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Interior liner —All the helmets featured here offer removable liners that are anti-moisture and anti-bacterial. Avoid non-removable liners (found in cheap helmets)—it’ll be a stink factory before you know it. Shoei J-Cruise II | The J-Cruise II is a what many would consider a true ‘jet’ helmet with its full-length visor offering excellent air flow, and protection from stone and bugs for your whole face. Our reviewer loved this lid.
The range quoted by Sena seems to be about right – 1 mile in perfect line-of-sight conditions, deteriorating quite a bit in urban areas as you’d expect. Phone In the US that equivalent is the ANSI Z80.3-2010 standard which means it should give about as much protection as a pair of shades – and includes a test to ensure it won’t burst into flames. Which is always good to know! Riding the Kawasaki Versys 1000 (which of course has a screen), the clarity of speech from the microphone – which is hidden up in the brow of the lid – is acceptable up to about 40mph, but unsurprisingly not up to the clarity you’d expect from a full-face helmet. Beyond that it drops off significantly as the electronics try to cancel out the buffeting caused by the screen. However, if I stand up into clean air – the kind of wind blast you’d be more likely to get on a bike without a screen –the performance improves again, becoming pretty usable up to 70mph if you speak loudly. Of course, if your bike has a huge screen that leaves you sat in a bubble of still air, you’ll also find clarity much better; it’s the buffeting that’s a problem.The build quality’s rated as excellent too. Lots of owners say just how fantastic quality the helmet is – the finish, the internals – you name it, they like it. Which is one of the reasons you go for a premium helmet like a Shoei: they take the time to get things right. Or what about the Sena Savage? It’s a fibreglass open face helmet that comes with a bluetooth communicator pre-installed. OK it’s a reasonably basic bluetooth, but most owners find it’s fine. And it’s a decent wodge cheaper than the J-Cruise II. Mind you, you’d have to make do with a snap on visor. Shoei JO Hawker But if you’re a touring rider who’s often on the road for days at a time, battery life might be a much more important factor in your decision. Think about how you’ll use the device when figuring out how much extra battery life is worth to you. Control Scheme
For most riders, massive battery life is not worth shelling out a lot of extra cash. If you only ride on weekends for a few hours, a single charge will get you through your day. We found a few owners who’d done just that and none complained they couldn’t get third party visors or peaks to fit, so buy from a reputable brand like Bell and all should be fine. Comfort and Sizing (more about comfort and sizing) Of course, it’s an open face helmet so it’s only going to offer limited protection compared to a full face– so if maxing out protection’s your objective, always go for one of our safest lids. Integral Sun Visor Integral Sun Visor This is a secondary internal visor that offers the wearer reduced glare from the sun without the need for sunglasses or a tinted outer visor. But having said that, noise perception is always going to be just that… perception. It’s what you think that matters. And in the case of the J-Cruise II the vast majority of owners we found say they’re more than happy with the noise levels on the move, and that it’s super quiet for an open face helmet.
FAQ
A. Most rely on you pairing either a smartphone or an MP3 player, but there are a number that include FM radio. Be careful with the wording: will it receive and play FM radio, or is an FM radio part of the Bluetooth device? Depending on how proficient you are with stuff like that, that’ll be either a walk in the park or – as a couple of owners found – a real pain in the arse. Overall then, if you’re looking for a high quality open face helmet that acts as if it were a full face in terms of comfort, aero and features, then you needn’t look any further than the Shoei J-Cruise. It’s really very good. Safety (more about helmet safety) Any honest reviewer will tell you that they can only advise based on their own experience, and that you should take that advice into account –along with your own assessment of fit and affordability –when you choose what to buy.
Another thing worth pointing out is that several Savage owners commented that the build quality, fit and finish are all top notch. It’s the attention to detail and quality that can make a helmet good to own and the Savage hits the mark here. Weight is a strong point for most open face helmets, and despite having the extra weight of electronic gubbins, the Sena Savage is no exception. Most owners say it’s a lightweight helmet and the figures prove it: it weighs around 1.1Kg (2.4lbs) which is really light compared to most other types of helmet. White Savage with long peak fitted Thermo-Resin Thermo-Resin These shells are constructed from plastic using an injection moulding process. And while the placing of the sun visor’s slider is slightly unusual (necessitated by the location of the panel for the integrated bluetooth controller) the action’s nice and smooth and, once you get used to where to find it, it works well. Comfort and Sizing (more about comfort and sizing) Sena have pretty well got the looks right in terms of making it your traditional classic-styled open face helmet because that’s what most folks will be looking for, just with that added bluetooth headset.The other’s the DOT (US) helmet that’s also available in white too, and it comes in sizes XS-XXL and in two different shell sizes. It’s fair to say that Shoei has made quite a bit of effort with the aero of the J-Cruise II, wind tunnel sculpting it to reduce drag and hence noise. They’ve also pushed some ear pads inside and made the visor fit tighter, slightly re-shaping it to divert the air. All of which should reduce noise when you’re riding. There are Bluetooth motorcycle helmets for every taste, including full-face, modular, off-road, and half-helmet, so you’ll have no problem finding one to suit your riding style. Most brands offer a range of sizes (proper fit is vital), and there is often a selection of colors to choose from as well. There’s even an inflatable donut supplied that you can rest the helmet in upside down while it’s on charge, even though you can easily get to the charging port when it’s stood upright.
Schuberth’s R2 Traction is loaded with the sort of impressive German engineering we’ve come to expect from the brand. The outer shell is a DFP glass fiber heat-formed shell lined with antimicrobial ShinTex fabric. Start riding, and you'll appreciate the directionally stable quality that reduces oscillating and buffeting, like aerodynamics on steroids. For Bluetooth functionality, it comes with an antenna, speakers, and a microphone preinstalled. Then installing your communication is fast and simple, thanks to the plug and play capability of the SC1 communication system. This system was developed in collaboration with Sena, ensuring its performance is up to industry expectations. It achieves 14 hours of run time, connection with up to four other riders, and a range of 1,600 meters. In comparison to the quietest helmets overall (including full face helmets), it probably ranks around average. But that’s very quiet for an open face and a great performance by Shoei’s engineers. Ventilation (more about helmet ventilation) AGV X101 | The AGV has a chin section that makes it more of a visor-less full-face… there’s no drop-down sun-shield fitted, but retro styling and higher levels of safety than an open-face make this one of our favourite lids for hot weather and looking cool. Higher costs often come with more outer shell sizes, which means there might be three shells used across the interior size range – if not, an XS lid will have to use an outer shell big enough to accommodate an XXL interior, making it look unwieldy.Still, most owners agree that the head venting on the J-Cruise II is great and lets plenty of air in and over your head just when you want it. Fog Free Fog Free An anti-fog coating is applied to the inside of the visor to aid in preventing the visor from fogging during use. (31) Using my usual test of streaming music at full volume, the Savage ran for a very impressive 11 hours 45 minutes, and charging is easy with the microUSB cable; it takes about three hours from flat.
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