Shoei GT-Air Journey

[ipokebadgers]

I just bought a new Shoei GT-Air Journey in white, red, and blue so I thought I would share my first impressions.

I have been looking for a new helmet for a while. I have never owned a Shoei before and to be honest have never spent this much for a helmet. I liked the reviews I had read so I wanted to get a look a one in person. I rode 65 miles to Fresno and found two stores with XL. I had called around looking for XXL because of some reviews and an acquaintance who went one size larger in this model. No one had an XXL so I went and tried one an XL and it fit (my head is 61 cm around). I wandered around both stores wearing the XL for around 30 minutes with no pain so I decided to buy it. Neither place had the graphics model I wanted. Both places wanted to sell me another color but for the money I was going to lay down I wanted what I wanted. Both places told me they could get me what I wanted in a couple of days, however both places found they would not be able to get one until maybe the middle of June. I tried to put money down at both places with both dealers telling me to just wait and call them in June.

Long story a little shorter I found one on line and ordered it. I received it two days ago and rode four hours in it yesterday. The quality is better than anything I have had in the past and I have been riding for 30 years. I really like the white/red/blue graphics and the finish is perfect. The visor has multiple positions with one of them about half an inch open. I really like that in town. I ride a R1200R with a small sport shield so it is pretty much naked. The visor stays where you put it up to at least 80 mph. The air flow is better than i had hoped for. Yesterday only got up to 75 but the amount of air flow was amazing. When I opened the top vent I could feeling air across the top of my head. Sunday is supposed to be 99 so I should have a better idea of the cooling then. I have been wearing a couple of different Scorpion helmets for the last five years and the GT-Air is much quieter. That is subjective and I do wear foam ear plugs most of the time but it is noticeable. The fit is tight around my cheeks (which is the way it should be) which I know will break in a little, although in four hours I had no discomfort. Where I normally have problems is on my forehead as I have a long oval head. I had no discomfort on the front of my pointy head. After the first hour I had a small hot spot on top of my head but I just moved the helmet around a little and that took care of that. I do not have a communications system in the helmet but it has removable pads to make room for speakers. This helmet is lighter than either of my other helmets. It also has the internal sun visor which is a big selling point for me. The inner and outer visors are optically very clear. It also comes with a pin lock visor. I didn't have the pin lock installed and the visor did fog a little with the outside temp around 64. The vent on the chin took care of the fogging pretty well. The pin lock would be need for rain and heavy humidity. I wear glasses and had no problem wearing them in this helmet.

Overall I am very pleased with the new Shoei. It is a lot of money but my head is worth it. I would highly recommend that you give the Shoei GT-Air a try if you are in the market for a new helmet with a lot of airflow and you have an oval headed.

Disclaimer: I have no connection to Shoei and I certainly didn't get a break on the cost of the helmet. As always YMMV.

Sean

[Newportcycle]

Good review. I've been riding with Shoei almost exclusively for the last 20 years after a less than satisfactory experience with another model.