Just walked in the door, I'm back home in Dallas and two more of the helmets were waiting for me, I looked them over and they appear to be perfect. Going to try them out in a few minutes, good to be home.

What color did you get Bill?

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/13/2011 @ 4:28 PM *

That reminds me, have to go weigh the new RF-1100. Nice lid but about 10 x the cost of one these babies

I have two x-12 helmets and the only think I could wish for is that they would be as comfortable
on my head as the rf1100 that I have as a back up.
The x-12 moves air better but for the very little street riding I do these past two seasons I have favored the comfort and fit of the fr1100.
The differences are subtle but I'm picky and that damn x-11 just set the bar so high for all Shoei fans,
honestly just spoiled us.

I can't have it all, so AGV, Suomy, Bell etc... sorry for now.

Bill, have you tried to remove the faceshield yet? I just installed a dark smoke shield on one of the blue/black ones and I think I have this down to a science now, about 30 seconds to pop it off and about a minute and a half to put the smoker back on there. Looks awesome but I recommend the light smoke as this one is very dark, will post pics ASAP.

Just weighed the RF-1100.

Nothing special compared to my old Icon. 1/4 lb lighter. I can feel the dif in my hand. I still like the Shoei. Less noise than I had with the Domain. That thing made incredible wind noise when new. Has gotten much better but still louder than the new Shoei.

* Last updated by: Rook on 5/14/2011 @ 3:24 PM *

Replacing the shields on the Zox sounds like a PITA... Takes me all of about 5 seconds to swap sheilds on my Shoei's. Important to me since I swap them nearly every ride.

The Spectra Rs weigh 3 lbs 12 ounces in the XL size. Your Shoei weighs in at 3 lbs 9 ounces so they're very close, the Shoei and Spectra are fiberglass while I would bet the Icon is polycarbonate. I like fiberglass but have no idea if it's better.

Dogo, it is bit of a Pita but like everything else it gets better with a little practice. Flip side, the Spectra has a quality feel to the shield that no other helmet I've looked at can match. Even the $800 Arai felt flimsy by comparison. This is a well built helmet, I think BG will confirm.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/15/2011 @ 10:31 AM *

This is a well built helmet, I think BG will confirm.

Yes, it is very well built. I used it at a Miller track day Friday and was very happy with it.

Funny thing... I have a friend who races, and we were talking about things to try to save money on and things NOT to save money on. I had bought a front stand that supposedly worked with most sportbikes, but when I put the bike on it (under the front forks), the wheel was still on the ground (!). Thought I was saving some money, but the stand is useless. My friend managed to borrow a Pit Bull for me to use for the day. I'll be getting one of those.

Anyway, my friend said one thing NOT to try to save money on is a helmet. He has a $600 Arai, and he swears that it saved his life once when he crashed and was unconscious for a while. He would NEVER try to save money on a helmet.

I didn't tell him what I paid for this one <grin>... -bg

Dogo, it is bit of a Pita but like everything else it gets better with a little practice. Flip side, the Spectra has a quality feel to the shield that no other helmet I've looked at can match. Even the $800 Arai felt flimsy by comparison. This is a well built helmet, I think BG will confirm.

Does look like a nice lid... not even just for the price, but period.

But I do love me some Shoei's.

Bill, you know me, I don't like to cut corners, I went first class on leathers, boots and gloves and would have gladly dropped eight big ones on a helmet if I thought it would do a better job of protecting my noodle. Only reason I bought the Spectras, was I had bought two a long time ago and was very comfortable the quality was there. The protection comes from passing the rigorous Snell certification. Post a pic with your leathers and bike when you can.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/15/2011 @ 4:29 PM *

Btw, don't tell anyone what you paid, they'll think you dropped at least 4 bills on it....lol!

Dogo, the Shoeis look awesome!

bg,

this is a Snell 2005 and I'm almost certain that this is the last season (7 years) that you will be allowed to ride with one on the track.
Not sure how strict your track day org is during tech inspection but it's something to keep in mind.
That and the production date on the helmet- it has to be less than 5 years from the day it was manufactured.

masszx14:

Surprisingly, Miller is EXTREMELY lax on tech inspections. There are open track days run by Miller itself, and they don't even look at your bike, much less your apparel and helmet. You just fill out a paper and check off that you have all the right stuff, sign it, and they give you a sticker and you go ride.

Apex Track Days at Miller are a little better, but not much. They do inspect the bike, but they don't seem to care about your gear at all. I didn't even have leathers the first time I went out on the track, and nobody cared:

Another rider suggested that I borrow some leathers from the Apex guys, as they had them available (I didn't know that).

Very loosey goosey all around. I'd feel better if they were more on top of it.

Interestingly, the guys that RIDE these track days are really quite good, and most of the bikes are set up for the track -- not many street bikes.

I picked up an old YZF600 set up for racing, and am using that for track days now. Works much better than the 14, as you would know.

Best track day every last Friday on this new/old bike. First time I had ridden it. First time on racing slicks and using tire warmers. Progressed more that day than ever before. Had a blast. Never thought I would go that fast. I was doing 5 laps or so before getting lapped by the fastest guy in my group. I felt pretty good, but I can go much faster.

Then I saw a video from the AMA test days early this month. Guy going around the same track incredibly faster than I was. Amazing the huge range of skill levels and speeds between track day riders and pro racers. -bg

* Last updated by: bgordon on 5/15/2011 @ 7:54 PM *

Humbling experience to say the least but at least your out there and that's all that really counts. I'm curious now about the build date on my helmets, it's inside on a tag on the inner liner. Nobodies ever explained to me how a helmet can go bad sitting in a box, be interesting to hear a rational reason. May be like the 3 thousand mile oil change myth here in the states, perpetuated by the quick lube places. They run their oil in Europe for two to three times as long and their motors seem to last as long or longer than ours. Food for thought.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/15/2011 @ 7:55 PM *

I picked up an old YZF600 set up for racing, and am using that for track days now.

Track-only bike is the way to go!
Seat time and a riding coach will make you faster. And wear ALL the protective gear.
I don't think Miller is doing anybody a favor letting guys in jeans on the race track.
If there wasn't a strict technical inspection in place I would not even ride for a single session

Nobodies ever explained to me how a helmet can go bad sitting in a box

It doesn't but that's a moot point- you are required to wear current snell and less than 5 year old lid.
Some track day orgs have the same requirements as WERA and CCS as far as tech inspection of the bikes and
riding gear and unfortunately some don't.

Another thread dug up from the dust bin of history....lol! I still have a couple of those Spectra R's left, bought four originally but two have been destroyed in accidents. The remaining two I don't wear often as I've moved on to newer helmets.

The good news is those helmets did an excellent job protecting my cranium, not even a headache, wish I could say the rest of me faired as well.

I still use mine. It exudes a sticky film outside and the windscreen can fly up if I turn my head at high speed but other than those, I like it. I think I like it because I got such a small size and it has formed so perfectly to my head shape. It doesn't move when I shake my head. It's like a part of me.