[Ricci]

It's finally here. My Shark Spartan Carbon Skin, in Sylvian Guintoli graphic scheme.

When I started my search for a good, or rather, better than MT range of helmets, Shark didn't figure on my list of likely lids. While the Arais and Shoeis were too expensive, some brands like Nexx , Scorpion and Airoh showed promise.

Upon browsing the helmets section, I chanced upon this attractive looking Shark helmet. Turns out, it's a new model launched in 2016 and still in short supply, because I ordered this one first. I say first, because minutes after ordering I received an update saying it was not in stock and next batch expected in March. So I ordered the Nexx XR2 Carbon Pure , which I have posted earlier in this thread. I had thought of cancelling the Shark order - but looking at the pictures again, I thought - why not? How often do I splurge anyway? My next helmet order will be few years, and it looks gorgeous, so I decided not to cancel and retain both helmets.

Apparently the whole Spartan model range is in short supply, but especially the carbon skin range and this Guintoli scheme particularly. Inspired/designed by less known racer Sylvian Guintoli (he did briefly race in MotoGP), this one caught my eye , although I did like some of the other graphics schemes as well.

The helmet comes with a nice (nicer than Nexx) helmet bag. The carton also contains Pinlock visor, owner's manual on a CD which surprisingly was a bit scratched, and there's a set of reflective white stickers as well as warranty card. The warranty is for 5 years! The reflective stickers by 3M, are all white, with a handy printed guide along to depict where to paste them. According to French law, helmets much have reflective stickers on front, back and sides, so this is to comply with French laws.



There is an internal sunvisor, with the slider along the helmet centerline behind the top vent. The spoiler at the back is two piece. Carbon weave pattern is clearly visible in black areas, the peacock blue being the standout color.

Sunvisor operates smoothly enough, without making contact with my vision glasses, which fit is well (but the Nexx accommodates glasses better). At this point, spare visors are unavailable, I plan to order 1 or 2 spare ones when they are available. The texture on the visor pivot plate is somewhat rough, bit like golf ball, it's supposed to reduce the wind whistling noise and is present only on the Spartan models at present. Visor removal and refit are supposedly easy and toolless - I've only seen the video demo, not yet tried visor removal/refit myself.





The interior padding is very nice, part of it like velvet to the touch. It's the same size medium as the Nexx, but easier put on and off. There were a complaints I read of the main visor not sealing properly in rain, allowing some water to come in. I hope Shark has fixed those issues, which were reported in the early batches circa mid-2016.

I can't say how good it is compared to Arai/Shoei, but the internal liner is better than the Nexx. The Guintoli scheme definitely looks better in person than in pictures. This shell being carbon fiber, is pretty lightweight too, with the claimed weight being 1290 grams for medium. The Nexx XR2 Carbon is claimed to weigh 1250 grams for medium size.



The fastening strap is double D ring , the visor comes with Pinlock tabs and Pinlock visor in included in the box. The eye port is smaller/narrower than the Nexx XR2 , so in hindsight, it's good I got the Nexx ; on a supersport the improved upper quadrant vision is a great advantange. The Spartan's upper quadrant vision is less , about average to good overall , but better suited for standard/naked motorcycles. I guess Shark clearly demarcated the sports helmet (Race-R, and maybe the Speed-R) for supersports.

[VijayAnand1]

Beautiful. I've always loved Shark, but I find them exorbitantly priced here in India, in a few of the places they're sold. Where did you purchase this from what was the total price?

Would love to see the pics of the styrofoam and the liners removed.

Cheers!
V

[JVH]

Originally Posted by Ricci

It's finally here. My Shark Spartan Carbon Skin, in Sylvian Guintoli graphic scheme.

Congrats!
Shark is an excellent choice. It was my first expensive helmet and was of outstanding quality. Saved my head in a bad accident.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Ricci

It's finally here. My Shark Spartan Carbon Skin, in Sylvian Guintoli graphic scheme.

Congrats! I too recently bought the Shark Speed R and it's so gorgeously built that I dont want to use and spoil it

That too has an internal visor and optical quality is in a different league compared to the internal visor available in my MT Blade helmet

One of the best helmets money can buy

[akshayhonda]

Originally Posted by KK_HakunaMatata

Also, since you have done some research, any inputs on the type of material used in the Revolt as agasint the similar range in SOL, MT?

When I check with the all India distributor (Kapil), he said Revolt uses Compound ABS in helmets. Not sure of what is it in other brands.

KK

Kapil is the Bangalore/Karnataka distributor for Revolt.

Also afaik the material used in Revolt is almost on par with the ones used in AGV K3 SV. But again in a budget of 6-7K somewhat similar compounds are used in shells of the helmets of this price bracket.

