Maybe they were reluctant to support someone who they don't know carving up one of their helmets? What I am not so subtly saying is 'It's a decision only you can make' it's not right to ask us...lets say you were unfortunate and had an accident ...that 'missing' bit of padding may make a difference...I don't know. I suggest going to a Shoei agent or persist in your contact attempts with them would be the sensible thing to do. Good luck.