On the Road Again!

How frequently do they recommend you should replace your bike helmet? I bought my current "best" helmet, the Shoei Qwest on February 5th 2013 - EIGHT years ago today!!!!!!!! It still looks nearly new. Only the addition of the Cardo and the French law reflective stickers. It's still an argument whether the stickers are required or not. The French said yes for everyone but the EU legal service said not. So I put them on rather than have a roadside discussion with an Agent de Police. The Cardo works okay but is getting very long in the tooth. It connects to my android phone and the TomTom.  Unlike a lot of people I am happy for it not to play MP3 🎶 to me as I ride along.  As long as I get satellite navigation directions I am okay. So new helmet or not? I am feeling not at the moment.

This is still my helmet of choice when I need to have the TomTom working and telling me where to go.  With lockdown it has been in the top of the wardrobe waiting to get out again. I have charged up the Bluetooth kit in case that day comes. Bought in 2016 before the Devall Boys trip to Czech for the MotoGP, it is still in excellent condition. As long as you are careful and don't bang them about. When I last wrote about it I said I was a little disappointed with the Bluetooth volume.  At around 70mph it is totally useless if you wear earplugs. And I do.  I contacted LS2 and asked if there was a firmware upgrade available to change the volume settings, but sadly there wasn't and isn't. I am amazed how many people spend hundreds of pounds on a helmet and then carry it, banging into people and harder things! Of course, I still have the Shoei Qwest as well as my "main" helmet.  It's a bit like have "Sunday Best" clothes that rarely get worn! I tend to we...

Today, I managed to get out for the first ride of the year.  It wasn't until the afternoon and the sun was still up but it was very cold. According to the car thermometer it was 5°C outside, but once on the move the cold cut through my jeans as if I was riding in just my underwear! It was also the first time I could wear my new Shoei helmet.  First impressions are that it is light and much quieter than I have been used to over the last few years.  Once I work out how to control the air flow at lower speeds to stop it steaming up it will be perfect.  My glasses fit perfectly without any pressure on the lining. I can't wait for the better weather. Allons-y! I have been toying with a new bike.  But what to get?  But, as soon as I get on the GS and go for a ride I wonder how I could ever consider selling it. It's not been used since the end of December. I always worry after freezing weather and snow that it will not start, maybe just hear that clic...

I don't like to spend money too quickly, but with the sale on and stocks dwindling, rather than weeks to make up my mind I had days.  Painstaking research into which model to buy after I had decided to get the Shoei. It comes with the Pinlock posts on the visor and the insert itself. The inserts usually cost about £25. On top of that it also has the wind reducing skirt that fits in the chin piece. I was tempted by a website offering the XR1100 at £199.99 but it had to come from Italy and although it claimed to be postage free, I had severe doubts that I'd ever see it,  or that matter, my money again. The UK has a testing system that gives products a British Standard, although since successive governments sold out to Brussels, we have an ECE standard for motorcycle helmets that is actually lower than our BSI standards. There is also another test called SHARP and the Qwest gets 5* out of a possible 5* - http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/testsratings/shoei-qwest What struck m...

That is the question. My Nitro N700V is getting to the point where the trim around the padding that runs from ear to ear around the rear of the helmet has started to crack and drop off leaving the foam underneath exposed. Structurally it's perfectly safe but it is getting on for 9 or 10 years old..... The other option is the expensive white elephant known as the Schuberth C2, that I bought just a few days short of six years ago at the bike show in London. Although a great helmet I have never been able to fit the Cardo kit to it, even with the extra long boom that Cardo sent me to test. I'll keep it, but I need something to replace the Nitro for everyday use and provide the same sort of comfort and fit as the Schuey. Over the years I have had both Arai and Shoei helmets, the Arai I had was a Freddie Spencer replica (remember him?) and the Shoei was a GRV in Eddie Lawson colours. I determined that I am actually a Shoei head shape. The current Arai models in the shop...