Arai Tour X5 Helmet Review: Still The Go-To ADV Lid?

If the Arai Tour X5 looks familiar, there’s a good reason why. At first glance, it looks damn near identical to the Tour X4 it replaces. However, on closer inspection, there are some important changes.

There’s a new duct to keep your forehead cool, and it neatly doubles up as the Arai logo, as also seen on the Quantic helmet. The chin vents are new too, and there are now flat spots on the sides for the easy mounting of intercom systems from the likes of Cardo and Sena. 

Perhaps the most significant change is the new VAS-A visor system. It’s derived from the VAS-V visor found on the RX-7V, giving “more surface area to glance off impact energy,” while also making it easier to take off the visor and the peak.

The changes to the Tour X5 mean it complies with the latest ECE 22.06 helmet regulations. The previous X4 conformed to the older ECE 22.05 rules.

I’ve had a Tour X5 on test for several months and hundreds of miles, using it for on-road riding, off-road riding at Sweet Lamb Adventure in Wales and trail riding on unpaved public highways. It’s been tested with and without the visor, and on a variety of different bikes.

Key features

• Logo vent system
• ECE 22.06 compliant
• Tool-less visor/peak removal
• New chin vents

It’s a great-looking lid, enhanced further by the jazzier liveries available, including the Cosmic Yellow as seen on my test sample. Those are charged at a £100 premium, but I’d say it’s worth the extra outlay.

As with every Arai motorcycle helmet I’ve ever worn, it’s comfortable to put on and wear. Visibility through the large visor is excellent, and the ventilation keeps everything nicely breezy even when getting hot and sweaty on a tricky trail.

Taking the peak off is a simple case of removing two plastic screws (I used a coin), removing the plastic covers these screws hold on, removing the peak and replacing the covers.

I’m yet to run the X5 with goggles in place of the visor, although I have taken it off to fit the supplied Pinlock insert. Removing the visor is easy-peasy, certainly simpler than the fairly convoluted process on the Arai Concept XE I’ve also been testing this year. All you need to do is remove those aforementioned covers, push in a tab to pop out the larger plastic covers that shroud the visor folding mechanism and position that side visor so it comes free of the helmet. Repeat for the other side, and you’re done.

Inevitably, it’s quite noisy with the peak fitted, and while things do get quieter with the peak removed, this is not a particularly quiet lid, with a low-pitched rumbling accompanying the ride if you go above 40mph. There’s quite a lot of whistling if you run it at lower speeds with the visor up, too.

It’s perfectly liveable, though. What I find a little more irksome is that the underside of the liner is no more protected than on more road-focused Arai helmets. And that’s to say, it’s not particularly well protected at all, so on a wet ride or one featuring some exuberant water splashes, you might feel the liner start to get a bit damp.

Should you buy an Arai Tour X5?

The Tour X5 is priced at the more premium end of the ADV helmet spectrum, but while it isn’t perfect, it’s worth the outlay. It’s a really good quality item with loads of new features to keep you both cool and protected both on the road and on the trails, and most importantly (for some, at least) it looks pretty damn rad.

The only caveat is if you can live without the new features and increased safety measures, retailers are heavily discounting remaining Tour X4 stock, so you can get yourself a very similar-looking Arai lid that’ll be very nearly as safe and breezy but for around half the price. Something to weigh up before taking the plunge.