The history of Arai from the man behind it: Michio Arai

Рет қаралды 8,213

Күн бұрын

If you've ever wondered why Arai won't fit a sunshield, why Arai is considered by some to be expensive, and why Arai helmets - at first glance - might all the look the same, Michio Arai explains it all in this incredible talk covering his life as a child, his father's manufacturing of helmets for the Japanese army, the importance of racing, why standards are a double-edged sword and the future of the company under his son, Akihito Arai.
This is raw, uncut footage of Michio Arai, but I think it makes for a fascinating watch and I really hope you enjoy it...
Chapters
00:00 How Arai was born
05:40 After the war
08:05 Arai's ties with Honda
09:00 Michio's motorcycle youth and time in the US
13:40 A job offer from Nasa
16:37 Back to Japan as a Nissan test driver
19:05 A meeting with Bell helmets
22:34 The journalist that lit a fire
24:56 Creating the Arai we know now
28:22 The importance of racing to Arai
31:38 A crash that showed the world
34:34 Why racing matters so much to Arai
38:01 Difficult times, sunshields and falling sales
42:50 Interview: Was there ever a time Michio considered giving in to market trends?
44:36 Interview: How does Michio Arai feel when he sees someone wearing one of his helmets?
49:55 Interview: What does Michio think of people who campaign to not wear helmets?
51:19 Interview: What one piece of advice would Michio give to Akihito when he takes over Arai?
#arai #history #interview
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Пікірлер: 45

@NB-yc1ro 9 ай бұрын

ARAI SAVED MY HEAD after a race crash. I lost consciousness for 45 minutes, i woke up in hospital, and after many scan the size of the bruse was on the size limit of what your brain can recovered. I will always remembered what the "neuro surgeon" told me: Monsieur you can thanks your helmet coz you might fully recover from this big crash.you had. Since that day, i wear only ARAI top of the range! THANKS MR ARAI 🙏🙏🙏 You saved my life. ✌️🇨🇵

@bennettsbikesocial 9 ай бұрын

Glad you're okay! All the best, John

@hair2050 8 ай бұрын

Do you likewise that Mr, Honda, Yamaha, etc for providing the bike so that you could bang your brain around?🤔😅

@NB-yc1ro 8 ай бұрын

@@hair2050 i dont wish you to bang your head on the tarmack whatever yamaha, Honda or on a scooter..... with or without helmet my friend

@hair2050 8 ай бұрын

@@NB-yc1ro fortunately I have never banged my head. Arms seem to get broken instead 😵‍💫

@AJSpinDrift 8 ай бұрын

"It may not be the biggest business, but the value of what we protect is priceless." It's this kind of attitude that's rare to find these days, most companies are purely profit driven, but Arai's unwavering attitude towards protection above all else is why I'm a life long customer.

@TheMrWaby 9 ай бұрын

Great interview, so cool about the story of his Dad meeting with Sochiro Honda and talking about using fiberglass. Who knew, two of the oldest motorcycle related companies in Japan had a connection of sorts.

@bennettsbikesocial 9 ай бұрын

It explains why Arai always has Honda specific special edition paint schemes too. Cheers, John

@KenichiYokota 9 ай бұрын

Thank you for letting me watch Mr. Arai's valuable interview video.

@Geshmaal 9 ай бұрын

So cool to hear from Mr Arai, love that he has a sense of humour about things too!

@jasonwood6100 9 ай бұрын

Great Video and amazing passion in his products, I always wear Arai and love the quality of their helmets knowing that they provide the most protection available. Can’t begin to imagine how many life’s have been saved due to Mr Arai’s philosophy.

@jasonwood6100 8 ай бұрын

@Mozzer_999 My Arai helmet passes the latest safety standards, so I guess, yes because he said so. Those standards are good enough for my peace of mind.

@thebrowns5337 9 ай бұрын

This video flew by. Could listen to him all day. I've always had the same ethos... even a small improvement (or chance of) is worth the effort. Imagine if only everyone felt like this! The world would be so much better.

@Gambo916 8 ай бұрын

In my early motorcycling years I wore many different helmet brands, but since first trying an Arai, it instantly became the only brand I'd ever wear. That means I've been wearing Arai helmets for the past 30 years. Enjoyed the vid immensely, thanks for posting John.

@bennettsbikesocial 8 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching! Cheers, John

@ampz37 8 ай бұрын

Inspiration, comedy and motivation from Mr Arai all rolled into one video. Thank you Bennetts for sharing this once in a lifetime interview with us

@StickyDroner 9 ай бұрын

It is absolutely fascinating listening to and learning from such humble individuals. Thank you for sharing 🙏

@bennettsbikesocial 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Cheers, John

@King_Harrold 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for posting this, I really enjoyed it.

