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First, a little background:
I've spent some time (and way too much money) looking for the perfect helmet. My first was an HJC CL-14 that came with my SV...I hated that helmet. I did some research and decided on a Shoei. I had just gotten a shiny new credit card that I was dying to break in, so I picked up a Shoei X-11 Vermeulen 3 TC-2 lid at Cycle Gear.
The X-Eleven was heaven compared to the HJC, but didn't fit me quite right (the rear was too low and hit my jacket when in a tuck pushing the helmet forward obstructing view). Cycle Gear just so happen to have a sale soon, so I sold the X-11 and bought an RF-1000 for $80 under MSRP. The RF was great...light, fairly quiet, good aerodynamics, and most importantly it fit well (cheek pads were a little loose but felt great with a balaklava on). Only complaint was the shield wasn't anywhere close to being fog free. It came with a breath guard, but I wear glasses and can't use those because they direct breath on my glasses and fog them up instead.
Jump to a couple weeks ago. I had a couple bucks burning a hole in my pocket and just so happen to be at Cycle Gear (imagine that!) when I spotted a new Scorpion EXO-1000. I had read a little about this helmet and was intrigued...100% fog-free shield, built-in sun visor, fit well. I couldn't resist and bought it on the spot.
When I bought the Scorpion I had just moved down here and finally had a garage to work on the bike. I spent 90% of my time doing little things that I had wanted to do but never had a time or place. I think I rode with the Scorpion helmet twice? The fog free shield was nice, but it had a reflection in the sides that was very distracting. The flip-down sun visor was a nice feature, but it wasn't dark enough and had an oddly-shaped nose cutout that was also distracting. Most importantly, it was very heavy (over 4lbs!). So I returned it, disappointed that I hadn't found the right one yet.
Move to the weekend before last. Someone on TulsaSportbikeRiders.com (I moved here from Tulsa) posted a link where a Shark RSR2 helmet could be purchased for $250 shipped. Sounds like a pretty good deal, I thought...then I found its MSRP: $630! GREAT deal! I spent a couple hours researching this helmet and couldn't find a single bad review. Everyone that owns one seemed to love it, uncluding a fried I had back in T-Town. The following Monday I put in my order for the Shark RSR2. Received it today... On to the review!
Shark RSR2 Duhamel replica
First impressions...this thing is light! My RF-1000 (which I consider to be a light helmet) weighs 1,610 grams, or 3.55lbs. Comparitively, the Shoei X-11 weighs 1,635 grams, or 3.60lbs. The Scorpion EXO-1000 weighs 1,821 grams, or 4.02lbs. The Shark RSR2? 1,400 grams, or 3.09lbs! That's almost half a pound lighter than my 'light' RF-1000...
Fit and finish: Awesome. The paint and graphics are smooth, all the vents open and close with a positive feel. Visor mechanism works effortlessly and flawlessly, which bring me to the visor itself...
This thing is thick! Unlike most helmet visors which are 2mm thick, this Shark visor is 3mm thick! That's 50% thicker than the visors offered by Shoei, Arai, HJC, Scorpion, you name it. From what I've read it the same visor (or close to it) that Shark uses on their F1 helmets. If it's good enough for Formula 1, it's good enough for me. It's fog- and scratch-free, and comes with tear-off posts (a few tear-offs are even included!). The mechanism isn't like Shoei's or most others. There are no defined positions for the visor to click into. It's a smooth action and is infinitely adjustable. There's a small metal nub that locks into a hole at the bottom of the visor to keep it locked down...
Fit: I'm on the small side of a medium and this helmet fits well. Some have said it runs small, that a large fits like a medium, but I don't find that to be true. It does fit a little tighter than my medium RF-1000, but it's definitely not tight. Padding is very luxurious, almost velour-like. One thing that sold me on this helmet is it's cut so that it won't hit the back of your neck or jacket when in a tuck...seems to be true!
That's all, for now. I haven't ridden with it yet but will tonight.
