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Official Site: AraiHelmet.com
Wikipedia: Arai Helmet Page Sections History Article Index |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Arai Helmet page on 5 February 2020, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Arai Helmet, Limited (株式会社 アライヘルメット, Kabushiki-gaisha Arai Herumetto) is a Japanese company that designs and manufactures motorcycle helmets and other helmets for motorsport.
The business has roots from the turn of the century involving cap production, followed by military headgear from 1930 onwards, industrial helmets after World War II and finally motorcycle helmets from early 1950s.
The company origins from 1900 started with production of Kepi-style caps by Yuichiro Arai, the father of Hirotake Arai who took over the business in 1930. Hirotake Arai, a keen motorcyclist, was approached to create a new design of sun-barrier hats for the growing Imperial Japanese Army which later was involved in the 1934 invasion of China, the Sino-Japanese war of 1937 and finally World War II.
During WWII production stopped. Afterwards, in the late 1940s when Japan was under occupation, Hirotake Arai created the Arai Sewing Machine Company which produced and exported T shirts and overalls. When the Japanese construction industry unions made protective headwear compulsory, from 1950 Hirotake Arai produced safety helmets for construction workers made from a resin outer shell lined with cork. He wore an industrial safety helmet when riding his motorcycle and established a new business, the Arai Hirotake Shoten Co. Ltd. Awarded the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) license, from 1952 his product range diversified into the first Japanese helmets for motorcycling, designated H.A. after his initials.
Hirotake Arai's son Michio had spent time in United States, recognising a potential market for their helmets which was dominated at the time by Bell. Arai was approached by New Jersey based motorsport accessory retailer, Roger B Weston, later in late 1970s establishing Arai Helmet Americas, with a goal to recruit an American racer from Daytona 200-racing to wear an Arai helmet. Despite approaches to top American racers and with hopes of Dave Aldana agreeing, it was not until 1978 that Ted Boody Jr. became the first official Arai racer outside of Japan, followed by Freddie Spencer who was the first non-Japanese Arai-contracted Grands Prix rider.
In 1983, Belgian former motorcycle road racer Ferry Brouwer formulated a business plan to bring Arai helmets to Continental Europe, creating Arai Europe based in The Netherlands.
| Date | Article | Author/Source |
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| 12 September 2019 | Arai Helmet, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance | Federal Register: NHTSA (Otto G. Matheke III) |
| 13 April 2022 | Arai Helmet, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Arai Helmet has determined that certain Arai Corsair X Mamola Edge motorcycle helmets, do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218, Motorcycle Helmets. | Federal Register Notice  (text)Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Otto G. Matheke III Topic: Arai |