So when I was younger, Shoei helmets where what you lusted after. They were very premium, expensive and well thought of. Roll on a decade or two, Im not so sure.
My old helmet was getting very tired. It was well over 10yo and loose around my head. Time for a new one. After a bunch of trying stuff on, I chose a SHOEI NXR, aka the 1200 in other parts of the world. its fits nice, is comfortable, has nice venting, pinlock etc etc. And I got a good deal! :-)
BUT.
the noise! I had read the reviews. people talked about how they weren't very quiet with a fair share of low buffeting noise getting in around the ears. This is indeed true but no worse than i expected. I expect to use earplugs on longer or more high-speed runs. But the noise levels dont fall into the premium levels of expectation.
THE BIG BUT!
What I did not expect was the howling whistling noise the helmet creates when the visor (CW-1) is UP. I like to ride with the visor up quite a bit. Glasses on. This helps when its hot out and Im commuting. However, anything above 50km/h producing a medium pitched whistling sound that varies with the speed you are going on a the wind gust that hits you. It is around the pitch of a police siren and is SUPREMELY ANNOYING!!
So I set out to find its cause, and fix it. The good news is that I completely solved it. After quite a bit of gaffer tape on different parts of the helmet I found that it was the visor itself. On the INSIDE TOP of the visor, there is a sharp ridge at the very top. If you run your finger along the top inside edge its very obvious. Its not clear what this lip is for, if anything. When the visor is up, the air rushing through the opening has a whistle effect. I got my dremel out and removed the entire lip in question. THE WHISTLE NOISE IS COMPLETELY GONE! You cant notice the difference to look at and there is no obvious mark or modification! Nice. The remaining helmet noise is the usual buffeting noise and other people have documented ways of improving this (ie memory foam etc)
Thanks Shoei. Did anyone actually ride a bike with the helmet during testing or is it only wind tunnels these days? My R&D bill is on its ways.
The 'premium' status is very much dented IMO.
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