Buying a US Shoei?

[Madamejones]

Hi guys

Been umming & ahhing for months over a new helmet. I have tried loads on and the Shoei XR1000 seems to be the best. All the newer designs tend to be around the £330 mark. Have found the one i like at Helmetcity for £267 as they are doing a discount............BUT i have found a website in the US and the same helmet is £228 which includes shipping to the UK. However they call it the RF1000...i assume they are all exactly the same so that i can buy accessories when needed here and they will fit. Just a bit dubious but it's nice to know that if you shop around you can find deals. I know some shows sell end of lines. My OH got his Shoei XR for £180.

I don't want a girly design and have decided on this one as black & white will go with a white monster or if i decide a red monster!! ( or black or yellow!!! )

Just wondering what you lot think (of the US ordering option..not the design!! )

[NedLudd]

I'd be minded to ring HelmetCity telling them all this and seeing if they'll get a bit nearer to the other price.

[nogaromill999]

The US Shoei MAY incur import duty and VAT....yes, I KNOW its a safety product BUT it is NOT ECE 2205 approved....and in the past the VAT office has told me that only UK /EC approved safety wear is non Vat able.....so be prepped to add 25% to the price and to have a Snell only approved helmet, not one legally approved for use on the EC roads. Snell is often thought to be a better spec...but it just isnt EC approved so be careful.

[Denzil the Ducati]

Nog is correct. If this incurs import duty you will get a little letter from the post office parcels depot saying "we have your item and you can have it if you pay us around £60-65" the cost will be based on the value of the helmet and its shipping cost and only then it will be delivered. There is import, vat and a handling charge to pay. This process is not a problem - if you expect it, but it is risky if the item you import has a generic code number and does not specifiy the compliance to EU saftey regulations. You may have to request the seller declares it as compliant with the relevant EU codes (2205 for example). Even then the legality of using it in the UK is not clear cut. From memory it is an offence to wear a helmet not showing a compliance sticker to UK or EU specs.
Importing Ducati spares is often very cost effective, in this case the risk balance would have me getting it from a UK supplier. Or wait till November and see how much has dropped off the asking price for an on line purchase. The last helmet I bought had a 60 pound discount, because it was last season's design. Seems bike helmet fashion is catching us up, god help us

[Madamejones]

cheers lads.....it did cross my mind after I had posted re: customs and the EU safety. For the sake of £40 it's not really worth it, so Helmet City will get my £'s.

It does make me chuckle also about Helmet fashion and whether you are "so last season darling"

[Mr.R]

Hi Madamejones,
Put a search up on e- bay, I bought my Arai RX7 from an Irish dealer and it saved me almost a couple of hundred quid and he had no problems with supplying a dark visor in the deal.
Don't buy them from the far east though as Aria's, Shoei's etc destined for those markets have a different shape inside as Asian heads are a different shape to European heads apparently???
I've owned several Aria's over the years (all the same size) and once had one that pressed uncomfortably on my forehead, it came from a London dealer who'd grey imported them from the far east.

Steve

[AndyH]

MrR. I spent a lot of time working in Aisia and in particular, Japan. I bought 2 Arai RX7 Doohan replicas a few years ago. Cost me £235 each compared to £499 rip off price here. I heard of this size and shape difference when i came back. Being an engineer, i decided to put it on a CMM machine (3 D measuring machine) and compare it with a UK spec (with a gold RAC/ACU sticker) and guess what.

NO BLOODY DIFFERENCE AT ALL. The Jap spec is missing the gold RAC/ACU sticker only which can be got from fleabay for pennies.

Its a scam mate, generated by Pheonix trading (the Arai importers) to put people off buying abroad. All they do is buy the stickers and have them fitted then charge you, the customer another £250 over the top. I have been in Hein Gericke when the manager has said that lie about the shell shape (whilst talikg to a customer who was asking about the price difference between Aisia and here), and passed him my RX7 and asked him where i bought it... and directly compare his shop item for mine, he thought it was an EU lid because of the stickers only, he found no difference in size-fit etc. I then told him it was a Jap helmet, he argued for ages and lost the sale he was trying to force on this other guy (he bought my spare Dohan RX7 by the way )
As for the safety, the Arai helmets are all made in the same factory weather for Europe, Asia, ROW etc. Do you think for one minute they will develop a different lid for one sales market only, throw millions of Yen at design and development, testing, legislation et-al just for a few thousand sales....OF COURSE NOT. Same goes for most other manufacturers, samples of the single design are sent for testing in each individual country for legislation approval...but they are the same design and shape. It is the host countries approval that gives its authority to sell and pass its testing criteria.


