Arai XD4 Dual Sport Helmet
Shoei Hornet X2 Dual Sport Helmet
Touratech Aventuro Carbon Helmet
Details Manufacturer: Arai Model: XD4 Dual Sport Construction: Fiberglass Composite MSRP: $600-$730 (as tested: $730) Arai began as a hat maker in Japan and in
over 90 years has grown to become one of the most respected names in helmet manu- facturing. A family-owned business, their award-winning helmets are hand built by one of only 15 qualified craftsmen. They have won countless awards for quality and—we should point out—have rescued the Adventure Brothers from their own shenanigans numerous times, as we have been wearing Arai helmets for years.
Manufacturer: Shoei Model: Hornet X2 Dual Sport Construction: Fiberglass/Organic Fiber Composite MSRP: $595-$716 (as tested: $604) Shoei has been around for nearly 60 years
and have more than secured their place in the world of premium head protection. With only 500 employees worldwide, this Japanese company is quite small. Still, their helmets offer award-winning construction and reliability.
Manufacturer: Touratech (manufactured by Nexx) Model: Aventuro Carbon Construction: Carbon Fiber Composite MSRP: $599-649 (as tested: $599) Already a household name in motorcycle
parts and accessories, Touratech has graced their parts catalogue with the addition of the new Aventuro helmet. Made by Nexx, a helmet manufacturer out of Portugal with
15 years in the business, the new Aventuro is the lightest and most diverse helmet we’ve ever tested.
What we evaluated In evaluating these helmets, we agreed to tackle several key cornerstones:
Installing a communications system: Comm systems have become a cornerstone of motorcycling, and the Adventure Broth- ers have come to rely on them for leading tours and the like. Helmet manufactures know this and have begun offering cutouts and molded receptacles that makes install- ing comm systems easier.
Comfort: How well does it slide onto the noggin? Any “hotspots?” Can we ride for six hours without feeling like there’s a vice on our heads?
Aerodynamics: How is the pull and drag at high speed? Does the peak make a small head turn result in a trip to the chiropractor?
Ventilation: Adventure riding is exhaust- ing, and anyone doing it long enough will start huffing and puffing. Will the ventila- tion keep the inside of the helmet from feel- ing like a rainforest? When riding on cold or hot days, how much will the temperature adversely affect our delicate eyes and skin?
Wind Noise: You can’t have ventilation without wind noise, or so experience has taught us. One of the manufacturers (it starts with a T) believes otherwise, or so they claim. We’ll see.
Wet Weather Performance: This is a HUGE pet peeve of ours. How well does each hel- met redistribute water and—more impor- tantly—does that redistribution keep us from glove-rubbing the visor every few seconds?
Along the way we unearthed all manner
of surprising likes, dislikes and lessons, enough to convince us that there was far more to learn about
these fine products
than our time would allow. Suffice to say we did our best to be thorough.
How we graded them We wanted to utilize a clear grading scale, and to do so, we went with an old standard. The grade has a point value, as outlined in our chart, and points were tallied to give us an overall score.
Installing a Comm We began by installing Sena 20S Motorcy- cle Bluetooth Communication Systems in each helmet. Sena has become our comm system of choice, as they are (relatively) easy to use and have key features, like a built-in input for ear buds.
Arai Rating: A The Arai provided the easiest installation. The XD4 offers ample space for all compo- nents, including a large cavity for the speak- ers. This was almost to their detriment, as it was difficult to know where the speaker should be mounted for ideal sound trans- ference. All in all, the system fit well, was comfortable and sounded great.
April 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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