+1 for Schuberth. On my 3rd one now. Quiet and comfy. Super quick visor change. Sizes come up roughly half a size smaller than most others so best to try one. Just my 2 penneth.
You can't see it when you are wearing it. In terms of quality i think Shoei are the best these days. Fit is really the only thing that matters with a helmet. if that isn't right the rest is a waste of time anyway. AGV race helmets are also top quality these days and the more expensive ones come in multiple shell sizes for best fit.
The HJC RAPHA 11 is the best helmet I've had for track use for a few years. I had the 10 which I liked but the vision wasn't as good as the 11.
I've been using the Shark Race R Pro. No complaint so far. Plush lining, great build quality and pretty quiet. I am due for a change soon so might go with Shark again but also considering the new Sena noise cancelling helmet, an ICS helmet or a Bell Race Star Here's the SENA Noise Cancelling Helmet The ICS (Intelligent Cranium Systems) Helmet is still under development, but as long as it doesnt go the same way Skully did (I got burned on that one) I'm in. And here is the Bell Race Star which has had a lot of good reviews I know Arai, Shoei, AGV, X-Lite etc are the go to brands, but they are not necessarily always the best option, fit aside.
Helmets are a personal thing. I always wear arai coz they fit my bonce well. Its whats comfy for you that matters and not the brand as they are all good quality these days. Better than the old open face tip top I had when I was a kid, or my red centurion and dont get me started on my old fm alien one. I could rotate that fucker whilst still wearing it.
Have more helmets than my wife has Shoes (that's a lie, but close). For comfort Shoei GT-air or the AGV corsa. Corsa wins on weight as it's so light but the Shoei has the inner sun visor which comes in handy. Arai are looking so dated now and look like Lego heads!
Quite right...Biker peps take a lot of convincing when it come to using any brand that's not displayed on a bike on the telly or worn by he pikey 46 massive. Bell are making some bloody fine lids these days.
Gonna go out on a limb here and i know ill get red arrowed for it....this is my main lid that i use.... http://simpsonraceproducts.com/snell-sa2015/speedway-shark-snell-2015/ Ive also got a shoei xspirit III which is good but, its very noisy, and not as comfortable. The simpson is plush, very quiet (there are no ear cutouts to speak of) so the noise is greatly reduced. Also its more stable than the xspirit at high speed. Black visor though is very black so not as good as the Shoei black visor at night.... I had an issue with the lining of the simpson 2 years after i bought it. Sent it back to Simpson who relined it and sent it back from Texas, all free and had an email to apologise (at the point i bought mine they switched suppliers for lining). Ive crashed quite a few times and every time ive had a simpson on and im still here, the last one 4 years back after hitting the back of a car at about 30, then doing a few cartwheels over the top of the car and then the full downforce of my head on the tarmac....the first crash 25 years ago was an off on a straight at about 60 on some spilt diesel...ever since then ive used them. The xspirit i only bought as they took a while turning my warranty call round.
@comfysofa nice to see another Simpson owner in the Ducatisti fold. @bootsam bought a cheap FM Alien back in the day, when I couldn't afford a Simpson, then got my first Simpson a RX1. Had a series of Simpsons and currently have a RX8 Speedway. Love the look and fit of the helmets, their customer care is brilliant. Only down side is they are noisy, so I wear ear plugs, but, I'd wear these anyway due to having full open termi system on both bikes. Not for everyone, but perfect for me .... [/USER]
I wear earplugs no matter what I am wearing. I like the look of Simpsons, but could never afford one back in the day. Plus they were illegal and plod didnt need much excuse to pull me over during my lambretta days. So I erred on caution and stayed legit. Ive had my time, quite literally, riding scoots illegally back in 80's. I only have 1 lid. An RX7-GP. That'll do for me for now. But matey has a nice AGV with electronic darkening visor, flash bastard, in carbon. Which is nice. But other matey's shoei is so light. Wish they fitted my bonce. Fuck it, I might buy another lid from another brand. Ive got money now. Hmmm...Simpsons.....
Its funny but the bandit is the only one ive not had and there is a reason for that..... Years and years ago we used to go (friday, late afternoons in the summer months) from Bristol over to Heston services and in turn Chelsea Bridge when that whole scene was alive, no helicopters no speed cameras....good old cat and mouse fun.... A lad left Chelsea Bridge on a GSXr 1100 with his bird on the back....i shit you not he was just about 5ft tall and could just about tip toe on it....he left...we thought nothing of it.....about a half hour later we left to go back to Heston (there was kind of a rat run/bikes shuttling back and forth all night...people would go back and forth)...anyway...we were on a very shallow twisting dual carriageway, the traffic started to slow up to the point of us filtering to the front....there was a few ambulances at the front and, a gsxr1100 split clean in half (through the engine) in a petrol station forecourt. He must have been doing some speed as the bike went straight through the leg of the big signage that displays the petrol prices. The girl on the back had a bandit on....where she left the bike and went rattling down the road the point of the bandit lid (the middle bit between the 2 eyes of the visor) quite literally smashed her face to pieces (now this could be helmet fitment i dont know)....she was on a stretcher and from a facial point of view (blood all over the front of the lid) you couldnt tell if she was male or femail. So, ive always had simpsons....but never a bandit..! i will say that the original bandits had a more prominent point in the middle though....
The other reason ive got simpsons is every 3 or 4 years we go over to florida (bloody expensive holiday so we cant do it often) so i order a simpson there, get it sent to where we're staying and then bring it back through customs...!
@bootsam The majority of the nice Simpsons are still illegal. I've been stopped a number of times over the last 20+ years of wearing them and never been done yet. In fact a few have comments on how good they look and that if they are OK for American racing, then they are OK for the UK roads. Last couple I've had, I bought while in USA on holiday. This is why I like their customer service, I ordered the helmet (special order in black, as back then all Simpsons were white) sorted out spare visors (Blockers to the yanks). They threw in proper padded helmet bag and had the helmet delivered to my hotel a few days before I flew home. Bought the helmet back in my hand luggage. Billed and paid in $ when the exchange rates were MUCH better than they are now. When funds allow, I would like the carbon Simpson.
In the late 90's I had a black bandit 2, then a white RX4 (A bit Stig I know !!), cool as fuck but louder than any other lid I've ever owned, are they any better now ? I seem to remember the RX4 not that plush inside either ? But, cool as......
Yep - i think the fire rating for the simpson is way above anything for the regular roads...afterall they use them for drag racing also. As for the legality...yes....20 years ago you'd get pulled with a bandit on as they were so obvious but mine, ive never been looked at and, last time i did get pulled for a strip plate and noisy pipe he didnt even comment on the lid..... im the same as Carbon749 - go to the states pick one up cheap and bring it home...! a crying shame as one of the lads here has just come back and said before he went "want me to bring anything back!!" Plus with regards to the personal thing....yeah - thats me all over i hate having the same lid as someone else and theres loads of simpsons on their site to choose from....that very few people have...and yeah, next time we go over ill be getting another carbon one...the last one i smashed up was a carbon Devil Ray....pissed off about that... the one i have now i chose for the different shape and wasnt available in carbon then but it is now!! And just to add to that ive not seen one the same as mine here yet!!
Next year when we go - this'll be the one unless they come out with anything thats more badass.... http://simpsonraceproducts.com/snell-sa2015/carbon-ev1-snell-2015/
I've got this Bell M4r carbon for sale in medium. Worn 3 short rides. As new. £250. Beautiful in the flesh. Schuberth just fit my bonce size wise better. Think i'm in between sizes.
