The Man Who Dresses The Best Heads In The Business
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday May 20, 1988
James Cran-Crombie is an institution in the motoring and motorcycling world. Over the years anyone who has been anything in motor sport or motorcycle racing has been approached by Jim with: "I'd like you to wear one of my Arai helmets."
Next time you see a line-up of racing drivers or bike racers, count the Arai helmets. They'll be everywhere. It's proof that Jim Crombie (as he is usually known) knows how to get his helmets on to the best heads in the business. What's more, they either pay him for the helmet or he gives it to them. In this hyper-world of sponsorship, you would expect Jim Crombie to be paying them to display his product. Oh no. That's not how Jim Crombie sees the situation.
He's a friendly man, in previous eras he would have been described as a gentleman. He flew Catalina flying boats in World War II and was part of the Occupation Forces in Japan. He wore helmets and seat belts when everyone thought you were a sissy if you did. Now everyone must and it is considered foolish not to.
Even so, Jim Crombie can't see why some people can escape having to wear a Standards Association of Australia-approved helmet.
He admits he's peeved, partly because helmet exemptions are not good for business, but mostly, he says, he can't see why you and I should pay the medical bills for riders who aren't wearing helmets and injure themselves in crashes.
Had the State Labor Party been voted back to power on March 19, all helmet exemptions would have been revoked on April 1 and, thereafter, anyone wanting to ride free would have had to re-apply to the Department of Motor Transport. There, a medical officer would have looked at each application and, if it was rejected, there would have been no appeal.
I put my letterbox on the line some weeks ago by saying there should be no exemptions, except under the most peculiar of circumstances, because I was committed in my belief that helmets save lives and reduce serious injuries.
I did note, though, that I felt for the poor copper who was going to pull up a group of 1 per centers and ask them for their helmet exemptions.
It's now history that the new Coalition Government put a freeze on the April 1 deal. Now, in the finest tradition of Public Service shuffle and political non-speak, the proposal is being evaluated (or is that re-evaluated?) by the DMT and in the fullness of time, blah blah, a decision will be made.
A spokesman for the Minister for Transport, Mr Baird, said this week that the Minister saw arguments for and against the helmet issue and wanted to look at all aspects of the review, but that the law, as it was, still is.
Mr Baird obviously doesn't want 3,000 bike riders descending on Parliament House, condemning the withdrawing of helmet exemptions. There is a lot of heat in the dispute and while most bike riders wear helmets, most, it seems, want the decision of whether or not to wear one left to the individual. For that they'll fight.
I don't think the individual has the right to decide in this case, just as no-one (with very few exceptions) has the right to decide whether or not to wear a seat belt.
As Jim Crombie confesses, not everyone has $350 to buy an Arai helmet, but any SAA-approved helmet, he says, is better than nothing. Heads can't be replaced, but helmets can.
LUCKY me. Ascot Leathergoods in Melbourne recently sent me its new, waxed cotton jacket and trousers to try out. What's new about the quilt-lined jacket is the use in the shoulders and elbows of shock-absorbing polyethylene padding.
I look a bit like Michael Jackson with razor-sharp shoulders wearing the jacket (it being just a touch too big for me) but I can recommend it.
It is very well made, of Belstaff or better quality, but is let down somewhat by the zip which is small and fiddly. But it is absolutely waterproof and windproof. I rode a long way in Sydney's recent Big Wet and not a drop got through.
Alas, I cannot say the same about the trousers. They leaked at some stage, probably through a zip somewhere, and I ended up with a wet backside.
The jacket (and presumably the trousers) are made from Australian-made fabric. That's a major plus, but a big problem is the price - the jacket retails for $179. That's $40.05 more than an equivalent Belstaff jacket from Motorcycle Accessories Supermarket in Sydney, and while I hate to say it, Belstaff has the name and the reputation.
Ascot's jacket is very, very good, but I'm not sure it's $40.05 better than the Belstaff.
© 1988 Sydney Morning Herald