AGV vs Shoei, tinted pinlock?

[Joe Garfield]

I need a new helmet. I love Shoei RF-1200 and their photochromic shield but after a bad concussion I’m thinking of trying AGV K6 for the ECE rating*. Unfortunately there’s no photochromic visor.

-Has anyone tried a clear visor with tinted pinlock? Is it convenient enough for full time use (taking pinlock out at night)?
-Does anyone have experience with Shoei and AGV? Thoughts?

*Theres a lot of bad information online about ratings and requirements. But ECE includes a metric of impact and time to try to prevent things like concussions, which is a function of impact. Snell does not use a metric that involves time and instead focuses on survival during harder impacts. I crashed and got a very bad concussion in my Snell 2015 helmet. There was no serious helmet damage or deformation and Shoei said it was safe to keep using.

However, the new RF-1400 fits like a snug glove and the transitions lense is perfect - perfect fitting and no distractions. So it’s a tough call - I don’t want another concussion and I’m not riding as fast these days, but there’s a lot to be said for the perfect fitting helmet and perfectly tinted visor.

 

[Cipher]

Maybe your brain is old and mushy?
get the 1400 photochromatic trickery be damned

 

[Grimly]

The past few years I've swapped in a yellow tinted visor (with Pinlock) during the summer, and back to clear again (with Pinlock) for the winter.
I noticed this past winter the Pinlock was tending to mist a bit, so needs attention.
I've found the system works well, though.

 

[Cipher]

Shoei


Shoei produces a Transitions adaptive visor for their CWR-1 visor shape which means it should be available for the X-Sprit 3, NXR and RYD helmets. Note none of these helmets come with a transitions visor in the box.

To read reviews and previews of all the helmets that either come with a photochromic visor or have one available to buy separately, visit our helmets with photochromic visors page.

 

[Joe Garfield]

Yes, Shoei photochromic is an add-on (CWR-F2 for RF-1400.) I have the RF-1200 with the CWR-1 Photochromic and it’s literally perfect (for me.)

I tried sunglasses under a helmet today and didn’t make it out of the driveway before knowing I wouldn’t be happy with it. I’m not into swapping shields so I guess RF-1400 it is. The AGV has such a good safety rating, beyond the latest ECE so it’s too bad.

At least the Shoei looks the part! (And this was me just posing for a pic.)

 

[bwringer]

I have an AGV K6, and I'm very happy with it. It's astonishingly light and the aerodynamics are great.

I was also shopping the RF1400, but could not find one to try on anywhere. The K6 fit perfectly, so I went with it.

Overall, I consider fit to be the most important factor over everything else; maybe you have an average head and either would snuggle your melon perfectly. Or maybe one would fit better than the other. No one can say but you, and you have to try them on in person to tell. You stated that the RF1400 fits perfectly, so that's a large point in its favor.

All that said, I've never been happy with a pinlock; no matter how good they are, there's always an added layer of extremely delicate plastic that starts to obscure the view after a while. I have not tried a photochromic pinlock, though.

I wear sunglasses under my helmet, so I suppose that just goes to show you that there's also a large slice of personal preference in play.

All that said, I do agree that the ECE rating is a far superior indicator of real-world protection, and it's accepted at most or all tracks, as far as I can tell (not sure whether track days are on your riding menu).

If the rating is something that's going to be on your mind, then it would be well worth finding a K6 to try on so you can fully weigh all the factors. (And you have to experience the light weight to believe it...)

 

[Joe Garfield]

I tried on a K3 and am between sizes. The K6 has ‘MS’ which would be perfect at least in terms of diameter, but Shoei gives a more secure feeling on my head. That said I’m still tempted, but there are no K6 helmets on-island so that adds to the complexity of the decision (return shipping.)

The K6 actually meets Dnell’s old 1st impact test of 8.x m/s while holding the current limit of 275g, and exceeds ECE’s current brain injury rating. It’s such a good helmet! So yes, personal preference is a real thing unfortunately. I really like the unobstructed view without glasses, and I ride day and night so multiple shields won’t work for me. I’ve never used or needed pinlock so photochromic lense is like Godsend.

So I’m opposite - the 1400 fits perfect, even better than my 1200, and can’t find a local K6 so I guess the 1400 is the right choice. K6 and 1400 are both very good helmets. At least the newer Snell ratings are coming closer to ECE (lower 1st impact speed, multiple headforms, etc.)

 

[Cipher]

I love my shoei it fits perfectly. somewhere in Japan my head exists as a mould,
The rf 1400 looks super nice. I cant easily tell the differences in the visor rf100 vs the later models. Is it in the ratchet system tangs or something?

 

[salty_monk]

Just about every helmet out there in a Medium fits me... I'm lucky! HJC is the worst fit but even that is ok. I say that because I like AGV and Shoei Equally.

