Triumphrat

ruger · 10-30-2009, 12:15 PM

(Note: I tried to post to the Product Review section but was not able to connect.)

Above: The beautiful new Shoei RF1100. I always buy solid white helmets after switching from black and noticing a big difference in cager awareness. Of course, we each have our own preferences.

SHOEI RF-1100 MOTORCYCLE HELMET
This is a beautiful helmet, well crafted, with the spoiler an uninterrupted part of the helmet's form. The visor seals strongly to its gasket by means of a system Shoei calls "Q.R.S.A." - Quick Release Self Adjusting base plate system. It actually pulls the visor back into the helmet, seating it against the seal. It works.

First Impressions:
* Feels lighter on my head than my Arai Vector.

* Better peripheral view than the Arai or my last RF-1000.

* Air flows well through the helmet, drawn by newly placed low pressure outlets. Shoei says that there's better negative pressure higher up on the helmet's rear section than below the spoiler as previously designed.

* Anti-fogging chin/shield vents seem to work well but I haven't had a chance to test it in the rain yet.

* Quiet and stable at high speed. This is where the RF series helmets really shine.

* Snell 2010 rating. After reading Motorcyclist magazine's controversial "Blowin' The Lid Off" article and hearing of the new Snell testing protocols I decided I'd put off buying a new lid until October, '09 when the Snell 2010 helmets would begin to become available. The RF-1100 is one of them.

* 5 shell sizes. 3 shell sizes are good. 5 is great!

I paid US$319.00 for my RF-1100 but I see now that it's been changed to $359.00. I must have unwittingly taken advantage of an error- perhaps the price was left over from the old RF-1000 solid. Anyway, that $319 included shipping and tax, since there was none of either.

Even though the price has been corrected I can recommend http://www.thehelmetcenter.com/ as a good source. They responded immediately when I had questions and were very friendly. I ordered on a Monday and had the helmet Wednesday morning.

If you live near Phoenix, Arizona you can save a few dollars by buying at the store itself.

Above: Advances in molding technology allow the spoiler to be incorporated into the shell.

propforward · 10-30-2009, 12:46 PM

Great review Ruger. Don't know why it wouldn't let you post in gear and gadgets - I've moved the thread for you.

I do like Shoei helmets I must admit. Very well made and comfortable I find.

Richard5 · 11-03-2009, 09:01 AM

Great review.
Could you tell us about the soundproofing?

ruger · 11-04-2009, 01:37 PM

Hi Richard5. I don't know if, or exactly what special materials were used to make the helmet quiet but I can offer this:

The helmet was designed with the help of wind tunnel testing. This allowed the designers to shape the helmet to cut the wind in a quiet and stable manner. There's a small, unobtrusive rubber tail spoiler at the base of the rear, and the inside padding forms a sort of wind-blocking trim ring almost completely around the base of the helmet, leaving just a small area untrimmed below the chin where the included, optional wind guard can be affixed.

Add to that the fact that the visor is sprung to seal with the visor gasket, which seems to go a long way toward eliminating wind noise from around the shield.

There's also a visor lock to keep it closed which can also be used as a very successful "just-a-crack" visor stop. It's successful because it really is just a crack - much less open than the first detent on the visor mechanism itself.

There is now more room (as compared with RF-1000) next to the ears for helmet speakers or in-ear speakers.

I should also note that the channel for eyeglasses seems to be cut at an angle which makes me peer out through the bottoms of my glasses. This may improve with time though, as the helmet breaks in and adapts to my head shape.

Richard5 · 11-04-2009, 02:53 PM

Thanks a lot! So would you say that its more quiet than other helmets? The XR-1000 was said to be a very noisy helmet. Hopefully the 1100 will be better.

ruger · 11-05-2009, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard5

Thanks a lot! So would you say that its more quiet than other helmets? The XR-1000 was said to be a very noisy helmet. Hopefully the 1100 will be better.

It's a pretty quiet helmet.
It seems quieter than the RF-1000 it replaces. I don't know about the XR-1000. If the XR-1000 is actually the RF-1000 in another market I would disagree that it was noisy.

The new RF-1100 helmet also seems quieter than my (2008) Arai Vector. I don't have any way to measure the noise output so it's all anecdotal. That's why I say it "seems" quieter.

Richard5 · 11-05-2009, 05:13 AM

Thanks a lot!

ruger · 11-26-2009, 02:06 PM

I just found that the cheek pads from the RF1000 will fit the RF1100. This is good news because they cost about 30-40 bucks if I recall correctly.

There's a slightly different design between the old and new pads in that the new ones have a long section which tucks into the helmet shell seam while the older ones don't. There may be lower wind noise with the new pads (which, as of 11/25/09 were not available yet) but still, they are compatible. The old pads fit!

I'm just about too big for the Medium but with the smallest cheek pads installed I'm good in the Medium.

Mk003 · 12-04-2009, 02:36 AM

I just went from an Arai Vector to a Shoei RF-1100 today! I look it for a quick night run at a cool 47°F. Here's my initial impressions:

- The RF-1100 is a lot heavier than the Vector but it doesn't feel that way when it's on your head. Moving my head around at speed feels about the same...or maybe a little lighter??

- It's a LOT more quieter. There's literally no buffeting at triple digit speeds. You just hear a nice and steady swooshing sound. In comparison, my Vector had constant turbulence booms.

- There's almost no air that leaks into the helmet. Even though I had the breath guard installed, my shield fogged up on this crisp 47°F night. It did not defog until I opened up the front vent. Those Arai shields leak massive amounts of air through the brow vents. It's one of the main reasons for buying a Shoei.

- The build quality is beyond anything I've seen in any helmet in any industry. The shield guard mechanism kept me entertained for a good 15 minutes.

- It's a very stylish lid. Arai seems to be stubbornly following the "egg shell" and "side pod" designs. Shoei thinks a little outside the box and I appreciate it.

- The top vent mechanisms aren't that hard to operate. Even with my cold weather gloves, I was able to open and close them without any problem.

- I'm a little concerned that a good portion of the ESP liner is exposed and not covered inside the helmet. At least it's all washable.

- There are recessed areas around the ear for installing bluetooth headset speakers! This is another thing Arai frowns upon.

I'll add more when I get more miles in it.