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Stepping up to the Big Leagues (new helmet)

Eisernkreuz

Eisernkreuz

unteroffizier
Joined
Jul 17, 2003
Location
Sacramento Valley
Moto(s)
BMW R1100S
Name
Miran
The old Scorpion EXO700 had done its duty for two full years of year-round riding. It's protected my head from the 36th to the 40th parallel north. It's sat on my head for tens of thousands of miles, soaking up sweat, destroying bugs, and has over time started to show signs of aging. The leather around the base has cracked, and the tape that sits under the visor has started to come off. The rubber seal around the visor has lost its shape and now just blows wind across my eyes while making a ton of noise.

So, it's time to replace it.
Schoob002Medium.jpg


Come on, were you REALLY surprised that I bought a German helmet?
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If you didn't feel like a figher pilot before, just flip the switch and pretend you're Maverick
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Gotta love that non-Snell rating :cool
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No D-ring buckle. Instead, those crafty Germans reinvented the wheel and fixed something that didn't need fixing.
Schoob008Small.jpg


Schoob009Small.jpg


When lowered, the internal visor covers enough of your eyes to let you ride in direct sunlight, but also doesn't go down too far, allowing you to glance down for an unimpeded view of your mirrors and gauges.
Schoob010.jpg


Cheers! :teeth
 
There's so much attention to detail, it puts a tear in my eye.

The visor is oversized and has two rubber seals.
The strap for the buckle has a little retention strap of its own to keep it in place.
There's an anti-roll-off strap under the padding so the strap can't go over your chin and eject the helmet.
All the moving parts move with a solid feel, like closing the door of a Mercedes.
The visor release mechanism requires sliding a tab forward about 5mm.
The stitching is superb, and the leather is high-quality. The liner is flawless.

I don't like that the visor doesn't have a tab, but it's for aeroacoustic reasons. So instead, you have to press in the spring-loaded button, lift up with your finger on the bottom edge, and open the visor. If you're trying to open it just a crack, you'll probably open it too much and then have to push down on the visor to close it to a desired level :( But I see the reasoning behind not having it, it's just not convenient.



So, for $380OTD including overnight shipping, a breath deflector, and tax, I'd say this helmet (retails at $700) is a pretty good deal. I'll post a review as soon as I take it out for a longer ride :teeth
 
Last edited:
Eisernkreuz said:
...No D-ring buckle. Instead, those crafty Germans reinvented the wheel and fixed something that didn't need fixing.
Schoob008Small.jpg


Schoob009Small.jpg
...
Click to expand...

That actually is not new. My old Bieffe had a buckle system. Very easy to secure and unsecure the strap. Though for roadracing or trackday I am not quite sold on it. :toothless :later
 
Outta Control said:
That actually is not new. My old Bieffe had a buckle system. Very easy to secure and unsecure the strap. Though for roadracing or trackday I am not quite sold on it. :toothless :later
Click to expand...

I didn't say they invented it. But they did redesign it for this particular helmet. I don't really care either way. Unless I fall on a sharp rock that presses the release, I think it'll be ok.
 
Eisernkreuz said:
I didn't say they invented it. But they did redesign it for this particular helmet. I don't really care either way. Unless I fall on a sharp rock that presses the release, I think it'll be ok.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it will be fine. ;) :toothless :later
 
dude thats a pretty sick helmet man
 
Miran - Any chance to ride with the helmet yet? Does the visor w/o the tab actually reduce wind noise at all at highway speeds? How's the weight of the helmet? I notice Shoei and Arai are a lot lighter than HJC, just curious how this one relates to the likes of those. Nice helmet BTW. :thumbup
 
OK, I rode with it to my gf's house in Lincoln, about 40 minutes of freeway at speedcrime speeds.

I've noticed that my windscreen kinda puts the airflow on the chin of the helmet, 'causing some noise. If I sit up a bit in my seat, it goes to dead silent. Also, if I tuck a bit and move the chin out of the windscreen's wake, it goes silent again. If your head is in clean airflow, there's no buffeting or noise, and movement is easy. If you have a windscreen that puts turbulent air on your neck, it's a bit more loud, but still not very much. This Schoob without earplugs is like my Scorpion with earplugs :thumbup

As far as weight goes, I have a gigantic head that weighs 34248234534lbs anyway. This helmet is tagged at 1650g or so, which is like 3.6 or 3.7 lbs. A size XL Shoei X11 ($580) is 1627g and an Arai Quantum II is 1624g ($560-660)

The venting is great. That barely-cracked-open feature on the visor is really good, as is the chin vent. Last night, I definitely felt the top vents doing their job, and it wasn't even hot, so I imagine it'll be like A/C in the summer.
 
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