RS Taichi vs Helimot suit

[mhpcto]

No experience with the Helimot, just want to add feedback on the Taichi.

After three Dainese suits (ok, all held up well in crashes, including a high-speed one at Willow) and one Alpinestar (crap) I finally bought a Taichi R070 a couple of years ago.

What a difference. The Taichi is a great suit: subtle leather; runs very cool due to a lot of perforation; excellent fit (stretch panels in all the right places); nice color schemes (I hate monochrome and dark suits).

It was well worth the $2K and I wish I had bought one earlier, having lusted after one since the mid '90s after they sent me a leather sample from Japan.

 

[crick]

I've been told that the RS Taichi suits are screened printed the color rather than drum dyed like most leathers. From what i been told, drum dying leather weakens it a little.

As for my opinion between the two: Helimot. His service is unrivaled. His staff is unrivaled.

I have finger lengths of xtra-large with finger diameter of small. Palm size of small. Helimot semi-customed me a pair of gloves - actually, two pair - the deer skin and kangaroo one.

Both are AWESOME in terms of custom made and feel great. I've retired all my off the rack gloves for the custom heli's.

One day, i went in to talk to helimot - just casual conversation about gettnig new gloves made. One of his worker bees came out, spotted my gloves, took them and flipped them inside out to check out the seams, then ran into the back and reworked some of the stitching. I didnt have a problem with 'em and didnt ask for her to inspect it... but when she came back with them, it felt ever so more secure. - crazy perfectionists!

If you havent, please in the least take your time to visit helimot. he's custom fitted suits for a ton of folks, including Nicki Hayden.

it's a real tough decision tho, i do not think you can go wrong with either.

 

[RRrider]

When in doubt between two seemingly good and relatively equal options, I'd say, go local! Supports the local economy, and you have local service. Helmut @ Helimot FTW.

("lokal", ja, glücklicherweise wohnt er jetzt hier in der Gegend, aber klar, kommt er nicht aus Kalifornien)

 

[crick]

When in doubt between two seemingly good and relatively equal options, I'd say, go local! Supports the local economy, and you have local service. Helmut @ Helimot FTW.

("lokal", ja, glücklicherweise wohnt er jetzt hier in der Gegend, aber klar, kommt er nicht aus Kalifornien)

but we need to support japan in this time of crisis

 

[JO EBRMC]

I would suggest you try out both, But I am a huge fan of Taichi. I own both an Taichi GP Max-070 and NXL-100. Very happy with both of them. the only reason that I have two (not one) is because I'm fat in the winter and lean in the summer !

I do not own Helmiot, so cannot comment on their quality. However, I doubt many of the posters commenting pro Helmiot own Taichi either, so I thought I'd add my vote to balance.

I'm not sure how one goes about "trying both".

Perhaps there are people here recommending Helimot who don't own one. However, if you are looking for real recommendations, just go to an AFM race and walk around. The number of Helimot suits there should give you some indication of the quality. Talk to just about any racer and they'll steer you in the same direction.

Then, of course, you'll almost certainly find Helmut himself there at the track as well.

 

[100%]

Found this thread a while back and was very excited to see some interest in RS Taichi in NorCal! Insurrection Racing has become an RS Taichi dealer, both for custom RS Taichi and off-the-rack RS Taichi road racing suits. Come on out to the Thunderhill ProShop at an upcoming Keigwins day and check out the RS Taichi gear.

We'll have off-the-rack GP-WRX R303 and GP-MAX R101 suits. The R101 suits double for our fit suits for custom Japanese-made RS Taichi gear. I have to say, we repair EVERY brand of suit, and we went with RS Taichi because there's simply no better suit on the market, bar none...

As far as support, we repair more suits than everyone in NorCal combined, right at Thunderhill. If you have a spill, we're right there for ya, whether it's a track day or an AFM event...we've got your back and will get you back on track!!!

Also, I do want to mention that with RS Taichi you do have the option of going with patches/names directly screened onto the suit OR you have the option of going with leather lettering or leather screened patches (the latter two options allow you to fix the suit much better in the event of a crash!). Since I'm no GP rider, I went with leather screened patches. This way, if I crash, Carrie, our professional repair specialist, orders me up what I need and puts in right back on the suit. However, if you want that GP look, screening is available, but I'd discourage it.

