Helmet time

[Nick Brett]

It's time to get a new helmet. I bought my old one in a hurry and its never been very comfy. Luckily it's just a cheapy Dainese. I quite fancy one of those Roof Daytona jobs, I tried one on and it feels good. I was wondering what you guys have and what you think about it. Is it worth paying ?500 odd for a top of the range lid, or would a mid range one be just as good?

 

[roXXo]

Nick

Buying a helmet is a very personal thing.
Buy what you are comfortable with. If it meets the Law/standards required and fits you correctly and is comfortable then buy it.

Fashion, designer label, reputation and price all have a place but it's up to you what you are happy with.

Personally I have never paid more than ?200 for a lid. All have met my requirements of fit, perceived level of protection (ACU gold ) and comfort.


I have a KBC at the moment.
I have had 4 shoeis and also the following.... who remembers these....

Cromwell Duke (the Police wore them in the 70's)
Boeri Sport
Centurion X

:beer:

 

[Jaws]

Had just about all the different makes but now tend to go for the Shoei range.
?500 will buy the same bash hat as is available for ?300 but it will have a flash paint job.. nowt else different !

BTW, Centurian helmets used to be made here in Thetford.
My younger daughter worked there for many many years.. Chances are that the stickers on your bash hat were put on by her !

 

[stormer]

I have shoei Z one and it is poor for wind noise, causing eyes to run and misting.
Wifey has the Roof and likes it lots.(and she's fussy!)
I have bought the carberg flip with built in dark visor and am very pleased with it.

 

[Jaws]

I currently have an XR-800, bought for ?240.00..
It is as quiet as a quiet thing, fits really well, is comfy even after several hours.. All in all I really good bit of kit.

 

[Jaws]

Now I am gonna REALLY show my age here.. my first bash hat was a thing called a Corker.
It was basically made of leather and cork and was usually used by old farts and the like.. but I had spent all my wonga on insurance and tax so was gratful when someone donated a bash hat of any sort for me to wear

 

[birdinflight]

I have a shoei head...........

and after wearing dereks Arai for a while would not buy one. Too noisy for me. Top make yes, but I am very happy with my XR900 lighter than your XR800 Jaws but exactly the same quality.

it all depends on the shape of your head. Everyone is different.

Try as many as you can on, you will soon feel which ones suit you. As long as they have the british standard and ACU then thats all you need to know. If the one for ?150 fits a treat then thats better for you than the ?300 one with the flash paintjob but it makes your forehead hurt.

 

[frenchuk]

Schuberth S1

Me, I'm married to my Schuberth S1
test ride HERE

Chances are it saved my life hence me being married to it, details of the full crash test HERE, plus all the reasons given in the test ride thread :beer:

 

[Jono]

Arai for me, tried the Shoei XR900, it got very uncomfortable after a while, I think it was the stitching on the liner at the front, the lining is very thin at that point where it crosses the forehead. Arai very comfy, like sticking yer head in a duvet. Mate has a roof helmet, hates it, steams up all the time. Each to their own. :dunno:

 

[Allan1]

Mine was

A Shoei Shockwave, cheap but good, bought a KBC, load of crap, if the Shoei didnt smell so bad I'd start using it again.

Buzz

 

[B1rdie]

I have a Shoei X-Spirit, very light but a touch noisy, very stable in the air, defo better than the Z-One's before it.

My wife has a ROOF and loves it, it crushed my head and is much heavier.

A very personal thing, heads :}

 

[B1rdie]

Many wise words have already been said, but one thing that hasn't been touched upon is the long-term fit issues. My SHOEI X-Ceed is, for me, a perfect fit and I love it to bits - I too have a Shoei head! What has particularly impressed me about the X-Ceed (current model is the X-Spirit) is that the liner hasn't compressed in over 6 years of use. It's as snug and comfortable a fit as it was on day one. It used to be that the cheaper models became progressively slacker as their lining compressed - don't know if that's still the case today.