@bennettsbikesocial 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Cheers, John

@stanleylawson9015 2 ай бұрын

Brilliant to hear the story from the man himself

@hughtranter5044 5 ай бұрын

Oh no, I now definitely want an Arai, so watching this is going to cost me a fortune 😂 . What a top bloke, his passion and dedication is inspiring.

@bennettsbikesocial 5 ай бұрын

Uh oh, sorry! Cheers, John

@jmileshc 9 ай бұрын

Fascinating, I'd have loved to have toured the factory too. I've seen your helmet dismantling not realising about the variable layup of fibre matting etc.. Until recently I'd been wearing SZ series, but due to cost my current headware is a system type. It's not as good in some respects as my veteran SZ's though, which I miss. Thank You and Bennetts for these entertaining and useful videos, reviews and methodical testing. Cheers !

@RedbaronES 9 ай бұрын

Thxs for sharing this

@bennettsbikesocial 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Cheers, John

@adrianng986 7 ай бұрын

Much respect to Mr. Arai for his continuous pursuit for ultimate helmet safety without compromise.

@andhikawayan 9 ай бұрын

Arai Helmet saves my life once. Thanks Arai

@kommonman.5011 8 ай бұрын

I recently got an Arai XD4 before XD5 comes out. Perhaps will get 5 when it comes out in Malaysia. I plan to buy QUATIC touring helmet soon. I have been using many brands over the years, all other brands bend my ears, sometimes it could be so painful. Arai put on, strap and go

@Ken_Myette 9 ай бұрын

Yes

@lices 9 ай бұрын

Appreciate arai love it even if i don't own one cuz i cannot afford it

@moorepower13 9 ай бұрын

The cardboard box Arai helmets come in are more comfortable than anyone else's helmet.

@josephxanthopoulos 8 ай бұрын

Delightful Mr.Arai. Well done. I like the story of Kenny Roberts and his helmet !!!!! LoooL The thing ,here are the taxes we pay . example: if in Japan Arai Helmet costs 400$, in my country comes 800$. Why HUMANS charge taxis to protection gear ? DO SOMETHING PLS. Wonderful documentary !!!!👍👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌👌

@paulmurphy126 8 ай бұрын

I've been wearing Arai helmet's since 1985 which was a Spencer replica.I will not put anything else on my head no matter what they cost.

@1136tscc 9 ай бұрын

Legend

@thumpertorque_ 6 ай бұрын

Highlights 8:10 30:00 33:40 36:10 41:30 48:49

@NodbodRS 9 ай бұрын

Interesting that. Worn arai since the supervent to gp always fitted me perfectly Unfortunately my last the,gp rx v evo crippled me, the r75 shape doesn't suit me, a waste of £585. I should get round too selling it. 😂Ah well. Things change.

@bennettsbikesocial 9 ай бұрын

Did you get it adjusted? It's all customisable by a good dealer

@NodbodRS 9 ай бұрын

Yes, went too my moto at leeds my nearest arai dealer who wanted to help. Nil joy, they certainly tried to help with my predicament. Impressed with the help they gave, but no avail. Moved too the latest shoei, the xpr pro, absolutely beautiful fit. My head must have changed...

@nikoscosmos 8 ай бұрын

A true Arai head!

@xpllmmff 9 ай бұрын

Why so many Japanese vehicle and accessory manufacturers prefer using founder's name as brand: Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Shoei, Arai, Yoshimura……etc.

@jeffestrada6857 8 ай бұрын

Great content but very frustrating to see the side of his head? Why? Makes it hard to watch and harder to understand. Very unprofessional for a very special person/man. In saying all that I love Arai helmet’s and have heaps of them and regard them as one best helmets I owned. However these days I have Shoei and feel Shoei is still very high quality but has moved on with the times and has better aesthetics. Thank you for this video 👍

@bennettsbikesocial 8 ай бұрын

I only had access to the footage shot by the American team, as we weren't allowed to shoot our own. Still, I snuck my phone out to get the other angle from about 15 mins in

@cpuuk 9 ай бұрын

A biking oral history 🙂

@convertorx 8 ай бұрын

Bought an Arai Collin Edwards replica.....€700 at the time..wore it for the first time (after shop fitting) on a three week Euro trip. Worst helmet I ever bought, constant steaming up, leaking, almost crashed a few times. Tried to fix it OTG. Gave it to my son as an ornament. Never again.