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abhiv0508

Active Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2015
Messages
28
Location
Land O Lakes, FL
So it's time for a new helmet. Old one, Scorpion EXO-1000, fell apart rather quickly. The trim around the bottom of the helmet fell off and exposed the innards causing all kinds of buffeting and vibration. Enough about old one...

I've been looking at the following helmets and having a hard time deciding...

Shoei RF-1200
Arai Defiant
Shoei GT-Air
Schuberth S2

Fit wise they are all quite comfortable. I'm looking for some crucial differentiators that could help me make the decision.
 
I had the S2 and after 3 months one off the silence collar's holder pins had gone lost.
And after a year i had cracks in the visor beneath the antifog glass holders.

I had the helmet until someone dismounted me from the strada two months ago.

The helmet itself is a really silent helmet more than the GT-Air.
I had also tested the RPHA st from HJC it is much louder with the standard screen of the strada.
Also under the Puig screen.

The RPHA is a little bit better when you twist the helmet at high speed than the s2.
 
I absolutely love my S2. It's not without fault, but you'd be hard pressed to find one that isn't. The holder pins do come off. Mine came off after literally the first ride. The company promptly sent extra for no charge. I'd encourage you to do some research on Schuberth. I'm very impressed with the company overall.

If you decide to go this route many people will tell you if you're in between two sizes then go with the larger size. I disagree. The helmet is probably the most difficult helmet to get on initially and feels tight, but that's how it's supposed to fit. I recently did 700 miles in a single day at "considerable" interstate speeds. No headaches or any adverse affects from having the helmet on that long.
 
i've really liked my GT Air. I agree that tighter (within reason) is better than looser. I believe both Arai and Shoei have options for custom fitting beyond shell size by way of swapping internal padding or peeling layers of removable foam. I prefer to buy my helmets in person, but I wish more dealers would make the commitment to having the alternate padding pieces in stock with someone who actually understands how to fit a helmet.
 
I'm hearing a lot of positive comments about the Arai Defiant. I agree about the Schuberth. I did look into it and yes they look like rock solid helmets with a great feature set. A friend of mine has one of their modulars and he swears by them. I'll be giving them a close look, its too bad I can't swing by a local shop and try them out.

The Arai Defiant seems to be engineered for Naked and Standard Bikes with a more upright riding stance. So I'm tempted to try it out for that sake alone. I can honestly say that my current Scorpion EXO-1000 sucks at upright riding. Wind get under the helmet and just whips my head all over the place.
 
I swore by Arai since the early 1980's...my most recent being an RX-Q. 6 months ago I bought a new AGV GT Veloce TXT and my Arai days are gone forever. The AGV is lighter, quieter, more comfortable, and the ventilation is 1000 times better than any Arai I owned. Bonus is the gunmetal/red color combo matches up well with my red Hyper.
 
BelloStrada said:
I swore by Arai since the early 1980's...my most recent being an RX-Q. 6 months ago I bought a new AGV GT Veloce TXT and my Arai days are gone forever. The AGV is lighter, quieter, more comfortable, and the ventilation is 1000 times better than any Arai I owned. Bonus is the gunmetal/red color combo matches up well with my red Hyper.
Click to expand...


Now that is a good suggestion, I'm gonna check them out right now!!!!
 
My Arai Defiant Pro Cruise is my go-to helmet on the Hyper over my RF-1200. It's very stable at all speeds, the dual visor setup is genius and fictions very well, ventilation is a little overboard so I tend to close the chin vent completely above 100 km/h, below 100 I'll keep it in the mid position. Fitting a intercoms system like the Sena 20s (which I won't recommend because of ****** build quality) is easier on the Arai, however both helmets can accommodate one fairly easily. If you ride wearing sunglasses or glasses, I find the Arai a little more comfortable because the relief cuts in the foam are better situated inline with most glasses arms. I think that's about it for a direct comparison between the two helmets.
 
zibbit u2 said:
My Arai Defiant Pro Cruise is my go-to helmet on the Hyper over my RF-1200. It's very stable at all speeds, the dual visor setup is genius and fictions very well, ventilation is a little overboard so I tend to close the chin vent completely above 100 km/h, below 100 I'll keep it in the mid position. Fitting a intercoms system like the Sena 20s (which I won't recommend because of ****** build quality) is easier on the Arai, however both helmets can accommodate one fairly easily. If you ride wearing sunglasses or glasses, I find the Arai a little more comfortable because the relief cuts in the foam are better situated inline with most glasses arms. I think that's about it for a direct comparison between the two helmets.
Click to expand...


Question about the pro cruise... Does the 2nd visor generate a lot of wind resistance? It looks like it might.
 
How I'll compare wind resistance with the main visor (clear) down and sun shade (smoked) up.. Is similar but lighter resistance to a normal helmet with the visor up. Now if you've got the main visor up, and the sun visor also up, boy that creates a LOT of resistance. Both visors down, no noticeable effects of wind resistance.

Quietest performance to the noisiest from the helmet is:

1. Both visors down,
2. Main visor down w/ sun shade up (no real dif from #1)
3. Main visor up w/ sun shade down (acts like just a normal visor up)
4. Main visor up w/ sun shade up
 
Such great info. Thanks so much. Ok so do you wish you got the regular defiant or are you happy you got the pro cruise? I'm trying to decide.
 
Just ordered a frost black defiant pro cruise...this ought to be good! Will post my impression as I get some experience with it.
 
That's the same color/helmet combo as me.. Great choice.

Pro cruise is def the helmet to get between the two. Ear pads are different as they're already setup for intercoms, plus you get the dual visor so you'll never need to carry a spare anymore.
 
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