What Brand Of Motorcycle Helmet To Stock

[kandahar]

Hi all. For any of you who would feel inclined to offer us a little help in our selection of a good helmet product for our shop, please read on.

We are looking to stock a brand of motorcycle helmets in our shop. Maybe two. Getting into stocking of helmets is a major step for us. With that in mind, please post some advice on what brand of helmets you would like to see stocked in a Thailand shop. We really don't want to invest in a brand that is so expensive and "niche' that is doesn't move or satisfy a fair sized group of shoppers. We don't want to stock something that is so cheap it can be found in every cycle shop in Thailand, nor do we want to stock helmets that are not approved by the major safety councils.

One other note: Shark brand helmets has offered us a decent deal. I don't know anything about the brand's popularity but it appears that they are an approved helmet in Thailand and the ones on offer here are actually made in a Thailand factory, which is something we would like to support.

So, what's on your head? And why?

Thanks for any input on this subject.

[dave_boo]

HJC FTW.

All the certification you could want at price points ranging from 75 USD on up.

[mbox]

Shark helmets seem a good quality helmet.

Personally i use a Real Helmet since the last 2 years and shall have a new HJC Helmet the coming week.

Real Helmets are quite decent ,low priced & have DOT, it is a Thai made Product .

HJC is a well known international Brand , very good quality for decent price ( most approvals they have too )

Bilmola is a Thai Brand that seems new (at least new to me) their products seem to include Carbon Helmets too...could be an interesting Product (they claim ECE 22.05 Reg)- they look ok also .

if i'd choose 2 brands i would probably take one international brand(shark,hjc...) and one of the better local brands and see what sells best...

mbox

[skybluestu]

SOL helmets from Taiwan, sold as GMAX in America, great helmets at a great price with great air-flow so ideal for Thailand.

[BigBikeBKK]

Does your shop cater to big bikes or scooters or both?

Are you customers mostly Thai or foreign?

If mostly Thai stock the Thai brands- REAL and Index.

If you cater to big bikes and/or foreigners you may want to supply name brand helmets. Shark is a good choice as they are produced here in Thailand.

Personally I'm a big fan of Shoei and HJC.

Ride On!

T

[Scottish Thailander]

Quote: "So, what's on your head? And why?"

Arai, now and mostly for the last 30 years that I've been riding (the last 5+ in Thailand).

Quality, Fit, Full face (ever seen a face or a helmet after an accident where the chin scraped the ground?), durability, etc.

Two things I don't penny-pinch with on a bike are a helmets and tyres. Three if you count leathers, but a good quality well stitched leather biking jacket will likely only be bought once every 10 years or so - waistline permitting .

The other two are more regular - 3 to 5 years max for a lid and tyre-life depends on miles, riding style, and how often a nail, or whatever, selfishly pierces your lovely treads.

If I'm in a minority niche (and this is LOS) then I'll stick there with the minority. However, it might be a minority niche because of ease of availability, overpricing in Thailand, lack of promotion by stockists, or fear of fakes. I think many will ask friends to bring a decent lid in for them, or order online from overseas. Break into that market and you will get a few more sales. Don't envy you though, Thais are by far the biggest market here and most put a low value on the protection of their heads (yes, as do many expats here as well) and sales of cheap replacable lids are always going to be higher and more frequent (obviously, as many of these so-called safety helmets pretty much fall into in the "disposables" category) than the slow, steady, infrequent stream of quality lid sales. Being in (especially quality, if you go there) helmet sales must be a tough business.

.

.

[kandahar]

Nice contributions of good info here, folks. Many thanks from us for taking the time.

We won't be selling Index. They are everywhere and there is no point in going head to head with the competition for so little payback. (as little as 100 baht per sale).

Difficult to sell REAL brand here and succeed because so many shops in our area sell them but only carry last year's models at much cheaper prices than current models and therefore, would seem to have much better prices than we could offer on the latest models. That is comparing apples to oranges but a lot of people don't see that. Last year's models of ANY brand is much cheaper than the current models. There is also difficulty in offering replacement face shields for the older models. Those seem to go out of production quickly and then the helmet can be thrown to the bin because of an unserviceable shield. We don't want to carry anything that we don't have replacement shields / lenses for.

