The Best of a Compromised Choice

Break time somewhere in New Mexico

Fly Trekker, Shoe RF-1200, Arai RX-7 Corsair. For a ride across America: What type of helmet should I ride in?

I’m a sport bike rider so buying helmets is rather simple.  Snell/ECE certification and best reviews and I’m basically on my way.  I previously had an Arai RX-7 Corsair which served me well for quite a few years, with the only problems being their ridiculous side-pod, ADSIS or Super ADSIS or some other dumb acronym.  While it always sounds like you’re breaking your preciously expensive helmet, valued on par with ambergris, the system does work fine – if you remember how to actually do it and do it often.  If you don’t, like me, you pretty much break the side-pod mounts every time.  Frankly, I just leave the sides on and stay happy.  Good helmet, I recommend them highly, unless you like keeping your bank account full.

My current street helmet is a Shoei RF-1200 matte black and I mostly like it, although if I had to choose between it and the Arai, I’d go with the Arai by a smidge.  The Shoei visor release system is a religious experience compared to the Corsair, until it gets dusty and visibly scratches the hell out of the visor.

Purely cosmetic.  There are a few other quirks and quibbles with the Shoe which I can detail in another review, but the crux of them for the purposes of what you expected to be a dual sport helmet review is that the visor has a beveled bottom edge.  For me, this results in obscured instrument readings and rainbows, especially if it’s not fully up or fully down.  Drives me nuts.

If you know anything about helmets, you’ll note that the two listed above are on the more expensive end of the range.  I only “stepped down” to the RF-1200 because it got such fantastic reviews, even from me.  Thus, while I was running out of funds on my increasingly expensive TAT trip, my proclivities still tend toward the bourgeoisie.

I tried on every helmet I could find, short of buying and returning online, mostly due to time.  I went to five bike shops in three states, including Bert’s Mega Mall and Chaparral, not to mention Overland Expo & the Long Beach Motorcycle show and untold hours watching and reading reviews.  I did my due diligence and probably part of yours.

Overall, I was deeply dissatisfied with the trend I saw.  The vast majority were really just road helmets going for the “streetfighter” look.  I’m pragmatic, with looks being second, if still desirable.  As you can see from my pictures, I didn’t exactly go with the belle of the ball, but my draft mule gets the job done as well or better.

A street cap is perfectly fine for dirt riding, but not for two weeks on the trail for me, since I’m not smart and usually take the harder route.  And I’m fat, so that extra air is nice to have.  Also, for us big chinned people, having the chin bar close means getting a water spout to our mouth is a torture of contortionism.  When riding in my Arai off road, I’d just leave the bite valve in my mouth for long stretches, which is dangerous and unnecessary.  True dirt helmets have acres of space between you and the chin-bar but make horrible street helmets.  Compromise dual-sport helmets mostly put more distance than a street helmet but less distance than a dedicated dirt model.

Harkening back to my RF-1200 beveled edge complaint, a lot of the helmets have this to an even larger degree.  If it wasn’t annoying normally, it was made thus when I found out that many dual sport visors don’t go up far enough.  I couldn’t even see out of the AGV model with the visor up, so I didn’t even give it a second glance, even if it did look badass on the first glance.

Shield/visor quality is a big talking point on the blogs and while it’s true that many helmets – especially the Fly Trekker I chose – have low shield quality resulting in waves and warbles, it’s not a deal breaker other than if you’re paying for the expensive shields. Why don’t I care (mostly)?  Because that huge cricket splatter and other bug guts are far more distorting than any wavy lines, and that doesn’t even matter because the rest of your vision is a dust cloud from your brother riding in front, combined with the smears of mud from that last unexpectedly deep mud puddle.  When I clean the helmet to glamour-levels and enter the freeway all virginal and untouched, I see the waves and it bugs me for a few seconds.  Then I forget and don’t care.  Note that if I had a choice I’d go with the best visor I can, but more from a safety perspective than optical quality.  Since it’s not really something the dual sport market currently supports, and the fact that much riding may be done with the visor up or with goggles on, it becomes less of a dealbreaker issue.

