
What does this have to do with the price of helmets you say? Well they are substantially cheaper in Japan. Now some of you are going to say (as does Shoei in their marketing) that their is a difference in the head shapes of the Japanese vs. the US and their shells are different. Well I say that is BS. They aren't going to tool up for shells for Europe, USA, and Japan (or any country / continent). So I decided to take a flyer and get two new helmets from Japan and have them shipped to me. I used Webike (
www.webike.co.uk ) as they have always been on the deal with prices and shipping. *I can't comment on how Arai Japan will fit vs. Arai USA, but I suspect it will be the same. Someone try it and report.
So they helmets showed up 3 days later (2 days to process and 1 day to ship) and as I thought they fit exactly like the US versions I had tried on. There was no difference to me. (YMMV so don't be pissed at me when your noodle doesn't fit).
So what I get? Well since you asked, I got the Z-7 (US RF-1200) and the NeoTec (called the same in Japan) modular. Why the two different styles? Because I like choices.
Here are the differences:
1. It appears that Japanese don't like the Shoei stickers that you get with you US purchase. I didn't get any stickers.
2. The NeoTec has a nifty ratchet strap rather than the usual double D ring that you'd get in the US (a EU compliance feature)
3. They helmets carry a sticker JIS T8133:2015 rating rather than a DOT sticker rating. JIS is actually a higher standard than DOT/Snell (MotoGP accepts it as well as Snell and EU), but it's not snickered DOT. This could be an issue for states like CA where you could get a ticket for no DOT sticker. That being said, DOT stickers are $3 on Amazon.
Other than the above there is no difference in the helmets that I can tell from the ones I tried on before I purchased these.
How much money did you save? Shoei helmets are price fixed from Shoei, so unless there is a closeout they are all priced the same.
RevZilla:
Marquez Digi Ant: $627.00
NeoTec Wine: $663.00
TOTAL: $1290.00
Webike:
Marquez Digi Ant: $370.40
NeoTec Wine: $383.41
FedEx Express Shipping: $118.16 (you could save $30ish if you wanted 20 day snail mail)
TOTAL: $824.22 (using a discount code for 1K yen)
SAVINGS: $465.78 (44% off)
Now the pics or it didn't happen
Marquez Digi Ant
Neotec Red Wine (flip down sunshade works with my glasses...WOOT)
JIS Stickers:
Shoei Production Video:
