Well my Shoei XR 1100 must be 10 years old now and has started to let in water.
The Shoei was a bastard to get comfortable, but once fitted comfortable in cold and hot weather for all day riding with clear vision with a cardo freecom intercom fitted.
So what next?
Shoei GT Air 2 - not sure my head is Shoei shaped, will it be a load of agg to get the fit right again?
HJC RPHA 70, rumors of water coming in through the vents in heavy rain. True or not?
Nolan N87, great budget lids, had a Nolan in the 90's for many years, fitted perfectly out of the box.
Any one got experience of these three?
Any other recommendations, must be a full face and not a flipup. I wear glasses and will plumb the cardo in.
Thanks
Ray
If Arai did not exist it would be a Shoei every time. :yes:
I bought the GT Air 2 to replace my XR1100 and was extremely disappointed with it, noisy and a poor fit, the top vent lets water in in heavy rain too, I sold it after 2 months. I now have the NXR which is great, quiet, comfortable just like the XR1100 was.
Thanks Robbie, that's helpful, don't have an Arai shaped head so I've never been able to get into one Rusty!
I know what you mean .. some heads are just not for some makes ! Just make sure its comfy !
Quote from: Rusty on December 06, 2019, 05:34:46 PM
I know what you mean .. some heads are just not for some makes ! Just make sure its comfy !
:agree: Shoei and Arai fit me and are comfy...that isn't always the case for others... I tried Schuberth (C3) some years ago and it was uncomfortable despite being the correct size
Quote from: ray1151 on December 01, 2019, 11:44:18 AM
Well my Shoei XR 1100 must be 10 years old now and has started to let in water.
The Shoei was a bastard to get comfortable, but once fitted comfortable in cold and hot weather for all day riding with clear vision with a cardo freecom intercom fitted.
So what next?
Shoei GT Air 2 - not sure my head is Shoei shaped, will it be a load of agg to get the fit right again?
HJC RPHA 70, rumors of water coming in through the vents in heavy rain. True or not?
Nolan N87, great budget lids, had a Nolan in the 90's for many years, fitted perfectly out of the box.
Any one got experience of these three?
Any other recommendations, must be a full face and not a flipup. I wear glasses and will plumb the cardo in.
Thanks
Ray
I've the RPHA ST full face. It's just OK. Not a helmet I'd buy again to be honest. If you buy one don't buy the iridium visor. I've had two replaced under warranty. The iridium coating came off as soon as it rained. I ended up taking a black visor in exchange but haven't tried it yet. To be fair I find it comfortable but the quality is comparable to a much cheaper Caberg IMHO.
I've just got one of these.
I've only had a couple of rides out with it and it suits me.
https://www.helmetcity.co.uk/shark-evoline-3-blank-whu/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA9orxBRD0ARIsAK9JDxQxUyu1P8hYI2DLBNNRF_egiP_i8iVZuZFZvxRmH3U115Qo-pacF0MaAvvOEALw_wcB
Nice one ... Helmet City, for everyones info at this time have a very good sale on .. really worth a look. I may bag myself a new Arai .. nearly £200 off ! :eek: :eek:
We have a newish bike shop in Leeds, sports bike something or another, on Regent St, Leeds where all the bike shops seem to set up. They are the only bike shop I have ever known where you can buy a helmet and return it if you change your mind.
Quote from: Lonewolf on January 18, 2020, 10:07:03 PM
We have a newish bike shop in Leeds, sports bike something or another, on Regent St, Leeds where all the bike shops seem to set up. They are the only bike shop I have ever known where you can buy a helmet and return it if you change your mind.
Sportsbikeshop are brilliant. We have bought parts, helmets and clothing from them. Fortunately only had to return 1 item ever which was the wrong size for me. It was easy to return, post paid by them and full refund to my card within a few days.
Good customer service speaks volumes.
Quote from: Lonewolf on January 18, 2020, 10:07:03 PM
We have a newish bike shop in Leeds, sports bike something or another, on Regent St, Leeds where all the bike shops seem to set up. They are the only bike shop I have ever known where you can buy a helmet and return it if you change your mind.
Am I right in thinking that Get Geared and J&S (who were basically next door to each other in Leeds) have now gone ?
Quote from: O.C. on January 22, 2020, 07:25:51 AM
Am I right in thinking that Get Geared and J&S (who were basically next door to each other in Leeds) have now gone ?
In a roundabout way, both shops have now merged with the business now being presented as J&S. However Sportsbikeshop are next door to them, Sportsbikeshop is on a different level, the shop is light, airey, very well stocked, the staff are helpful but not intrusive, they have an intuitive customer accessible stock checker and ordering system in the shop and as previously mentioned, you can buy a helmet from them and return it if you change your mind. I have NEVER come across that elsewhere.
I used to enjoy visiting Hein Gericke when they were there in years gone by, they sold some decent stuff and had a good reputation but alas they fell by the wayside. I still have my HG Goretex Proshell suit which I bought from them years ago, expensive at the time but still going strong.
Yes HG gear was good, perhaps too good, which may have contributed to their downfall, although the stores were run on a franchised basis
I still have a HG suit and its still good, although not my preferred choice..... now I have Rev it
I bought a Shark Evo One 2 which is just the later version of the Evoline 3 above. I got it at a great price (£200) from Ghostbikes who will also refund if you change your mind. My problem with the refund thingy is that I don't want to buy a helmet somebody else bought, accidently dropped onto the floor and then thought 'I'll return this in case it's banjaxed internally'. I phoned Ghostbikes before clicking buy it now who checked it and assured me the seals from Shark were unbroken and it hadn't been returned previously. They reiterated if I wasn't happy with it they'd refund without quibble. When it arrived it was very obviously brand new, box never opened, all seals and labels intact so I'm happy. It's actually a really good helmet.