When you start digging into the features you’ll find differences like adjustable visors and gopro mounts but I found I rarely moved the visor and simply taped the gopro on with no issues.

Side-note on waterproofing:  I don’t really care.  On a real dual-sport chin bar the gap is such that your lips will get misty in a hard storm at speed – and I rode through some hard storms in Colorado and the east coast.  When the lightning strikes close enough to cause your brother’s phone to butt-dial you, or the streets flooded enough that you are almost struck off the bike by the splash of a passing motorist, a little water leakage is irrelevant.  Regardless, even in a normal rain I never closed the vents and never got wet, although I do wear a skull cap.  I actually found that I got less wet when I opened the chin vent in the rain versus closing it.  Eddy current or some such.   

A word on the sun visor, bill, sun shade or whatever you want to incorrectly call the roost deflector or peak:  The versions on dual sport helmets are shorter than real dirt helmets.  It’s crazy when you compare the two, because the peak and the chin bar on the dirt helmets are almost cartoonish in comparison.  The length of the peak becomes important when the helmet is actually on your head because some are so short they may as well not be there and others may perhaps be too long.  I really liked the peak on the Fly.

You’re probably also wondering, “Do I need a dual sport helmet or should I get a real dirt helmet?”  If you have to ask, you don’t ride hard enough to need a dirt helmet.  Also, they may not be street ECE/Snell certified, so there’s that.  Honestly, I’ve taken some tough roads in crazy conditions wearing heavy gear, places where I got into a flop sweat the moment we stopped (85+F and 85+% humidity SUUUUUCKS), and the dual sport lid was perfectly fine.  I ride hard and heavy and still don’t ride hard enough off road to “need” a true dirt helmet.

You’re probably also wondering if you should ride in goggles and if that’s a deal-breaker for the helmet.  Again, if you have to ask…  My brother started wearing his tinted goggles on his Arai XD-4 halfway through the ride and never went back.  I bought a pair of clear goggles and never wore them once, still haven’t months later, but that’s more a reflection on my bad decision to purchase clear versus tinted since I live in sunglasses.  That said, other than a few miles here and there over 4,500 miles in all conditions, I really didn’t need goggles.  I mainly wanted them for when I was riding without sunglasses and the airflow of the helmet dried out my eyes, but a clear pair of glasses would fit the bill.  Note that I wear contacts so I’m a wimpy pansy boy when it comes to getting dust in my eyes, and I didn’t have any issues.

For those of you concerned about dual sport helmets making too much noise:  I wear 32db reduction earplugs on all rides, so I really don’t care.  If you’re not riding with ear plugs, you should consider it.  I say, I say:  YOU SHOULD CONSIDER IT!  Not sure if you could hear that, you’re probably half deaf already.

When I was doing the research, many people had concerns about head checks from the peak and honestly, I found it to be irrelevant.  I actually get more of a head check from my RF-1200, which is really, really odd.  I know of a few people who ride the XD-4, half complain of head checks, the other half don’t, so I think it’s more of a personal preference than any danger.  Doesn’t even enter my mind any more.

If you haven’t already looked at the pictures, I went with the Fly Racing Trekker in Hi-Viz energy-drink-piss-yellow for $130 from Revzilla.  $5 credit from previous purchases, no CA tax and free shipping.  That’s how they have earned many of my purchases.

Here’s why I went slumming:

