Triumphrat

sbpark · 08-31-2008, 08:45 PM

want to get a davida speedster helmet, but there aren't any shops here in colorado that carry them, which mades it impossible to try one on before i buy, and given that these are fairly pricey helmets i just want to know from others who own them how they fit.

right now i have a scorpion EXO-400 in a medium, and its a touch sloppy, and when i measure i am about 56cm, which with most helmet companies puts me in a small. this makes sense since my medium is a bit sloppy.

so, for those of you who own a davida, how would you compare the sizing to other helmets? did you have to go up or down a size from what you wore before? by the charts i am a small, and just want some advice so i can made a bit more of an educated decision. i have one friend who has a davida jet, and he said that that particular model actually runs on the small side.

also, just to mention, i have an egg-shaped head. any other eggheads out there have a davida? likes, dislikes?

thanks!

johnbast3 · 08-31-2008, 09:04 PM

If you buy from British Classics, they will exchange if it doesn't fit. I have their classic half helmet which is a medium, all others in the line a large would fit me. By the way, awesome fit and great service..

nono-ix · 08-31-2008, 09:31 PM

Hi,

I recently tried a Davida Speedster. My size is about 57 and my helmets are all Ms. However, the Speedster fits very tight (tighter than the Jet) and the seller recommended a L. I guess their M is for kids because it was unthinkable for me. The L was perfect.

Please keep in mind that the Davida Speedster is not DOT approved and it is for something. It's the outer fiberglass shell, a few millimeters of polystyrene, a piece of leather inside and nothing else. I mean there is nothing to seriously absorb eventual shocks.

I was going to buy one and it made me think. I am still thinking about the "what if ... ?". I'd like to ear from folks who went down with a speedster to make up my mind.

Besides that, they are absolutely wonderful. The painting, the classic look, etc.

sbpark · 09-01-2008, 06:02 PM

so after thinking about it again, i am probably not going to get a davida. yeah, they look really sweet and fit the part, but i'd rather have a better chance to live to tell about an accident than become a potted plant (not saying that a full face helmet will definately save your life, but it gives me more piece of mind than an open-face helmet).

also, i really dont give a crap if a helmet is DOT or snell certified, and like many of us know now from reading that very long article about the study that was done, the DOT helmets actually outperformed the DOT/snell helmets, the theory being that the snell helmets are harder, and as a result don't absorb impact as well as the softer DOT only helmet did.

with that said, unfortunately there really isnt much out there that is only DOT certified, aside from the Z1R, and these just dont fit me well.

the two helmets that do fit me are Scorpion and Arai. been looking at the Arai Vector, and have been eyeballing the Phil Reed replica in particular,and have seen some decent prices on this helmet brand new on ebay. the helmet looks great and the graphics definately match our bikes. The only complaint is what i do now is carry two face shields, one clear and one dark smoke since i ride both day and night, especially since i go to work when its light out and come home in the dark. carrying two shields is just a pain in the ass.

the EXO-1000 also looks like a nice helmet, a bit too futuristic or sport bike looking for me, but i can still deal with that. i like the feature of the flip down sun visor, which eliminates the need to carry two shields, but have the heard the internal visor is not optically correct. i do like the face that if i needed to switch the outer shield the system scorpion has to do so is super quick and easy. it doesn't really get any better than that. and the inflateble cheek pads are an added bonus if they hold up since my head is pretty narrow and egg-shaped, making sizing helmets tough, and this would maybe help in getting a better fit.

i do have some reservations about the scorpion though. i have an exo-400 (actually fit me better than the 700 believe it or not) and it was a great helmet at first, but packed out quite a bit (medium is a bit big now) and over time the helmet doesnt seem as solid as when it was new. it hasnt been crashed in or dropped, but just seems to be "loosening up" if that makes any sense. it creaks a lot and just seems like it isnt held together as well as an older arais or shoeis that i have seen.

but bottom line is the scorpion helmets actually seem to fit me better than any other helmet, then the arai is a close second in fit. i will go check out the exo-1000 tomorrow at some local shops and try one on for size and inspect the quality.

