Having piled on around 7,000kms of wearing since May 2013 when purchased, I thought it about time to dish out the goods on a long term review of an outstanding touring helmet - the Shoei GT-Air
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I'm going to break it down by 'factors that usually annoy Dan' in the following sub sections, starting with my favourite all time number one helmet-rage factor.
They have clearly done a lot of work on the inners of this lid the fit is supremely snug and sucks your head into position when you pull it down over your ears. There is a chin curtain so the fit is snug all around and this means one thing. Whisper quiet.
If you have ever ridden a Ducati for a period of time, say 10hrs in a day, you will know that ear plugs are a necessity if you have any respect for your hearing. I have done long rides without my ear plugs and paid dearly for it later that night with tinnitus like ringing in both ears, shouting at everyone to repeat themselves until the ringing abates.
Not worth it, wear ear plugs on every long ride now. I’m getting too old for this going deaf shit. But this helmet makes wearing those earplugs all but those really long trips, redundant. You don’t need them. Whisper quiet, seriously.
It was also one of the first thing I noticed after donning it in-store. It just disappeared. Amazed I made some sort of remark and the salesmen gave me some spiel about the design and hours spent in the wind tunnel rah rah that I forget now but I vividly remember thinking wow, this is perfectly balanced. I don’t have bobble head. That has been none more obvious in Melbourne's precarious crazy weather.
I went out for a scoot to the gold fields thinking it was a nice enough day but got caught up in some serious annoying crosswinds at one point and was again reminded how good a balanced lid is. A DS lid will rip your head up and off backward in a headwind, but the GT Air with all of it's groovy padding and millions of hours of R&D was again, just incredible. the airflow up and over and through your helmet makes drag almost non-existent.
Obviously strong wind is going to rip you around a bit but having a nice balanced lid can really make a difference to your long term touring comfort, and I am pitching this lid firmly at those in that camp. The way this helmet cuts through the air and provides you with a balanced feeling is actually, remarkable.
I'm going to break it down by 'factors that usually annoy Dan' in the following sub sections, starting with my favourite all time number one helmet-rage factor.
Noise
After riding from Queensland to Melbourne with a Arai Dual Sport XD 4, anything would seem quiet I guess, but the Shoei GT Air is a whole-other-level on the noise front. It is almost too quiet. I can hear myself breathing.They have clearly done a lot of work on the inners of this lid the fit is supremely snug and sucks your head into position when you pull it down over your ears. There is a chin curtain so the fit is snug all around and this means one thing. Whisper quiet.
If you have ever ridden a Ducati for a period of time, say 10hrs in a day, you will know that ear plugs are a necessity if you have any respect for your hearing. I have done long rides without my ear plugs and paid dearly for it later that night with tinnitus like ringing in both ears, shouting at everyone to repeat themselves until the ringing abates.
Not worth it, wear ear plugs on every long ride now. I’m getting too old for this going deaf shit. But this helmet makes wearing those earplugs all but those really long trips, redundant. You don’t need them. Whisper quiet, seriously.
Balance
I never thought of this before wearing this helmet, but I am guessing many others have, and that is how important a good balanced lid is. You have to remember that your head is the heaviest part of your whole body and your neck is holding that up. Put a lid on top of that and I reckon balance is obviously quite important.It was also one of the first thing I noticed after donning it in-store. It just disappeared. Amazed I made some sort of remark and the salesmen gave me some spiel about the design and hours spent in the wind tunnel rah rah that I forget now but I vividly remember thinking wow, this is perfectly balanced. I don’t have bobble head. That has been none more obvious in Melbourne's precarious crazy weather.
I went out for a scoot to the gold fields thinking it was a nice enough day but got caught up in some serious annoying crosswinds at one point and was again reminded how good a balanced lid is. A DS lid will rip your head up and off backward in a headwind, but the GT Air with all of it's groovy padding and millions of hours of R&D was again, just incredible. the airflow up and over and through your helmet makes drag almost non-existent.
Obviously strong wind is going to rip you around a bit but having a nice balanced lid can really make a difference to your long term touring comfort, and I am pitching this lid firmly at those in that camp. The way this helmet cuts through the air and provides you with a balanced feeling is actually, remarkable.
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