New Helmet

Due to the fogging issues with my old HJC Helmet I decided for this years tour that I would get another helmet. I was unable to find the correct size helmet to try on at any of the shops/dealers we visited. So in the end I decided to give Sportsbikeshop a go as they offer free returns on helmets as long as you leave all the stickers on and just try it on inside. I was very impressed with the service and the packaging of the helmet was excellent, the box it came in is designed so that you can send the helmet back in it if you don’t want it in the end.

Although I was unable to try the helmet on previously I had been able to see it in the flesh and was very happy with the look and feel of it. The quality and features also looked miles better than my current HJC Helmet. I opted for a Shark Speed R Carbon Helmet, mainly because of the weight as the HJC is very light. I unpacked the helmet and then went about wearing the helmet around the house for 30 mins periods at a time. After a week I decided that I would keep the helmet and so removed all the stickers and tags and fitted the Pinlock visor insert. The Pinlock fitted perfectly on this visor and I couldn’t see any gaps like I used to with my HJC Helmet. The visor is also much thicker than on any of my other previous helmets, it also moves in a lovely fluid motion as well. The way the locking cams work on the visor it means it is a breeze to take it off. The helmet also comes with a built in internal drop down sun visor, this works by using a lever on the top left of the helmet.

On my first test ride with the helmet I did notice a slightly annoying whistling noise that comes from the visor lift up tab. This noise goes away if you remove the soft under chin guard as you just end up with general noise then. With the chin guard removed the helmet ventilation and cooling system seemed like it would work very well in hot conditions. Overall apart from the noise I am very pleased with the helmet and will be taking it on tour with me. I have also already fitted my Autocom microphone and speakers to it.

Update: After some more testing I can honestly say that this is not a quiet helmet. It constantly sets off the microphone vox in my helmet if the chin guard is not in place. It is defiantly good for cooling but not for noise. So much so that I am going to fit the yellow inserts into my Alpine earplugs.