For twelve years in a row, Arai Helmets has topped J.D. Power & Associates motorcycle helmet rankings for customer satisfaction. This is important because J.D. Power also found that highly satisfied owners are more likely to buy their brand of helmet again (that’s a no brainer, right?). The kicker though is that the likelihood of a repeat customer is nearly 10x more likely when they are highly satisfied with their helmet. In a world where it’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than to find a new one, a 10x multiple is a staggering figure on how product quality plays into a company’s sales and growth strategy.
This ROI seems to exist at virtually all price points regardless of the actual price paid for a new helmet. Motorcycle owners who are highly satisfied with their helmet also say they believe they received a great value in their purchase, despite the price. Furthermore, 57% of highly satisfied helmet owners say that they got an “outstanding” amount of value out of their purchase.
Out the most highly rated helmets Arai was followed by Shoei, Icon, and Harley-Davidson (in that order), with all four brands beating out the industry average. On par were Scorpion and Bell (Scorpion was just above the industry average, and Bell just below it). Check the attached chart for more listings.
Helping come to this assessment, J.D. Power consolidated 4,800 customer responses that focused on three key factors: helmet ventilation, face shield, and design & styling. Each of these three factors was then further broken down into 11 other attributes (quietness; ventilation/air flow; defogging performance; face shield ability to keep wind out; face shield ability to resist scratching; ease of replacing face shield; scratch resistance of shell; color/graphic design; weight; ease of fastening the strap; and fit and comfort), and a comprehensive score was made out of the results.
Both Harley-Davidson and Bell Helmets showed a substantial increase in customer satisfaction as they’ve improved their product line. We’ve got a couple Bell Helmets here in the A&R office, and should have a comprehensive report on them soon.
Source: J.D. Power & Associates
Congrats to Arai. I really like Arai’s dirt lid, their street stuff not so much. Last year I switched to the Bell Star and Bell Moto8 and now prefer those to Arai’s top of the line offerings. I dig the fancy helmet bag and extra goodies too:)
My congrats to Arai as well. I recently had to replace the side pods on my two year old Vector lid. I emailed Arai, they said my helmet had a five year warranty. Five freaking years! They sent out new side pods for free. Excellent support. And to boot, the helmet is great!
Arai Tops J.D. Power & Associates Helmet Rankings – http://aspha.lt/112 #motorcycle
After having an array of helmets in my 16 years of riding, I can honestly say that for the money and shape of my head that Shoei is hands down the best I have owned. Since purchasing my first Shoei I have tried others and went right back to them. By the way, Harley makes helmets? I guess I wouldn’t of considered a bandanna a helmet. Their helmets are a joke in that they are HJC helmets with a $150 HD sticker.
As an Arai Owner for many years, and now trying Shoei and Bell, I can agree that they’re exceptional helmets. But I would love to see the JD Power ratings for motorcycle support industries, like leathers: Dainese vs. Alpinestars vs. MotoGP vs. Frank Thomas. Things that may not have as much chatter and prominance as motorcycle brands would. Recognizing the distinction and correlation between purchase price and perceived value. I would stipulate that a person willing to shell out the bucks for an Arai or Shoei have already bought into the more abstract concept of “safety ratings,” and are therefore more likely to yield favorable marks in other features, simply because they’re pleased with the helmet in general.
Speaking of which, wouldn’t a typical person who understands the value in an Arai, bug splattered as it may be, want to put something better than downed Technic’s on their hands?
Shoutout to all vendors: A&R needs a pair of new gloves, size L Jenny?.
Yes, a large please. I have freakishly large hands.