Shoei Announces the X-Fifteen Helmet

Shoei is known for producing premium motorcycle helmets, and the newly released in the United States Shoei X-Fifteen helmet represents the current state of the company's helmet art. When you have racers of the caliber of Marc Marquez wearing your helmet, you know that the helmet is one of the best in the world – as befits a six-time world champion. The big news for track riders is the 6.1% reduction in drag and 1.6% reduction in lift compared the the previous generation. During the development of the new shell, the helmet was tested at speeds in excess of 218 mph. So, we mere mortals should be OK during our track day exploits. Since these typically take place during the summer months, the seven intake and six exhaust vents will help to keep riders cool. Finally, the rider's field of vision has been improved.

Read more
Best Adventure Motorcycle Helmets for the Great Outdoors

Adventure motorcycle helmets blend the features of on-road and off-road helmets, providing adventure riders with versatility that mirrors the capabilities of their machines in the great outdoors. Manufacturers of all kinds have entered the ADV helmet market, offering riders a wide array of options. To simplify your decision, we've compiled our top three picks of the best adventure motorcycle helmets, based on our extensive review and testing process, along with feedback from trusted enthusiasts and fellow journalists. When it comes to safety, we do our best to avoid recommending budget options, so below you'll find three picks that we believe are very similar in performance quality. As a result, these recommendations are listed in no particular order, and choosing the right one for you will largely depend on personal preference in terms of style and fitment.

Read more
Get Your Head in the Game: Best Motorcycle Touring Helmets

Touring connotes long days in the saddle, and that means long days with your head inside your helmet. Fit, then, is going to be of utmost importance when it comes to selecting a touring helmet. A helmet that gives you a hot spot might not be a huge deal when you’re only wearing it for 45 minutes. Over the course of days, though, like an annoying travel companion, an ill-fitting helmet will grow to be a thing you loathe.

Read more
The Best Of Both Worlds: Best Modular Motorcycle Helmets

Like most things in life, we can’t always have everything we want. The same principle holds true with motorcycle helmets. For ultimate protection, full-face helmets are the way to go. But sometimes the ease and convenience of an open-face is really hard to pass up. What’s a motorcyclist to do if he or she wants both? Thank goodness modular motorcycle helmets exist. Offering both full-face protection with open-face convenience, modular helmets are a compromise everyone can live with. Here, we’ve gathered some of the top modular motorcycle helmets available today from a variety of manufacturers.

Read more
Keeping Your Domepiece Safe: Best Motorcycle Racing Helmets

Congratulations. You’ve made the decision to go to a trackday (or even a race). We think that’s one of the best decisions you can make with your motorcycle. Not only is track riding fun and addictive, but it’s also a great environment to improve your skills. But there’s a lot to do to get ready, like getting all your gear in order. Most important, of course, is your helmet.

Read more
Shoei RF-1200 Helmet Review

Way back in October, we previewed Shoei’s RF–1200 while we waited for our samples to arrive stateside. Well, we’ve logged a couple thousand miles with Shoei’s latest lid and can offer a full review.

Read more
Shoei Helmets: Everything You Need To Know

Most motorcycle riders know of Shoei Safety Helmet Corp. as being a manufacturer of premium motorcycle helmets and one of the most popular helmet brands in the world. What many riders don’t know is that Shoei began producing helmets in 1960. Prior to that, the company’s helmets were primarily directed towards the construction industry. In 1962, the company provided helmets for the motorcycle racing market, and racing remains a key component of Shoei’s helmet development to this day. You don’t think that talents like Marc Marquez would use just any helmet – no matter the sponsorship payment – do you?

Read more
MO Tested: Shoei Neotec II Helmet + Sena SRL Communicator Review

Learning about new products is always exciting here at MO. Testing and reporting on motorcycle-related products is an important (and fun) part of our job. When the new product in question is a makeover of one of our favorite pieces of gear – as is the case with the Shoei Neotec II – the excitement is even more pronounced. (There was even a little behind-the-scenes wrangling over who would be assigned the review.) Still, I’ve got to be honest. I was also a little bit worried about the update. What if Shoei changed my absolute favorite modular helmet – the helmet I wear almost every day – in ways that made me like it less? Given the popularity of the Neotec with the riding public, I’m sure I’m not the only one who may have wondered if the changes would all be good.

