Goodbye Arai, Hello Shoei

[Bill Lumberg]

I like the look of a tinted shield, and have one for my shoei. But nothing beats the flip down of my nolan's, even though I frequently wear sunglasses anyway. My wife loves the flip down in her Bell, though I had to buy a darker one to replace the smoke factory sunshield.

 

[FreakyFastFreddie]

Interesting, the selling point on Arai for me has been the shield change system. With my schedule, it's dark when I ride to work and sunny when I ride home, so two changes a day means I need something fast and easy. Maybe I just have lots of practice but when folks see me do my shield change out there's usually a comment that I am cheating or something. I've never looked elsewhere because of that reason alone, and they fit me well. I do have to admit that I'd like a helmet with a flip down visor though, it's the only easier way.

The Signet Q Pro Tour has a flip down sun visor, however it's on the outside of the helmet.

 

[FXRS]

Fyi, Scorpion has some pretty decent models with flip down sun visors mounted on the inside. I have the EXO 1100 that is pretty darn nice when hit sun/shade/sun stretches as far as flipping back and forth with visor choice on the run.

Mine has a manufacture date of 06/2012 so getting a bit long in the tooth. Most likely there is a newer version out there. Scorpion usually updates and re-numbers their models every few years......

Scorpion has pretty reasonable prices and they do crash well. Lord knows I've gone through enough helmets road racing to prove that

.

 

[lnewlf]

after several Arai helmets I got tired of the whistle from the dumb shield vents and switched to Shoei [Quest].- worlds better- the quietest warmest helmet I ever had

 

[FreakyFastFreddie]

I've had Shoei and Arai. For me, the Arai Signet Q fits me best. That's what I get for having a tiny peanut head. Both great helmet brands!

 

[LKLD]

I did 450 miles this past weekend, and looks like I'll need to redo the speakers. After about 40 minutes I started feeling some discomfort/pain. So I'll look into doing some microsurgery with a dremmel, so the speakers can sit down into the pockets.

It's still a bit tight getting on, but so was my Arai for about 2 months, so I'll wait to see how it breaks in. The visor is much more beefy, and the visor up and down is much more pronounced with each of the stops and with the closing.

It's been cool here, so haven't opened the vents. I do feel air around my mouth/chin, and yes, the chin vent is closed.

I like the included breath guard, think I'll leave it in. The included chin curtain no so much, makes putting the helmet on more difficult. Arai has the right idea with the built-in chin curtain that folds in when not needed.

Noise wise, the Shoei might have an edge, or might not. With my hearing, it's hard to really tell.

Once I fix the speaker issue, I think I'll be happy with this helmet. Time will tell.

 

[Gurock]

I always like reading helmet discussions, because there is a lot of subjectivity involved. I've been through many helmets from cheap crap to fine helmets and for my comfort I can say I was totally unimpressed with my Shoei Quest. I bought it at a closeout in the spring of 2014 and used it for a few months before I decided to bite the bullet and buy a replacement. As someone above noted in their view, I liked the Scorpion Exo 1100 that I bought to replace the Shoei Quest much better. The Scorpion had the build in sun screen which is very handy. It was lighter, and much more fog free. Before the Shoei Quest I had had a Shark RSR 2 which in many ways was a truly fine helmet. It was very quiet, fit superbly, had the infinitely adjustable visor system so you could have the face shield open just a tiny crack to prevent fog, and had the most skin friendly soft liner I've ever seen. I replaced it with the Shoei because after a couple of years I broke the left face shield mount and couldn't replace it.

I had gone down wearing the Scorpion Exo 1100 at high speed about 70 MPH and it did it's job fairly well, but the face shield broke and pushed the (then down) sun screen into the bridge of my nose which caused a lot of bleeding at the time and a scar. After that knowledgeable people told me to avoid using those sun screens as in a crash they can end up in your skin or worse you eyes. This convinced me to abandon internal sun screens and for that matter changeable face shields. I'm also sure that many of you know that photo-sensative eye glass lenses don't work under a helmet face shield that blocks UV. So I bit the bullet and bought two pairs of perscription sunglasses that can go in my tank bag. The replacement was another Shark RSR 2 that I found from an internet German M/C dealer on sale. I've used that helmet up to now, but there was an inmate on ADVrider that was selling a brand new Arai Defiant Character helmet for $300.00 and I pulled the trigger.

