fizz_off
Junior Member
Well, I did it - went and spent some of my bonus $$$ and bought the RF1100 last weekend. Not sure how but the RF1000 (2 years old), while useable was probably unsafe since the inner shell was completely detached/uglued/unstuck/unWHATEVER from the outer and was "floating" around. Vaguely remember it dropping about 2 feet about a year ago...that must have been enough to cause the 2 shells to become "unmated" (no visible damage though...hmmmm). So, stopped by the local Yami shop, ooogled the new bikes, asked about the FZ8 (probably not going to show up for a couple of years, I was told), went downstairs to the small shop and, there in all its glory was a shiny new "Atlas Yellow" - much like th 1000 - RF1100 just BEGGING me to give it a go ("...come on...come on...ahh fer cryin' out loud, JUST try me ON for C%$@*^T sake - you're going to LOVE it!!!").
Well, since the voice coming from the helmet on the shelf (COULD have been in my head, not sure LOL) sounded so convincing , I tried it on - felt EXCELLENT right off the bat...better and snugger fit than the 1000 which was an XL; this one was a large. Walked around the shop for about 10 minutes with it on after 'splaining to the saleperson what I was doing. Walked out with the RF1100 after paying for the helmet net a 15% discount. Apparently, this shop sells newly stocked items at a 15% discount until the summer (wooHOOOO :cheer.
Anyhoooo....took it for a test drive today and I am SO VERY HAPPY with it. Not sure why everyone is making such a stink about the rear vents. I was able to open and close them with one gloved hand with no problem - nice and smooth. Then again, I did "practice" last night just so I could figure out the movement and took it for a 50 mile ride just now on mixed roads (i.e., 20 - 50+ MPH roads; in city and rural).
I'm not going to go into a lengthy evaluation here...just wanted to share a few key points:
- that new visor is SLICK! It's a nice tight fit, pops in and out even better than the visor on the 1000 and I didn't have to adjust anything (unlike some of the other reviews I'd been reading over the last few months). It even has a ridge that interlocks (kinda) the visor to the rubber gasket on the helmet to better seal it against moisture coming in; that ridge acted as a great guide when I was applying the adhesive smoke "quick tint".
- ventilation is EXCELLENT! It seemed more adjustable than the ventilation in my Toy Taco (HAHAH). The best air flow (for todays weather) was opening the chin vent and the 2 front top vents...nice air on my forehead and just enough coming up chin-to-eyebrows.
- sound levels were no worse than the 1000. I was able to still hear the radio from my IPOD with volume set relatively low :cheer: Just as with the 1000, the loudest noises appeared to be coming from the helmet itself as air rushed over the top of the helmet but again, it was no worse than I had with the RF1000; in fact, I think it was slightly quieter and there was no whistling (no matter how I turned my head) unlike the 1000. Ducking down a smidge behind the Cee Bailey's wind screen made things almost TOO quiet ).
- "speaking" (pun intended LOL) of speakers, Shoei designed in "speaker wells" which fit my 3/8" thick in helmet speakers perfectly! No more rubbing of the speaker on my ear lobe.
The only potential downside was on the ride home. I noticed pressure on the temple on both sides of my head which became unbearable after a mile or two. Fortunately, I had to stop for fuel...the pressure went away after I put the helmet back on. I'm wondering if I pulled it down too snugly (?); hopefully, it won't be an issue once the pads are broken in and formed to my "triangle" (as seen from the top :BLAA shaped head.
If you have the means, I highly recommend this helmet!
Anyone else have one? What have your impressions been?
Well, since the voice coming from the helmet on the shelf (COULD have been in my head, not sure LOL) sounded so convincing , I tried it on - felt EXCELLENT right off the bat...better and snugger fit than the 1000 which was an XL; this one was a large. Walked around the shop for about 10 minutes with it on after 'splaining to the saleperson what I was doing. Walked out with the RF1100 after paying for the helmet net a 15% discount. Apparently, this shop sells newly stocked items at a 15% discount until the summer (wooHOOOO :cheer.
Anyhoooo....took it for a test drive today and I am SO VERY HAPPY with it. Not sure why everyone is making such a stink about the rear vents. I was able to open and close them with one gloved hand with no problem - nice and smooth. Then again, I did "practice" last night just so I could figure out the movement and took it for a 50 mile ride just now on mixed roads (i.e., 20 - 50+ MPH roads; in city and rural).
I'm not going to go into a lengthy evaluation here...just wanted to share a few key points:
- that new visor is SLICK! It's a nice tight fit, pops in and out even better than the visor on the 1000 and I didn't have to adjust anything (unlike some of the other reviews I'd been reading over the last few months). It even has a ridge that interlocks (kinda) the visor to the rubber gasket on the helmet to better seal it against moisture coming in; that ridge acted as a great guide when I was applying the adhesive smoke "quick tint".
- ventilation is EXCELLENT! It seemed more adjustable than the ventilation in my Toy Taco (HAHAH). The best air flow (for todays weather) was opening the chin vent and the 2 front top vents...nice air on my forehead and just enough coming up chin-to-eyebrows.
- sound levels were no worse than the 1000. I was able to still hear the radio from my IPOD with volume set relatively low :cheer: Just as with the 1000, the loudest noises appeared to be coming from the helmet itself as air rushed over the top of the helmet but again, it was no worse than I had with the RF1000; in fact, I think it was slightly quieter and there was no whistling (no matter how I turned my head) unlike the 1000. Ducking down a smidge behind the Cee Bailey's wind screen made things almost TOO quiet ).
- "speaking" (pun intended LOL) of speakers, Shoei designed in "speaker wells" which fit my 3/8" thick in helmet speakers perfectly! No more rubbing of the speaker on my ear lobe.
The only potential downside was on the ride home. I noticed pressure on the temple on both sides of my head which became unbearable after a mile or two. Fortunately, I had to stop for fuel...the pressure went away after I put the helmet back on. I'm wondering if I pulled it down too snugly (?); hopefully, it won't be an issue once the pads are broken in and formed to my "triangle" (as seen from the top :BLAA shaped head.
If you have the means, I highly recommend this helmet!
Anyone else have one? What have your impressions been?