(23-03-14, 12:35 PM)fazersharp link Wrote: 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.
Women have chocolate men have bikes.....
including ones who like chocolate....
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! :lol 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 :lol
So thus far it gets the :thumbup although I won't jump in and recommend it yet like I did the last one :rolleyes but will get some proper use from it first, and then come back and review it again.
27-03-14, 12:06 AM (This post was last modified: 27-03-14, 12:08 AM by 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
I don't do rain or threat there of. dry rider only with no shame.
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.
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.
27-03-14, 09:33 PM (This post was last modified: 27-03-14, 09:35 PM by fazersharp.)
Right then gonna get the drill to mine and get some hose pipe.
Oh my :o 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
I don't do rain or threat there of. dry rider only with no shame.
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
I don't do rain or threat there of. dry rider only with no shame.
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.
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.
I don't do rain or threat there of. dry rider only with no shame.
The helmet that my IS-17 replaced was only a cheap Box, and I didn't expect any better than I got with it. Ok for a short while, not particularly comfortable, but not a particularly great fit either, so pretty noisy - and no, not a great deal of difference in the buffeting department as I recall, but would have to try it again to be sure - not something I'm particularly inclined to do! (I do remember having to rescue it from the back of my head after any faster runs! :lol) And it could be the combination of factors, just hitting on the right formula for my particular set up. The IS-17 was ok, I just didn't realise quite the extent the difference could be between helmets, and had more or less assumed that you had to put up with a certain amount of this. I'm talking about above legal speeds after all. The main reason I replaced the IS, was the air flow into my eyes remember. Otherwise, not a bad lid, considering I only paid about £70 brand new.
I swapped the useless legal tint visor that comes with the RPHA for a dark one, no it's not legal, but never had any issues about that before. If you're not otherwise behaving like a prat, not wearing it in the dark or poor light conditions, you'll be ok - never heard of someone being done for JUST a dark visor, I think it unlikely, especially if you have a clear one with you too, which I normally will cos if I'm planning on doing any distance, I'll usually have my tank bag with me, so not a problem.
I did like being able to drop the sun visor on the IS just to give some eye protection with plenty of ventilation, so I know where you're coming from there - oh well, can't have it all I suppose :\
As mentioned previously, there is now an RPHA ST, with drop-down visor. But they've had to change the shell shape to accommodate this, which will affect airflow, and the sun visor looks even lighter than the IS one - pointless! Plus the mechanism for it reminds me of the Box ones; feels a bit cheap.
Racking my brains, but someone told me recently that there is a place you can take a helmet out for a check with - don't hold your breath, but I'll find out if it was someone at work who mentioned it. Can't think how that would work, as it presumably means they'd end up with a load of used helmets...
Ok, so I just tried swapping between IS and RPHA a few times, just static. I definitely notice the weight difference, RPHA being lighter, I can feel that straight away. Cheek padding fit is about the same on both, IS pads maybe sit slightly lower. Crown is much snugger for me on the RPHA, which also doesn't have padding sitting right on my ears, so is more comfortable in that regard. RPHA just generally feels comfier, liner material feels softer, plusher. I thought the IS might have loosened up a lot more, but still not a bad fit after 10,000 or more miles.
Ok I thought that I had better update this as I have now got the is17 and so far done about 200 miles in it.
It is about 10- 15 miles and hour quieter than my old one and on my old one although the view is the same it was made less by some extra internal padding than came down on my forehead so on the is17 I can feel alittle bit more air which is good.
I am enjoying the second darker visor and after 200 miles I think it is ok as I was thinking that it wont be dark enough.
It is a elongated shape as compared to my old one and at first I could feel the wind trying to twist it when I turned my head but I don't notice that now.
The only thing I don't like about it is the pinlock recess as when I have the visor open a little and look over my shoulder my view is obscured a little by the "step down to the thinner part of the recess, and the click lock on the visor (to shut it) seems a bit stiff in that I have to push more than I think to fully shut it --I might but some lube on that.
So all in all ---- good
Thank you for the help.
I don't do rain or threat there of. dry rider only with no shame.