Here are some pics to hold you over:
3mm visor:
Included winter breath guard and tear-offs:
5-year warranty registration card:
I've spent some time (and way too much money) looking for the perfect helmet. My first was an HJC CL-14 that came with my SV...I hated that helmet. I did some research and decided on a Shoei. I had just gotten a shiny new credit card that I was dying to break in, so I picked up a Shoei X-11 Vermeulen 3 TC-2 lid at Cycle Gear.
The X-Eleven was heaven compared to the HJC, but didn't fit me quite right (the rear was too low and hit my jacket when in a tuck pushing the helmet forward obstructing view). Cycle Gear just so happen to have a sale soon, so I sold the X-11 and bought an RF-1000 for $80 under MSRP. The RF was great...light, fairly quiet, good aerodynamics, and most importantly it fit well (cheek pads were a little loose but felt great with a balaklava on). Only complaint was the shield wasn't anywhere close to being fog free. It came with a breath guard, but I wear glasses and can't use those because they direct breath on my glasses and fog them up instead.
Jump to a couple weeks ago. I had a couple bucks burning a hole in my pocket and just so happen to be at Cycle Gear (imagine that!) when I spotted a new Scorpion EXO-1000. I had read a little about this helmet and was intrigued...100% fog-free shield, built-in sun visor, fit well. I couldn't resist and bought it on the spot.
When I bought the Scorpion I had just moved down here and finally had a garage to work on the bike. I spent 90% of my time doing little things that I had wanted to do but never had a time or place. I think I rode with the Scorpion helmet twice? The fog free shield was nice, but it had a reflection in the sides that was very distracting. The flip-down sun visor was a nice feature, but it wasn't dark enough and had an oddly-shaped nose cutout that was also distracting. Most importantly, it was very heavy (over 4lbs!). So I returned it, disappointed that I hadn't found the right one yet.
Move to the weekend before last. Someone on TulsaSportbikeRiders.com (I moved here from Tulsa) posted a link where a Shark RSR2 helmet could be purchased for $250 shipped. Sounds like a pretty good deal, I thought...then I found its MSRP: $630! GREAT deal! I spent a couple hours researching this helmet and couldn't find a single bad review. Everyone that owns one seemed to love it, uncluding a fried I had back in T-Town. The following Monday I put in my order for the Shark RSR2. Received it today... On to the review!
Shark RSR2 Duhamel replica
First impressions...this thing is light! My RF-1000 (which I consider to be a light helmet) weighs 1,610 grams, or 3.55lbs. Comparitively, the Shoei X-11 weighs 1,635 grams, or 3.60lbs. The Scorpion EXO-1000 weighs 1,821 grams, or 4.02lbs. The Shark RSR2? 1,400 grams, or 3.09lbs! That's almost half a pound lighter than my 'light' RF-1000...
Fit and finish: Awesome. The paint and graphics are smooth, all the vents open and close with a positive feel. Visor mechanism works effortlessly and flawlessly, which bring me to the visor itself...
This thing is thick! Unlike most helmet visors which are 2mm thick, this Shark visor is 3mm thick! That's 50% thicker than the visors offered by Shoei, Arai, HJC, Scorpion, you name it. From what I've read it the same visor (or close to it) that Shark uses on their F1 helmets. If it's good enough for Formula 1, it's good enough for me. It's fog- and scratch-free, and comes with tear-off posts (a few tear-offs are even included!). The mechanism isn't like Shoei's or most others. There are no defined positions for the visor to click into. It's a smooth action and is infinitely adjustable. There's a small metal nub that locks into a hole at the bottom of the visor to keep it locked down...
Fit: I'm on the small side of a medium and this helmet fits well. Some have said it runs small, that a large fits like a medium, but I don't find that to be true. It does fit a little tighter than my medium RF-1000, but it's definitely not tight. Padding is very luxurious, almost velour-like. One thing that sold me on this helmet is it's cut so that it won't hit the back of your neck or jacket when in a tuck...seems to be true!
That's all, for now. I haven't ridden with it yet but will tonight.
Here are some pics to hold you over:
3mm visor:
Included winter breath guard and tear-offs:
5-year warranty registration card:
