Member Contributer Dan Posted December 23, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 23, 2006 I've got a Shoei head. No other helmet that I have tried works. I'm wondering if any of you guys have any experience with Nolans. Particularly with how close to a Shoei fit they are. I like the whole flip up front feature and now I see a bluetooth helmet :lol: of all things. My problem is that there aren't very many places in CT to try a Nolan on prior to purchase. Best, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I dunno about Nolans, but I own an X-lite X901 Checa Replica, which was made by Nolan, and it's definitely made for narrow long heads. I kinda fall in between the narrow and round heads, so I'm able to fit in it with just a little tightness on the sides. But I would definitely test out a Nolan if you have a very round Arai shaped noggin. Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRshark Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 VFRtiger and I both were wearing Nolan N102s before our switch to the VFRs. We've also had the HJC Symax. For convenience while still having front facial protection, you can't beat them. Some wonder about the protection in a crash. We had two friends of ours go down on their Gold Wing at 65 mph on the Interstate while wearing their Symax helmets. They both landed face first on the pavement and the helmets did their job. Fortunately they were also wearing almost full protective gear and came out of it OK. The flip faces tend to transmit a little more wind noise if you aren't sitting behind a full fairing. The Nolan quality is pretty good and it has a godd latch mechanism for the front flip section that you can operate with just your left hand. As for head shape, VFRtiger is definitely the long oval head type, and she was very comfortable in the Nolan. I'm an average head type and was comfortable in mine as well. If you're a round head type, it may not be as comfortable, but that's a fit issue everyone has to tackle. You can always order from the The Helmet Shop, and if it doesn't fit, then return it. http://www.helmetshop.com Good Luck! VFRshark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stu Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I've got a Nolan filp face, and love the hell out of it. I don't really know how others fit b/c of the stuff you're talking about, lack of dealers in my area. And my head shape is, well, HUGE (if that's a shape - I'll check with my six year old) No, my head is probably in the squarish (blockhead) shape category and the nolan is great for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dan Posted December 23, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 23, 2006 I've never been able to fit anything other than a Shoei and even then I still get a good deal of pressure at the top of my forehead. Going up one size doesn't help. In the Shoeis I'm an XL. In just about all others an XXL. I have always had problems with helmets due to the dimension of my noggin'. I think I'll try the above referenced dealer which allows returns. That seems like the smart way to go. Thanks for the feedback, gang. It's been great. :D Best, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRshark Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 At least you're not my brother, who has to wear a XXXL helmet, and he's 5'8" and weighs 165... BTW, if you order from The Helmet Shop, they have a pretty good return policy, but will charge a 10% restocking fee, not to exceed $25. I don't think they charge that if you exchange rather than just return, but check their policy to be sure on all of this. They are an excellent retailer, and if you ever get to Daytona Beach, you have to swing by their store...good guys and real knowledgable on helmets, suits, other gear...I just got a great deal on a Teknic 2 piece suit from them. Good Luck VFRshark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Dan, I got an N102 from the Helmet Shop earlier this year. Wore it up to the Fall Dragon run on its maiden voyage. Love the flip up feature and sliding tint shield, great with my eyeglasses and hot weather, but that's about it. It doesn't fit in the Honda sidebags unless you really cram it in there, has to go in the trunk. You can't use the latch on the seat lock as it doesn't have D-rings. Speaking of that quick latch piece... wow, forget about it, very uncomfy... For my head, the fit is not even close to my Arai, very uncomfy. I wear Etymotic ER6's and the foam inside pinches my ears enough to where it felt like the blood is cut off to them, after awhile I was forced to switch to regular earplugs as it just became too painful to wear the Ety's. It's almost like the helmet won't come down far enough. The fit inside broke down real quickly enough now to loosen the helmet fit a bit. Problem is with all the wind we get on these VFR's that at interstate speeds it literally pushes the front of the helmet up against my chin due to lack of chin pads. This causes the shield to be right at your mouth... instant fog action. We rode up to Robbinsville in a pouring thunderstorm and I was fighting the fog and extremely poor visibility the whole way... My clear shield yellowed, and subsequently got scratched from the tinted portion over top of it, never had that happen with the Arai shields. I also noticed some strange visibility issues with the shield itself, almost like blur spots... very wierd. The latch mechanism broke and prevented me from opening/closing the front portion. I took the Helmet back to Helmet Shop (within 30 days) and they wouldn't exchange it, as I had some slight wear on it. I wasn't real happy with that, but whatever. So I sent the helmet back to Nolan servicing and they made several repairs to the helmet and I can't complain about that, took them about a week. However, the same things are happening again now, and I've just resigned myself that its for errands around town and short trips, lesson learned. Other than that, it's my Arai for the long haul and comfort. I love the flip up, but I'm going back to Arai or possibly even trying a Shoei next year. Maybe somebody will steal it from me at Bikeweek this year... YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I've got a Shoei head. No other helmet that I have tried works.I'm wondering if any of you guys have any experience with Nolans. Particularly with how close to a Shoei fit they are. I like the whole flip up front feature and now I see a bluetooth helmet :lol: of all things. My problem is that there aren't very many places in CT to try a Nolan on prior to purchase. Best, Dan Hi, I'm italian and I know well Nolan. Here most of the people use Nolan since offers nice quality with few money (at least in Italy). Let's say it is a good quality helmet but we can't compare it with Shoei (this is another planet). Nolan defects are : -- the inner parts....after 6 months they start to loose their rigidity especially the parts near the cheeks....so the helmets start to be noisy, start to dance around your face and loose it's safety properties (Shoei, not) I use the bike almost every day so 6 months for me it is a really short period. -- the flip up mechanism is not the best on the market, after a year it starts to have problem (Shoei, not). -- The visors are not really strong, can be scratched really easy. Mine old Nolan once fallen down from the tank and it got a leak...I had to buy a new visor (with a Shoei I had a frontal crash 110 Km/h, the visor was just scratched outside - the visor has transferred all the crash load on the helmet body). X-Lite it is a better choice (even if it is made by Nolan) but Shoei it's another planet. By the way, after the crash I had last April I would not suggest anyone to buy a comfortable flip up helmets. A good property of Shoei helmets it is in the distance between the helmet and you face. Look this picture (taken from Shoei website) The red line in the next picture shows the scroll of Shoei helmet during my frontal impact (I just had a little annoyance with my long nose) The blue line in the next picture represents the contour of many other helmets. I know, I know.....nobody is planning to have a frontal crash driving his vfr. That day me too I wasn't thinking to have one, until a really slow car decided suddenly to cut my line. I thanks my self the day I decided to spend some money more for a very safe helmet. Hope this can help (and not scare anyone) cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Silver#788 Posted December 23, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted December 23, 2006 I have one and it never broke in. The foam still gives me a head-ache thinking about it. And yes it is the right size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dan Posted December 24, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted December 24, 2006 Sondance, Paperino and Silver, Thanks. It's good to get this type of feedback. I like the idea of a flip up but not at the expense of safety. Best, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobie1dog Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Tried several on recently and they just were not as comfortable or plush interior wise. You'll only know when you try it on for yourself. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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