Best Helmet?
 

I've been using my cheapo helmet (Caberg Brutus) for several months now and have been very happy with it for in-town work and shorter rides as it is very light and has good visibility but was not too happy with it on the ride back from Nelly's at the weekend.

At speeds that the IAM would describe as "making progress", the chinstrap was digging in painfully, there was a lot of pressure against my forehead, and I was able to lick the inside of my visor (sorry ladies, it's just a normal-sized tongue).

My question is what helmet have people found to be the best for aerodynamics? ie not getting too much face-squashing or wind-buffeting?

Arai for me.Those and Shoei the best out there,but costly.Suomy and AGV probably next.

Shoei for quietness - Arai for quality

I bought an Arai RX7 and havent changed since. Good fit and easy to get visor's etc

i hit armco with my head at about 180 kph and im still here.. thats good enough for me ...

thanks guys, is there any particular model that you have found that is comfortable at high speeds and doesn't squash your face from the wind?

Shoei X-Spirit.

The BEST thing I have ever felt on my head! All day comfort, simply the best ever visor mechanism, cannot lick it, nor does my nose touch it!

Worth every penny in my opinion.

Ade.

Arai Astro is a little more road biased than the RX-7 and is cheaper. They can be had quite cheaply (is that a word?) if you shop around. Dont forget you can change the cheek pads on arai's so you can get a closer fit.

Money no object (a sentence very rarely heard in the Chicken household) but I've decided that my head is now worth considerably more than even the most costly helmet.

Just looking at the Arai Corsair online and looks pretty sweet (and I know I have an "Arai head" as had one in the past). Is £350 a good price?

Yes, I take it thats a solid colour?

yup - black. I won't go for fancy patterns unless scientific evidence emerges that shows they are safer.

Your current helmet does not fit you, put it in the bin now and never wear it again.....if it can do as you describe with a little bit of wind, imagine what would happen if it hit anything.....it would come clean off!!!

Fit is vital...'an Arai head'....check before you buy

Arai or Shoei are 'the chosen ones', but there are plenty of other good makes obviously. Buy tri-comosite or equivelant

£350 is ok, but not great...J&S had some great deals on Arai in MCN last month.

I know a small Arai fits me as I've had a few, so usually get one off a website, usually a UK supplier somewhere, but check how old it is and that it has the EC2205 stamp and an ACU sticker if you ever plan to use it on track.

I bought my new helmet, an Arai RX7 Gibernau rep off a website from a shop in Japan. Very cheap, but no ACU sticker, although easy to get ahold of, but the main thing is the fit is different to European heads and it did press on my forehead for the first few wears (Doh!), now perfect.

WeeJohnyB

You got to try some on. I loved the look of the Arai RX7 - bought one and hated it. It just didn't fit me right, particularly when seated on the 996. I always got neck ache with it because the cut at the back was not enough for me to tilt my head up enough to look though the visor properly. Went straight back to Shoei - X-Spirit - for my head it's the best fit and nothing comes close.

Shoei X spirit for me, light and very comfy. Weight makes a big difference on neck strain at high speeds so i always look for a light weight lid.

You can also buy the 2 cheek pads and skull cap internals with a Shoei, it means you can adjust the fit with different size pads if needed, it needs to be in the same size shell though . I change the cheek pads at least once a year to stop the helmet moving as the pads soften up.

I bought a Raid 11 when i was waiting for my new Rainey rep X spirit. Based on the reviews and good press I thought it might be less noisy than the X spirit but as comfy, it wasn't, I could tell straight away what you pay the extra money for.

Good plan. My Shoei XR1000 fitted nicely around my head, but it did push back into my face at speed. I reckon that bigger cheek pads would've made it much better.

The Roof lid that I have now is a superb fit around my head, but the chinbar on that moves towards my nose as well now that it's got a few thousand miles on it - more hamster cheeks required.

"The one that fits the best regardless of the price."

was what i was told when trying helmets for the first time.

Shame you cannot try them out on then bike as i had an arai that fitted a treat in the shop but when on the bike the wind pressure(50 + mph) forced it back just enough to be very painfull on my ears. Great when going slow in town, pain everywere else.

Went back to shoei and been fine with everyone of those.

Good points WJB - not going in the bin yet though cos I still need to get home.

(I would say though it was more than a "little bit" of wind - hurricane-force winds appear to be classified at 74mph and can knock you off your feet ;) )

I wonder if anyone has a wind tunnel that lets you test out helmets then??!

Arai, still the best, on my 4th one.

Astro Race plain grey.

Davida and a pair of goggles,be a man!!:lol:

Like this man?



No thanks, I want to keep my face. :)

Another Shoei fan here.
Got the XR1000,lovely fit and the vents/visor mechanism is the best out there,recommended.
Tried the Arai Corsair and just did'nt like it,...now use it as my wet weather/winter helmet!:rolleyes:

Yep, just got an X-spirit and love it. Quality piece of kit. Not cheap though but consider the alternative....

Also the best visor system by far.

Schuberth S1
 

I've been using a Schuberth S1 for the last couple of years & am very happy with it: For me the advantages are an excellent rep for protection, claimed quietest helmet around (I dont have the experience to comment), & an integrated sun visor that is a God-send.
For what its worth - Schuberth make F1 helmets (Schumacher et al.
Oh, and 'relatively' attractively designed reflective elements for us Sam Browne types....

Just looked at the Schuberth online. Does anyone know anywhere in London that I could try on the S1 Carbon?

http://www.reddogmotorcycles.co.uk/p...tegory=Helmets

Le ROOF.

Good fit, snug and stays in place. Less noise at speed than the others too.
Saved my bacon in the spill last year.

I'll have to check out this Schuberth though.

Ains.

Schuberth web site
 

This is their website...

http://www.schuberth.com

I have a ROOF crash helmet. It is quieter than other lids I have used, and does seem to suffer less from buffeting than some, but the the visor mechanism is rubbish and it is not easy to change between visors. The vents are shoddy too. I would not recomend this helmet.

....and the quality of the padding and the build - looks shoddy when up against my Shoei.

Just my opinion though. I know the Roofs do score well in the quiet stakes.

Ade.

Can I have your old black visors then mate;) :rolleyes: