Another Helmet thread

[esetest]

No I can't Nick  , I wouldn't buy another one .

I read in a bike magazine ride or bike that it was 10years or 30k miles , I bought my Shoei raid 11 for £250 in 2007 and have done 22k  miles so far, I'm planning to replace it in 2016 , I also bought a box flip front with a sun visor for £100 but only use it for shorter trips as it gets uncomfortable.

Hey esetest, I hope you can take that Box off without opening the chin bar, cos sooner or later you're gonna have to! 

[kitcrazy]

I have a shark s900 with built in sun visor and it came with pinlock.think i paid about 160 for it about two years ago now i think?its a great fit and still tight and is very quiet for me.has all removable linings and cheek pads.and no air stream at all.a very good lid IMO or ive just been very lucky.

[red98]

Was looking at the shark s900 myself at the weekend.£199 now so parhaps they have updated it......impressed with it, think I might treat myself 

[kitcrazy]

i bought mine at the mcn show think they had them there again this year.

[fazersharp]

I tried on a shark - dont know which one and was not a good fit for me, I did notice though that the flip down sun shield was a proper tint worth having and yet the HJC one was hardly a tint at all

[Andy FZS]

Quote from red98     Was looking at the shark s900 myself at the weekend.£199 now so parhaps they have updated it......impressed with it, think I might treat myself  <br/>
Check out lids direct in the sale section £109.99

[red98]

Quote from red98     Was looking at the shark s900 myself at the weekend.£199 now so parhaps they have updated it......impressed with it, think I might treat myself  <br/>
Check out lids direct in the sale section £109.99

ooooooooo,thanks for the heads up andy 

[fazersharp]

Looked on lids and no cheeper than J&S for the IS-17.
a few things about vents,  a HJC one has scroll wheels to adjust, I dond see any point - just open or closed is fine I dont think i will notice any difference between 50% 30%.
Also this IS - 17 im looking at how easy is the black clip on the front of the visor to undo with winter gloves on.
And the visor with pinlock ready seems to have a molded extra bit that is just going to obscure the outer edge and when riding with it slightly open im going to see and extra stupid line 1cm up from the bottom. I have no use for pinlock and would prefer a plain visor.
So im thinking if I could sell the supplied visor and buy a plain one.

 Heres a picture

[Hedgetrimmer]

Today I got myself an HJC RPHA10 Ancel, black/white/titanium. It was on show stock (so would have been destined for the BMF) because it had a cracked chin vent, and also is now obsolete, having been replaced by the RPHA10 Plus (but is a new, unused helmet, otherwise in perfect condition). The only differences are in the vents and the visor. So I replaced the chin vent (involves removing comfort liner and chin EPS, undo 3 screws and off comes the vent). I also replaced the old style visors with those from the 10 Plus, as they have an improved, single position pinlock insert and mount (clear and dark). I think the old RRP was about £330, paid £130 for this one 

It's an even better fit than my IS-17, being the best crown fit I've ever had in any helmet, very snug but comfortable. The IS will be put away as a spare.

Actually, I didn't take note of the manufacturing date on the helmet while I had the liner out, but did examine the EPS which is all in perfect condition. Quite happy to use this helmet as a newly bought one.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/271365229073?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95

[fazersharp]

Not sure about the top vents on that one, the wheel, are you really going to be able to adjust it while going 50mph, open or closed fine but the wheel thing

[Hedgetrimmer]

I think they'll be easy enough to use once I get used to their positioning. But I doubt that I'll be fiddling with the position - probably use fully open or fully closed. I think having 2 instead of a single vent is perhaps not the best idea in the world, but the rest of the spec makes up for that at the price I'm paying (I hope).

But it's like anything I suppose - we take certain risks with anything we choose, I'm just hoping that it all balances out for this to be a good lid. I haven't actually read any reviews that pan it for anything either, and I've read several, including having feedback from the various BSB teams that Oxford Products support, and my colleague who has done BSB helmet technician for various Oxford sponsored teams, including TAG Triumph, Buildbase and more, and also the California Superbike School, and continues to do so for this season.

In any event, I felt I needed to try something in preparation for my Euro tour this year, as I didn't want the problem I've been having with the IS-17 to spoil things. At least I've got plenty of time to check the RPHA out before then, and I'll post up my thoughts and experience with it once it's had a little use. 

P.S. This is typical of the reviews I have read - ok, so it's biking press, maybe not entirely to be trusted, but I've also spoken with folks that have them, and they do seem to like them.

http://www.twowheel.co.uk/news/hjc-rpha-10-helmet-range-review-awesome-looking-lightweight-comfortable-probably-the-best-helmet-aroundme-looking-lightweight-probably-the-best-out-there-at/

And another review:

http://ultimatemotorcycling.com/hjc-rpha-10-motorcycle-helmet-review/

I had a similar problem with the visor being a little stiff to lift from closed on the ratchet system when I first tried it at work. In this, I'm lucky about where I work, as I was able to choose replacement base plates and visors from a few that we had on show stock, and adjust to perfection. This has been a problem with some of the first generation RPHAs in the past - combined with lifting the visor by the central catch has caused cracking around this catch. Using base plates and visors from the RPHA10 Plus has resolved this I think. We'll see.

