South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

webster wrote:Oh, and I'm not going to feel bad about buying online for less, I was stood in the shop for a good 20 minutes and got no service at all, had they been better I probably would've bought there and then as they had a haga rep design that I really liked

Just out of curiosity, was the shop Hein Gericke in Taunton? I know they have both helmets in stock, and I hear things have changed a lot since i left last month?

It was indeed, didn't know you'd left, that's why i declined to name the shop in question, just in case.

i didn't recognise either of the staff that were on though

webster wrote:It was indeed, didn't know you'd left, that's why i declined to name the shop in question, just in case.

i didn't recognise either of the staff that were on though

Yep, I left at the end of last month, you probably didn't recognise anyone there because my team left with me. I have moved up the road to Total Triumph

Heh, i almost popped in there to have a perv at the street triple R, that would've confused me

jason, agree with you on the arai pods buit good luck with the shoei before i bought my last arai i bought the kagayama xr1000 as i loved its design(i made sure it fitted properly as i safety conscious like that) was very comfy bu i wouldnt ever buy another one. yes it misted up very easily (even the pinlock system was no-use on the wya home from a rainy le mans) but after 6 weeks and less than 1500miles the cheek pads had given so much it moved around on my head. my head obviously falls into the arai side of the arai/shoei arguement as my latest arai is over 3 years old and sill fits perfectly now. hope your shoei fits you better than mine did,its a shame really as i do like a lot of the shoei desgins compared to the arais

Hi all,
i found helmet i wanted, shoei x-spirit vermeulen colours. Retailing for 450 in fowlers so had an internet shop around... in the end got it for 450us dollars on american ebay ebay.com instead of ebay.uk. At the time was 2 dollars to pound so got brand new helmet from established seller plus p+p for £245...
Hope this is helpful to you all
p.s the lid in question

http://www.shoei-europe.com/uk/products/X-SPIRIT

Paul

When I bought my lid I bought it from a shop doing an internet deal but I got it cheap BIG discount so I was happy !

Its a KBC VR1 by the way bought it to replace my very old and smelly Nolan !



And yes if I could afford one I'd get an Arai, AGV or Shoei, any one would be worth more than the bike !

i bought that kbc vr1 from parnells and was very disappointed with it,wasnt happy that it misted up going round the melbourne loop first time out

wish i could fit a shoei as i'd love to have the rainey rep,ive just read his autobiography and what a inspirational read that is

Ricey wrote:Hi all,
i found helmet i wanted, shoei x-spirit vermeulen colours. Retailing for 450 in fowlers so had an internet shop around... in the end got it for 450us dollars on american ebay ebay.com instead of ebay.uk. At the time was 2 dollars to pound so got brand new helmet from established seller plus p+p for £245...
Hope this is helpful to you all
p.s the lid in question

http://www.shoei-europe.com/uk/products/X-SPIRIT

Paul

I'm probably wrong but aren't american lids not approved for use in the Uk? Something to do with the kite marks etc. or has this all changed?

its all marketing testicles, the us have a different testing system to the uk/europe but theres no visible difference,if anythign the snell testing in the states is more stringent than the crappy europena tetsing system thats been in place . my mate got a suomy a few years ago from ebay for half the price gt were wanting, we compared them side by side and couldnt see much difference if any. in the past ive bought leathers in from the states via ebay- flying brian was his shop name. i paid £375 delivered and i think a simailair set in HG were £800

My last Lid was an Arai and it's been the best lid ever and at the time alot of money but I suppose your choice is on what price you put on your head.

I also Have an HJC carbon which is a good lid but just a little noisy but as I had it for free from a rider I can put up with it

Blue wrote:I'm probably wrong but aren't american lids not approved for use in the Uk? Something to do with the kite marks etc. or has this all changed?

Although the Snell testing is generally considered to be of a higher standard than the ECE 22.05 testing you will find that with a quality helmet manufacturer like Shoei or Arai they will build all of their helmets to a standard that surpasses the requirments of both tests and so will be the same.

However, technically a Snell approved helmet intended for sale in the US will not have the ECE 22.05 approval marking and therefore is not legal for sale in this country.

One thing to be very careful about when buying a helmet from abroad is the shape of the internal fit of the helmet. Different markets have different typical head size & shapes. The best example I have seen of this is a chap who came into a shop where I worked and got fitted for an Arai RX7 Corsair. Several weeks later he came back with one in a paint scheme I had never seen before and was comparing it to the ones in the shop. When I spoke to him he explained he'd bought it from an eBay seller in Hong kong or somewhere, and although it was the same size as the ones in the shop it was a much tighter fit on the front of his head and was giving him a headache. On investigaion I found out that the shell shape used for the asian market has a slighlty different shape as the typical head shape & size there is different to that in Europe. The guy then contacted the importers asking them to do something about the fit but they didn't want to know as they had not imported it and therefor it wasn't covered by UK warranty.

Some manufacturers design their helmets specifically to pass the test for the country of intended use and so the helmet shell is reinforced in specific areas where the manufacturer knows it will be tested. In these cases you will find that Snell approved helmets are generally heavier than equivalent ECE 22.05 helmets as they require more reinforcement because the Snell test is more rigorous. That said, they should also offer more protection, however, there has also been lots of arguments over the weight of helmets affecting neck injury.

Personally I consider my helmet to be the single most important bit of kit I wear, so I prefer to actually try the helmet on and make sure I'm happy with the fit before actually buying it. Pedantic I know, but that's my choice.

webster wrote:Heh, i almost popped in there to have a perv at the street triple R, that would've confused me

We've got the Street Triple R as a demonstrator now if you're interested, lots of positive feedback, although I haven't ridden it yet - I still don't have much strength in my back or my left hand after my recent crash, but it's high on my list when I'm fit enough.

Bladerunner wrote:

webster wrote:Heh, i almost popped in there to have a perv at the street triple R, that would've confused me

We've got the Street Triple R as a demonstrator now if you're interested, lots of positive feedback, although I haven't ridden it yet - I still don't have much strength in my back or my left hand after my recent crash, but it's high on my list when I'm fit enough.

i am very interested but i fell bad taking stuff for a ride knowing full well i can't afford to buy it, plus i'm still unable to put much weight on my wrist after my accident

that of course should've been "feel bad" not "fell bad", where's the edit button?