Modern Vespa

I decided on a Caberg Trip, Love the look of it, and the fact that is has a nice weight and sun visor built in helps too. The only downside is it's hard to find a place in the states that sell them

Hey man, wish you'd been there to show me how you get away with it I tried - really tried as I wanted that helmet but the way the bottom of the helmet projects forward they really grabbed my glasses going on and coming off. The salesmen were highly amused at my multiple attempts. Finally I admitted defeat. I went to get the Scorpion at the other cycle shop but they said their distributor was unable to get the wine color as it is backordered until late September. Wowsa. So MCS claim to have it and I ordered it. Here's a laugh fr those guys - I saw the delivery date was 8/9 for free shipping. Update to 2 day it says for $5.95. I think that's a pretty good deal and do it. The new delivery date is - drumroll please - 8/9. I'm on the phone WAITING right now to try and get someone to either commit to an actual 2 day delivery or take the charge off. LOL - just finished the conversation after an interminable wait. Admitted that it was silly as I would have already gotten it at that time but tried to tell me that since it was supposedly marked as shipped he couldn't take the charge off. It's amazing what a minute or so of dead silence will accomplish - he hastily amended his statement to he could "credit" that amount back to my card. *sigh* So anyway - excited to get a new lid. Susan thought it was funny and made the observation that Papabear and I were doing the male equivalent to gals going out to shop for shoes. I'm not sure but she may have a valid observation there

I read awesome things about that lid but fr two things: does not and CAN'T meet DOT and stuff only available across the pond if you need visors or whatnot. I also hear that the Trip is discontinued and replaced by another model. It did sound like a great lid tho...

My glasses have curved temples so must be put on before the helmet-the main reason I bought a modular (Nolan N102). Being able to flip it up at a stoplight on a hot day, to answer a question, or to fill the gas tank is bonus.

Also, I always wear a do-rag or balaclava. Otherwise when I put on the helmet, it tries to make my ears flop down.

[quote="BubbaJon"] Yep - most helmets do not have any sort of channel for the arms so I have a tough time getting them in and over my ears. I've heard people describe this as the difference between straight & curved. Mine are curved. The technique that I've always used is probably not the best thing for the helmet but it gets teh job done and has caused no issues with any helmet I've owned. I grab the straps, position the helmet just up to my glasses from the top and then pull the helmet apart to spread slightly enough to just clear the glasses and pop the helmet on. If I'm clumsy it might skew them a bit but they're still in position which is the im

wearing curved or straight frame glasses this is the best way to put a helmet on . kinda like dipping your forehead into it first.

Well I find with a little effort and following procedure I can get the Scorpion fine whilst wearing spectacles - surprised me. But I can't take the helmet off very safely so I remove the glasses first. I'll have to stick with this for a while and see how it works out!

Interesting the things that get bandied about in these threads and what one might do / not do as a result thereof...

Have a look at the Schuberth range of flip up's, good enuf for F1 and most of EU's traffic cops, tried and tested from a wee "off" at 65mph'ish, sideways slam at 30mph'ish and shunted up the arse from a standing stop!

Plenty broke stuff and the Schuberth even got the visor ripped off once but NEVER a scratch on my pretty moosh, not that thats a concern of yours.

Same thing but sort of rotate back off your forehead to the rear. You'll get it and it makes glasses *so* much easier. So much so I opted out of a helmet I wanted because it didn't play nice.

Too bad, so sad - not available here in the States and would require remortgaging the homestead to afford.

"Too bad, so sad - not available here in the States and would require remortgaging the homestead to afford. "

Not quite, Jon. These folks have them.
http://www.extremesupply.com/schuberthhelmets/schuberthS1helmet.htm
But I wonder if at that price point it even matters which helmet you buy beyond Is it comfortable and useable for a particular buyer.

Schuberth J1 (*Click on pic!)

That's the discontinued C2. The C3 is the current helmet. Too bad you didn't pop up with this a day or so ago - I might have made a different decision!

I like it also. its an open face 3/4 but with a chin bar for face protection in the event of a incident. now can we get them here in the USA and whats the costs?

JON

"That's the discontinued C2. The C3 is the current helmet. Too bad you didn't pop up with this a day or so ago - I might have made a different decision!"

