bit of advice please - currently have the arai chaser v - with earplugs still REALLY loud (Akras no baffles - lol - to be expected) Any suggestions of quiet helmets without a huge shell so you dont look like a bloody lightbulb! Cheers
Shoei as they now do different foams to fit each bonce and different shell sizes, and arai are always loud imo.
Ive the Shoei Nxr and love it, I dont use ear plugs ether, Its probably the best lid ive owned, Very small tidy shell ( cant be far of the smallest shelled lids out there), Ive also got the xlite 802rr GP carbon lid that ive used only for 20mins from new lol, Luvly lid with slightly bigger shell to the Shoei, I always go for the shoei when going out, Had a good few Arais and never found one i can use without ear plugs,
Good fit is very important, and what fits you properly might not fit me at all. I suggest if possible try on as many as possible to see which fit nicely, and then see what we recommend from your shortlist.
I have Shoei GT Air which I am very happy with. As @michel couque said fit is all important. I had mine custom fitted in Japan where I bought it at a motorcycle shop which has both Shoei and Arai fitment specialists. Took quite a bit of time to get it 100% but the end result was well worth the wait. Still wear plugs ,but the lid is quieter than any others I've owned.
Schuberth S2 supposedly one of the quietest lids out there. I've had good success with mine, but still only with plugs in...
Well I don't know, I find my Pista quieter than my Chaser V... I know the Pista is a race hat but it's very comfortable and I genuinely don't find it noisy. I've been considering the AGV Sportmodular as that's apparently very quiet indeed. I don't wear earplugs either, so I'm saying that the Pista is fine without plugs. When I've got earplug headphones in it's very quiet.
@JH_1986 I recently bought one of those, lovely lid, looks very well made and seems to fit perfectly, but it's driving me mad with the noise, even worse than my previous Arai Chaser and that was loud. Iv'e been experimenting trying to establish exactly where the source of the wind noise is coming from but have failed so far. Do you have any advice for reducing the noise?
I’ve a very good screen on my bike, so the air gets pushed over the helmet. I’ll be on the bike tomorrow and will give it some proper thought for you.
Forgot to mention I have the standard screen fitted on my bike which is a MTS 1000DS, I suspect that the screen might be playing a large part in the noise issue. Although it's also noisy on my 848Evo.
Had both Shoei GT AIR and Shuberth. Shoei a bit better but may be just fit. But not Quiet, just better than the rest. Always ware earplugs as my hearing is now damaged.
Blooming comfy though, I like my AGVs but I love the fit and finish of Arai. I've never tried or tried to get on with Shoei, and do kind of fancy a flip front next. The RX7v calls to me, even though the only colour I like at the moment is black.
You should be looking for something with a fairly small shell size (or at least a lid that comes in different shell sizes to account for small heads etc) with fewer vents. More airflow means more noise generally, as does things like side pods which all Arai's have. Stay away from race helmets, they aren't designed for sunday cruises and often will be shaped in such a way that your head needs to be angled aggressively into downwards (i.e. looking out the top of the visor) to work aerodynamically. They will be terrible on bikes like nakeds. Which brings me on to the last point, it's really subjective and depends on your bike and your height as to where the wind is hitting you. I wear an Arai on the road because it's just so comfortable, and I have a Shoei X-Spirit 2 that I also sometimes use, but not enough.
I was Arai through to the core till they came up with that stupid peaked cap external dark visor thing, then I switched to Shoei, never looked back. What a load of ol shite this is ??
