(Daytona, FL) Arai Helmets has announced that its 2009 line includes no fewer than 11 different solid-color choices in its full-face line, nine solids in open-face (not counting its special Honda Gold Wing color-matched solids), 11 solids in the XD3 hybrid Crossover-Design model for adventure touring, dual sport, off-road, and street, and 5 in the VX-Pro3 dirt model.
It wasn't too long ago you could get any solid-color helmet you wanted as long as it was Black or White. But with the advent of, and subsequent marketing emphasis on, more graphic designs, the solids took a back seat. Or so it looked. Ironically, it was commonly known that plain Black and White each continued to sell more than the graphics.
But Arai never de-emphasized solids. In fact the company's renewed emphasis on them over the past several years has resulted in a number of very popular new colors and color treatments whose sales Arai reports are really taking off this year. "Maybe it's the economy and the fact that solids cost less, maybe more Arai riders are turning to our solid colors simply because they prefer them, maybe it's all - or none - of the above," said Arai Americas' Director of Operations, Brian Weston. But, Weston said, the fact remains that Arai's 2009 sales success seems to be resting on the increased sales of its solids.
Arai's 2009 solids are a fairly robust and varied group of choices: the muted, matte-type Silver, Grey, and Black Frost colors that look like, well, a soft covering of frost; Aluminum Silver; Platinum Grey; very unique glass-infused colors called Diamond White, Diamond Blue, and Diamond Black that subtly reflect light like the facets of a diamond; and Racing Black. Arai's open-face helmet models add Pearl Glacier White, Pearl Twilight Silver, Silver, and Candy Spectra Red. Oh, and there's still plain White and plain Black. The XD3 adds two more of its own: Motard Black and Motard Silver; and the VX-Pro3 offers five different solids.
Of course, Arai's solid-color helmets cost less than graphic designs simply because they cost less to make. Prices generally range from about $80 to $120 less than graphics, depending on model.
Full details and information, including suggested retail prices and the location of your nearest authorized Arai dealer, can be obtained at www.araiamericas.com.