You also tend to get removanle liners with the pricier items, so that they can be kept clean more easily.

For years, back in the seventies, I had a Bell Star helmet. Bloody superb at the time but when I look at the old photos it does look comical against modern designs. But, in its day it was the best you could get, along with Griffin.

Very similar overall exp to clive, even the same Bell in the 70's The then RR of helmets, and cost more than the bike.

 

[ianrobbo1]

Ive had a number of skid lids in my time and was over the moon with a "Vemar" albeit a ?150 cheapo it had the gold do dah!! and stuff, till some scrot nicked it off my bike, "I was a courier"at the time, My present "lid" is a Soumy, and is well due a change, I bought an AGV, and in the shop it felt great, :dunno: first time on !! my god I hated it and haven't worn it since, noisy, pulls my head back,"it has a spoiler affair on it" it catches on my jacket, and I cant get used to the bloody seat belt type fastener, :bang:
my "problem" among-st others I hear you chiming, :f is how do you tell what a helmet is like without finding out "the hard" way, they don't let you try before you buy, and as has been stated before on this thread, a helmet is a "personal" thing, fit size etc, any ideas??? :dunno:

 

[mikew]

Had a similiar problem ..

with Andreas and my new Shoei's. Feckin hated them after we bought them.

Just before we went to Lake Garda, I decided to treat us both to new helmets, and being a Shoei fan (saved my bonce when I stacked at Mallory), we looked around and tried on literally dozens before settling on two new Shoei Raids.

By the time we had got home and gone out for a blast on the following day, Andrea was in tears with the pain in the side of her head, and with me being a specy wearer, found that after about 20 mins, I had incredible pain around my ears.

For the trip to Garda, I ditched my Shoei and wore my old Lazer flip up, probably the best choice I made given the appalling weather, they don't mist at all, but Andrea was stuck with her Shoei. So she was poppin asprin for the trip, and we were stopping every 40 minutes for a helmet break. The trip was a nightmare for her.

Once back from Garda we took both lids back and asked for them to be either replaced or a refund, shop didn't want to know. Said they were damaged! I'd only worn mine for about 2 hours!

So we had two Raids that we were not wanting to wear again, so I took a stanley knife to the inside of mine and cut two grooves in the inner lining for my glasses' arms, much better now, and I've "shaved" an area of the inner lining from where it was causing pain from Andreas'. They are better now, but I shouldn't have to start carving the things up.

How the hell is someone supposed to know what a helmet, (or even a bike for that matter), is going to be like after 6 hours or more when you only get to try them on in a shop for a couple of minutes?
I want to replace my Suzuki V-Strom asap, but when Andrea sits on any other bike, she says "yes, very nice, but what is it like after 3 hours?" and very few dealers let you have a long test ride. Ideally a whole weekend would be a perfect test, but you try getting one.

Dunno :dunno: what the solution is, but I get a bit pissed at being required to buy without a test, wouldnt buy a car without trying it would we? :bang:

mike

 

[B1rdie]

Ive had a number of skid lids in my time and was over the moon with a "Vemar" albeit a ?150 cheapo it had the gold do dah!! and stuff, till some scrot nicked it off my bike, "I was a courier"at the time, My present "lid" is a Soumy, and is well due a change, I bought an AGV, and in the shop it felt great, :dunno: first time on !! my god I hated it and haven't worn it since, noisy, pulls my head back,"it has a spoiler affair on it" it catches on my jacket, and I cant get used to the bloody seat belt type fastener, :bang:
my "problem" among-st others I hear you chiming, :f is how do you tell what a helmet is like without finding out "the hard" way, they don't let you try before you buy, and as has been stated before on this thread, a helmet is a "personal" thing, fit size etc, any ideas??? :dunno:

NO

You would have a lot of trouble, getting a helmet to fit NICELY on your head. :yo:

 

[B1rdie]

with Andreas and my new Shoei's. Feckin hated them after we bought them.

