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KBC Helmets

S

supraman408

New member
Joined
May 12, 2008
Location
san jose
Moto(s)
250 ninja
does anyone have a KBC helmet? how are these helmet? are they snell/dot approved? the prices are nice but quality wise are these anyone compared to arai and shoei? thanks in advance!
 
supraman408 said:
does anyone have a KBC helmet? how are these helmet? are they snell/dot approved? the prices are nice but quality wise are these anyone compared to arai and shoei? thanks in advance!
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they are dot/snell approved. Quality wise they are not similar to arai or shoei, I'd put them up with hjc. A few I tried on had uncomfortable liner and flimsy shield
 
i love mine. i have 2. the vr-2 is a nice helmet.

my liner is super comfy and the shield isnt flimsy at all. it vents well. id say its a great mid level helmet (price wise)
 
got one

KBC

Got one. Modular, plain jane white. Like it. Still can't figure out what I am doing wrong when changing the face shields, that always takes me a while.

Built for oval skulls. Tried a more expensive Shoei. Didn't come close to fitting my medium sized dome. Too round. I'd need rhinoplasty and a chin reduction to wear a Shoei.

There's horses for courses and helmets for heads. KBC fits mine. Price good, too.
 
BillSmith said:
KBC

Got one. Modular, plain jane white. Like it. Still can't figure out what I am doing wrong when changing the face shields, that always takes me a while.

Built for oval skulls. Tried a more expensive Shoei. Didn't come close to fitting my medium sized dome. Too round. I'd need rhinoplasty and a chin reduction to wear a Shoei.

There's horses for courses and helmets for heads. KBC fits mine. Price good, too.
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what model do u have. i can change mine out in 30 seconds.
 
I wear an Arai, and KBC fits my dome well, too. I loved my VR-2 until it got smashed in the emergency room. :( Some eediot put it under my gurney and then some other dumb schmuck lowered me on to it.
 
I have a KBC vr2 and Arai rx7. I mostly wear the Arai now days because it's lighter, but I have nothing negative to say about KBC. My the tab on my visor broke once, and customer service was really helpful. Someone answered right away, and when I told him the tab broke, all he did was ask for my name, number, address, and a few days later a brand new visor at my door.
 
I have an Arai Quantum (admittedly an old model), Shoei RF1000, Suomy Gunwind, HJC (i forget which model), 2 different models of Icon helmets and one KBC Force-RR.

The KBC seems to fit me just about as well as the Shoei and Arai models, slightly better than the HJC and definitely better than my Icons. I think the fit and finish while well below Arai and Shoei is about on par with the HJC and graphics might be very slightly better than my Icons.

While riding a VFR long distance my Shoei RF1000 gave me some insane wind noise but that may have been because of the angle of the windscreen. Oddly enough, when riding with the KBC the wind noise wasn't nearly as noticeable.

When I have all of those helmets laid out on my kitchen table and I'm heading out the door I usually grab either the Shoei or my KBC. I honestly find myself wearing the KBC more than the Shoei. Usually it's KBC, Shoei, Suomy, Icon Mainframe, Icon Domain in that order. I've never worn my HJC on a ride yet and my Arai is just around for decoration now.

Changing out the face shield was incredibly easy and I also think the venting is pretty decent on the Force RR as well. I would definitely buy another one without hesitation.

Note: I've crashed hard using both an Arai and Shoei helmets and I've never once lost consciousness.

I could probably write a few paragraphs comparing these helmets but the bottom line is that (in my opinion and for my head) the KBC is a great value helmet that looks good, vents well and protects my head. They all mess up my hair equally. Now if one of them could come up with a helmet that doesn't mess up hair and protects your noggin I'd be all over that.

Hope that helps some.
 
OH yeah, one important thing to note.... Icons have a really funky smell to them. Even after months of ownership it still has that funky smell. Maybe that's one of the reasons I don't wear them as much. But they do have some cool designs/graphics.
 
if you're looking @ the KBC modular helmets

i only wear modular helmets b/c of my glasses(i know a lot of people don't like em, but :twofinger). i have to say the KBC modular feels like shit compared to all the other ones i've worn or tried on. the mechanism feels stiff and when pulling it closed, the locking mechanism does NOT feel very secure. i kinda liked that they were putting graphics on their modulars, which no other company seems to want to do, but the finish is so cheesy, what's the point?

otherwise:

Nolan: currently own & love, nice fit, smooth action, positive lock
HJC: face shield is real stiff opening & closing, but the flip-up mechanism is smooth and reassuring, nice fit and like the liner a lot
Shoei: i've rarely tried these on cuz they're kinda outta my price range, but they definitely feel as nice if not better than the above two
Z1R: you can definitely tell it's a budget helmet, but still, it didn't really feel any worse than the KBC

dunno 'bout the other KBC's, but i'd stay away from their flip-up lids.
 
