08-12-2020, 09:05 AM
So my Shoei X-Twelve Vermeulen 5 was getting a little old, still in great shape, but built in Feb 2012 if I recall.
As I sat with my leg in an airboot, recovering from a fractured ankle, I stumbled across a post on RideApart for Simpson's new release of the Speed Bandit. Targeted toward motorcycling, and my heart jumped when I saw the price - $279.
Do I want to spend $500+ on a Shoei, one of the only brands that fits me perfectly? Not really, unless I have to.
Can I afford a $300 helmet? I think so.
Do I want to look like the Stig? HECK YEAH
So I ordered one, with the gold tinted visor, because it looks awesome. The fancy tinted shields were the most expensive option, and ended up spending almost $380 after tax for what you see. Crossed my fingers that it would fit, and waited a week or so.
It came in, and I was ecstatic. It looked great, it was really light, and the quality looked pretty good. I didn't get to ride with it until a few weeks later, as I just got strong enough to be able to ride again.
![[Image: 4490695d963344f191370d3efc181219.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202008/4490695d963344f191370d3efc181219.jpg)
![[Image: e0f174fb925baba5b88f59306a562e26.jpg]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202008/e0f174fb925baba5b88f59306a562e26.jpg)
What I've learned in the last four days with the helmet:
[ul] [li]It's very light, very easy to rotate the head.[/li] [li]It doesn't fit me quite like a Shoei, as the cheekpads don't extend all the way to the points of my cheekbones where I feel like it cocoons me. Maybe I'll learn to like this, since it's not really a "race" helmet.[/li] [li]The amount of peripheral view through the eyeport is ridiculously huge. I feel so free in it.[/li] [li]The gold tinted visor is very good, it doesn't have any weird color shift like I've seen in some other visors. I'd judge the tint as a very small amount of blue, with the standard smoke gray. Nothing distracting. The optical clarity is great too. Will have to have more time with it to see how it stands up to being cleaned.[/li] [li]The visor has 4 (I think) detent positions. I would like one more, just to crack the visor open during slow movement. Moving the visor up one notch puts it right in the position where it's not visually impairing, but a little annoying to have to tilt your head down to make sure you won't hit any road hazards. Halve that notch, and you've got yourself a winner.[/li] [li]The airflow is good. At least on the bottom vents. Looking at the upper EPS foam channels, they're pretty deep, and kept me cool enough in humid 87 degrees today. I'll have to ride more to make comment on this, but you can see right through those mesh vent holes, meaning the air's coming right through.[/li] [li]The airflow is too good, and you can't shut it off. This makes for quite a loud helmet. I thought my X-Twelve was loud versus my stupid quiet RF-1100, but on my 30 minute commute, I'm wishing I was wearing my X-Twelve. I don't wear earplugs, but I do have iPhone earbuds in, which blocks only a little bit of noise. Blocking off the open neck area would reduce noise, proven by my hunching my jacket up sealing the area.[/li] [li]On unfaired bikes, turbulence is pretty minimal, which is surprising with the shape of the helmet, even when doing a low shoulder check. Will have to ride more though to comment about how it handles crosswinds and passing vehicles.[/li] [li]The retention strap has D-Rings, and a button retainer for the end of the strap. This is my favorite setup.[/li] [li]There are ear pockets that my X-Twelve don't have, which make my earpods fall out, but that space allows for installing speakers for comms. I will be getting a Cardo unit when I find a good deal on one.
[/li][/ul]
Do I like it? Yeah
Would I recommend it? If you want to look like the Stig, don't want to spend a crazy amount, and want a lightweight helmet, Yes.
Can it be better? I think the helmet's already pretty good. Besides the extra detent notch to crack the visor open, something that could be added would be vent closures. Not sure how much this would add to the production cost and what it would take away from the aesthetics, but why not have the option?
As I sat with my leg in an airboot, recovering from a fractured ankle, I stumbled across a post on RideApart for Simpson's new release of the Speed Bandit. Targeted toward motorcycling, and my heart jumped when I saw the price - $279.
Do I want to spend $500+ on a Shoei, one of the only brands that fits me perfectly? Not really, unless I have to.
Can I afford a $300 helmet? I think so.
Do I want to look like the Stig? HECK YEAH
So I ordered one, with the gold tinted visor, because it looks awesome. The fancy tinted shields were the most expensive option, and ended up spending almost $380 after tax for what you see. Crossed my fingers that it would fit, and waited a week or so.
It came in, and I was ecstatic. It looked great, it was really light, and the quality looked pretty good. I didn't get to ride with it until a few weeks later, as I just got strong enough to be able to ride again.
What I've learned in the last four days with the helmet:
[ul] [li]It's very light, very easy to rotate the head.[/li] [li]It doesn't fit me quite like a Shoei, as the cheekpads don't extend all the way to the points of my cheekbones where I feel like it cocoons me. Maybe I'll learn to like this, since it's not really a "race" helmet.[/li] [li]The amount of peripheral view through the eyeport is ridiculously huge. I feel so free in it.[/li] [li]The gold tinted visor is very good, it doesn't have any weird color shift like I've seen in some other visors. I'd judge the tint as a very small amount of blue, with the standard smoke gray. Nothing distracting. The optical clarity is great too. Will have to have more time with it to see how it stands up to being cleaned.[/li] [li]The visor has 4 (I think) detent positions. I would like one more, just to crack the visor open during slow movement. Moving the visor up one notch puts it right in the position where it's not visually impairing, but a little annoying to have to tilt your head down to make sure you won't hit any road hazards. Halve that notch, and you've got yourself a winner.[/li] [li]The airflow is good. At least on the bottom vents. Looking at the upper EPS foam channels, they're pretty deep, and kept me cool enough in humid 87 degrees today. I'll have to ride more to make comment on this, but you can see right through those mesh vent holes, meaning the air's coming right through.[/li] [li]The airflow is too good, and you can't shut it off. This makes for quite a loud helmet. I thought my X-Twelve was loud versus my stupid quiet RF-1100, but on my 30 minute commute, I'm wishing I was wearing my X-Twelve. I don't wear earplugs, but I do have iPhone earbuds in, which blocks only a little bit of noise. Blocking off the open neck area would reduce noise, proven by my hunching my jacket up sealing the area.[/li] [li]On unfaired bikes, turbulence is pretty minimal, which is surprising with the shape of the helmet, even when doing a low shoulder check. Will have to ride more though to comment about how it handles crosswinds and passing vehicles.[/li] [li]The retention strap has D-Rings, and a button retainer for the end of the strap. This is my favorite setup.[/li] [li]There are ear pockets that my X-Twelve don't have, which make my earpods fall out, but that space allows for installing speakers for comms. I will be getting a Cardo unit when I find a good deal on one.
[/li][/ul]
Do I like it? Yeah
Would I recommend it? If you want to look like the Stig, don't want to spend a crazy amount, and want a lightweight helmet, Yes.
Can it be better? I think the helmet's already pretty good. Besides the extra detent notch to crack the visor open, something that could be added would be vent closures. Not sure how much this would add to the production cost and what it would take away from the aesthetics, but why not have the option?