I use the helmet for my daily commutes and occasionally for one-day long rides (500-600kms to & fro) so build quality, lightness and as low noise as possible is my priority. Hence materials is something I really did not dig into when narrowing down on it.

[sukiwa]

Here is small review for SMK helmet (SMK Twister, unicolour) after usage of 6 weeks and 2000Kms. Some of features include internal sun shield, Pinlock 30 film, adjustable air vents, Bluetooth compatible. SMK helmet has many features similar to Hyundai (it even has lines similar to fluidic Hyundai designs ). SMK brand name seems to be derived from initials of owner of Studds.

Disclaimer: Folks aware of better/bigger international brands may find this elementary or basic, have no intention of comparing with any brand.

I picked up plain colour (white) for Rs. 4,000. This is 3rd helmet for me from Studds (Studds Ninja, Studds chrome).

Shell: Appears big compared to most helmets from Indian brands



Visor: Offers notches on both sides so that it can be lifted from either hand, comes handy when one can't leave left hand to lift up visor. Has nice contoured shape at top so that rain droplets won't drop inside helmet.



Ventilation: Has adjustable (open/close) vents at chin & top with open rear vents to keep one ventilated, does its job well to reduce sweating in heat or bumper-to-bumper traffic.


Padding: Nice, comfortable padding for a snug fit. Inner liner is removable & washable. Padding has holes for Bluetooth speakers.




Pinlock system: SMK offers Pinlock 30 with their helmets which is meant for 'casual' daily usage as per Pinlock. This offers anti-fog layer along with some extra-wide vision. For the film to offer best anti-fog effect, chin vent needs to be in open state (even in winters). It does help in preventing fogging of visor but I haven't been able to ride with chin vent closed in morning chilly weather.
Pinlock30 being entry level film/insert doesn't cover entire visor & it does pose a problem for folks wearing spectacles. I am seriously thinking of removing Pinlock film.
I strongly feel, adding Pinlock was an after-thought while making helmet Bluetooth compatible i.e. to prevent fogging of visor while speaking via Bluetooth.

Internal sun shield/visor: Has a Red switch on left side of helmet to pull it down or up. Slot for Bluetooth module is also on left side. In moderate sunshine, this provides some relief to eyes. But, I prefer wearing my powered Polaroids sunglasses instead. On harsh sunshine (facing sun), I sometimes pull down sun visor with my sunglasses to completely reduce direct sunshine.


Retention:Quick release strap is quite easy to use, but I need to adjust strap length every alternate week, wonder why.

Weight: At 1450 gm, this one is heavy for me. Previous Studds that I had was 950gm, so SMK took me some time to get used to. I had some neck pain in first week, but has subsided now. Before buying, I had worn it at store for 5 minutes. Now, I wear it with caution to avoid any further neck pain.

Wind noise: Feels quiet below 40kmph but beyond that it's quite noisy. And for a helmet shell meant for Bluetooth usage, this is very surprising. Bluetooth system (basic phone pairing) hasn't been launched yet but have heard it would be priced at Rs. 3,500. I always use helmet with full face balaclava and most of my impressions of wind noise are with balaclava. Without balaclava, wind noise is even more. Wind noise doesn't change much with or without earplugs.

Price: I don't have any rights to say how SMK should price their helmets, but at Rs. 4000 this feels little bit costly. Rs. 3250 or 3500 would be appropriate for this helmet.

Certification: All SMK helmets are approved for ECE 22.05 standard as Europe is target market for this brand from Studds. I wonder what stops Studds from adding ISI mark for Indian market to make it 'Cop-friendly'. If Vega can add ISI mark for Axor range, why not Studds doing it for SMK?

Conclusion: It's a mix-bag for me so far, wind-noise & weight still bothers me. Weight still doesn't allow me to pick it every time I go out on a bike/scooter.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Ricci

It's finally here. My Shark Spartan Carbon Skin, in Sylvian Guintoli graphic scheme.

Congratz, details about pricing and source also please. Shark is a great brand and much better in quality compared to the VFM MT's. Wanted to see what are the options for an adventure tourer model.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by Ricci

It's finally here. My Shark Spartan Carbon Skin, in Sylvian Guintoli graphic scheme.

Congrats Ricci! I had an opportunity to try this helmet at the MCN show recently and I loved the fit.
I have my eyes on this, and will perhaps get it along when i return home.

The Sylvain Guintoli color scheme is available for £410.00 in the UK.

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Congratz, details about pricing and source also please. Shark is a great brand and much better in quality compared to the VFM MT's. Wanted to see what are the options for an adventure tourer model.

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Beautiful. I've always loved Shark, but I find them exorbitantly priced here in India, in a few of the places they're sold. Where did you purchase this from what was the total price?

