Coming our way from our friends at Arai - the release of their newly updated hybrid crossover design helmet. From Arai...
When Arai introduced the XD model a few years back, its "Crossover Design" (the source of the "XD" name) caused a major reaction - all of it good. Here was a single helmet design that was equally at home on the street or dirt, a whole new concept in hybrid design. Suddenly it was showing up everywhere, including OEM and aftermarket ads for other companies, even travel and consumer high-tech publications.
Now it's been updated and improved for 2008, and given the name XD³.
Among its new features, the XD³ gets Arai's Emergency Release Cheek-pad Design, another ARAI innovation introduced on the 2007 VX-Pro3 dirt helmet. Developed to allow easier access to an injured rider, the new XD³'s cheek-pads slide out easily via the integrated pull-tabs built into the underside of the cheek-pad - which makes helmet removal much easier for trained medical technicians.
The peak has been re-designed for improved stability and airflow. One of the keys to the original XD's uniqueness was Arai's Twin-Cam Shield Pivot System that enables the shield to operate fully beneath the mounted peak, staying low when fully raised, thereby allowing the peak to be mounted much lower than otherwise possible, resulting in better aerodynamics and a better appearance. The XD³'s shield system is also designed for the shield to be used alone without the peak, or with the peak and no shield as desired.
Other new features include Arai's diffuser ventilation first introduced on the RX-7 series road racing helmets - and now arguably Arai's most copied feature. But the XD³ borrows the front vents from the company's Profile model, again designed for increased air intake. There's also a pull-down chin-bar spoiler, and the contour of the lower shell has been refined.
In typical Arai fashion, the XD³ is not a radical departure from its predecessor, rather the company says it reflects a subtle refinement of the XD's proven function and appearance. The XD itself was an evolution of the Arai helmet that introduced the entire concept of hybrid designs, the original DS from the early '90s.
Available in sizes XS - XXL in solids and several new graphic designs. Suggested retails as of 3/08 are $543.95 for White or Black; $554.95 for Aluminum Silver or Black Frost; $564.95 for the Motard versions; and $622.95 for Graphic designs (coming later in 2008).
Full details on the new XD3 and all Arai helmets, as well as a complete Dealer Locator, are available at araiamericas.com.
Source: Bikeland.org & PMGRP