A day or two ago I had never heard of Schuberth! Besides, you'd still have wanted to try it on. Second guessing yourself now is probably a waste of time. You got what you got and it's probably fine. It's only 1100 miles to Maggie's Valley and you'll have a nice, new hat for the trip.

LOL - ok - you're forgiven Absolutely right about the decision making process - I was kidding (sorta) - I'd hate to be hostage for consumables like the visors. I can live with a lot of things but a scratchy visor isn't one of those...
I will actually be in Pennsylvania 9-11 or thereabouts - my best friend is getting married and wants me to shoot his wedding. How can I say no? Anyway - debating having him pay for a plane ticket or riding up - the guys are having the Blue Ridge ride and it would be nice to do that. Decisions decisions...

JON
"I will actually be in Pennsylvania 9-11 or thereabouts "

Once you'er in Pennsylvania, it's only 5 or 6 hundred miles to North Carolina. It's like a whistle-stop on the way to Austin.

I know I know - it's the significant other. She wants to go but doesn't want to ride the scoot. Maybe I'll let her fly and I'll ride in. That way I can meander back on my own sweet time. These tales of travel like to the arctic circle have my wanderlust raging and Sept is a great time of year to indulge it.

I guess I have a Shoei-head, 'cuz that Multitech fits like a dream.

It was fairly light - obviously built like a tank. It just didn't have a flip down goggle smoked visor. I confess I'm spoiled rotten with the one I have and I consider it to be a required feature from now on. The guys at Web Bike World sneer but hey - they can do whatever they want - I LIKE 'em!

According to both Shoei and Arai reps I talked to, most riders fall into the "oval-head" category in America.
Us "round-head" people (in Arai terms: Intermediate Oval) have a harder time finding helmets that fit and won't pinch or exert too much pressure on temples.
So far, I've found that Suomy Spec 1R and Arai Quantum II to be two of the best-fitting helmets around, for my round-head.
Looking forward to the new Arai RX-Q, in about three more years.
Arai also does not believe in making modular, or flip-up helmets, period.

The flip down sun visor would be nice, I do have the inserts for the pinlock visors which work great but aren't near as convienient. The chin bar is pretty close to the chin on my multitech but I never notice it anymore. I can take the helmet off with my glasses on (and the flip lid up) but haven't tired to put it on with the glasses in place, maybe I'll work on that tomorrow. I do have a Shoei head, Aria aren't as comfortable for me.

When I first considered the Evoline, the sun visor was a nice addition, but not a necessity. I'm still looking to get a smoked shield for the helmet, but I must admit that the feature went from being a nice add to a really useful one (particularly as someone who wears glasses). Any future helmet purchase for me would need to have a retractable visor as well.

Getting caught w/only a smoked, or mirrored faceshield as the sun goes down could make for a very scary ride, unless you carry a clear one w/you at all times.
Since my script is not too strong, I've learned to wear quality sunglasses under a clear faceshield during the bright part of the day, and always carry my eyeglasses w/me whenever I ride.

Exactly why I like teh smoked top gun visor. Pop it down for sun shade and not worry about if I'm ot ehen the sun goes down. I've not had god luck carrying spare visors - they get scratched even in the helmet bag and they're not cheap enough to say "oh well".

Yet most of the shades, or faceshields are not quite optic-grade.
So wearing a pair of quality (Rx) sunglasses under a clear faceshield may result in less total optical distortion by comparison than say, the combination of clear faceshield + shade + regular glasses.

That is an excellent point!

I always carry both, and have had no problems.

With a pinlock visor you just have to remove the insert and you are good to go day or night.

Wouldn't that be the same as carrying around a second visor?

No they are small flat inserts that fit in a jacket pocket easily.

When you go into a tunnel w/a tinted lense in front of you ....it's not nice to suddenly see blind ! That's when a flip up tinted lense makes sense for sure.

