Next Crash Helmet

S

stirrup

New member
Since returning to bikes a couple or so years ago I've had an Arai SV. Yesterday one of the side pod tabs broke mid ride - second time that's happened. While taping it back on to get me home I noticed the visor is cracking round the pinlock holes too. ( This is my second visor also). I've always done my best to look after it, keep it in the bag when home 'cetra. Bit disillusioned with this and given the whole visor mechanism seems a bit naff, plus the uncertainty rased by SHARP I think it's wise for me to move on to a better (more expensive?) helmet and another brand.

My head seems to be 'Arai shaped' not 'Shoei shaped'.

Anyone got good recommendations in say the £300-£350 range. Not bothered about flashy paint jobs, rather spend the money on what's gone into the important stuff, so plain black or white.
 
I used to have a Roof Daytona? was quite possibly the comfiest helmet Ive ever owned.

Unlike you I fit Shoei's better, now on my 3rd Shoei, the XR1000 Kagayama rep. I just managed to get a large chip in the paint from a airbourne rock from a car :mad:

I really wanted the Agostini X-Lite but couldn't get one anywhere, now Ducati Leeds stck them :comp2:
 
Not sure about the shape for you, but have a look at Schuberth. No nonsense, great features (vents that work, visors that change easily, little wind noise, sun visor, removable linings) with no fancy replica graphics. I use one and like it lots, fit is great.
 
Shoei fits me, Schuberth doesn't (my head size seems to be in between their medium and large sizes), so the opposite could be true for you.
 
I've recently came back to Arai, I went for the GP5-X. From my karting days the most popular shells were always the Arai GP5 or the SK5, these are the also popular with F1 drivers including Lewis Hamilton and various others. I always wanted to use my kart helmets on the road but they are not road legal due to Appiture( I think), Basically the hole you look out isn't wide enough. But with the introduction of the GP5-X using the same shell design as the other car racing helmets but it has the necessary periferal vision.

In the recent sharp tests the Gp5-X got 5 stars, also a bonus.
I bought the plain black, along with the 3 visors available, Dark tint, road legal tint and clear.

The only down points are that is quite noisy unless you have your head as if you are sitting in a formula 1 car, and the visor is 3mm think which is good but a complete pain to remove and replace visor.

http://www.thevisorshop.com/acatalog/Product_Catalogue_Arai_GP5_X_287.html
If you follow this link you can see the different colours and designs available.
 
with the shape of your head you might find suomy a good fit, x-lites i like but seem to be more of a shoei type fit, so might not do you . agv could be worth a trye and their quality belies the price, i like them a lot.now that you can get eec approved simpsons they are very much worth a try, though they can leak a wee bit round visors in torrential rain . hope that helps
 
Biscuitandpotato said:
I used to have a Roof Daytona? was quite possibly the comfiest helmet Ive ever owned.

Unlike you I fit Shoei's better, now on my 3rd Shoei, the XR1000 Kagayama rep. I just managed to get a large chip in the paint from a airbourne rock from a car :mad:

I really wanted the Agostini X-Lite but couldn't get one anywhere, now Ducati Leeds stck them :comp2:
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Tough going about the rock damage:( I managed to drop my SV first coffee stop after getting back to bikes....nerves I guess, sounds whimpy but it took me a while to get enough confidence to ride into the car parks at places like Squires 'under scrutiny'

Now....X-Lite, like the sound of that. Sort of thing I had in mind.
 
rockjock620 said:
Not sure about the shape for you, but have a look at Schuberth. No nonsense, great features (vents that work, visors that change easily, little wind noise, sun visor, removable linings) with no fancy replica graphics. I use one and like it lots, fit is great.
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Infinity are doing big discounts on S1's at the moment. Definitely worth a try I think. No SHARP rating yet though, I'm not obsessed with how well they do in that or not, but as I'm going to change it seems sensible not to ignore it. Still no rush as I've ordered some side pods for the SV to give me some thinking and trying time.
 
DKM said:
Shoei fits me, Schuberth doesn't (my head size seems to be in between their medium and large sizes), so the opposite could be true for you.
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Looking good for Schubert. Think the Infinity price for S1 is £185 which seems good deal to me.
 
GScot said:
I've recently came back to Arai, I went for the GP5-X. From my karting days the most popular shells were always the Arai GP5 or the SK5, these are the also popular with F1 drivers including Lewis Hamilton and various others. I always wanted to use my kart helmets on the road but they are not road legal due to Appiture( I think), Basically the hole you look out isn't wide enough. But with the introduction of the GP5-X using the same shell design as the other car racing helmets but it has the necessary periferal vision.

In the recent sharp tests the Gp5-X got 5 stars, also a bonus.
I bought the plain black, along with the 3 visors available, Dark tint, road legal tint and clear.

The only down points are that is quite noisy unless you have your head as if you are sitting in a formula 1 car, and the visor is 3mm think which is good but a complete pain to remove and replace visor.

http://www.thevisorshop.com/acatalog/Product_Catalogue_Arai_GP5_X_287.html
If you follow this link you can see the different colours and designs available.
Click to expand...

Thanks for link, GP5-X is good idea, and no bl**dy side pods! I like Arai quality even the 'cheap' SV has a posh feel to it. How do you get on with the visor mechanism?
 
gordj65 said:
with the shape of your head you might find suomy a good fit, x-lites i like but seem to be more of a shoei type fit, so might not do you . agv could be worth a trye and their quality belies the price, i like them a lot.now that you can get eec approved simpsons they are very much worth a try, though they can leak a wee bit round visors in torrential rain . hope that helps
Click to expand...

