Adventure Bike Rider Forum

I'm talking about Shoei Hornet and Arai Tour because I'm considering new adventure touring helmet soon. My question is are those big name, expensive helmets worth the money? Lack of visor at this price range is kinda strange, changing visor frequently would be annoying.

Nolan X-Lite X551 Adventure

I got one to replace my 10 year old Arai Tour X and love it to bits

Arai do not compromise on safety, their view is that putting sun visors into the shell of the helmet compromises the integrity of the structure. They also do not have seat belt type fasteners on the strap, these apparently are inferior to the ordinary fastener (thumbs)

Whippet wrote:Arai do not compromise on safety, their view is that putting sun visors into the shell of the helmet compromises the integrity of the structure. They also do not have seat belt type fasteners on the strap, these apparently are inferior to the ordinary fastener (thumbs)

Indeed

I have the Shoei Hornet Adv and it is fab

You can swap the visor without removing the peak and if the peak needs to come off, it's only a 30 second no tools affair

Very plush and comfy

My black one was less than £300, dunno if prices have dropped further ?

If you want a sun visor try a Nexx, I've had one a couple of weeks. V good helmet, in my opinion just as good as Shoei / Arai, of which I've had many. Quite a bit cheaper too (thumbs)

I've got the new shoei hornet adv tc6 and absolutely love it best helmet I've had great fit build quality is superb aswell

I have a Shoei Hornet which is very comfortable. I also have an AGV compact flip front that i use now as i wrecked several pairs of glasses threading them through the Shoei. Got contacts recently so i may start wearing the Shoei again. Ive always liked the Arai built quality but could never find one that felt comfortable on me. AGV and Shoei in small seem to fit perfect. Much prefared the double d loop to the seat belt type fastner.

Whippet wrote:Arai do not compromise on safety, their view is that putting sun visors into the shell of the helmet compromises the integrity of the structure.

That is interesting Whippet. I was told by the salesman (possibly full of BS) when buying my Arai that it was because the internal sunvisor would not permit sufficient airflow through the helmet.

johnnyboxer wrote:I have the Shoei Hornet Adv and it is fab

You can swap the visor without removing the peak and if the peak needs to come off, it's only a 30 second no tools affair.

Wife has Shoei and it is better than the Arai in this regard. Changing the visor on the Arai requires the removal of 4 screws using a 20 cent euro coin which removes both the peak and visor. Not a lengthy process by any means, merely slightly annoying juggling everything on the side of the road, but nothing as simple as the 2 second, tool-less process swapping visors on my road Arai helmet (RX-7)!

but changing whole visor is not practical during the trip at all, sometimes I put my sun visor up and down several times when going through woods then some open spaces and woods again. All can change within minutes, should I stop and change visor every time I'm in shadow??? :silly:
IMO for touring sunvisor is a must.

I have been through the changing the visor bit and in wet conditions riding towards a low sun it was impossible to make changes.

Currently using one with the integral sun visor and such a convenience to be able to drop the visor when needed. Stopping on side of a motorway to change is not a legal or safe option and you have to open up luggage somewhere to extract the sun visor so its a bit of messing around because you have to pack visors carefully. If I was to count the number of stops to change visors on a trip it would be huge. Riding in bright sun and then suddenly into a dark wooded area you are blind if you still have sun visor on.

I do accept here are compromises, cant be avoided but the integral sun visor helmets must still meet the safety standards and I figure the risk from riding blind is much higher.