Arai to Schuberth or vice versa

[sijohnston]

just ordered and received a new Schuberth J1 after using a TourX 2 for a few years. not sure if I'm wise moving to this german thing. it's big, feels clumsy, has fiddly and fragile looking visor mechanisms and lacks the robust feel of the TourX. maybe I should send back and order a TX3? anyone else moved to find they shouldn't have bothered? Just liked the open face for a change and because the Schu used the chin bar, seemed to offer the best of both worlds, until i realised the chin bar is like a bent drinking straw. For off-road I'll be using the tourX but for general riding and touring, I was thinking the Schu

any previous experiences of moving from Arai and specifically to Schuberth would be appreciated or vice versa, as don't want to shell out 350 for the wrong thing? I believe the Schu is quieter and it's certainly lighter and so might be good enough, but sadly I can't take out for a test run if I want to return it. check in if you've any pearls...
__________________

 

[Ross Dean]

...any previous experiences of moving from Arai and specifically to Schuberth would be appreciated or vice versa, as don't want to shell out 350 for the wrong thing? I believe the Schu is quieter and it's certainly lighter and so might be good enough, but sadly I can't take out for a test run if I want to return it. check in if you've any pearls...

I bought a Schuberth S1 a while back after becoming very irritated with my Arai Corsair's wind noise and ability to let flies into my ears every time I rode with an open visor. I took the Schuberth to Morocco on a 7 week trip and confined it to a cupboard when I got back. The Schuberth S1 is quiet (almost too quiet ) but is just too big and heavy for me - it hurt my neck and was far less accommodating of bike-to-bike ear pieces and mike. I still use the Arai for winter use ... with ear plugs most of the time. It is far lighter than the Schuberth.

 

[sijohnston]

interesting Ross. the J1 is actually very light and much lighter than the TourX. I would like quieter, even though I wear ultimate ears, the TourX is still quite noisy. i've ripped my autocom out as it was just more weight, so from now on I'll just run in-ear headphones into my helmet, so no need for a built in system. still, good to hear your thoughts. thanks

I bought a Schuberth S1 a while back after becoming very irritated with my Arai Corsair's wind noise and ability to let flies into my ears every time I rode with an open visor. I took the Schuberth to Morocco on a 7 week trip and confined it to a cupboard when I got back. The Schuberth S1 is quiet (almost too quiet ) but is just too big and heavy for me - it hurt my neck and was far less accommodating of bike-to-bike ear pieces and mike. I still use the Arai for winter use ... with ear plugs most of the time. It is far lighter than the Schuberth.

 

[immigrant]

I've gone from a Tour-X3 (which I've retained as my 'town' helmet) to a matte black Schuberth C3 for long trips.

The C3 is certainly a great deal quieter, though not deathly silent as some claim, I still suffer a certain amount of wind rush in the ear cups though it isn't hellish like the Tour-X. I never thought I'd wear a flip-up but I can't dispute the practicality of it nor the ability to flip it up when pootling around town whilst still retaining eye protection from the flip-down sun visor. The shape of the lid is still reasonably sporty and it isn't overly large like some of the full face Schuberths or the Shark Evoline. The Evoline is also very heavy.

I'm in two minds about the build quality of the Schuberth. The paint seems to scratch easily, though this may be the same for all matte/satin finishes. There is a certain amount of flex in the helmet, although this might be the same for all flip-ups, this is my first. I love having the drop down sun visor but I suspect the mechanism will not remain rigid for long. Disappointing as well is the misting in the C3, despite the pin lock. This may be due to the chin curtain arrangement which helps block out noise.

That said, the Tour-X interior is nowhere near as plush as the Arai Quantums I used to wear and have tried on in recent times. The lining seems to ball up a great deal against stubble and the shell paint is very soft.

 

[GS TRV]

When i was living in Italy I bought a Schubert and kept it for 4hrs

I got home from the shop and examined it closely and realised it was a budget helmet in every sense - id been swept along by the Schumacher publicity

Wrapped it up again and got a refund. Bought a TourX and am VERY happy with it

 

[Rasher]

but sadly I can't take out for a test run if I want to return it

Helmet City offered me a test ride with a lid! They told me they do not sell on the ex-display models - although I was in the car so it did not help me much. May be worth giving them a call - however I could never get through after my visit when I had a to ask about replacing a faulty visor.

Find my Schuberth pretty good, but physically large (struggle to get in Vario top-box), it has the best visor release system I have ever used but personally I have always found Arai's fit me really well and are always the comfiest lids for me.

I bought the Schuberth as I really wanted a sun-visor, more lids appearing with these now and I doubt I would pay the Schuberth premium next time and if Arai bring out a touring lid with sun-visor I will go back to them.

 

[sijohnston]

final verdict: keeping the J1

Taking the advice of others will only take me so far, so given it was a dry sunny morning, I thought I might be able to take the new lid out for a quick blast along the motorways and if it didn't deliver, re-pack it with no evidence that it'd been 'test-ridden'. How can you really know what a helmet is like without giving it a few miles at least on your own bike?

It was a revelation. I've only ever ridden with a TourX, and whilst I love the durability and solidity of it, it turns out to be really noisy and with the small screen on the 800GS, means your neck gets a work-out with the peak on life-savers at speed. The Schuberth J1 was deathly silent by comparison and there is almost no buffeting at all. But the sweetest thing was the giant visor. You'd almost think you weren't wearing a helmet and then coming home along the coast road with the low sun in my eyes, I dropped the sun visor and it was superb. I think the cons are that it just doesn't feel as well built as an Arai and the visor mechanism looks like it might have shelf-life. However, I will only really use this helmet for road-riding and touring Europe, the old faithful Arai will be reserved for sterner stuff.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[pnewman]

Good wirite up , i have a tour x3 but wanted a modular helmet for touring and summer use, so got myself one of these.

Its good quality, visibility is superb and price is good with a good tosser discount at just helmets

I like the ability to be able to go from open face to full face easily, the simple mechanism is solid unlike a lot of flips.

Caberg Hyper X

See
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/caberg-hyperx/review.htm

 

[judge]

As an all year all weathers rider I have 3 helmets I tend to use to see me through the year, two Schuberth's S1 & C3 and an Arai TourX.

Long journeys I plump for the S1, it is very quiet which I like and has the weather protection I require, The C3 is my shorter journey, multi-stop jobbie which isn't as quiet as the S1 as I cannot wear it with the windshield on the bottom of the chin bar which makes a huge difference.

My TourX is my warmer weather helmet which is far noisier, very draughty (well ventilated) but is the helmet I enjoy wearing the most, excellent visibility the peak works for me (no buttering/roar) and I'm happy to wear it as I safely avoid wearing the rest of the tossers wardrobe

The TourX was worn for my weekend jaunt down to Prescott Bike Festival this weekend just gone and it was lovely to be wearing it again.

The bike was shorn of muffs and gaucho and it was TourX and GS gloves - was a bit pearl harbour coming round the M25 after sundown though