I have also found one review that says that the helmet didn't rate too highly in the SHARP tests; read that here:

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/mcn/products/productsresults/helmets/2011/may/may1711-hjc-rpha-10-helmet/

But it does have minimum legal EC22 of course. My thoughts on this? Well, a little disappointing perhaps, but can't say I'm overly concerned either. I'll leave that to the individual to decide 

[gassitt]

It appears I have a European head as Arias/Shoeis just do not fit me

Used AGV X VENTs in their various guises for years and have never had any complaints.When they were discontinued moved to the Airtech which is now my commuting lid and for that its fine.It just wasn't as comfortable on long European trips as X vent and the demisting vents are crap ( not a prob on a 6 mile commute )

My long distance lid is a Shark S900. Its done 8 European trips now , its light and  all day comfortable, no probs with misting and the drop down visor is actually dark enough to be usable ( have a mirror visor for the main one too ) , plus its the FOST model which glows in the dark , cools a fuck in tunnels and lightrs up the tent a restful blue during the night

The one thing some folk may not like is the ratchet fastening , I have no issues with it but it probably isn't to everyones taste

[fazersharp]

That shark S900 keeps getting a mention, im sure I tried one on and wasnt as good fit as the IS -17 om my small stupid head, I may have to re- visit it.
That ratchet visor, how does it work. Mine now i can ride with it at any position which is perfect with a strip of black tape on the bottom edge so I can psoition it perfectly to block low sun. And then in the summer I can ride with it 2 inch open and get in lots of air and still keep the bugs out.
As i understand it those ratchet ones only have 3 positions, shut - 1cm open and fully open  and anything else will just be pushed shut,
Also those catches look inpossible to operate in winter gloves

[Hedgetrimmer]

The RPHA has 4 ratchet positions + fully closed, all with a very positive feel, so I think that will be plenty. 1st position is, oh, about 1/2 inch or perhaps a little more. If you pull it all the way closed without actually locking it on the catch, it just leaves a very narrow gap each side of the catch, which might also be useful. Lock the catch and it should seal fully.

Gonna go for a spin later, so I'll post my first impressions of use after. (Will be wearing thick winter gloves).

Actually, the visor catch is the same as the IS-17 one.

[fazersharp]

So when in each of those 4 positions can you ride without the wind blowing shut, im thinking I only do this up to about 50 mabe - not all the time but somtimes i like it, its a bit eairer for me as I wear glasses also.

[midden]

Thanks midden for that but im reading it and thinking none of that applies to me as its only ever had water to clean it and is still a good fit and not had much use.
What I am seeing here is kind of (not you lot ) wishy washy guidelines mainly from manufacturers, who want me to buy a new lid every 3 years. I suppoes that they do not want to get into issues that giving a set time would bring if one failed under that time.
I don't do fashion and I wonder how many people are swayed to by a new lid based on the latest design and using the 3-5 year manufactures guidelines as an excuse to get a new lid rather than any age/ safety related issue

nick crisp could you point me in the direction of your IS-17 review please

I think I read it different to you. 
It suggests to me (quite clearly in fact) you don't need to change your lid. Obviously don't hold me accountable, but I wouldn't change mine either.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Ok, so did about 120 miles with the RPHA today. Very quiet helmet. With the visor closed all I could really hear was a little wind noise, nothing very intrusive. The visor ratchet system works very well. The wind didn't blow it shut at all on this ride, but most of the time I had it in the closed but not locked position, as this was enough to prevent misting, even without the pinlock insert fitted. With it locked down, it did mist considerably though. No jets of air into my eyes! But felt air flow around the forehead with the visor on first open position or more, so I reckon that'll be good in the summer.

The top vent wheels I found very easy to operate with thick winter gloves on - when I could find them!    That'll just take a bit of getting used to I'm sure though, before I can put my hand straight to them.

Very comfortable, no movement at high speeds, sealed out wind, snow (!!) and rain completely.

But the biggest revelation is how it made me realise how much wind buffeting I had been subject to with the IS-17. The IS-17 replaced the cheap Box helmet I bought just to get me started again when I bought the bike last June. Of course the IS was that much better again. But the RPHA is in a whole different league from this point of view. At XXX mph, I found I could sit pretty much fully upright, and still no buffeting. In fact, this helmet has made riding the bike that much more enjoyable an experience because of this. I can now give much more concentration to actually riding, rather than straining against the wind blast. So much so, that I was pinning it at every chance I got today 

So thus far it gets the    although I won't jump in and recommend it yet like I did the last one  but will get some proper use from it first, and then come back and review it again.

But so far, so good.

[fazersharp]

Sounds good, odd with the buffeting thing as thats one of the things HJC were bigging up with the IS-17, just BS then, like max air flow removing hot air out of the exhust ports, or does that work on the 17. Here they are side by side, you would think that with all of that shaping on the 17 it would cut through the air.
RPHA on the left, dont like the look of those giant pins in my view
 

[Hedgetrimmer]

Yeah, I did notice the tear-off posts at first, but once I got going and concentrating on my riding, they stopped being a distraction.