Would love to see the pics of the styrofoam and the liners removed.

Cheers!
V

Ordered online from Motoin.de ; unlike some lucky souls who inspired me to purchase from abroad, I wasn't lucky enough to escape customs. I don't recall exact price, but it was EUR 371 shipped (around 25000 INR) + INR 13k customs.

I'll post the innards someday when I've removed them for cleaning.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Congrats! I too recently bought the Shark Speed R and it's so gorgeously built that I dont want to use and spoil it

That too has an internal visor and optical quality is in a different league compared to the internal visor available in my MT Blade helmet

One of the best helmets money can buy

Yeah, I know the feeling of buying something so gorgeous, you don't want to expose/use it in order to preserve that fresh pristine looks/textures.

So which helmet did you get ? Let me guess, is it this one ?



Iron-man anyone? I love this color scheme!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Yeah, I know the feeling of buying something so gorgeous, you don't want to expose/use it in order to preserve that fresh pristine looks/textures.So which helmet did you get ? Let me guess, is it this one ?

Wish I had the choice to buy whatever I wanted

I got this for an excellent deal where the price drop was nearly 40% from the original price which was way beyond my budget for a helmet and it was just too mouth watering a deal to ignore

I love the graphics and color combo a lot and super happy with the helmet.Not to mention it stands out like a sore thumb on the highway with respect to visibility.

I did a 1800kms ride with it over the weekend....Prior to that have done two 700kms ride too...So nearly 3500kms already done with it

Here is the link to my Shark Helmet

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...ml#post4104262

P.S : Is your helmet a higher end version than Shark Speed R? If my understanding is correct. Speed R is one level below the top end which is Speed Race R Pro? Any ideas?

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Wish I had the choice to buy whatever I wanted

Don't we all? If I was as mad as Jay Leno (I'm not denying I'm not, just that I'm not nowhere as moneyed ) , I foresee my residence as a huge house with even more huge garage/parking with enough bikes and gear to put Revzilla to shame, or give them 50% of their revenue

Originally Posted by mobike008

I got this for an excellent deal where the price drop was nearly 40% from the original - snip-
Here is the link to my Shark Helmet

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...ml#post4104262

P.S : Is your helmet a higher end version than Shark Speed R? If my understanding is correct. Speed R is one level below the top end which is Speed Race R Pro? Any ideas?

Nice deal, especially since no customs due to hand carry. The white-blue-red graphics remind me of the MT Revenge in similar scheme that I wanted but was not available.

I don't understand the Shark lineup completely since it seems there are several similarly priced and positioned models and older models still around for sale with confuses the positioning. I understood the full face lineup as 4 tiers

Race-R Pro -> Race-R (sport/track approved)
Spartan -> Speed-R (street/touring for naked bikes)
Skwal -> D-Skwal (street/touring) -> Vision R
S900 -> S700 -> S600 (entry level street/touring)

As a model, the Spartan probably replaces Skwal/D-Skwal , just as Race-R replaces the older RSF/RSI/RSJ lines.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Ricci

I don't understand the Shark lineup completely since it seems there are several similarly priced and positioned models and older models still around for sale with confuses the positioning. I understood the full face lineup as 4 tiers

Race-R Pro -> Race-R (sport/track approved)
Spartan -> Speed-R (street/touring for naked bikes)
Skwal -> D-Skwal (street/touring) -> Vision R
S900 -> S700 -> S600 (entry level street/touring)

As a model, the Spartan probably replaces Skwal/D-Skwal , just as Race-R replaces the older RSF/RSI/RSJ lines.

Alright. Got an idea now. So basically the Spartan and Speed R are same category helmet

Well, I got my helmet for nearly 50% less than what you paid

[hiren.mistry]

I am not sure this is the right place for this query, how did you guys carry your helmet from abroad? Did you check it in your suitcases or as a in-flight carry on?
I will be getting a helmet, and perhaps boots when I return.

Thanks

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

I am not sure this is the right place for this query, how did you guys carry your helmet from abroad? Did you check it in your suitcases or as a in-flight carry on?
I will be getting a helmet, and perhaps boots when I return.

Thanks

My colleagues got mine as the Cabin Luggage. Generally they are too big to fit in a suitcase. Even if you have a wide enough suitcase, unless it is hard shell I would not recommend, because Check In luggage gets thrown around badly.

CHEERS!!


Rachit

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

I am not sure this is the right place for this query, how did you guys carry your helmet from abroad? Did you check it in your suitcases or as a in-flight carry on?
I will be getting a helmet, and perhaps boots when I return.

Thanks

Got it twice in my check-in luggage. But, as Rachit correctly pointed out if its a hard shell suitcase it would be better

I got mine in cloth type suitcase and it was a long haul flight and nothing happened to helmet