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I wouldn't recommend either from the AGV stable if you're buying abroad. AGV is strictly the best middleweight helmet to get in your size to fit and try IN INDIA (Dainese Stores in Bangalore/Chennai) if you don't have a choice of buying any lid from abroad.

But you have that choice - so up the budget and get a lid that you'll use for the next couple of years.

Look harder in the deals section and you will find very good lids from Shark - which in my opinion are one up over the AGV's and Nolan's. You can't go wrong with the Speed R which Mobike008 has picked up, they seem to have generally good all round reviews.

And wait for boxing day (Dec 24) - you'll find more deals popping up.

Appreciate the input!
But I cannot possibly go over $200 as of now. Dropped the AGV K3 Rossi replica off the list for that reason. Unless ofcourse the Boxing Day sale, like you pointed out, kicks it to under 200.
And as stupid as I may sound, but my heart is set on this gem that I stumbled across!
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/b...elmet-closeout
I might actually pick this up along with a bubble visor because I love that look and have always wanted it! :D

I have been on the lookout for a good supersport-centric helmet for a while. There definitely are more options in India locally now, but lot of brands and models among available brands are missing, or in short supply or just too expensive.

I tried on several brands and models commonly available. I wanted a quiet helmet initially, but riding the Daytona 675 which has the most aggressive 50º crouch, upper quadrant visibility became a limitation, especially leaning over in corners and trying to look into the turn. So my focus shifted from quiet to good vision, using earplugs to counter noise.

NOTE: I'm writing primarily from a supersport rider perspective. For those riding standard/naked bikes or tourers or cruisers, this is largely irrelevant since most helmets are adequate with the upright or mild crouch posture. Even supersports with less aggressive crouch ( Aprilia RSV4 for example) won't find upper quadrant vision restrictive on most helmets.

1. AGV K3 SV and K5 : Way too many color/graphic options online, but very few in stores. They look good , but I found the viewport too narrow, actually the narrowest of all. Surprising, since AGV is associated with sporty nature. For the prices asked, I found them a bit expensive for entry level models. I do like some of the graphic schemes ( K5 in Hurricane scheme).

2. Nolan N64 : Reviewers online commonly say this is a noisy helmet, although quietness now isn't my prime focus. Again, the viewport is narrow and I found them brow a bit too low. Another entry level model, with N86/87 models not in stock (more on that later). Graphics/colors are varied and colorful, but none drew me towards them.


3. Bell Qualifier : Decent but didn't really fit my vision requirement, and I found the available ones mostly unattractive, as in graphics/colors.

4. Airoh Storm: Fit and material felt good, has sun-visor built in but again, upper vision was striclty average.

5. Airoh GP500 : same as above, fit was ok, no sunvisor being a track-compliant helmet. I'm not sure if this is Airoh's flagship, but for 35k INR asking price, it didn't seem to be VFM.

6. HJC (don't recall the models, HJC model names are confusing):
Seem VFM , even the interior and exterior quality felt good, but the model I was looking for , IS-17 or FG-ST, both with 5-star SHARP rating, weren't available. Upper vision was comparable to my MT Blade, with is borderline adequate.

7. Scorpion EXO710: This was the best of the lot. For circa 25k INR price, the material quality felt good, the color (black and red) also seemed not too flashy, not too dull. Upper vision too was similar to MT Blade. I had almost made up my mind to buy this.


But I decided to take a leap of faith and order online. Having tried on several brands and models, I pretty much established what my size was , since there are sometimes differences in actual fit for the same size on paper.

I had seen the Nexx XR1 Carbon and loved the look. That model is discontinued now, there is the XR2 Carbon Pure among the XR2 range (of which I like some other, non-carbon models too).

I read several reviews complaining about quality (liner coming loose, ala Jorge Lorenzo's HJC ), and that it was overpriced. I looked up several carbon-fibre/composite shell models and they are priced similar or higher. Like most products, there's a mix of positive and negative reviews.

One reviewer even stated that he's "not going back to Arai". As you might know, most of the moto-journalists swear by Arai. It's like the holy grail of helmets. I for one, though, think they're overpriced and wasn't yet ready to shell out 35+ for a lid (before shipping and duty).

I loved the look of several carbon-fibre themed helmets, including Icon Airframe , Nolan/Xlite 802RR , AGV Pista , Shark RaceRPro and so on. But the one thing several reviewers mentioned for the Nexx XR2, was the vision - the upper quadrant in particular. So I decided that was going to be it. I wanted the black+orange graphic most, but it's not available anywhere. The black+yellow looks more like neon-green, which I like too, but decided to get the black+red theme.

Initial review:
1. Vision is good. Upper quadrant is wider, allowing far better vision when crouched. The brow does converge toward the centre between the eyes, but there's lot of room above the eyes. Choice vindicated.

2. It is noisier than expected, seems noisier than the MT Blade too.

3. Material quality looks great, but need to watch for how it sustains in the long term. The breath-guard caused immediate fogging, so I removed it first thing within minutes of wearing it this morning.

4. Visor thickness much higher than MT Blade. It feels way sturdier, can take a bigger hit before it shatters. I ordered 2 spare visors. It has in-built tab for pin-lock and tear-offs. I am thinking of ordering tear-offs :D
One pin-lock visor is provided in the box, and I will put it on next, since today's ride it was fogging up easily and had to keep it cracked partly open to prevent fogging. Optically, it's clear with no flaws that I noticed. Visor removal is a bit slower than most tool-less visor replacement mechanisms, and there's a plastic clip to keep track of. It locks down with a small notch on the chin, so as not to open with air pressure at speed.