Most of the branded models we find for sale in shops around here are several years old already and there are no replacement parts available. I ran into that predicament when I bought my helmet. I could find nothing on it that indicated the YOM. I asked and was told it was a new model. I asked about replacement face shields and was told that they could be ordered in one week. A couple of months later I was back, asking for a replacement. They couldn't order it, nor can any shop in this area. I have tried all of them. The model is so old, it isn't in any of the catalogs for the last few years.

Our customers come from pretty much across the board. No one group is more representative of our sales than another. We get a little bit of everybody looking for hard to find things and we aren't interested in competing for the baht of the masses. The places that do that are everywhere and they come and go as quickly as they can open the doors and then be replaced by the newest noodle shop. We're trying to offer what is uncommon here, while maintaining stock that is desirable and a good value. Helmets will only be a portion of the big picture for us.

We will look into these suggestions and see what we can come up with.

I REALLY appreciate your help. Nice folks on here.

Edited April 17, 2011 by kandahar

[robblok]

HJC FTW.

All the certification you could want at price points ranging from 75 USD on up.

Dave, i got that one with my new cbr250, i thought it would be a cheap helmet and would need to buy a better one. Thanks for posting that it saves me some money.

[dave_boo]

HJC FTW.

All the certification you could want at price points ranging from 75 USD on up.

Dave, i got that one with my new cbr250, i thought it would be a cheap helmet and would need to buy a better one. Thanks for posting that it saves me some money.

HJC is really good quality and some people think that since they're so light they are not very good...but honestly they have the certification (snell or ECE being best since they actually have to submit the helmet for testing) and when I tested one (i.e. crashed) it held up so good enough for me especially considering the price point.

[RED21]

SOL helmets from Taiwan, sold as GMAX in America, great helmets at a great price with great air-flow so ideal for Thailand.

I was going to suggest GMax, didn't know it was also known as SOL. I was looking for a 68s model here but couldn't find any, told a friend in the US to get me one when they come over for a visit.

SOL website

GMax GM68s review on webBikeWorld

The only problem with selling them here is probably the name recognition. HJC would probably sell better because of the brand recognition.

Edited April 17, 2011 by RED21

[Newguy70]

Hi,

Wearing a Nexx helmet, full carbon. i dont think price really matters as you only have one egg, price did not come into play when purchasing my helmets....

:jap:

P.s it wasn't cheap

[seedy]

HJC would be my choice.

Full-face I do not wear due to lack of peripheral vision.

Bought an IS33 last year - has tinted visor that retracts into the shell, with clear faceshield. Like it a lot.

[Riggi]

If you stocked some modular helmets (full face but you can lift the chin part up and it becomes mostly open face) I think they would be incredibly suitable for Thailand.

Full face for the highway and then when you are just pottering about town you can lift up the chin bar and get some air.

I haven't seen any around CR.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Riggi

[Garry]

Does your shop cater to big bikes or scooters or both?

Are you customers mostly Thai or foreign?

If mostly Thai stock the Thai brands- REAL and Index.

If you cater to big bikes and/or foreigners you may want to supply name brand helmets. Shark is a good choice as they are produced here in Thailand.

Personally I'm a big fan of Shoei and HJC.

Ride On!

T

I've read that Zeus Helmets are of an acceptable standard www.zeus-helmets.com/

A thread in Thai Visa about them: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/210366-zeus-helmet-arai-xd-copy-85/

A thread in GT-Rider about them: http://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/threads/29291-Zeus-(Arai-XD-copy)-85

[planemad]

Good to see you are doing some market research before stocking up. My response is not about brand, but about SIZE! A couple of years ago I tried to buy a medium size lid in Ubon, assistants seemed totally phased by this. “No have”, but we have many Large size. I tried one, strapped in, placed 2 fingers under the chin and lifted! It wobbled about like the head on a nodding dog, no use at all.

I eventually found a medium sized “large” lid on one of the backstreets, but it was not exactly what I wanted.

By the way, where are you? Might be good to drop in sometime.