1. ECE rated.  In case you’re wondering, I did read up on ECE 22.05 & SNELL.  I’ve read hundreds of articles, including the one by Dexter Ford (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html);  I read the official standards (http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/r022r4e.pdf, http://www.smf.org/standards/m/2015/M2015FinalFinal); I’ve considered the comments “I’d rather have my bell rung loudly than have it stop ringing at all”, a commentary in the then tough Snell 2005 standards versus DOT; I’ve had a grade 2 concussion I really can’t tell you about because I don’t remember more than 15 minutes on the ride, barely remember the majority of the month which followed and for which the wearing of a Giro helmet literally saved my life, let alone my moderate intelligence (Hammerhead with awesome ‘90’s neon graphics (http://s597.photobucket.com/user/matty8500/media/S6308679.jpg.html); I know that even the overly lauded (and I say that PREFERRING Snell ratings) is probably not as good as the SHARP rating system.  I take my safety seriously and I chose this helmet, so take that for what you will.  I walked away from other helmets because of this.  It’s worth noting that at the time of my purchase the only dual sport Snell helmets are the Arai and Shoei.  I do have concerns about the chin bar and visor impact ratings of ECE vs Snell but again, unless Arai and Shoei are your preferences, you literally have no choice.  I won’t go DOT only, ever.
2. Adjustable peak.  Turns out this isn’t really that big a deal, but I have utilized it a few times.
3. Huge peak.  Compare it to the other brands, it’s significantly larger.  Some you can barely see with the helmet on, so what’s the point?
4. Aerodynamic peak.  It’s rather crazy how well this thing works and how little it buffets in the wind.  I’d compare it to an Arai any day.
5. Real D-ring chin strap.  This is a personal preference, I just don’t like the quick release binding system.  If you prefer that, get the AFX-39, it’s the same helmet, possibly slightly better even.
6. Large ear area for speakers.  I’m using the U-Clear boomless system, which is fine until you realize that the only way these things are going to work in your shiny new RF-1200 with manufacturer designed communicator recesses is to cut the hell out of the plastic because the holes are round whereas the U-Clears have a slight notch.  That was $150 well spent.  Thus, I was hell-bent on being able to use my communicator on this trip.  Ironically, the U-Clears broke a few days into the trip.  They honored the warranty and all was well, but that was after the trip and didn’t help when I needed it.  Hundreds of miles, almost a year, and maybe one recharge later and they’re working well so I’m now happy with these things.
7. Cheap.  Helmets are a consumable and I’d already spent a ton of money.  Safe and good enough is good enough
8. Hi viz.  I want my sorry carcass to be easy to find when I fall off the side of a mountain pass into the abyss.  
9. Big Dog rides in one:  http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/bigdogs-new-favorite-helmet-and-its-cheap.805459/

Here’s why I might consider a different helmet next time, although it’s not really Fly’s fault for some of it.  

1. Weird helmet shape.  My communicator and Yi Cam (cheap GoPro) didn’t fit well without effort.  Also worth noting that the more expensive helmets have shells which allow clip-on communicator mounts whereas the cheaper helmets have the foam glued to the shell itself, necessitating tape.
   

Note the layers of double-stick tape on the left. This was the flattest area on the side of the helmet, if closer to the front than I wanted.

Note the pieces of tape used to match the curvature of the helmet.

Pick almost any helmet and it’s like the curves of the shell and the mounts are made for each other, but there’s not a standard curve to be found on the Trekker.  I ended up buying industrial strength exterior 3M mounting tape and building up the odd curves and bends of the chin-bar.  Even at that, I had to mount the communicator much further forward than I liked, so I’m always almost ripping the damn thing off.  Works, but not how I’d like.  I did the same thing with the Yi mount, although this time I used my brother’s super special tape.  Said it was the same tape they use to install flush-mount high rise window glass.  Both held up to winds, rain, dust, DR650 bowel busting vibrations just fine.  If I had an Arai I’d have peeled the backing off the mount and stuck it in place, done and done.  However, I’m not sure that’s worth a $500+ premium.

       2. Disintegrating D-Ring pull.  Little red tag just keeps shedding strings.  It’s almost gone, shredded down to the very stitching holding  it in place.

3. Hold on, I’m trying to think of some big negatives.  Oh, the warbly visor.  Yeah, I don’t care.

4. Oh, ostensibly it’s hard to find the warranty on these things.  Not sure, haven’t looked too hard.  I figured it was probably a 1-2 year investment, given the hard life of dirt gear.

5.  Hi-Viz fades and that right fast.  My helmet is still very yellow, but up close it is now several shades of yellow, some bright, some less so.  But I knew this going in, since you won’t find anything Hi-Viz which provides a warranty against fading.  Nonetheless, even a faded piss-yellow helmet is still a highly visible helmet.  I might feel bad if it was an $800 Arai, but it’s a $150 fly.  

Look carefully at the coloring – those color differences aren’t from the lighting. The center of the peak is that much lighter than the rest. The air vents are much brighter than the rest of the helmet. Everything was the same color in the beginning.

