Just a quick post to mention a surprisingly excellent helmet I found this morning: Having had my Arai Viper-GT for almost 7 years and been through one minor low-side a few years ago, I decided it was high-time to get a new helmet. I had seen a stunning deal on the Schuberth SR1 in a local shop, reduced from £650 to £350 and was convinced this would be the replacement of choice. Imagine my disappointment this morning when both the size medium and large created an instant hot-spot on my forehead. I ran through the usual justifications that maybe I'd 'get used to it' or that it would 'soften up through use', but after 10 minutes wearing around the shop it was already causing too much discomfort. I had to accept that my head is just too oval for a typically round-shaped helmet. The store owner took me through a range of other helmets and I was surprised to find that the Shoei's fitted my head better than the Arai's I had worn for years, which was another disappointment as the RX7-GP was also on offer at £450. However, the Shoei's left me feeling like my chin was a little exposed and I was still a bit pissed off about the Schuberth not fitting to jump into an 'non-researched purchase'. As I was about to leave, the owner handed over an X-lite helmet. I wasn't very aware of this brand and was only slightly more convinced after he explained that it was the premium 'secondary' brand by Nolan - a name I remembered from Casey Stoner in MotoGP. What was immediately apparent was that the helmet was fully carbon fibre, looked beautiful and felt ridiculously lightweight. It was the X-802R Ultra Carbon. As soon as I slipped the size large on, it was perfect. It made me realise that I've been wearing a poorly fitting Arai for the past 7 years. Don't get me wrong, the Viper-GT felt comfortable, but nothing like this.....it just felt 'made for my head!' The 1200gram weight was so much lighter than anything I've worn before and the inner material was that beautifully soft cooling-material also present in the Schuberth SR1. I revisited the original Schuberth that I had pinned my hopes upon for a direct comparison, and found myself no longer caring about the wonderful reviews I had read. Nor did I care anymore about the awesome price reduction or the brilliant sound insulation - I'll just wear earplugs! I guess once you've found a perfectly fitting helmet you realise that other aspects are not as important as comfort. Before buying, I checked out other full carbon helmets by HJC and Shark, and found that even though they were more expensive than the X-lite, the quality of the carbon and interior material seemed inferior. Then the salesman revealed that the X-802R was also coming with a free dark tint visor and pin-lock insert. I was sold! I've not yet been able to test the helmet out on the Fireblade as its pouring with rain, but I hope the ventilation is as good as the marketing suggests. I also hope the noise isn't too ridiculous - especially as I have a Racefit Growler Black edition exhaust, but all in all, I am very happy that I wasn't seduced into buying a Schuberth that didn't fit my head, just because of a sensational deal!
Got the exact same helmet from MCN show, £280. I've worn it once and love it so light so comfy and bargain price for the spec
It does pay to try lots of helmets on as many people could be wearing wrongly fitting helmets! But good choice those x - lites do look nice
On a road trip for work today went into 2 big bike dealers and neither of them stock x lite. Been liking the look of these helmets for a while but need to try one first!! Over£400 on the net
On a road trip for work today went into 2 big bike dealers and neither of them stock x lite. Been liking the look of these helmets for a while but need to try one first!! Over£400 on the net.
Morning guys, what are your thoughts on HJC RPHA 10 plus helmets? The top of the range from Arai and Shoei are way over the top in price so reafing this i am too looking for alternatives. Cheers
I've had Shoei for a long time and when it was time to replace it I decided to shop about and try different makes on, I did try quit a few. The Arai range was very tempting but I couldn't get one to quite fit my (weird) head. I settled for an AGV Corsa. Weighs 1300gramms and it fantastic, stable at high speed (not trying to rip my neck apart) and the quality is ace. I got it for £380, that's a bargain for a helmet that is 5 stars Sharp rating front, rear and side. Sportsbikeshop.com is a good site and my mate recently got a price match on a Marquez Shoei Black Ant (£350) You get what you pay for.
