P074 - 079 - Arai Factory Visit

P074 - 079 - Arai Factory Visit - SL.qxp
21/03/2012
16:53
Page 74
special feature
SUTTY – NO STRANGER TO CONCUSSIONS – TAKES A TRIP
A R O U N D T H E A R A I I N S P I R AT I O N C E N T R E I N H O L L A N D …
Wo r d s a n d p h o t o s by S u t t y
remium racing products often
come at a premium price which
can make them slightly off-putting
to the cash-strapped racer who’s
juggling a mortgage, utility bills,
ever increasing fuel costs, a
ball-breaking missus and his motocross habit
n’ all. That’s why many of us racers on a
budget that’s far from bottomless choose to
run more affordable products like Polisport
plastics instead of Acerbis or a DEP exhaust
rather than a titanium n’ carbon Akrapovic.
And that’s all fine because a little trade-off
in performance over price isn’t really gonna
hurt all that much. The same probably can’t
be said about safety products though. Skimp
on a pair of boots and you’re increasing the
chances of a lower-leg injury, choose not to
protect your knees properly and you might
have to learn to love limping but fail to protect
your head sufficiently and you might not have
to worry about anything at all because you’ll
be dead, or worse.
P
I know that’s an extreme statement to
make but I also believe it to be true. Trust me,
there’s nothing cool about head injuries and
as someone who’s had a few – I’ve been
knocked out on numerous occasions to the
point where I’ve been unable to talk properly
afterwards, suffered with blinding headaches
and now have diminished memory – I think
that I know what I’m on about…
What I do remember is that every single
one of my concussions has come while
wearing what I’d call a high quality helmet –
not a totally top-end item like an Arai, Bell or
Shoei but not a £40 skid-lid either. Obviously,
I can’t say for certain that I’d have been
injured any less or worse if the helmet I had
been wearing had been any higher or lower
spec – just like I can’t say that wearing kneebraces has stopped me from folding my leg in
half to the point where I’d have planted my
toes in my tessies – but after spending some
time at the Arai Inspiration Centre in Holland I
do feel more armed to form an opinion.
>>
It takes around 19 hours
to make an Arai helmet – that’s
a serious investment in your
cranial health...
74 dirtbikerider
dirtbikerider 75