Helmet talk....what are you wearing??

[cruppelt]

My own is not as shiny anymore as the brand new one in the pictures. I also have two different (and cheap) HJC helmets that I used before, but neither were a really great fit.

I went to a local dealer and tried on several different helmet brands, including Shoe (and I'm still pissed that none of their helmets were a good fit for me, I really wanted one), and found a standard Arai Quantum II or Vector to be the most comfortable fit for my noggin. Then I got this Hacking Replica (Quantum II) shipped from a Midwest dealership via ebay - I found the only new Quantum or Vector that was on normal auction, and it ended like on a Tuesday morning at 7:30 am. I only looked for getting one at a low price, the design was really secondary for me. I paid only $250 shipped for it. But as this is a racing version it's so much tighter on my head then a regular Quantum II, that I wondered if I could ever get used to it. Two years later I just think that tight means it must be very safe, and I am just fine with it. Now I am probably stuck only ever wanting to buy REALLY tight fitting helmets .... :lol: :lol:

 

[complacent]

I've been through several Shoei RF 1000s and lately I've been pretty happy with an HJC IS-16.

The wife otoh, has been through a Shark (Hated it!?!), an HJC CL-15 and an IS-16 in the same year.

I think she's a little pickier than I am.

 

[bmwhd]

I'm a sworn Arai guy having found nothing else that fits me better. I love the various Concepts I've owned C1s and C2s but they were never 24-hour comfortable like my Arai's.
Having said that, I'm about to order an Akuma Phantom II given the stellar reviews it's getting. I'll report once I've had a chance to see how it compares to my Arai Profile

I love my new Akuma Phantom II helmet.

The light weight, lack of noise, and aerodynamics blow away the Arai's I've owned (and I thought they were good in these areas). It's so amazing to realize I'm tooling down the road at 80 with my VStream all the way down and not being buffeted or having too much wind noise. No other helmet has ever done that for me. I always had to raise the shield at least a couple of inches at speed.

Comfort is right on par with the Arai too. The Phantom is a rounder head shape than the Profile or Signet GTR but not a problem for me at all. Love it.

I added the Interphone F4 BT headset as well. What a great combo.

The icing on the cake is the Transitions face shield. Just like the eyeglass lenses they make, it goes from clear to dark gray very quickly:

 

[jking32]

I have been using a Nolan n102 for the last 2 years. Not bad, but got tired of air blowing in the opening cracks in the cold, helmet fogged up in an instant, chin bar was too close to my face, venting was marginal in the heat, NCom cover kept popping out, although Nolan replaced it for free one time when it came out driving down the highway, it was pretty noisy without ear plugs, which I now wear all the time.

I just bought a Bell Start Recoil. Fit is good, flows tons of air with vents open and almost none when closed, beautiful paint. I thought the Nolan was nice, but the Star is definately at another level. I have the transition shield on order.

I wanted a flip up, but could find nothing I really liked, but I have not missed it so far.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

I got a Shoei RJ-Platinum R open face helmet a couple of weeks ago. Thinking about using it when the 95+deg days get here. With the standard 2008 FJR windscreen in up postion it really pulls the helmet forward. Windscreen down, no problem, but at 3/4 up and more, it really pulls the helmet forward. Very uncomfortable feeling.

________________________________

 

[Wanderer]

I had a Caberg Justissimo for a number of years, and while the helmet fit like a dream, and was fairly quiet, the sheer difficulty of importing a new visor made me abandon it. It got replaced last Sept with a Symax II, which I love. I will say the HJC is much 'breezier' than the Caberg, but maybe even a touch quieter, not sure as I wear earplugs 90% of the time.

My wife has an IS-max, basically the same helmet as the SyMax II but with a fiberglass shell rather than a polycarbonate. Same liner, same internal visor, same latch mechanism as my Sy-max but about $100 cheaper. Tthere are some styling differences, but still an excellent helmet in my opinion.

 

[FiveG]

Curious to hear from the RF1100 wearers how the airflow is. I was out today (79-84 degrees, sunny) riding for a couple of hours with my Scorpion EXO-1000 and although I used to think it had good airflow, I felt like there was NONE going on -- stifling. Could be change in bike (from M90 to FJR) that I just did, and how the air hits the helmet and its ports, but regardless, I'd love to hear from RF1100 riders how they work with the FJR.

(I'd also love to learn more re Arais, but nobody around here seems to have a lot of them, so I can't try one one.)

 

[Happy Rider]

I got an RF 1100 about 500 miles ago and I love it. It's quiet and its one of the first helmets that I have owned that you can really tell the difference when the vents are open or closed. It does fog a bit on cold mornings. If I crack the shield a bit or lower the windshield to get the helmet in the air stream there is no problem. I think the pin lock shield would solve this easily.

My helmet is a large. The helmet seems larger than the POS Zox that I replaced it with. I have to position it just right to get it into the side bags. I don't think a RF 1100 in XL would fit in the side bags. It is also a bit tight in the GIVI E52. The visibility is also great.

 

[phroenips]

Curious to hear from the RF1100 wearers how the airflow is. I was out today (79-84 degrees, sunny) riding for a couple of hours with my Scorpion EXO-1000 and although I used to think it had good airflow, I felt like there was NONE going on -- stifling. Could be change in bike (from M90 to FJR) that I just did, and how the air hits the helmet and its ports, but regardless, I'd love to hear from RF1100 riders how they work with the FJR.
(I'd also love to learn more re Arais, but nobody around here seems to have a lot of them, so I can't try one one.)

