31-03-14, 12:23 PM
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 :lol 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.
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 :lol 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.