Damn, liked the x-lite idea, I'll go try but I found Arai/Shoei fit was night/day comparison for me so not hopeful:(

My last crash helmet in the '70s was an AGV Ago, it looked after me well in the off that led me to give up bikes for nearly 30 years. My theory is that if I put my cash into a slightly off mainstream manufacturer with good SHARP rating too I could get good safety for sensible price:cool: So, AGV on the list to look at then!
 
Well, been to Infinity and tried an S1. Lovely bit of kit, but the small too tight and the medium loose:(

Tried an x-lite Agostini, ooohhhh suits me sir! But, too mucho dosho for me for now.

Looking out for an AGV stockist next!
 
each model of Shoei is aslightly different shape, i can't wear an XR1000, always use the X spirit but when i was waiting for my Rainey rep ended up buying a second lemet, thought the XR 1000 would be the same shape but it wasn't, tried a Raid 2 which was slightly better but still not the same as the X spirit. I'd suggest trying different models in each range just to be sure, you may find spending less gets you a better fit and if you don't need all the vents and removable linings makes a better buy
 
I have a 2 year old AGV S-4. Comfy light, easy visor changing and good Sharp rating. Also very reasonably priced. As seen in my avatar;) . They have a different range of colours this year tho, the matt silver has been stopped.
 
PaulV said:
I have a 2 year old AGV S-4. Comfy light, easy visor changing and good Sharp rating. Also very reasonably priced. As seen in my avatar;) . They have a different range of colours this year tho, the matt silver has been stopped.
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Thanks, I think there's an AGV stockist in Thirsk so I'm going to get over there and take a look. This or x-lite I think.
 
stirrup said:
Thanks, I think there's an AGV stockist in Thirsk so I'm going to get over there and take a look. This or x-lite I think.
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Bit of extra info, they have a seat belt buckle arrangement for the chin strap, it isn't to everyones tates, needs adjusting quite a lot as it seems to slacken off over time. Worth looking at if you are used to the double D set up.
 
Are you in a rush to get a new lid now as there will probably be big discounts on fairly soon with the sales. If you find one you like - Haggle! you should be able to get some money off. 'this one is really cumfy but I didn't really want to spend that much!' get the salesmen's name and get really friendly with him, works a treat!
 
I have always worn Shoei but decided to try an Elite as both my daughter and partner have them. Brilliant helmet but very noisy compared to the Shoei.:(

Also had problems with vision, seeing double lines. A friend has suggested this is to do with the distance from eyes to visor and can be exacerbated if you wear glasses.:D
 
Both my last two Arai were noisy which is mainly due to the side pods sticking out into the wind. The GP5 is quieter cos it does not have side pods much like the Shoei but as I wear plugs I ain't bothered!
 
mbg said:
I have always worn Shoei but decided to try an Elite as both my daughter and partner have them. Brilliant helmet but very noisy compared to the Shoei.:(

Also had problems with vision, seeing double lines. A friend has suggested this is to do with the distance from eyes to visor and can be exacerbated if you wear glasses.:D
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Hmmm, don't know Elite. Not sooo bothered about noise levels but the visor distance would be an issue for me. When I tried the Schubert S1 I was bowled over by the quality, but found it very claustrophobic with the visor down, putting the second tinted visor down predictably increased that....Just shows how wise it is to go try rather than buy over the internet. There's a lot more to this than correct size and acceptable price
 
If you like x-lite the new 701 could be worth a try had mine for 4 months now v comfy, lots of vents, pin lock, nice visor action, great fit (for me) and if you shop around should get one for about 200 notes
 
aircooled said:
If you like x-lite the new 701 could be worth a try had mine for 4 months now v comfy, lots of vents, pin lock, nice visor action, great fit (for me) and if you shop around should get one for about 200 notes
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Thanks. Any idea how the 701 did in SHARP? I'm getting a really warm feeling about x-lite:eek: Trouble is, having said I'm not interested in paying out money for fancy paint I really like the Agostini. I need to go back and be more objective, also try AGV .
 
Shoei

I've now had 2 Xspirits and they have been great. Turn your head to look back when at high speed and you'd hardly know you had a helmet on. Huge difference over the Dainese one I had that was same weight and a lot cheaper. THe SHOEI is a bugger to get on and off but once there it is very comfy. Nearly as good as my Griffin of many a long year ago, but without the leather fittings.

Of MUCH MORE import : WEAR EARPLUGS. Unless of course you only ever ride at less than 60 mph. You will firk your hearing if you don't wear appropriate ear protection and regularly blat along much faster. Panther owners need not worry! Let alone our Harley chums. And we aren't talking about noise from your bike here, only wind noise, sometimes generated by the ventilation systems on the pricier lid.

In short : buy a cheap lid if you've got a cheap heid.

your choice of course

JB
 
john said:
I've now had 2 Xspirits and they have been great.

Of MUCH MORE import : WEAR EARPLUGS.
JB
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Thanks John, I tried a Raid 2 when I bought the Arai, found it didn't fit me and have discounted Shoei ever since, :o I must try harder:) and go try one, think their SHARP ratings are good.
As for earplugs, I used to get kna**ered riding out, then started wearing eaplugs and bingo! Stayed much fresher. Being a ' back to bikes' rider, they didn't have that sort of gear when I picked up my riding habits - didn't have to wear a helmet either, and 'corkers' and RAF goggles were still sold in the local bike shop as usual riding gear:eek: :eek: :eek: - and it ain't that long ago LOL!
 
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