I have an AGV K5 that I like a lot but if I hadn't got that one for free I may well have got a GT Air instead. I have an RF somewhere & have ridden in a Qwest before too.

The drop down visor is another option for you....

I also have a Klim helmet currently, that has pinlock in it & works well for fogging but ultimately I can see it might be a pain as Bwringer says... I certainly wouldn't be putting it in and out regularly.

I believe there are photochromic pinlock inserts too but you may find it lets light in around the edges if the visor is bigger than the insert.

With sunglasses.... you have to find the right ones. I have quite a few pairs of sunglasses but only one I like in a helmet. So much so that when I lost them I bough the same model even though they were available only with pink arms!!

 

[Baatfam]

On this subject, can anyone tell me if Shoei sizes are consistent over a model line?
My RF-1200 is ready to retire, and I would just order up a 1400 in the same size, if I knew they fit the same.
Otherwise, we do have several shops in the area that may have one on the shelf.

 

[Joe Garfield]

On this subject, can anyone tell me if Shoei sizes are consistent over a model line?
My RF-1200 is ready to retire, and I would just order up a 1400 in the same size, if I knew they fit the same.
Otherwise, we do have several shops in the area that may have one on the shelf.

If the RF-1200 fits you, the RF-1400 will also fit you. They use the same (identical part number) internal liner. The cheek pads are a little different to make the helmet quieter and a little more secure, so you'll feel more contact but it won't feel 'tighter.' I absolutely love my RF-1200, when I put on the RF-1400 it felt like home but nicer. The only difference that might be annoying is the visor now lifts from the center and has a release button. It will take some practice/getting used to but it's not terrible.

Cipher the RF-1400 visor is a little different - there are turbulators on the side, the release/lift mechanism is in the center, and it has a flatter profile for better visibility and aero. The pinlock is a little bigger and the pinlock hooks are pushed out so they're out of the field of view.

salty_monk Monk I'm right between sizes in AGV, so the K5 with the flip down visor doesn't fit - MS is the XS-MS shell, and ML is the ML-XXL shell. For the K6 (no flip down) they made a separate shell just for the MS that's right in the middle, so no flip down in my shell size.

You guys are asking all the right questions and making me feel more confident that I made a good choice with the RF-1400. Thank you. AGV is nice but it's just not quite what I'm looking for, and the perfect fit and features of the Shoei (for me) are worth the safety rating preference tradeoff.

 

[bwringer]

Joe, I'd agree you made the correct choice here. The better shield choices and the perfect fit sealed the deal.


Bob, I've heard in other places that the RF1400 fits exactly the same as the RF1200. So that would seem pretty consistent.

I can say for a fact that there's zero consistency in sizing or fit between different helmets in any helmet maker's lineup, including Shoei. Plus, the data on internal shape is very inconsistent and varies wildly across sizes. For example, if a helmet reviewer examines a medium or large, the XL's internal shape will often be completely different.

I used to wear HJC helmets, but they totally changed their internal shapes a long while back, and nothing fits me. I've also tried many other brands with no luck; Joe Rocket sells some great helmets, but I can't figure out what kind of human might be able to fit in and wear them. I'm normally an XL, maybe an XXL, and we went all the way to XXXL in Joe Rocket helmets without finding one I could even squeeze my head into.

It's honestly the wild west, and I wish they would sort it out. I once had an Arai salesman near tears because nothing in their lineup worked for my misshapen melon.

I was recently very interested in the Shoei RF-SR, but the internal shape is very different from other Shoei models. I owned a Qwest for a while that worked great, and once briefly tried an RF1200 and it seemed possible, so the RF1400 might have worked. I couldn't find one to try and hate dealing with the try and return dance BS on a $500+ helmet.

I did find an AGV K6 on the shelf that felt heavenly, so the search was over right there. Of course, all that Cycle Gear store had on hand was a flat black invisibility cloak helmet, so I had to order mine in white. It took a few months for supplies to become available. I don't know whether the other AGV helmets fit the same, but I doubt it.

 

[storm 64]

A helmet? Who needs a helmet? Don't you like your freedom? Just kidding folks.
I got into a discussion the other day about helmets. I guy came in wearing a nit hat. I asked what's up with the hat? Said to keep my head warm. I said you'll wear a hat to keep your head warm but you won't wear a helmet to keep your head from splattering on the street when you fall...humm.
A lady asked for a motorcycle ride. I said do you have a helmet? No, I don't need one. I said you do if you want to ride with me...
My lady friend likes riding with me. The first thing I did was to buy her a helmet. She was happy that I cared about her enough to buy her a helmet...
I wear a Shoei GT Air. I really like the helmet.
I just wish you could buy a helmet without all the crazy graphics on them. You either have solid or crazy! Remember the Bell Tour Star? I loved them helmets back in the day...

 

[Joe Garfield]

Im allowed to ride without a helmet, but I’m not allowed to buy an ECE Shoei. That one ticks me off.