The helmet came last week and I live in Chicago, so there's been no riding time yet. Wanting this helmet to work out I did several viewings of the on line videos regarding face shield changing and cheek pad replacement. The prior posters are right that watching an experienced user change Arai face shields and doing it are different things, however after an hour of off and on I got the hang pretty well and can do it in a couple of minutes. The same with the cheek pads. Also that helmet has these layered cheek pads that can let you peel off a layer or two to adjust fit (which I did). The helmet fits well now and I've become familiar enough with it to avoid frustration when I take it to the road, but the road is the real test!

Keep in mind that helmets are a very subjective thing, not just in the point of view of the user, but their head shape, height, girth, hearing, riding style and bike, as well as their view of what looks good or bad. An IBA rider has a very different view then a cruiser guy or a squid.

As a last note, they are predicting high forties for Friday, Saturday and Sunday around my parts and I'm hoping to blow off work on Friday for a three day week end in Northern Kentucky, if so that will be a good test for the Arai.

I keep saying one last note, but for anyone that hasn't seen it there's a very good interview of the Arai helmet factory rep with Jay Leno on You Tube. Here's the link:

 

[FreakyFastFreddie]

Good video...thanks for posting.

 

[DeSudet]

Nice looking helmets you have there. <snip> Cheek pads are a bit snug but figuring they will break in.

Not sure if they still do it, but if you buy a Shoei new at a retail front, they keep a stockpile of different thickness cheekpads to swap out for a perfect fit. Retailer gets a credit for the ones they took out and you get an excellent fit right out of the box. Had my RF-1100 for almost 3 years now and the pads haven't 'broken in' much at all.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I just bought a new Nolan. It's the same great helmet that I've used for years, but this one is definitely a little tighter. But that may be partly switching from a 3 year old, high mileage helmet to a brand new one.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I just bought a new Nolan. It's the same great helmet that I've used for years, but this one is definitely a little tighter. But that may be partly switching from a 3 year old, high mileage helmet to a brand new one.

Yep, all the padding is broken in to the shape of your face. I hate trying on and buying new helmets...nothing fits me like my old stinky one.

 

[Happytrails63]

Nice looking helmets you have there. <snip> Cheek pads are a bit snug but figuring they will break in.

Not sure if they still do it, but if you buy a Shoei new at a retail front, they keep a stockpile of different thickness cheekpads to swap out for a perfect fit. Retailer gets a credit for the ones they took out and you get an excellent fit right out of the box. Had my RF-1100 for almost 3 years now and the pads haven't 'broken in' much at all.

I hope it breaks in!! My Arai had tight cheekpads when I first got it. That helmet fits snug but not tight. I guess you could say like a glove. Shoei sizes slightly different so my new Neotec doesn't feel as snug. It feels good but the cheekpads are a bit snug on my lower back jaw part of my head to be specific

I checked the cheekpads and they are 31mm, the smallest ones (believe there are only 2 different cheekpads available 35mm or 31mm) on the Neotec's. I've read about people carving a little on there cheekpads. That would be a last resort of course. But still hopeful the cheekpads will give in before my head does. This will be my first modular!

 

[LKLD]

***update***

So it's been 3 months since the change, and I'm very happy with the helmet. After 2 months of weekend ridings, the pads started to feel broke in, as expected. So much so, that I didn't alter the speaker pockets.

In April I took a 2,300 mile trip, with 650 the first day, and the helmet felt great, even with the speakers on top of the pads, so I'm keeping them as is. With this speaker location, my volume has increased dramatically! Haven't had the volume over halfway, even at 80+ mph. I don't have particularly large ears, or one's that stick out far, so ymmv.

Also, we've already had temps in the 90's, and venting works well. I can actually feel the airflow over the crown with front/rear vents open, unlike my Arai. The chin vent was a bit of a surprise, as you will feel a gush of air when open (speed dependent), as it rushes over the front of your face. If in dusty or wind blown sandy conditions, I would definitely close the chin vent.

The faceshield continues to lock well, and the indents are still firm. Sometimes opening takes a little effort, but I'll take that in exchange for the solid closing.

Anyway, just wanted to update and let you know I'm happy with the change.