i really would like to have more of a retro look to suit the bike, but since i am moving back to california in october and will be doing more freeway riding out there than i do here in colorado, a full face helmet would be the smarter choice. also, the fact that i work as an ED and ICU nurse made me quickly realize that the open face helmet wasn't the best choice. i have taken care of so many people who werent wearing helmets at all (remember, we dont have helmet laws here in colorado!) and their lives are ruined compared to those wearing full face helmets, who still suffer traumatic brain injuries, but usually arent as severe. and for those of you who wear the little skull caps or "pudding bowls" you might as well not be wearing a helmet at all! no protection for your temporal lobes, and have seen more than one MMA lacerated from skull fractures form impacts to the side of the head.

not sure how other's feel, but i ride much more confident when i am wearing a full face helmet.

oldmanjob · 09-01-2008, 07:49 PM

I have a Nolan N30 retro which is DOT approved and is very cool looking. But it now sits on my shelf after I totaled my Bonnie going around a curve in June. When I hit the ground on my back I immediately flipped over on my face and saw every pebble and rock pass under my face shield as I slid across the road and shoulder. I was wearing my Nolan N102 full face modular. I have replaced the N102 with another one and I do not leave home without it even if only going to the store or bike night. Looking cool is one thing but having your face is another

sbpark · 09-02-2008, 02:31 PM

so i went to a local shop that has a pretty big sleection of helmets and tried several different brands, and the scorpion helmets still fit me better than all the others, including arai and shoei. the shoei helmets fit me the worst, and eventhough the arai helmets fit very well, the were too short front to back and would press into my chin.

the helmet i went with was the EXO-1000 in matte black. all said and done with tax was just under $350. i was almost going to get another EXO-400, just in a smaller size, but the EXO-1000 just fit better, and at first didnt really care about the inflatable cheek pads, but after comparing it with the helmets without it definately gives me a better, snugger fit. i also liked the retractable internal visor, and it comes down a bit fartherr than the HJC model that does the same thing. i haven't ridden with this yet, but hope it works out because i hate carring a backpack with a clear vior for night riding. the other thing i noticed is the because of all of these extra features the helmet is a bit heavier, but in the 20 minutes i wore it at the shop it didn't bother me, and again, we'll see how it feels once i am riding with it.

the craftsmanship seems to be a couple nothches above the EXO-400 that i also have. its seems more solid, and only time will tell if it holds up. like i mentioned previously, i was starting to get disappointed with the 400, but still can't really complain for the price of the helmet.

the look of the 1000 is a bit futuristic for my taste, but like i mentioned previously, it fit the best, and in my opinion this is the most important factor. if i run into any issues or problems with this helmet i will post my findings!

Guyly · 09-26-2008, 09:11 PM

Last August, my wife and I made a trip to Florida with our motorcycles (mine:2003 T100, my wife's:2006 Harley XL883L).
Last June, we bought Aviator goggles from www.british-classics.com ; but the model we bought didn't fit well. No problem at all with Kelly (the owner of British Classics), he said to send back the goggles and he would change them for the other model we wanted. He was about to ship the new goggles but we were just a few days to leave for our trip to Florida ; so I wrote him an e-mail telling him to keep the goggles and that we would visit him and pick up the goggles. That's what we did ; once in Florida, we left Daytona Beach to go to the west coast and stopped to Lakeland, where Kelly's (British Classics) established. Kelly is a real nice and gentle guy...he had the goggles for us and didn't charge the difference of price. Being there, I was also interested by a classic Davida helmet and I tried a couple of models on. Here is the point for the size question : for all the (many) helmets I bought until now, I allways took medium size. But for the Davida Classic (I don't know for the other models), the medium was a little too large and the perfect size for me was the small...good thing I was there to try it on !

As Johnbast3 said, he took medium for the classic model, and large for the rest of the line...and there will be no problem at all to exchange the helmet if you buy from www.british-classics.com