Other posts here are correct, the COLORS on the Japanese-made suit are screened on, as to avoid weakening the full-grain leather.

Here are some examples of the custom RS Taichi art proofs...one is mine...the rest are for AMA folks...

World-level stuff--

 

[kevin 714]

You really can't go wrong with either. How much track riding you do?

 

[100%]

You really can't go wrong with either. How much track riding you do?

I love the track...probably got out about 60 days last year... This year, it'll be about the same... Both RS Taichi and Helimot are excellent choices for leathers...

I'd like to mention that another great choice in leathers is our Pilot USA custom suits. I wouldn't put them in the same quality category of Japanese-made RS Taichi, but they're freakin' SWEET, crash incredibly well (we do all the repairs for the Pilot USA AMA riders, so we've seen a ton of crash damage!), and are very reasonably priced. Some of the fastest riders in the AFM are currently in Pilot USA suits and they've done some great crash testing for us as well

 

[kevin 714]

Does taichi still make those cool double gloves? Where you put on a glove, and then an aux glove goes over it

 

[100%]

Does taichi still make those cool double gloves? Where you put on a glove, and then an aux glove goes over it

I don't believe so...their two top of the line gloves are the GP-EVO glove--

and the GP-WRX glove--

 

[C-STAR @IR]

I worked on over 700 suits last year alone. What I can tell you is this...suits over $1200.00 are generally pretty safe. Make sure to look for double and triple stitched seams, safety seams (a split seam with hidden reinforcing tape sewn in to hold the seam together), real Keprotec (not denier nylon), and CE approved armor. External armor on the shoulder is a must at this point in time, since it reduces the chance of a tumble in a fall as well as protects the shoulder seam from ripping apart.

We picked up RS Taichi to compliment our custom Pilot USA suits because I was blown away by the quality of the Japanese-made RS Taichi. Pilot's custom suits are certainly great and crash very well, but if you have a little extra dough and want the absolute best on the market, Japanese-made RS Taichi is the way to go.

I work on a number of AMA rider's suits and see a ton of crash damage. Please look for suits with the characteristics mentioned in the first paragraph of this post and you'll be set for the track!

 

[afm199]

Carrie you gonna be at the shop at Thill monday and tuesday? I'll bring my leathers.

 

[C-STAR @IR]

Carrie you gonna be at the shop at Thill monday and tuesday? I'll bring my leathers.

Ernie--

We'll be there both days! Bring in the suit and I can have it back to you shortly.

See ya tonight or, at the latest, tomorrow...

Give Wade hell out there Mon. and Tues.!!!

 

[delta136]

Just read the thread and am glad about the positive remarks that RS taichi is getting

I feel as if theyre not as popular in the states, but they offer a lot more value and protection that some of the more known name brands

I'm an avid RS taichi customer for life now

Currently rockin' the GMX Motion jacket, GP-EVO gloves, and the hardshell knee guards

 

[100%]

Just read the thread and am glad about the positive remarks that RS taichi is getting

I feel as if theyre not as popular in the states, but they offer a lot more value and protection that some of the more known name brands

I'm an avid RS taichi customer for life now

Currently rockin' the GMX Motion jacket, GP-EVO gloves, and the hardshell knee guards

+1

Rode in my RS Taichi GP-MAX R101 the other day with Keigwins@TheTrack at Infineon and loved it!!!

Also, we got in our first RS Taichi AMA suit for repair this season. I thought I'd post it up for folks to see. This is the suit after five high speed crashes...very little damage. Repairing these AMA suits is a lot of fun and its great to cheer on the AMA riders that have us do repair work on their suits!

 

[vato_loco]

Nice infomercial:

[Youtube]ciycvknmLBg[/youtube]

 

[Crom]

I have an RS Taichi suit but the legs are a bit too long. Anyone know if it's possible to get it altered? I looked into getting a custom Helimot suit but the cost is too much for me right now.

 

[kevin 714]

OP ever say what he got?