Got my Scorpion EXO 900 today. I think I'm not that happy with it. On a short ride at highway speed it seems *much* noisier than my HJC SymaxII. The noise is also the higher pitched type. I also hear whistling from teh top vents. The venting does seem very good. I closed the vents with no apparent affect on the noise. It fits very snug but I notice very little padding near the ears - it seems like most is in the cheeks and jaw. This tends to squeeze my glasses - so much so that the arc is changed and my magnetic clip on sunglasses no longer fit. I wonder about the headphones for my Chatterbox - seems like my ear is right against the foam of teh helmet and I'm not seeing where the earphones will go.
*sigh* Seemed so nice when I tried it on... I'll give it a couple of days then decide...

and you did NOT follow my advice and take it for a test ride I see. What size and color did you get?

The only thing I wear in my ears when I ride are these:

HOWARD LEIGHT by SPERIAN MAX® (NRR: 33dB)


...They make the MP3 ride sound as if you're in a whisper-quiet, proper luxury sedan.

My EXO 900 is orders of magnitude quieter than my HJC Symax II. A couple of times it was noisy and I realized it was not fully closed and latched. Takes a good push to latch the flip up down.

If head shape does not match helmet shape you have a problem. Did you do the 30 minute in store wear test?

Wine, Large. The only shop in town that had 'em won't lert you, plus I wore the damn thing for 20 minutes. Note to self that next time make sure headphones are in ears as this would have clued me in to the close proximity of the ears... Cycle Gear will allow test rides and in fact has a 7 day no questions return policy - they just didn't have it. I'll take it out today - I have a fair bit of riding planned and make a determination. I think MCS allows returns on helmets so I may just ship it back for another HJC Symax II since I know it intimately and like it.

Yep - and I did in fact make sure teh thing was latched properly. I noticed teh noise rose substantially when I turned my head to the side - which I always do before lane changes so I wonder if it's just poor assembly. It feels nice and tight - actually much better "feel" than the Symax which to me always felt loosey-goosey. 20 minutes - you think that extra 10 might have made a diff? It's not the fit per se. Man it's SNUG. Rather the noise level and the weird thing is it's fairly high frequency - the Symax muffled everything well. Finally that top whistling has to go. Ventilation is superb (compared to what I've owned) - I can really feel the air moving.

Oh - you mentioned head shape. You've also had both - is teh Symax a different head shape than teh Scorpion?

try wearing foam ear plugs and see how that does.

If he puts them Max (-33dB) in his ears, it would be like flying his own personal Learjet.

I can cover a straw tick in memory foam but that doesn't make it a quality mattress.
I did a side by side compare today and feel like the Scorpion is a trade down in many areas. The noise is mostly coming from two sources - the surface of the helmet and the joints around the visor. This surprised me a lot because I would have swore the construction was tighter and better on the Scorpion. Apparently not so. I can put my hand in front on each side to block the air and the mid & high freq noise levels drop markedly. The Symax II not at all. The top air holes still whistle and it varies according to my position which tells me it's in the slipstream coming off the windscreen. Again - the Symax does not vary - I have to say though that the airflow sucks compared to the Scorpion I didn't know what I was missing...
I went in and compared with the next size up and also against the HJC IS-Max BT which is the next quality down Symax. There are three things that bug me about the Scorpion fit - with the chinstrap properly tightened I feel like I'm getting strangled slightly and the forehead feels tight on both the Large and XLarge. Apparently the strangulation feeling comes from a shortened helmet jawline which sort of pulls back and slightly up putting pressure on my windpipe. I tried positioning the helmet and it didn't change much. Second thing is that the liner clearances are so tight that I feel most of the noise level comes from bone conduction - I can "hear" the bike vibration at low speeds. Last the headliner is not fixed at the front brow and it can move. So when you put it on it gets stuffed over your forehead and there it stays - no repositioning of the helmet will move it. This can be a problem for me and my glasses - I felt like I was scowling a lot - like when you get mad and your forehead gets wrinkled - that feeling.
I did discover that my HJC is a size too big and I need the Large - not XLarge. So the plan is now to swap them out for what I already have and am happy with. I wish either the Scorpion fit better and was quieter or the HJC had better ventilation. I think what I will do is experiment with the Dremel tool on my old helmet to see if the flow can be improved. Only thing I can see is maybe first try fabricate a better scoop that can be attached then maybe increase the hole diameter if that fails. There's no reason I can see that it should work as poorly as it does...