KS

[kandahar]

Hello all.

Thanks again, for the posts and the info. We will try to use the info and your experiences to do the best thing.

kandahar

[Garry]

Hello all.

Thanks again, for the posts and the info. We will try to use the info and your experiences to do the best thing.

kandahar

I meant to ask you mate, do you plan on selling oil or are you already selling any? I normally get my oil from Sa Moto in Chiang Mai, but to be honest I would rather get it locally. I'm a bit fastidious with my oil changes and I change my oil every 2,500 kms. Filter change every second oil change. I run Putoline oil, though no dramas if it is not worth your while, as it always give me an excuse to head down to Chiang Mai. In fact, there is probably someone already selling it in Chinag Rai? hmmmm..

[kandahar]

planemad, we are in Chiang Rai.

Garry, we don't plan to stock oil at this time. I don't know of anyone stocking the oil here in town. I'll keep a lookout, though.

[Garry]

planemad, we are in Chiang Rai.

Garry, we don't plan to stock oil at this time. I don't know of anyone stocking the oil here in town. I'll keep a lookout, though.

Much appreciated. This ist what the container looks like.

http://www.putoline....tion-2003-2004/

Edited April 18, 2011 by Garry

[Leckyman]

Quote: "So, what's on your head? And why?"

Arai, now and mostly for the last 30 years that I've been riding (the last 5+ in Thailand).

Quality, Fit, Full face (ever seen a face or a helmet after an accident where the chin scraped the ground?), durability, etc.

Two things I don't penny-pinch with on a bike are a helmets and tyres. Three if you count leathers, but a good quality well stitched leather biking jacket will likely only be bought once every 10 years or so - waistline permitting .

The other two are more regular - 3 to 5 years max for a lid and tyre-life depends on miles, riding style, and how often a nail, or whatever, selfishly pierces your lovely treads.

If I'm in a minority niche (and this is LOS) then I'll stick there with the minority. However, it might be a minority niche because of ease of availability, overpricing in Thailand, lack of promotion by stockists, or fear of fakes. I think many will ask friends to bring a decent lid in for them, or order online from overseas. Break into that market and you will get a few more sales. Don't envy you though, Thais are by far the biggest market here and most put a low value on the protection of their heads (yes, as do many expats here as well) and sales of cheap replacable lids are always going to be higher and more frequent (obviously, as many of these so-called safety helmets pretty much fall into in the "disposables" category) than the slow, steady, infrequent stream of quality lid sales. Being in (especially quality, if you go there) helmet sales must be a tough business.

.

.

+ 1 on that.

I buy online then get someone to bring it over when they come.

Excellent lids.

[Prudent_rabbit]

I bought myself a Nolan helmet at the Bangkok Motorcycle Show, its the N90 version that flips up with the mount for a bluetooth set, a very good helmet, great fit, low noise and fairly lightweight. A bit more expensive at 10k but I figure that whats inside is worth just a little bit more!

[Seismic]

Personally I use ROOF, I dont think you can go wrong stocking them.

regards

Seismic

[JonnyF]

HJC would be my choice.

Full-face I do not wear due to lack of peripheral vision.

Bought an IS33 last year - has tinted visor that retracts into the shell, with clear faceshield. Like it a lot.

Just bought one of these as well - well kind of - a full face HJC, it's pretty cool you can ride with the inner tint down then if it gets darker just press a button on the top of the lid and the inner tint disappears up into the helmet.

Good for avoiding fines with the cops for the "dark visor" fine - as long as you see them in time

[kandahar]

A little update.

As much as HJC sounds like a popular brand, things aren't looking good here. No significant dealer deals to be had from the distributor, no dealer support from the distributor, no extra product on consignment basis if a large chunk of money is spent with them and only have seven days from receiving date to return product if we feel it won't be a good seller. They have proposed several things that they say are their dealer-only deals but we can buy from another HJC dealer cheaper than we can buy the same models from the distributor. The distributor does offer another route, if we put 300,000 baht in their corporate bank account and leave it there in escrow against future orders but details about what we actually get for that deal are very, very vague. Hmm........

