MY BELATED SUMMER TRIP!!

[drj]

ive never been - but its always looked gorgeous to me...

drj

[MSW]

I have to second the dirt helmet on the street thing. I've got an Arai Tourcross XD (I think they now call it the "Super Moto"), and it's great on the highway. You just have to make sure that, when you look over your shoulder, you do it "chin down" so that the visor doesn't catch wind.

Other than that, it's a great all around helmet. And as drj said, off-road helmets not only feel cooler (temp-wise) but they LOOK way cooler on the road!

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[cat]

thanks for that. so the "lift" of the visor is only a problem when looking over your shoulder.
isn't it much noisier than a street helmet, though? (i mean the wind going through the visor etc.)

one good thing is you can get cool lenses for goggles, and replace them, for much less than helmet visor/lenses.

[drj]

i dont even notice the 'lift' factor too much these days...spend enough time with an MX helmet and you get your neck and jaw muscles good and tight...great for the 'profile'

drj

[MSW]

cat,

I understand that some dirt helmet visors do lift a little, even when looking straight ahead, which is why I elected to go w/the arai. They designed the XD's visor specifically to handle higher speeds. It's a little "scooped" from front to back, and not so squared-off. I think just about all of the other helmet manufacturers make a dual sport helmet that can take mild highway speeds, though.

As far as noise, the Arai XD is as quiet a helmet as I've ever worn. I've never owned a top of the line helmet like a quantum before, so I can't compare the XD to the quietest helmets on the market, but it is at least as quiet as any mid-range street helmet out there. I imagine that the way they designed the visor took wind noise into account a great deal, though.

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[drj]

ive done over 100 mph with this helmet - and honestly - my jacket creates more turbulence than the helmet...plus - with the flames painted on the side - you go a little faster too!!

drj