Triumphrat

superfour · 08-28-2007

I am looking for a new helmet,and have come across a HJC HQ-1 carbon fibre helmet.It looks well made and the specification looks in the Arai league.There is a £100 saving compared to Arai prices,hence the question.Does anybody know anything about these helmets.Are they as good as they look,how do you find the fit,cumfy or not?All advice and views welcome.

MattTriumphs · 08-28-2007

I haven't seen the HJC HQ-1 on their website. Is it same as the AC-12? Maybe they called it something different over there. Here is a review of the AC-12 from webbike world.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motor...et/hjc/carbon/

superfour · 08-29-2007

Yes it appears to be the same helmet.Thanks for the link.Just the type of info I was after.Thanks again.

rustbucket · 08-29-2007

The AC-12 is a nice helmet. The only complaint that I have with it is that the neck roll is not very 'plush', which leads to a very noisy helmet (at least for me). I'm rocking an AC-11, the predecessor to the AC-12, and it's treated my right for a couple of seasons now. My first AC-11 saved my face in a crash, which made me rather fond of it.

Pablo · 09-03-2007

Carbon fiber is cool and all but have you ever seen what it does in an impact? The idea with a helmet is that it absorbs impact which means that it needs to be flexible. That is why you see a lot of glass fiber and polycarbonate shells. CF stays rigid until the point that it shatters. I'm not convinced it is a good idea for helmets.

bruce19 · 09-03-2007

Aren't HJC's the helmets you can't use to go racing? If so, I'd like to know why. What's the safety issue?

rustbucket · 09-05-2007

Carbon Fiber behaves differently depending on how it's laid up and what kind of resin is used. It's basically high strength fiberglass if you think about it, Just about every helmet on the market uses either a fiber mat (glass/kevlar/whatever sounds the coolest) or Thermoplastic for a shell. Carbon fiber has the benefit of being lighter than most of the other fiber weaves, but is more expensive and harder to lay up.

The helmet that's been banned from a lot of racetracks is the HJC CL-SP, which is their low end helmet with a thermoplastic shell. The only thing it has in common with the AC-12 is the visor. I wouldn't be wearing any $100 helmet on a racetrack - that's not what it's designed for.

burmbuster · 09-10-2007

If I lived in Europe I would have to try the BMW System V. I hear great things about it.