We will contact HJC Asian area head office in Korea and see if HJC corporate can't do something better for us. On some HJC models we looked at, you guys can get them cheaper via the Internet from our Thai dealer friend than we can buy them from the distributor. Hopefully, corporate is a little more interested in moving product.

As near as I can tell, the distributor sells more at retail from their Thailand website than they do to dealers and they would like to keep the profits coming in that way with no competition. I'm just making an observation there, not complaining. It is their investment, up to them what they do with it.

Other brands offer much better deals and a whole lot more support, including free returns on models that don't move. Shark is looking good for us right now.

[dave_boo]

A little update.

As much as HJC sounds like a popular brand, things aren't looking good here. No significant dealer deals to be had from the distributor, no dealer support from the distributor, no extra product on consignment basis if a large chunk of money is spent with them and only have seven days from receiving date to return product if we feel it won't be a good seller. They have proposed several things that they say are their dealer-only deals but we can buy from another HJC dealer cheaper than we can buy the same models from the distributor. The distributor does offer another route, if we put 300,000 baht in their corporate bank account and leave it there in escrow against future orders but details about what we actually get for that deal are very, very vague. Hmm........

We will contact HJC Asian area head office in Korea and see if HJC corporate can't do something better for us. On some HJC models we looked at, you guys can get them cheaper via the Internet from our Thai dealer friend than we can buy them from the distributor. Hopefully, corporate is a little more interested in moving product.

As near as I can tell, the distributor sells more at retail from their Thailand website than they do to dealers and they would like to keep the profits coming in that way with no competition. I'm just making an observation there, not complaining. It is their investment, up to them what they do with it.

Other brands offer much better deals and a whole lot more support, including free returns on models that don't move. Shark is looking good for us right now.

To be fair, how can you expect the distributor to cut their own legs off by giving you deals? I would assume that corporate would probably be willing to deal with you if you're ready to splash down some cash to demonstrate your sincerity...especially since the distributor has a [email protected] email address that HJC has to display on their webpage.

[kandahar]

Distributor- Sells large amounts at lower prices, facilitates bulk sales of product from the factory.

Dealer- Individuals sales, larger profit margin per item.

[dave_boo]

Distributor- Sells large amounts at lower prices, facilitates bulk sales of product from the factory.

Dealer- Individuals sales, larger profit margin per item.

Perhaps I was a bit too obtuse.

If you're planning on undercutting the distributor, in their own market, than you very well can not buy from them can you? I would have thought that was obvious unless the train of thought was that the distributor was going to give a potential dealer helmets at cost and disrupt their own cash flow....

What I was suggesting was to attempt to subvert the established chain, which is obviously flawed in the traditional sense, and, if this is a serious inquiry about establishing a meaningful business, strike out on your own.

[kandahar]

Distributor- Sells large amounts at lower prices, facilitates bulk sales of product from the factory.

Dealer- Individuals sales, larger profit margin per item.

Perhaps I was a bit too obtuse.

If you're planning on undercutting the distributor, in their own market, than you very well can not buy from them can you? I would have thought that was obvious unless the train of thought was that the distributor was going to give a potential dealer helmets at cost and disrupt their own cash flow....

What I was suggesting was to attempt to subvert the established chain, which is obviously flawed in the traditional sense, and, if this is a serious inquiry about establishing a meaningful business, strike out on your own.

Perhaps a bit, but useful thoughts, still. Thanks.

Yes, in the distributor's mind in THIS case, they are looking to protect themselves in the RETAIL market. I find that an odd thing. We deal with quite a few distributors here and have only run into this one other time. It took six weeks of e-mails going back and forth from us and the overseas factory rep before the distributor finally called us and made nice. Truly, at first, the factory didn't believe what I was telling them and the distributor was smart enough not to put any of it in e-mails to us. But the factory did reply to me eventually saying all was fixed and and within minutes of that, the phone rang with the distributor calling us. We were establishing a fair deal with the distributor in minutes. And the distributor told the wife to tell me to never contact the factory with problems again.

