#helmet

“So, if I’m going to go with you fellers on this 2017 Superbike Street Shootout, I’m gonna need a new helmet since all of my roadie helmets are so old they’re practically petrified.”

Klim’s a new player in the modular streetbike motorcycle helmet game. With a reputation of constructing technical apparel – oftentimes of the high-end, expensive variety – it should come as no surprise the company managed to create a quality modular lid for a price commensurate with competitors Schuberth and Shoei.

Sena Cavalry Helmet Review

As the first week of April has now come and (almost) gone, we want to remind readers that this month is National Check Your Helmet Month. As such, don’t forget that the average life span for a helmet is three to five years. Numerous times we’ve seen riders wearing helmets far, far, older than five years simply because a visual inspection with their untrained eye deemed the helmet to be in acceptable working order.

As you probably know, taking pictures on motorcycles is part of the job as a moto-journalist. Being the narcissistic type we are, we moto-reviewers typically like getting photos of ourselves on motorcycles as it’s our time to ham it up for the camera – pulling wheelies, dragging a knee, smoky burnouts, whatever the situation may present. The best time for photos, however, is a small window roughly 60 minutes before sunset (or roughly 60 minutes after sunrise if you’re an early bird), often called the “Golden Hour.”

Innovation, whether it be the motorcycle I’m riding or the gear I’m wearing, always piques my interest. I remember the introduction of 6D’s Omni-Directional Suspension (ODS) technology in MX helmets at the now defunct Dealer Expo show in 2013, and to now see it realized in a street-legal helmet a few years later satisfies my progressive inclinations.  

When it comes to AGV helmets, it doesn’t get any higher than the Pista GP R and Corsa R helmets. AGV bills the former as the MotoGP helmet – the exact same one Valentino Rossi wears – while the latter is considered the company’s “Ultimate Track Helmet.” Of course, when you’re talking about flagship products from premier brands, you’re also talking mega bucks. So let’s get that out of the way now: The Pista GP R starts at a staggering $1,399.95, ramping up to an even more jaw dropping $1,599.95 for the Rossi and Andrea Iannone replica colorways. The Corsa R is just a smidge more reasonable, its starting price is $799.95, capped off with the $999.95 price tag for the Rossi Goodwood replica.

A few months ago complaints began to filter down that somebody was wearing the same old wine-colored Shoei Neotec modular helmet in every dang photo shoot I was in (and unwashed black Aerostich suit). Action needed to be taken, and one of them was for me to track down the HJC marketing person (one very pleasant Molly Lang), and get myself a new helmet. Here it is, the new IS (internal shield) MAX II modular, in black/blue Elemental graphics.

Ducatisti are nothing if not a passionate bunch. Ducati lovers worldwide are known for showing their displays of affection for their favorite Italian motorcycle in many ways, but Anton Henggono may have taken the cake with this one. What you see here is a Shoei X-Fourteen helmet Henggono designed to mimic Ducati’s 2016 Desmosedici GP MotoGP racer. And here’s the best part: there’s not a single sticker on the helmet. The entire design was hand painted by Henggono himself.

Wow, we’ve been waiting more than a year for Schuberth’s new modular to get here if the date on this MO story from last year is correct, but now it’s finally here, a brand-new E1 in Hunter Blue (one of 15 available schemes) in this case. At that coming-out party last September, Schuberth said the new E1 is a lot like the C3 modular it’s been manufacturing for years, but with an adjustable visor to make it an “Adventure” helmet. Mission accomplished!

The beauty of modular helmets is the ability to have the best of both worlds; the convenience of a three-quarter helmet when you want it, with the protection of a full-face helmet when you need it. What more could you ask for, really? If you talk to the folks at Scorpion, there’s plenty more, like a modular helmet suitable for adventure touring rides. This modular would have all the benefits we’re accustomed to, but also be able to handle the occasional trip off the beaten path. With that, Scorpion took it upon itself to develop a modular helmet that lived up to the definition of modular: the EXO AT-950.

Come on, admit it, you’ve wondered what it would be like to be a pro racer. You know, with your custom-fit leathers replaced if they develop any unseemly abrasions or the rack of helmets – all with interiors sculpted to your exact head dimensions – so that you never have to suffer the indignity of donning a sweaty lid during practice. Well, Shoei is offering the chance for average riders to bring their current generation Shoei to select events in 2016 and experience the luxury of having a helmet custom-fit to the nooks and crannies of their noggins. And…wait for this…it will be free for now. Pretty cool, eh?

The idea behind the Headwave TĀG is turning your helmet into a giant, wearable speaker – a “Concert Capsule” as Headwave likes to call it. Does it work? Absolutely. Does it work well? Not really… at least not yet.

Two and a half years ago, Bell Helmets set out to design and create its most advanced helmet yet, and with the new Pro Star, designed with input from Bell’s athletes around the world, Bell has expanded the Star line to include three models: the Star, the Race Star, and the Pro Star. Each getting progressively more expensive.

The best way to demonstrate the features and benefits of Shoei’s raciest new helmet, the X-Fourteen, is at speed on a racetrack. So, while East coast residents were trying to avoid snow-shoveling-induced heart attacks, those of us residing on the West end were enjoying perfect trackday weather at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. There were some rumblings that the long, banked, NASCAR straight at Auto Club Speedway would have been a better venue for high-speed, aerodynamic testing of the X-Fourteen, but besides that long, banked straight, the Fontucky track sucks.