It might be worth pointing out with the wind buffeting thing that I may have just hit on the combination that works for me: My height, screen height and helmet - these things can combine to make or mar the experience each individual has.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I've lost count of the number of people who have said to me, yeah but top-level racers have their helmets specially made for them, don't they".

Well, got to examine at first hand one of the helmets of a certain Mr. Lorenzo today. Modifications include tube for hydration system custom fitted (nothing anyone couldn't do for themselves by cutting away a bit of the EPS), some extra memory foam stuck on to the EPS at crown and under the cheek pads, top vents glued in closed position, some home-grown modification to the chin EPS (to allow better airflow - like airtex holes) and some extra logos. That's it. Otherwise, a completely bog-stock, off-the-shelf-lid. Standard shell, comfort liner, vents, visor and base plates (visor had been drilled to accept screws on the pivot, presumably for extra security). Except it actually felt heavier than a standard helmet, which I didn't expect - the mods didn't seem to be enough to account for that, and I'd have thought they'd have something super-lightweight.

Well, I found it interesting....

[fazersharp]

Right then gonna get the drill to mine and get some hose pipe.

Oh my    I thought I would find a picture of my lid in white and put it next to the other two, it looks sooooooooooo old, my chrome one looks much better though.
I think I can see where all my noise comes from as the new lids have a flush visor to helmet line and mine has a screw on pate
 

[fazersharp]

My 2 vents on the forehead  are  smaller than the size of a pen and do nothing.
All of my riding is in dry weather and because of that a good % is in warm/ hot weather, I would be interested in hearing how the vents perform on these two lids, this week end should be a good test.

As for noise I would like a less noisy lid and you say that the RPHA is better than the IS-17 for that, but im hoping that I will see a step change from my zf7 to the IS-17
I will now be looking at the RPHA but I do like the idea of the flip down visor, I had my dark one on on the middle earth ride but i also had my clear one with me and swaped it at mc donalds, i wear glasses and so sun glasses are not an option

[Hedgetrimmer]

It's gonna get a proper test this weekend fazersharp, so will report back on how it does.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Ok, after covering a high mileage on the weekend, here are my thoughts on the RPHA.

Still major impressed by the lack of head-bashing from the wind. It really made the whole day much easier. That's been the no. 1 point so far.
The breath guard sits in the perfect place for me too, close enough so it just touches my nose, but properly making sure my breath is deflected away from the visor, reducing misting. The helmet doesn't get pushed back much at high speeds either, so the guard never becomes a problem - down to the helmet fitting well, of course.

Chin curtain also sits just right for me, and perhaps contributes a bit to lack of noise.

Top vents work! On the couple of occasions the sun came out full strength, and when I got a move on, I really felt the cool air on top of my head. Not much at slower speeds, but that's perhaps expected. Still no problems operating them, summer and winter gloves, although one seems a little sticky. Might see if I can get a bit of lube on it.
Chin vent, not sure that one is doing much.

Once again impressed with how quiet it is, again, largely due to a good, snug fit probably. Even with the visor popped just a crack, it still kept the noise levels down.

Dark visor much better than drop-down "semi" tint, although I do already miss the convenience of that feature. I noticed a very slight distortion through the dark visor, but only at first, then it didn't come to mind for the rest of the day. Clear visor no issues.

In conclusion, I'm very pleased I swapped to this helmet so far, although of course, it's mostly just down to having a very good fit. The lack of buffeting, I'll say again  is still the one major thing that makes it so much better than the IS-17 (for me anyway).

If you are considering this helmet though, do bear in mind my previous posts about how I was able to set it up just right with visors and base plates from the Plus version - on the first generation helmet, the stiff visor ratchet can be a real pain, especially if those visors do start cracking around the catch because of it. It's not all of them, but it's common enough to beware of. Not sure if Pluses are like it too, obviously the one I robbed for my helmet was ok.

[fazersharp]

Thanks for that info.
What we need to be able to do is go into the helmet shop on our bikes and sit in a wind tunnel and test each one, or at least they should have "test helmets" we can go for a propper spin in.
Do you reacall at all the difference in buffeting from your old lid to your is-17. I dont notice any buffeting as such now - just constant blast which is ok and I wouldnt want to exchange a constant blast for a lesser blast but with buffeting.
I assume that the included dark visor is also road leagle, yet still darker than the IS 17 drop down one, I canot see any reason why the 17 drop down one is so pissy, as I really want this feature but for me its the first thing that would get altered with some car window film I think.
I wonder if the RPHA with a drop down would be the perfect lid, but I think they would not be able to get to same air vent flow inside.
AAAAAAH I want the cool air in my lid as a lot of my riding is in nice hot weather and because of that I want the drop down, I have lived with swapping visors for 12 years having to undo 4 screws so im sure I can live with the new quick release ones.