I have sent back Shoie's, Arai's and all sorts, to mates in the UK. Some got picked up by customs, some didnt, its a lottery and luck.
I myself have imported a Shoei XR1000 and got stung in Schipol airport by Dutch customs, but i still saved myself £145 over the price in the UK.

My advice is to ignore the UK sales bo11ock$ and go your own way.

I suggest contacting:
Corins motorcycle emporium
Ueno
Tokyo

[NedLudd]

Originally Posted by AndyH

MrR. I spent a lot of time working in Aisia and in particular, Japan. I bought 2 Arai RX7 Doohan replicas a few years ago. Cost me £235 each compared to £499 rip off price here. I heard of this size and shape difference when i came back. Being an engineer, i decided to put it on a CMM machine (3 D measuring machine) and compare it with a UK spec (with a gold RAC/ACU sticker) and guess what.

NO BLOODY DIFFERENCE AT ALL. The Jap spec is missing the gold RAC/ACU sticker only which can be got from fleabay for pennies.

I always assumed that the different shape would be in the interior of the helmet rather than the exterior.

[damon]

Originally Posted by AndyH

MrR. I spent a lot of time working in Aisia and in particular, Japan. I bought 2 Arai RX7 Doohan replicas a few years ago. Cost me £235 each compared to £499 rip off price here. I heard of this size and shape difference when i came back. Being an engineer, i decided to put it on a CMM machine (3 D measuring machine) and compare it with a UK spec (with a gold RAC/ACU sticker) and guess what.

NO BLOODY DIFFERENCE AT ALL. The Jap spec is missing the gold RAC/ACU sticker only which can be got from fleabay for pennies.

Its a scam mate, generated by Pheonix trading (the Arai importers) to put people off buying abroad. All they do is buy the stickers and have them fitted then charge you, the customer another £250 over the top. I have been in Hein Gericke when the manager has said that lie about the shell shape (whilst talikg to a customer who was asking about the price difference between Aisia and here), and passed him my RX7 and asked him where i bought it... and directly compare his shop item for mine, he thought it was an EU lid because of the stickers only, he found no difference in size-fit etc. I then told him it was a Jap helmet, he argued for ages and lost the sale he was trying to force on this other guy (he bought my spare Dohan RX7 by the way )
As for the safety, the Arai helmets are all made in the same factory weather for Europe, Asia, ROW etc. Do you think for one minute they will develop a different lid for one sales market only, throw millions of Yen at design and development, testing, legislation et-al just for a few thousand sales....OF COURSE NOT. Same goes for most other manufacturers, samples of the single design are sent for testing in each individual country for legislation approval...but they are the same design and shape. It is the host countries approval that gives its authority to sell and pass its testing criteria.


I have sent back Shoie's, Arai's and all sorts, to mates in the UK. Some got picked up by customs, some didnt, its a lottery and luck.
I myself have imported a Shoei XR1000 and got stung in Schipol airport by Dutch customs, but i still saved myself £145 over the price in the UK.

My advice is to ignore the UK sales bo11ock$ and go your own way.

I suggest contacting:
Corins motorcycle emporium
Ueno
Tokyo

ive just googled corins motorcycle epmorium and come up with nowt, any idea of the website?

[AndyH]

Damon, here is a link to a reference of Corins
Bike Town, Ueno Tokyo | Tokyo Biker

I have the phone number, most of the guys speak fairly good English....it is:
Japan country code and 03-3847-4831.

Nedd, unfortunately they say not, and refer to the shell shape and size, however it is absolute bollox mate.

[blackie]

I got a shoei last year from the states ...Cost £40 duty to get it from the parcelforce depot in Manchester.

Still saved over £150 quid well worth it.

If i remember guy on ebay sold from Japan but shipped from the USA..

Top bloke & would deffo buy another should the need arise

Size,shape,box,packaging all the same but cheaper

Usual RIP OFF BRITAIN.......

[Madamejones]

just checked Helmet City webpage again and they have put their prices up to £330 with a 10% discount.....last week they were £267. If i was a retailer i would sell them cheaper and would be sure to sell more of 'em?

Blackie...like you say "rip off Britain" Why are the UK so bloody expensive compared to the rest of the world??

[nogaromill999]

Everything that comes in to the UK from outside the EC, is subject to an import duty, based on the cost of the item PLUS the cost of shipping. To that is added VAT, on the cost of the item, the shipping, the port fees ( +VAT of course !) so it all tots up to about 30% of the retail price from the US that you'd pay.....

[Madamejones]

i'm emigrating then!!

[egypt220]

PM sent
as i am a shoei dealer