Striking out on our own. We are working on it. So far, the factories do not want to go around their distributors and I'm not going to pay that big of a price to get it done. The wife doesn't want to be a distributor, only a dealer. I am sure they cannot work with us because of signed agreements with their distributors. We already step out there a bit on some of these deals just to get things done. Not looking for lawsuits, so we tread lightly.

Edited April 20, 2011 by kandahar

[bbradsby]

Quote: "So, what's on your head? And why?"

Arai, now and mostly for the last 30 years that I've been riding (the last 5+ in Thailand).

Quality, Fit, Full face (ever seen a face or a helmet after an accident where the chin scraped the ground?), durability, etc.

Two things I don't penny-pinch with on a bike are a helmets and tyres. Three if you count leathers, but a good quality well stitched leather biking jacket will likely only be bought once every 10 years or so - waistline permitting .

The other two are more regular - 3 to 5 years max for a lid and tyre-life depends on miles, riding style, and how often a nail, or whatever, selfishly pierces your lovely treads.

If I'm in a minority niche (and this is LOS) then I'll stick there with the minority. However, it might be a minority niche because of ease of availability, overpricing in Thailand, lack of promotion by stockists, or fear of fakes. I think many will ask friends to bring a decent lid in for them, or order online from overseas. Break into that market and you will get a few more sales. Don't envy you though, Thais are by far the biggest market here and most put a low value on the protection of their heads (yes, as do many expats here as well) and sales of cheap replacable lids are always going to be higher and more frequent (obviously, as many of these so-called safety helmets pretty much fall into in the "disposables" category) than the slow, steady, infrequent stream of quality lid sales. Being in (especially quality, if you go there) helmet sales must be a tough business.

.

.

+1 to everything this Scottish gentleman has to say. As we say in the States, proper tires are expensive, but they're cheaper than an ambulance ride... or used to be in any case! As for my gear: I only wear Arai due to fit to my noggin, quality & finish. Present lid is Arai Corsair RX-7 (full DOT/Snell). Other gear is Dainese & Vanson leathers, Alpinestars gloves & boots. Name-dropping's not important - protection is. If you've ever slid across asphalt, you buy proper gear as much as ya can afford.

[Garry]

Quote: "So, what's on your head? And why?"

Arai, now and mostly for the last 30 years that I've been riding (the last 5+ in Thailand).

Quality, Fit, Full face (ever seen a face or a helmet after an accident where the chin scraped the ground?), durability, etc.

Two things I don't penny-pinch with on a bike are a helmets and tyres. Three if you count leathers, but a good quality well stitched leather biking jacket will likely only be bought once every 10 years or so - waistline permitting .

The other two are more regular - 3 to 5 years max for a lid and tyre-life depends on miles, riding style, and how often a nail, or whatever, selfishly pierces your lovely treads.

If I'm in a minority niche (and this is LOS) then I'll stick there with the minority. However, it might be a minority niche because of ease of availability, overpricing in Thailand, lack of promotion by stockists, or fear of fakes. I think many will ask friends to bring a decent lid in for them, or order online from overseas. Break into that market and you will get a few more sales. Don't envy you though, Thais are by far the biggest market here and most put a low value on the protection of their heads (yes, as do many expats here as well) and sales of cheap replacable lids are always going to be higher and more frequent (obviously, as many of these so-called safety helmets pretty much fall into in the "disposables" category) than the slow, steady, infrequent stream of quality lid sales. Being in (especially quality, if you go there) helmet sales must be a tough business.

.

.

+1 to everything this Scottish gentleman has to say. As we say in the States, proper tires are expensive, but they're cheaper than an ambulance ride... or used to be in any case! As for my gear: I only wear Arai due to fit to my noggin, quality & finish. Present lid is Arai Corsair RX-7 (full DOT/Snell). Other gear is Dainese & Vanson leathers, Alpinestars gloves & boots. Name-dropping's not important - protection is. If you've ever slid across asphalt, you buy proper gear as much as ya can afford.

I'm with you guys. I have always had reputable, high quality gear. I always buy from known helmet makers. I am guilty of wearing jeans once in awhile, but thaty will now be changing to draggin jeans, so I will still have my full protection.

Name-dropping's not important - protection is

Well said