KBC sucks in quality compared to Shoei. If you know what you're doing it sucks in quality compared to Arai too. I say that because people always break the base plates on Arais trying to change the shield. They're made well, people are just idiots (and the design is damn complicated).

Working at Cycle Gear I've had two Shoeis returned for manufacturer's defect over the course of a year. An X-11 had the vent off a little that created whistling. A TZR had a loose vent that did the same
I've had...15 or so KBCs brought back because the base plate broke (most common), a vent broke, or the rubber seal around the visor started coming off. The base plates on the VR-2s and Force RRs break all the time. All the time. Their new replacement visors now come with EXTRA baseplates. At least they're acknowledging the problem, but they're not fixing it.
Had two or so Arais come in because the owner broke the base plate trying to change the shield.

Shoei > Arai > KBC
 
DarkNinja75 said:
KBC sucks in quality compared to Shoei. If you know what you're doing it sucks in quality compared to Arai too. I say that because people always break the base plates on Arais trying to change the shield. They're made well, people are just idiots (and the design is damn complicated).

Working at Cycle Gear I've had two Shoeis returned for manufacturer's defect over the course of a year. An X-11 had the vent off a little that created whistling. A TZR had a loose vent that did the same
I've had...15 or so KBCs brought back because the base plate broke (most common), a vent broke, or the rubber seal around the visor started coming off. The base plates on the VR-2s and Force RRs break all the time. All the time. Their new replacement visors now come with EXTRA baseplates. At least they're acknowledging the problem, but they're not fixing it.
Had two or so Arais come in because the owner broke the base plate trying to change the shield.

Shoei > Arai > KBC
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So are people just idiots because they break base plates on their Arais or is the design damed complicated which causes people to break the base plates? Both maybe?

I would have to agree that when you're comparing KBC quality with Arai and Shoei it's definitely in a much lower class. But you really do get what you're paying for. I don't think you can expect Shoei or Arai level fit, finish and overall quality for KBC pricing. Just like you can't compare Toyota Corolla or Ford Focus quality with Mercedes/BMW/Lexus either since they're at much difference price points.

My base plates on my Force RR haven't broken yet but when that happens I figure I'll call KBC and see if they do anything about it. I didn't pay much for the helmet and for what I've paid I still think it's a good buy. It's just not nearly as "nice" as Shoei, Arai or Suomy products.
 
i have the KBC VR-2 (dot & snell approved). I've been liking it since i got it. Fits my head, way lighter and more comfortable than the TK8. Yes the the plate broke on my helmet only because the helmet fell off the seat of my bike. Other than that, no issues.

I like to stick to the "lower class" helmets only because i I can't justify spending $400+ on a new Arai or Shoei knowing that it'll just get messed up through normal wear and tear in addition to occassional drops and what not, all to have to be replaced at some point.
 
I've got a KBC sitting in my gearbag, fits great - haven't gotten around to wearing it. It's currently my racetrack backup to my Shoei X11.
 
from what ive heard....as far as the KBC base plate issue goes. they did have some design flaws on the prior designs, the reason new shields come with free base plates is that they are redesigned and work great now... i bought a new visor and used the new plates. no complaints...


i have 2 kbcs and never had a plate break...
 
KROSSOVER said:
I like to stick to the "lower class" helmets only because i I can't justify spending $400+ on a new Arai or Shoei knowing that it'll just get messed up through normal wear and tear in addition to occassional drops and what not, all to have to be replaced at some point.
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X1000 I love those Arai helmets! But $700?! :( I'll stick with HJC and KBC for now until I get a better paying job.
 
I used to wear the Arai RX-7 and the Shoei RF-1000 and I can say the KBC VR-2 is now my helmet of choice. The Aria is a pain in the ass design for the amount of money you spend on it, I went through at least 3 side plate covers before I finally got fed up with it. It is now my backup helmet. The Shoei doesn't fit me right.

The new generation VR-2's are really nice and becoming quite popular on the track because on average they are $300.00 less then the Arai or the Shoei and the offer the exact same features. I have meticulously gone through all three helmets looking at pro's and con's the the quality of all three are comparable. The reason the Arai and Shoei are so damn expensive is because people keep buying them thinking a higher dollar amount means better quality... not so.

It is no surprise that Mat Mladin and many others have figured this out already, he rode for two years wearing a VR-2 and now he wears a Scorpion EX0-700 which is also a $250.00 helmet with awesome features.
 
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oh and I crash tested the KBC TK8 on the 101...held up really well; felt like my head landed in a sea of pillows.
 
i also have crash tested a KBC helmet not sure what model# it was but it held up pretty good. you can't see it very well but im wearing in my avatar, i use for stunning the toys.
 
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