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Recommend this helmet

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 7:13 pm
by fontana
I was in the local dealers the other day to buy a new helmet.
I had in mind a Shoei, Shark, or Schuberth, something high end like that.
The problem is I have a weird shaped head, and it always takes me ages to find a good fit, and I couldn't, with any of them.
Then I started to look at other makes, just for comparison, and bugger me, I found a superb fitting lid that was at the budget end of the scale,
In fact it fitted me so perfectly, I lost interest in all the others.
I'd never even heard of this brand before, which is HJC.
The model is the, IS-MAX 11.
I have so far done about 150 miles.
So it also turns out to be one of the quietest I've had, and certainly comfy.
The flip front is much smoother and easier to operate than my previously owned Nolan.
Another nice touch is the two position sun visor.
OK I know you won't find out how effective a lid is until you land on it, but whilst it was cheap, it certainly doesn't feel it and in any case, it has to have passed the minimum European safety tests.
I really do recommend trying these out.
Here's the one I got.

Image

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 7:19 pm
by Mont
What's the lid like for noise?

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 7:52 pm
by slparry
I think HJC are an Oxford Products brand, I've had one in the past and they're a good lid

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 8:11 pm
by Britisherspy
I've got one of these and its noisier than a schuberth but a lot lighter also the visor can be cracked open 1/2 inch and will stay there at at least up to 80 mph.

These are going for £130+ on a lot of sites but £79 from CMC .

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 8:24 pm
by fontana
Mont wrote:What's the lid like for noise?


As I said, one of the quietest I've had.
Leagues ahead of my previously owned Nolan, which cost me £350
What a piece of s**t that lid was.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 9:22 pm
by Al
Had an HJC RPHA-10 for about 2 years, very light, good fit, quieter than my Shoei was and has a glasses groove which is a great idea. Certainly have another HJC lid when the time comes, Sue has the IS-17, well made and fits well and has drop down visor and pinlock.

Al.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:45 pm
by fontana
Was going through the instruction book today and see that my lid won the German Motorrad magazine award for best value helmet.
Today I figured out how to use the venting system and find that this feautre is the best I have expereinced.
Important on hot days like today.
The only downside is that unlike some flip fronts, this helmet is not tested and approved for use as an open face.
A few, like the Shark, are.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 9:49 pm
by Herb
I have an HJC RPHA max. Worst lid I have ever owned. I rated it at first, until it rained.

Water comes through the top vent, even when closed and then tracks internally through the internal sun visor housing and leaks internally. Not a small leak either. It's quite common with this model and I note, the replacement has been heavily redesigned around the top vent. I also get a breeze inside the visor.

Sent it back to oxford who found nothing wrong, but it still leaks terribly.

My next lid will probably be Arai or Shoei.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:12 pm
by ianbcr
Ok Fontana into the garden with your gear on and get the missus to spray you with the hose pipe. :D

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 9:12 am
by fontana
Haven't ridden in the rain with it yet.
I will report back when I have.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 11:57 am
by milleplod
A good mate swears by HJC, he's never had any other brand. Similarly, I swear by Shark and have never worn anything else - in fact my last job-issue stealthy one was a Shark. I like the fact that their visors are all coated with a very effective anti-mist treatment. I binned the drop-down sun visor on my latest one though, and bought a dark-tint main visor instead. :)

Pete

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2017 11:46 pm
by ianbcr
Tut Tut an ex copper braking the law. :D Pete did you get a choice of helmet of your saying or wear what they give you on the job.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 6:33 am
by milleplod
ianbcr wrote:Tut Tut an ex copper braking the law. :D Pete did you get a choice of helmet of your saying or wear what they give you on the job.


I don't know how I sleep at night! :lol:

The marked-up helmet with full comms, fitted by a company called Sonic in Birmingham, were originally all BMW 'System' ones. In my later years on the job, we moved onto Shoei, although I can't remember the model....flip-front though.

For unmarked stuff, we could have more or less what we wanted (non flip-front) without comms (as long as it was white!), as the plain bikes didn't always have radio packs fitted anyway. I can't recall anybody having a comms-equipped ordinary helmet, apart from drugs squad/special ops guys - we used our hand-held Airwave radios....once we'd stopped! In fact, thinking about it, the only radio-equipped plain bikes we had were ex-drugs squad hand-me-downs!

Pete

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 6:16 pm
by Mont
Going to make it my next purchase just hope it's quieter than my caberg duke that I currently use.

Re: Recommend this helmet

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 9:24 pm
by fontana
Mont wrote:Going to make it my next purchase just hope it's quieter than my caberg duke that I currently use.


Caberg have never been the same since they discontinued the trip.
Had three of those over the years.
Great lid.