 5.  Visor detents and closures are both good and terribly bad.  I’m normally an all up or all down rider, so the lack of shield positions isn’t really a big issue for me, although I do like leaving a tiny crack at the bottom like I can with the Arai’s.  The Fly has a lot of these and the shield really, really gets out of the way.  I love that feature.  However, it really doesn’t close securely, instead just sitting there, closed.  I think.  Closed enough, until you do a hard look back at speed without a windshield and the visor lifts up an inch.  My solution was to utterly not care since it didn’t affect my vision and it went back down a split second later.  Somewhat happens in side winds as well, but by the time I care I’m more concerned with the fact that my bike was just lifted up by Zeus and put in a different lane than the visor moving.  Priorities.  Worth nothing that the side screws loosen somewhat over the miles, but I’ve tightened them once in 6K miles.

Here’s the list of other helmets I considered.  They’re not all bad, necessarily, with some being very good.  They just didn’t meet my requirements or budget.  

Touratech Aventuro Mod:

I couldn’t find one in a store and don’t live in the northwest, so this one was out.  When I finally saw this after the trip, it was nice but had the close chin bar.  It’s a Schuberth so you probably can’t go wrong.  Having the visor and roost guard shift up together is rather trick.  No store and expensive to boot. Not sure about goggles and reviews are reasonably limited given the recent introduction.

Touratech Aventuro (Carbon):

Rebranded NEXX XD1.  I believe the Touratech is lighter and doesn’t have the visor but otherwise they’re literally the same helmet. Too new, couldn’t try on, and was a tad out of my price range.

Shark Explore:

It’s really just a street helmet going for the look.  Like low profiles on a Jeep Wrangler.  Has a look but really isn’t useful.  The goggle mounts are cool, but very limiting.  What’s limiting about it?  Let’s say you’re in Alabama at the only bike shop in town and really need a pair of goggles but they don’t have the fancy mounting style of the Shark.  You’re not screwed, but it’s annoying.  

MSR Expedition:

I really wanted this one but couldn’t find it in any stores.  I think I saw one in Clackamas, OR but I wasn’t hard-core shopping for a helmet at this point and was really looking at a few different brands.  Gets mixed reviews, which meant I wasn’t willing to do the mail order/return dance.  Very similar to the Fly though, so I think there’s some shared DNA.  Should be fine with goggles.

AGV AX-8 DS:

I really wanted to like this one because I almost bought an AGV instead of the Shoei, but when I tried it on in the store I couldn’t get it off my head fast enough.  Visor doesn’t go all the way up, chin vent is nominal, not goggle friendly, no place for communicator.  

GMAX GM11:

I don’t think this one is ECE/Snell rated and frankly it otherwise didn’t pass muster, although it otherwise gets good reviews.

AFX-FX39:

Also known as the Fly Trekker.  There are small differences, such as the softness of the liner, and the black versus colored vent covers, but I’m a gorilla and grow hair fast so I don’t care about fluffy liners.  I have more issues with stubble snagging than I do with scratchy liners.  I don’t like the plastic fast buckle stuff, so I went Fly.  Aside from that, there’s a reason this is a crazy popular helmet.

AFX FX-41:

Talk about a good segue.  Honestly, it’s basically the AFX FX-39, but with ANGLES!  And less utility.  Essentially took all the things I liked about the 39 and tossed ‘em in the bin.  But ANGLES!

Schuberth E1:

It’s a Schuberth, so if you’re in their world you’ll love it.  Nice helmet, but it’s really a street helmet with a peak.  Not hardcore enough for me and too expensive.  This is what the Touratech copied.

LS2:

I can’t remember much about this one.  Was it the MX?  Either they weren’t certified or had the plastic buckle so I didn’t even try them on.  

Shoei Hornet – pre-X2:

I was very close to buying one but just couldn’t find one in my size and even then they were expensive – or really old 2011 models.  

Shoei Hornet X2:

This is a good helmet, but it’s very much a street helmet with a roost guard.  They added a street-style chin vent, which I didn’t like.  Like the RF-1200, it has the preformed speaker holes, which is great if you’re using anything but the U-Clears.  For me, this was honestly a deal-breaker as I already had the U-Clears, but if you’re using most any other brand this is actually a huge selling feature.  Just MEASURE THE DAMN EAR HOLES AND SPEAKERS FIRST.  Seriously, that sucked.  Also, like the RF-1200, this has both the beveled edge and the easily scratched hinge area, the former I can’t stand, the latter is just an FYI but otherwise irrelevant.  The X2 has integrated the roost guard into the upper vent, which ostensibly works well, I don’t care either way.  What I do care about is the weight, and this thing is very heavy, considering the brand, cost and performance level of this.  

NEXX XD1:

This helmet seriously intrigued me.  Gopro mounts, internal visor (the idea grew on me over time, but I actually didn’t want originally), chin curtain (this may have been handy), communicator mounts, rear reflectors, etc.  But, I couldn’t find one in person and these got mixed reviews.  The primary negative was that the interior basically came out every time you took the helmet off.  Seeing as how I’ve had the RF-1200 and Fly Trekker do something similar, I took these complaints at face value and looked elsewhere, especially given that I couldn’t test it myself.  However, I came close to buying this several times.  If it was $300 or lower I’d have taken the chance, but in X2 retail and XD4 sale price territory, I looked elsewhere.

Arai XD4:

As you’re either already aware or will be shortly, this is the standard against which all others are judged.  I very much tried to buy one of the last year’s models of these, but was just a tad outpriced, what with buying Sidi Goretex boots and a Klim Badlands jacket.  Poor me, right?  Arai helmets have baby seal fur liners with helmet shells molded on the thighs of virgin Cuban women.  There’s really not much to nitpick on their helmets… But that won’t stop me.  The chinbar is too close to drink from my Camelbak, the visor only mounts on the sides and apparently can flap at speeds (not on my brother’s though), and I couldn’t afford it right now.  The design is ostensibly boring, but I actually prefer that in these circumstances.  Dependable, safe and comfortable trump panache.  I’d expect Arai to put a new one out soon, but I hope they don’t go all AFX FX-41 on themselves.

Bell MX-9:

I tried this on a dozen times and almost bought it as many.  It has a lot of good features and has some good reviews, with the primary nitpick being non-closeable vents.  First, these aren’t high-end items.  Go to the parts bin and slap it on, it’s not that hard or expensive.  Stupid design choice.  Second, I can count the times I’ve closed the air vents on any helmet ever, from 15 degree rides to heavy rain storms, on one hand.  But I get hot easily and sweat more than the rain gets in.  Heck, I snowboard in my summer hiking gear with waterproof shells over that, so take the vents commentary with a salt lick.  I’ve licked a salt lick, so I know what I’m talking about.  The entire reason I didn’t buy this helmet was the visor.  It has a HUGE bevel, completely obstructing my lower view.  I can’t even recall if it went up high enough, I couldn’t get past that bevel.

I consulted too many resources to list here, but some of the key links were:

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/bigdogs-new-favorite-helmet-and-its-cheap.805459/

http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/should-you-buy-a-dual-sport-helmet.  There is a lot of truth here and it’s a good read, but I actually mostly disagree with his comments.  This goes back to my “if you have to ask” comment.  If you ride a lot of dirt, going fast, roosting around corners and basically being an MX baddass, or if you’re never or rarely see pavement, get a dirt helmet.  I have to ride almost 100 miles of asphalt round trip to hit dirt, not to mention the hundreds of miles of freeway – including driving rain – where an MX helmet would be a deficit.  Also, that peak is amazing after 10 hours on the bike and you’re getting a headache from the setting sun.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bell-mx-9-adventure-helmet.  Just an example of a review.  Many helmets have full reviews and while you should always take that grain of corporate sponsorship salt, facts are facts and features are features.  

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/ece-22-05.htm Tons of good reviews, and the comments are often just as good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33NN0MTke0Q While I’m not a fan of Youtube as a primary tool in general, given the hit, miss, or miss nature of it, there are a lot of good reviews after the chaff, and you can get a good bead on real-life situations.  Just…  Don’t be too judgmental about video or audio quality.