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The long awaited new helmet has arrived. After riding with a couple people that had the Arai XD, I thought it was pretty much the coolest helmet I had seen. And after riding 70mph down dirty old I-5, or the coquihalla andgetting my face pelted with small rocks and gravel, I was convinced it may just be the way to go.
After investigating the price, it was apparently going to be too cool for my budget. I saw another guy's
(Gaspipe on advrider.com) picture on a ride report on advrider.com and thought his helmet was pretty cool too. Turns out it was a "Simpson", as in Simpson Racing Products fame. It is basically a DOT and SNELL approved Motocross helmet that can be optionally fitted with a shield.
I tried ordering the flat black one, but decided the less I blended in with thepavementthe better. So I bought the one that matched my red riding jacket. My bike is already the colour of pavement (silver and black), so the riding gear has to stand out a little (or maybe I can get an orange flashing light for the top of my helmet).
Now, the seal of the shield against the helmet is not like the seal on the Arai XD (which looks pretty much water tight). There is some gaps and overlaps,
but for the most part it keep the wind out of your eyes about the same as goggles do.
BUT the HUGE difference is in visibility!! (Keep in mind I have never worn a street helmet) The peripheral vision gain is massive. The blind spot shoulder checks show more than just your shoulder now. The blind spot from riding with goggles is huge, this was the dramatic improvement I noticed right away. I feel safer, and this is how I justified the purchase to SWMBO. After all, my other helmet isn't a year old yet...
The helmet is only available in Matte Black plain, and in various colours in a "Flame" pattern as you can see here.
There is wind noise from the shield and its posts (a little bit of whistling during gusts) but overall I would rate the noise level as about 1/2 of normal helmet and goggles. I went riding this afternoon about 4 PM and it is probably about -5C outside. When stopped at a light my breath barely fogged the inside of the shield, whereas my googles would fog like crazy. The shield issupposed to betreated with an antifog (my goggleshave not). The shield also has posts on it so you use tear-offs if you like!
The shield comes in clear, smoke, amber, and
"iridium" (too cool).
Weight of the helmet feels about the same as my HJC dirt helmet. Although they are supposed to fit a little larger, I don't really believe it. My Large HJC is probably a little big for me, but a Med would be too small (I think). The guy at simpson said that for sure go for the Medium then, I think the medium fit is pretty good except a little tight on the cheek pieces. I'm going to see if they will be annoying or not, I can always trim the foam on them. The rest of the bucket feels good. The liner is removeable and washable!
Here's some more photos of the operation of the shield.
One gripe I had is that they had forgotten to install one of the visor fasteners!! I will have to pick one up at my local dealer. {edit: I found the fastener in the helmet bag - whoops my bad}!!
Lets get this thing outta the garage and onto the street!!
And what do they cost?
The US prices from the website are $179 for the helmet and $100 for the shield (includes installation). So that's $279 USD.
They had the helmet on sale on their "web-special" for $99 about 3 months ago, so I quoted them that price when I spoke to them on the phone (I was bitching that Canadians can't shop online with their website), so they let me have the helmet for $99. Oh and FYIa replacement shield is only $40 ($70 for iridium).
I hope you find this info useful.
Cheers!
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....It's cold here now!