Ended up with the HJC RPHA-70.
Shoei still digs into my forehead and the bloke in J&S wrote off Nolans as cheap and cheerful.
I asked about Arai and his opinion was that they were more a track helmet.
Bought 2 new arai lids his and hers plus cardo freecom, must say was going for flip front hjc rapha 90 but the arai was the most comfortable of all i tried
Arai are my 'go to' helmet of choice, they fit me very well and I'm satisfied, that, despite the cost, they are very reliable and offer good protection, they do offer an extensive range of products which are designed for road use as well as track/racing, TBH I wouldn't have considered that Arai products are generally race/track oriented
I have recently also purchased a Shoei Neotec 2 which has the inbuilt comms system, this is my third Shoei Neotec, and is an outstanding modular lid, with superb quality and, for me at least, great comfort along with flip front practicality, the integrated comm; system is a bonus and is very effective
Quote from: mcfroyce44 on January 24, 2020, 11:57:50 PM
I bought a Shark Evo One 2 which is just the later version of the Evoline 3 above. ------ It's actually a really good helmet.
I've had the Evo One 2 for a while now and still really like it. I have the Lithion-Black/Red.
It's way cheaper than any of the competition, has every feature I need, and about the only irritation with it is that silly little flap/chin thing that pushes against my mouth at speed. I fixed that with a tiny blob of super-glue :grin:
If you ever ride with the chin-bar up, it's the only choice as all the others are only designed to be ridden in full-face mode.
Yes, it's noisier than the Shoei and Schuberth models, and if you want integrated comms not the best, but it is under half the cost of those touring lids.
Quote from: Boomer on February 10, 2020, 03:56:28 PM
I've had the Evo One 2 for a while now and still really like it. I have the Lithion-Black/Red.
It's way cheaper than any of the competition, has every feature I need, and about the only irritation with it is that silly little flap/chin thing that pushes against my mouth at speed. I fixed that with a tiny blob of super-glue :grin:
If you ever ride with the chin-bar up, it's the only choice as all the others are only designed to be ridden in full-face mode.
Yes, it's noisier than the Shoei and Schuberth models, and if you want integrated comms not the best, but it is under half the cost of those touring lids.
Not correct George .....Shoei Neotec 2 is now designed to be ridden whilst in the open position, the helmet is P & J rated so is legal to ride with the flip front open......... it has two open positions, the second of which locks the front open :yes:
Quote from: O.C. on February 11, 2020, 09:29:21 AM
Not correct George .....Shoei Neotec 2 is now designed to be ridden whilst in the open position, the helmet is P & J rated so is legal to ride with the flip front open......... it has two open positions, the second of which locks the front open :yes:
Sorry, didn't know they'd done that with the Neotec 2, but with the chin-bar in the up position it's gonna have a LOT of extra drag and noise.
You also lose the regular visor and have to rely on the sunvisor to keep bugs out of your eyes.
I rarely ride in open face mode, but when I do it's a godsend to be able to get more air to cool yer head off.
The Evo One 2 just gets a bit louder in open face mode (no more or less drag) as the chin-bar flips completely over the back of the lid.
This is the Shark with the chin-bar locked in the "open face" position. Visor & sunvisor work in both modes.
(https://www.fc-moto.de/WebRoot/FCMotoDB/Shops/10207048/5A04/90EF/D6D0/534F/D55F/4DEB/AE70/BD05/6_EVO-ONE2_lithion-Dual_KUR_34Lfront-open_HE9704_ml.jpg)
And here with it in full face mode.
(https://www.fc-moto.de/WebRoot/FCMotoDB/Shops/10207048/5A04/90EF/D6D0/534F/D55F/4DEB/AE70/BD05/1_EVO-ONE2_lithion-Dual_KUR_34Lfront_HE9704.jpg)
I've got the shark too. Great when you are abroad and it's hot.
The more I use the Shark Evo One 2 the more I like it. I also use a full face helmet on the Blackbird (currently HJC RHPA ST). I looked at some of the Arai helmets but they don't suit my riding style. Specifically, I tend to ride with both clear full visor and smoked inner visor down until I get to towns where I flip up the clear outer visor to get air round my face whilst having some eye protection from flies. You can't do that with Arai. They think the inner visor weakens the helmet so put it on the outside.
As far as I know you can't have just the small visor down?
I did buy a new Arai ... a Chaser X League with a bit of Union Jack on it ... £349 from Helmet City as quoted earlier ... And very comfy it is too ! :yes:
Update re Shark Evo one 2.
A small but important piece broke on the visor of the helmet. It's just a small triangle that holds the visor onto the side piece. I came home from a ride and found the visor loose. I've never removed the visor but just clean it on the helmet so it wasn't a case of carelessness either.
I contacted Ghostbikes who sold me the helmet and, at their request, emailed them photos of the broken part of the visor and the whole visor to show it was otherwise as new and hadn't met tarmac at any stage. They promised to take this up with Shark to claim a new visor.
Within a week a new visor arrived in the post directly from Shark.
I've no connection to either company other than being a satisfied customer but just want to give credit where it's due.
I purchased a shark Evo one 2.
Can't fault the fit or usefulness of the open or closed face option.
Dropped lucky and had the last one in the store for £250 and with the money saved I bought the sharktooth Bluetooth for it a bargain.the only downside I can see is it isn't as quiet as my Schuberth
So it's earplugs again 😆👍