5. It's light !!! Really light. When I went to collect the parcel, it felt so light, with spare visor, and AXO chest-back protector (free gift with the helmet) in the same carton. All for EUR 391 shipped.

6. Fit is near-perfect. It does compress my ears right now, maybe it will settle in after a while. I had some discomfort in the earlobes due to this, but let's see, expecting either ears or helmet to adapt .

7. Track-compliant, do has no sun-visor, and strap is double D ring.

Overall, happy with the helmet, though quietness and fogging is a bit disappointing. Planning to order the tear-offs later, maybe I should have ordered a 80% smoked visor instead of 60% smoked, it's lighter in tint.



Let the pictures do the talking:












Speaking of Nolan helmets, I visited Ducati store Pune, and they have a good range of Nolan and a few Xlite helmets. I did like some of these but by this time I had already ordered online.

Just got myself the Shoei Hornet X2 - Closeout on Revzilla - $549



Initial Impression: As usual very plush! Great finish. Premium interiors. Got pockets to instal BT comm units.

Just the right size (Size M works for me). No pressure points unlike what I experienced with the same size on the Shoei GT Air

Extra wide visor gives a great peripheral vision.

Put the pin lock visor, helps not fog the visor (Bangalore is cold n foggy these days)

Tonnes of vents viz., chin vent, forehead vent and top vent.

Easily accessible even with Gloves on.

Can feel the vents working realtime when opened during the course of the ride.

Quiet (relative) in the sub 100 kmph range.

Pretty noisy without the chin curtain after permissible speed limits. Very evident that the wind noise is due to air gushing through the extended length at the chin

Noise cut down to a great extent with the use of 3m ear plugs.

With the windshield at the highest position, a lot of improvement in the noise.

Yet my GT Air is quieter perhaps the sun shade creates some more turbulence.

No Internal sun visor (designed for Adv touring + Off roading - so makes sense)

Nice slot to slip in sun glasses or regular glasses without having to struggle unlike in the GT Air.

I am looking for a helmet within 2.5k range for daily commute in city. It should have removable liners. Any suggestions?

Steelbird Air is worth trying. Its light like 1000-1100g. Has removable liners and has reasonably good build quality at less than 2K.

2.5k is quite a restricted range. It's not that you don't get any helmets. If you can extend your budget to another 2.5k you can get these helmets called SMK made by Studds, and comes with PINLOCK (What is PINLOCK? It's a 100% anti fog clear film insert that is applied to the inside of the visor) which is a segment first for the price. The paddings are fully removable and washable and ECE 22-05 approved. I'd say these are very good alternatives to THH, LS2 and and all the three letter brands out there. :)

https://motocentral.in/collections/smk-helmets?page=2

Cheers!
VJ

Got myself a MT helmet today for 4,750₹. My LS2 got stolen yesterday and wanted a replacement asap, as i was without a helmet. Was keen on a LS2 again but couldnt find it nearby Bandra, Mumbai. Though i do not regret buying the MT, feels more silent, more secure. Wind noise has drastically reduced. Still to try it on long rides. Here is a pic.

Hello all, its my first post here. I'm currently located at Trivandrum and a few days back bought myself a new Helmet. It's called Kre momentum by Mt helmets. Its a really good fit, and provides sufficient wind isolation. It's also comfortable at highway speeds. Bought it for ₹11700 from Helmet World Trivandrum.

I'm not sure if this question belongs here, so mods please feel free to move it. Would toothpaste be a good polishing material for helmet visors? Most helmet visors are made from acrylic/plastic compounds as far as I know, and I've used toothpaste to polish acrylic watch crystals. Just wondering if it could be applied to visors, as well.
For reference, I have an RE helmet (manufactured by Vega).

I was using MT Blade helmet for the last six months. Since last week I am having crushing pain on head and neck. At first I thought it may be due to AC in office. But that was not the case. Then for a couple of days I wore my old local helmet. Not surprisingly the pain vanished.
My head size is small and I was using medium size. Maybe the weight didn't suit me.
Now I have purchase a Vega helmet (off road) type. No pain since the new purchase.
I do miss the snug fit, air and noise protection of my Blade. But the fear of neck pain is keeping me away from it.
Anyone here faced similar problems?

I did face neck pain for the first two days when I shifted to MT axxis from LS2, but surprisingly after two days the pain vanished.
PS: I use it daily for work commute.

Hey buddy,

I am planning to buy HJC helmet through the same website. Could you let me know the days it took for delivery and also how is the helmet after a couple of months?

- Pratik

Hey Pratik,

My sister carried it down for me. Kindly check the sizing of HJC before buying. I made a mistake. Sold my Mamba for 8K. Now getting Bell RS-1

I went to purchase a LS2 from one of the renowned dealers in Chennai. He said there is no warranty for the helmet. For the matter of fact, the guy says none of the helmets have warranty. I was not sure how to check if the make was genuine. The ECE certification and weight range were in a sticker behind the helmet. It looked very original though. I was confused with this warranty issue and did not buy. He quotes 3750 rupees for a LS2 - FF352 model. Any information on this warranty and ECE certification would be very helpful. Thanks in advance brothers.