01-11-2019, 11:33 AM
I've been wearing an [url=https://www.araiamericas.com/helmets/vector-2/fluorescent-yellow]Arai Vector-2 full-face for going on seven years. I bought it because at the time I believed that only the safest helmets had a Snell rating. That meant no modulars for me.
Turns out that the Snell M2005 standard allowed for much higher G-forces than either FMVSS 218 (DOT) or ECE R22-05, resulting in a new Snell M2010 standard that lowers the allowable G-forces to be more in line with DOT and ECE. Bottom line is that I'm no longer convinced that a Snell rating is a necessity for street riding, and can thus consider a modular for my next helmet.
For the last year I've been looking at products from the Italian helmet manufacturer [url=https://www.caberg.it/en/]Caberg. They make some very nice-looking helmets sold online at European outlets for prices that are surprisingly reasonable. I first heard about Caberg while browsing the UK's [url=https://sharp.dft.gov.uk]SHARP helmet safety test results when I noted that Caberg's modular latches were on average less likely to pop open on impact than many better-known brands.
I became fascinated by a new helmet Caberg introduced at EICMA 2017 called the [url=https://youtu.be/820m3d-QF4w]Levante. It was a lightweight modular with lots of feature such as channels for glasses, Pinlock visor, 82-degree vertical viewing angle, safety homologation when riding open or closed, and weight of 1.45 kg to 1.65 kg depending on construction (composite fiber or carbon fiber) and shell size (SM/LG), etc.
Throughout the winter of 2018 I waited patiently for the Levante to become available at retailers, and when it never appeared, I contacted Caberg for an explanation. They told me that the launch of the helmet was indefinitely delayed. My spidey senses told me it probably had something to do with an obscure patent or trademark challenge from another manufacturer that only appeared after the public launch, and the release of the helmet would have to wait until the issue (whatever it was) got sorted.
Well, here we are in 2019 and Caberg is back with the Levante, only this time they're calling it the [url=https://www.caberg.it/en/helmets/flip-up/levo]Levo.
The [url=https://www.motostorm.it/en/helmets/modular-helmets/modular-helmet-caberg-levo-white.html]composite fiber version is available from [url=https://www.motostorm.it/en/]motostorm.it for a amazing price of € 350,99 including VAT. If you export it out of the EU, the price is only € 287,70!
Even the [url=https://www.motostorm.it/en/helmets/modular-helmets/modular-helmet-caberg-levo-carbon.html]carbon fiber version is only € 431,99 including VAT and € 354,09 outside the EU. I figure shipping to the US would be about USD $40 so I could have the Levo in hand for a total cost of about $375 for the composite fiber or USD $450 for the carbon fiber. That seems like an amazing deal to me considering that the Shoei Neotec-2 costs USD $700 and the AGV Carbon Sport Modular runs USD $750-$850.
(As an aside, regarding the buying experience from motostorm.it, I have a buddy who has bought ADV gear and accessories from them and raves about their customer service. He had a problem with the application fitment of some side cases that was the fault of the manufacturer. Motostorm.it contacted the manufacturer on his behalf and the manufacturer responded by resolving the situation to my buddy's satisfaction.)
Even though Caberg doesn't distribute through retailers in the US, European retailers will ship them here. But here's the real catch: none of Caberg's helmets have a DOT rating. Even though it is a self-certification, they haven't done it, so their helmets do not have a DOT emblem. Caberg's helmets do carry the ECE rating, which I consider to be, if anything, better than DOT in terms of a safety testing scheme.
The one question I still have about all this: would you be willing to ride on US highways wearing a non-DOT-approved helmet that notwithstanding meets the credible and stringent European safety standards? What are the potential downsides in terms of police enforcement? Would there ever be a situation where a police officer in a state with a mandatory helmet law would take note of the missing DOT emblem and issue a citation? What about a situation where there was an accident and regardless of whether the rider was or was not at fault?
Turns out that the Snell M2005 standard allowed for much higher G-forces than either FMVSS 218 (DOT) or ECE R22-05, resulting in a new Snell M2010 standard that lowers the allowable G-forces to be more in line with DOT and ECE. Bottom line is that I'm no longer convinced that a Snell rating is a necessity for street riding, and can thus consider a modular for my next helmet.
For the last year I've been looking at products from the Italian helmet manufacturer [url=https://www.caberg.it/en/]Caberg. They make some very nice-looking helmets sold online at European outlets for prices that are surprisingly reasonable. I first heard about Caberg while browsing the UK's [url=https://sharp.dft.gov.uk]SHARP helmet safety test results when I noted that Caberg's modular latches were on average less likely to pop open on impact than many better-known brands.
I became fascinated by a new helmet Caberg introduced at EICMA 2017 called the [url=https://youtu.be/820m3d-QF4w]Levante. It was a lightweight modular with lots of feature such as channels for glasses, Pinlock visor, 82-degree vertical viewing angle, safety homologation when riding open or closed, and weight of 1.45 kg to 1.65 kg depending on construction (composite fiber or carbon fiber) and shell size (SM/LG), etc.
Throughout the winter of 2018 I waited patiently for the Levante to become available at retailers, and when it never appeared, I contacted Caberg for an explanation. They told me that the launch of the helmet was indefinitely delayed. My spidey senses told me it probably had something to do with an obscure patent or trademark challenge from another manufacturer that only appeared after the public launch, and the release of the helmet would have to wait until the issue (whatever it was) got sorted.
Well, here we are in 2019 and Caberg is back with the Levante, only this time they're calling it the [url=https://www.caberg.it/en/helmets/flip-up/levo]Levo.
The [url=https://www.motostorm.it/en/helmets/modular-helmets/modular-helmet-caberg-levo-white.html]composite fiber version is available from [url=https://www.motostorm.it/en/]motostorm.it for a amazing price of € 350,99 including VAT. If you export it out of the EU, the price is only € 287,70!
Even the [url=https://www.motostorm.it/en/helmets/modular-helmets/modular-helmet-caberg-levo-carbon.html]carbon fiber version is only € 431,99 including VAT and € 354,09 outside the EU. I figure shipping to the US would be about USD $40 so I could have the Levo in hand for a total cost of about $375 for the composite fiber or USD $450 for the carbon fiber. That seems like an amazing deal to me considering that the Shoei Neotec-2 costs USD $700 and the AGV Carbon Sport Modular runs USD $750-$850.
(As an aside, regarding the buying experience from motostorm.it, I have a buddy who has bought ADV gear and accessories from them and raves about their customer service. He had a problem with the application fitment of some side cases that was the fault of the manufacturer. Motostorm.it contacted the manufacturer on his behalf and the manufacturer responded by resolving the situation to my buddy's satisfaction.)
Even though Caberg doesn't distribute through retailers in the US, European retailers will ship them here. But here's the real catch: none of Caberg's helmets have a DOT rating. Even though it is a self-certification, they haven't done it, so their helmets do not have a DOT emblem. Caberg's helmets do carry the ECE rating, which I consider to be, if anything, better than DOT in terms of a safety testing scheme.
The one question I still have about all this: would you be willing to ride on US highways wearing a non-DOT-approved helmet that notwithstanding meets the credible and stringent European safety standards? What are the potential downsides in terms of police enforcement? Would there ever be a situation where a police officer in a state with a mandatory helmet law would take note of the missing DOT emblem and issue a citation? What about a situation where there was an accident and regardless of whether the rider was or was not at fault?
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