Ducati Monster Forum

OGK Kabuto, a helmet manufacture in Japan (they also make bicycle helmet & gear), lost their JIS certification Nov. 25th. 2019.

Now, here at Ducati Monster forum, we don’t talk about the politics, so, this post  is just for your information purpose only.

They (OGK) no longer offers their products in North American market, however, some retailers still sell them (such as
Sportbiketrackgear, as well as various eBay sellers.
They still have distributors in South East Asia, Australia, and some part of Europe.

I wrote about JIS, and Psc, SG stickers here,
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=76572.msg1421072#msg1421072
so I won’t repeat them in this post.
If you are interested in detail, please take a look at the link above.

To put is very simple, Psc and SG are mandatory. You cannot sell item like motorcycle helmet
without them.
(The ONLY way to sell them without Psc /SG is to clearly state that the item is for display purpose only, NOT meant to be used as motorcycle helmet. )

So, about OGK.  The whole point of the story is this.

JIS certified item must be produced in the plant (s) that’s been certified, in the way it’s been reported.
(It doesn’t matter which part of the world the plant is located.)

OGK has two plants for MC helmet. One in Qingdao, China (perhaps better known as Tsingtao), another one in
Osaka, Japan.
Reported that 80% of the manufacturing process is done in Qingdao plant, 20 % is done at Osaka plant.

After about 5 years of investigation, it was found that their statement was not true. Which means, to put it plain and simple, they failed to produce the items in the way they promised to the public they would do.
In other words, they have been cheating the public, for years.
This revoking their JIS certification is the result of nearly 5 years of investigation, so, clearly it’s not a minor
careless mistake or one time thing.

NOTE: It’s just that their Osaka Plant lost certification, therefore, all the products that came out from Osaka plant
have lost JIS certification.
NOT that there was any defect, safety related problems, etc.
MFJ (Motorcycle Federation of Japan) officially announced that RT-33 (which is MFJ certified) still remains as MFJ certified helmet. Therefore, there won’t be any problem using them on track / race.
(The helmets that are not MFJ certified cannot be used for track riding and racing event.)

What models are affected ?

RT-33
(https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/yoikokko/imgs/4/5/45fc4692.jpg)

Aeroblade-5
(https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/yoikokko/imgs/a/5/a51d2142.jpg)

IBUKI
(https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/yoikokko/imgs/7/0/70de2944.jpg)

Other models were not affected (because they were, from the beginning, reported as made in Qingdao, China.

Above three, which were said made in Japan but weren’t, will be certified again as made in China model.
(most probably. Unless OGK is willing to keep selling them as the way they are now.)