Five things you probably didn’t know about Shoei

On Tuesday MCN brought you the news of the launch of the brand new XR1100 helmet.

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The totally redesigned helmet is set to replace the massively popular XR1000 in September.

But what about some things about Shoei you might not have known?

Here are five facts that you probably didn’t know about the Japanese helmet manufacturer.

1. Shoei produce 1900 helmets a day at their two factories based in Japan.

2. Shoei has two Japanese factories – one in the south in Ibaraki near Toyko and Iwata in the north. The reason – because earthquakes are so common in Japan, Shoei wanted to guarantee production continues at one of their sites if there is an earthquake in one of the regions.

3. Anyone who works in, and enters, the Shoei factories cannot wear outdoor footwear.

4. Each Shoei helmet is quality control checked at a number of different stages of production. After each stage the helmet is stamped with the name of the person who checked it.

5. Transfers for graphic options are put on the helmets by hand. It takes a year of training before any person is allowed to do this on a daily basis.