Stop copying me! (M90 to FJR; Scorpion to possibly an RF1100)

I had an EXO-400, and the RF1100 has a TON!!! more airflow. Granted, I added a Cee Bailey's +4 height +2 width, and it blocks a lot of the wind from flowing over my helmet.

 

[FiveG]

Curious to hear from the RF1100 wearers how the airflow is. I was out today (79-84 degrees, sunny) riding for a couple of hours with my Scorpion EXO-1000 and although I used to think it had good airflow, I felt like there was NONE going on -- stifling. Could be change in bike (from M90 to FJR) that I just did, and how the air hits the helmet and its ports, but regardless, I'd love to hear from RF1100 riders how they work with the FJR.
(I'd also love to learn more re Arais, but nobody around here seems to have a lot of them, so I can't try one one.)

Stop copying me! (M90 to FJR; Scorpion to possibly an RF1100)

I had an EXO-400, and the RF1100 has a TON!!! more airflow. Granted, I added a Cee Bailey's +4 height +2 width, and it blocks a lot of the wind from flowing over my helmet.

LOL.

Seriously, tho', one thing I noticed going from the M90 to the FJR is that the fairing and windscreen prevent the windblast which made the airflow on the Scorpion work OK. While I got plenty of airflow with the EXO-1000 with my non-screened bike, it doesn't get enough flow happening when I ride with the FJR. So, the quality of the ventilation design seems to be far more important as the amount of wind protection increases. (But all y'all probably already knew that, right?)

 

[AVGeek]

I just replaced my Nolan N-102 with a Shoei RF-1000, picked up on closeout from Bike Bandit, which combined with my AMA discount, came out to $277 shipped :yahoo: Its quieter; I rode around the other day with no plugs or earbuds to see how quiet, and came away impressed (stock Yamaha shield, and I'm 5'9"). The only thing I noticed was some air leakage at the top of the shield (more of a concern in winter). I wanted a yellow dome (just like OM!), but wasn't able to find one, so I got one that had as much as possible:

I really liked the pinlock shield on my Nolan, and plan on getting another one for the Shoei. I also liked the external half sun shield; I did see a shield with dark tint across the top (not sure if it was a pinlock or not), so I may go that route as well.

 

[Badiron]

Diggin on my Nolan n103. Little wind noise but it expected. Autocom playin the beats plenty loud through a boostaroo

 

[rogdeb]

Just repaced our Scorpion EXO 400's with Shoei RF1000's. Camino black/silver for me, Flutter white for Deb. First thing I noticed was the lighter weight (wonderful !!), and Deb's head is more stable in the wind (she's happy) -------------- Love them so far .

Started with Shoei years ago, then tried HJC, AGV and Scorpion (which I can only fault in the way the shield's smallest cracking is about one inch --- no good) ............. circle back to Shoei ... should have stayed there.

 

[puppychow]

Scorpion EXO 400 which is being phased out by my new SHOEI Multitec - I love the Multitec, it is actually lighter than my EXO 400 in spite of being a modular, much better airflow and also a lot more aerodynamic.

 

[clock655]

Been wearing HJC CL-15 and then HJC CL-16 for the past couple of years but decided to take the plunge for an Arai Vector about a month back.

Here is my new, current lid:

I absolutely LOVE it! It's so much lighter and quieter than the HJCs I've been wearing. Additionally, the tighter fit overall really helps the sound from the attached XBi that I use for music! My only complaints so far is that the standard shield seems to be very prone to fogging over. I'm hoping once I locate a Pinlock based shield, that problem will go away.

On a side note, the blue color is "near" a perfect match for my 06 FJR and the sliver matches my Tourmaster Air Intake jacket as well - just an added bonus. B)

 

[cruppelt]

My only complaints so far is that the standard shield seems to be very prone to fogging over. I'm hoping once I locate a Pinlock based shield, that problem will go away.

It will! I am sure your Vector and my Quantum II are similar enough to compare, and they actually use the exact same visor. With the Pinlock in mine, I don't have to crack the visor open anymore at all, and that's at really cold mornings at red lights. To me Pinlock is simply amazing.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Street helmets only:

1 HJC IS-16 - New to this one, not bad for a cheaper $$ helmet. Too mas ventilation for winter, summer it's great.

1 Arai Profile - Not carting for the fit of this one, otherwise very nice.

2 Arai Quantum F (Haga) - Now older helmets, but absolutey awesome! Two of my favorite helmets of all time .

 

[TWILKIN650]

I buy a name brand helmet when the current version goes on clearance at the local dealer. So, over the last few years have had:

Shoei RF-700

Shoei RF-900

Shoei RF-1000

Adequate ventilation, easy shield change, good fit for me and relatively quiet with ear plugs. Only a bald head will be "great" ventilation on a July day in Texas. h34r:

 

[marcusorelius]

Used my new nolan n-43 air (european model) in near 90 degree heat today. Kept me noogin cool as a cucumber!

 

[FiveG]

Anyone try the RF1100 with any of the new generation of Bluetooth Intercoms (Scala, etc.)? If so, how do they fit?