Read more
Shoei RF-1400 - First Look

If we were presented with a rider and were told to guess which Shoei helmet that they wore, selecting an RF model would be a smart choice. The RF line has been one of Shoei’s best sellers for a generation. In fact, the first RF helmet was introduced in 1984, and the Shoei RF-1400 continues the path of incremental improvement to this ever-popular line. In the press materials below, the idea of Kaizen, a Japanese term for continuous improvement, is mentioned. Each new release in the RF family has layered new features on the previous model while still retaining the essence of the family. The same features that have made the line popular with riders also apply to the MO staff, which has collectively owned most, if not all, of Shoei’s RF line and can vouch for it being a sweet-spot helmet. The value delivered by this line of helmets has captured the hearts of riders ranging from bagger fans to track day riders and every kind of rider in between. The Shoei RF line of helmets has traditionally hit the Goldilocks price vs features point of this premium helmet, and the RF-1400 appears to be no different.

Read more
Best Dirtbike Helmets

Just like anything else, motorcycles are continually evolving and getting lighter, faster and more powerful with each passing year. Despite improvements to how well bikes handle and perform, having an accident and crashing is always a looming threat that can never be eliminated, only mitigated – especially off-road. Fortunately for us riders, there are engineers working hard to keep our heads and bodies as safe as possible so we can continue to enjoy riding motorcycles – both on- and off-road – with confidence in knowing that we have the best chance in decreasing the amount of damage a potential crash can cause.

Read more
Best Weekly Deals on Motorcycle Gear at Revzilla

Now that the Summer has officially kicked off, it’s time to score some new gear for all that warm weather riding you’re planning to do. By now you probably have a list of items that will make your riding that much more enjoyable. Or maybe you haven’t, but you’re willing to be tempted. If either of those applies, perhaps you should take a look at the best weekly deals on motorcycle gear that Revzilla has going.

Read more
MO Tested: Shoei Hornet X2 Review - Revisited

Way back in January of 2015, Shoei introduced the Hornet X2 helmet, and our man, Tom Roderick, attended the event, coming back with a shiny new helmet for his efforts. Flash forward to this past August as I was preparing to take our somewhat annual adventure tour, and I noticed that my trusty Shoei Hornet had been manufactured in 2012, making it about a year older than we recommend wearing a helmet. So, I decided to see why Tom liked the Hornet X2 enough to say that it was his favorite ADV helmet.

Read more
MO Tested: Shoei JO Helmet Review

It occurred to Shoei that there was a bit of a gaping hole in its line-up where a helmet for urban hip riders of Ducati Scramblers, Sportsters and things might fit, and so here it is, the new J-O. It’s available in five solids and six graphics (Sequel TC-5 in lead image). My newest open-face is a Bell Tracker from the ’90s (looks like they now assign that name to a bicycle helmet), which I still pull off the shelf now and then for short hops around town. But really, now that the modular helmet is here, to offer both open-face freedom/convenience and full-face function in one, for me there seemed to be very little need for an open-face. Then Shoei unveiled its new lid there at Deus ex Machina in LA, and suddenly I am into open-face again! Because style! Where do I get the tattoos?

Read more
Along Came A Spyder…

Cristina has been around powersports her entire life. Motorcycles, four-wheelers, UTVs, etc. She grew up in a family where she watched her father and his brothers grow their motorcycle business from a small shop shipping Harley-Davidsons overseas, to three multi-line dealerships and a parts distribution business that supplies over 3,000 independent shops with OEM parts.

Read more
2017 Holiday Gift Guide Part 4: $250 And Up

When I was told I would be tasked with putting together the $250 and up category of our 2017 gift guide, I must admit, I smirked on the inside. What an easy thing to do! Motorcycling can be expensive and the parts we pine after generally are expensive. So here is a list of items in the $250 and up category for that someone speciale in your life. The sky’s the limit!

Read more