Just before we went to Lake Garda, I decided to treat us both to new helmets, and being a Shoei fan (saved my bonce when I stacked at Mallory), we looked around and tried on literally dozens before settling on two new Shoei Raids.

By the time we had got home and gone out for a blast on the following day, Andrea was in tears with the pain in the side of her head, and with me being a specy wearer, found that after about 20 mins, I had incredible pain around my ears.

For the trip to Garda, I ditched my Shoei and wore my old Lazer flip up, probably the best choice I made given the appalling weather, they don't mist at all, but Andrea was stuck with her Shoei. So she was poppin asprin for the trip, and we were stopping every 40 minutes for a helmet break. The trip was a nightmare for her.

Once back from Garda we took both lids back and asked for them to be either replaced or a refund, shop didn't want to know. Said they were damaged! I'd only worn mine for about 2 hours!

So we had two Raids that we were not wanting to wear again, so I took a stanley knife to the inside of mine and cut two grooves in the inner lining for my glasses' arms, much better now, and I've "shaved" an area of the inner lining from where it was causing pain from Andreas'. They are better now, but I shouldn't have to start carving the things up.

How the hell is someone supposed to know what a helmet, (or even a bike for that matter), is going to be like after 6 hours or more when you only get to try them on in a shop for a couple of minutes?
I want to replace my Suzuki V-Strom asap, but when Andrea sits on any other bike, she says "yes, very nice, but what is it like after 3 hours?" and very few dealers let you have a long test ride. Ideally a whole weekend would be a perfect test, but you try getting one.

Dunno :dunno: what the solution is, but I get a bit pissed at being required to buy without a test, wouldnt buy a car without trying it would we? :bang:

mike

I believe Shoei do a fitting kit, that I have seen at my local Honda dealer to sort the problems you mention.
I also wear glasses and have never had a prob with Shoei.

 

[marcusfordus]

Helmets

Picked up a Shoei syncrotec flip up from ebay, brand new in a box with all paperwork and BS sticker with the Feridax importer label on the interior just to prove it is a genuine UK article. These retail at ?250, bargain at ?82. Totally different fit to my ageing Arai, but with much better visability. Found it quieter with the wrap around visor and not side podded fitment as all the Arai's are. Doddle to change/clean visor as well.

 

[RHINO]

SHOEI

I use a SHOEI RAID, cheap as chips and as comfy to ride in as a fat lass.

 

[mikew]

I believe Shoei do a fitting kit, that I have seen at my local Honda dealer to sort the problems you mention.
I also wear glasses and have never had a prob with Shoei.

Neither had I until that point.

Fitting kit? The linings on the Raid don't come out, so I'm at a loss to understand what a fitting kit could consist of. I know other lids, Arai for instance, have a range of interchangeable cheek pads and forehead pads, but the liners have to come out to change them.

Not disputing what you say, just baffled ...

(don't worry, light switches baffle me as well.....)


Hope you enjoyed your ride out on Sunday, whichever one you were on ....

 

[B1rdie]

Neither had I until that point.

Fitting kit? The linings on the Raid don't come out, so I'm at a loss to understand what a fitting kit could consist of. I know other lids, Arai for instance, have a range of interchangeable cheek pads and forehead pads, but the liners have to come out to change them.

Not disputing what you say, just baffled ...

(don't worry, light switches baffle me as well.....)


Hope you enjoyed your ride out on Sunday, whichever one you were on ....

In the case of the Raid you may have a problem, but I would enquire as to what can be modded on Shoei's, I have seen the kit, I was talking to the Shoei rep he was asking my opinion on the X-Spirit, when it was launched last year, I had just wrecked my Z-One at Mallory, when he was bringing in parts to top up the dealer's modding kit.

The ride I went on was very enjoyable thanks.


:}