My new helmet(s)

[Anonymous]

I just got my new helmet - since I crashed a few times with my old one, I needed to replace it - got the same helmet as before (KBC VR-1), just a different graphic scheme - I like the lid & got a super deal on it too ($150 - I paid $175 for my old one! ). I'm also going to use it as a back-up for racing:


Here's the helmet that I'm planning on getting as my primary race helmet - it's the KBC Racer-1 (Mat Mladin is wearing this lid) and I can get it for about $230. I tried one on and it's really nice - with a few design features taken directly from Arai, but for half the price :


The picture just doesn't do the Racer-1 justice - I saw one in the store and was blown away - what you can't see in the picture is the top-middle of the helmet - it's got a black strip, with faded-gold checkers - sounds wierd, but looks uber-sweet!

Both helmets got good reviews at HelmetHarbor.com (in early '02, the VR-1 was their pick for under $250). This year, they reccomend the Racer-1 as their top pick under $399. They also mention it's becoming very popular with club racers, who often several helmets for a season (that's at the end of their "closer look" at the helmet).

[Hozerking]

looking good! ... at that price I have been considering taking a closer look at the vrs!

I haven't seen a race on in person! let me know if you get it! I want to touch it! really I'd like to see the fit and finish.

-al

[BigE]

Those are both sweet lids! Sun Honda had their KBC helmets on sale(20% off) a couple of weeks ago. I think prices are comparable to what you have listed above and they had both those color schemes in stock.

[Quick636]

Yo spidey... where is your hook up for the racer-1? Best I could find online was 250 with free shipping.

Hook a brutha up!

[Anonymous]

Yo spidey... where is your hook up for the racer-1? Best I could find online was 250 with free shipping.

Hook a brutha up!

Step 1:
DiscountMotorcycleHelmet.com (a division of Discount Tire here in town) has them for $235 (online price). I went there to see the helmet. & the manager told me that the in-store price is $10 more plus tax. If you order it off the website, because you live in Colorado, you don't have the option of having it shipped to your home - you can only pick it up at the store, so there's no shipping charge, and tax comes to just over $18, for a total of about $153 (in this case HelmetHarbor.com is better with the $250 w/free shipping). BUT... if the helmet were being shipped out of state (ie: to Sacramento, CA ), the shipping cost would be $8.68.

Step 2:
Get in touch with MotorcycleMart.com (this may prove to be difficult, however, because their customer service has declined in the past 2 years since I first started shopping with them ), you'll have to use the "Contact" form to send them a message (lately, their phone line is always closed ). Tell them that you're a member of the Colorado Sportbike Club, and that the club's website says that they'll beat anyone's price on most stuff (it's all right here on the Shopping page of the main site). Tell them the make, model, size & color (ie: KBC Racer-1, small, Comet red/silver/black) of helmet that you're interested in, then tell them that you found it online at DiscountMotorcycleHelmet.com for $235, and ask them if they will beat that. Typically, they'll take the competitor's price + shipping (that's how much it would cost to have the competitor ship the helmet to them, which, by the way, just happens to be Sacremento, CA ) & knock a few bucks off the total price (it varies depending on the item). For this helmet, they should knock the price down to about $230. With shipping, it should be right at, or just under $240.
DO NOT mention the $8. 68 shipping charge to CA, when I was on the phone with him trying to work out this deal, he picked up another line and called DMTA to try and find out wha the shipping charge for that helmet would be to 95841 (their address). The reason I know the exact amount is because I changed the shipping address (I used MotorcycleMart's mailing address) in my profile on the DMTA website and started the checkout process to find out the exact shipping charge. I was able to get that before the DMTA phone rep was able to give him the answer.

It's a lot of work, but most of it's done for you already (just check out the website in Step 1 so you know how to find the helmet). I'm just a cheap bastard trying to save every last penny. The way I look at it is, sometimes shipping is going to be cheaper than tax (especially when you do the research), so why not take advantage of that.

Oh, and if you really need to talk to them in person (and they're not answering the phone number on their website ), try 916-344-2141 and ask to speak to somebody who can help them with an order on MotorcycleMart.com. If they ask you how you got this number, just tell them that Good Times Kawasaki (in Sacramento) is listed on the MotorcycleMart.com Order page: "Payment will be made to: Good Times Kawasaki 4727 Auburn Blvd. Sacramento, Ca. 95841." and the phone number is on the the Good Times Kawasaki website (www.sacramentomotorcycles.com), which you found by doing a web search for them.

And here's something I found interesting, MotorcycleMart has the KBC Racer-1 listed on their website for $296.95!