Suzuki V-Strom (VStrom) Owners Club DL250, DL650, DL1000 & DL1050
Oily Rag - Dedicated to Pat, Greywolf. 26/06/45 - 04/06/18 => Clothing => Topic started by: longman on March 09, 2011, 20:08:22
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Hi
I have a question to more advanced bikers, please
today I went to my local dealer to buy a new helmet
I really like the new Shoei x1100 and Shoei quest
can anyone tell me what you think about them if you have one?
but my main question is this
I found x1100 in white for £260, next to it on the same shelf was x1100 but in black and red for £369!!!
two identical helmets but one has got black and red paint on it for £109 extra!!! is it normal?
thanks
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Plain colours are always a lot cheaper than any patterns or graphics. Often matt black is more expensive than gloss black too :crazy:
It's "Qwest" and I'm very impressed with them to the point that it will be my next helmet. I have tried it on and it's very comfy. Google for a few reviews, Youtube has video reviews and webbikeworld think they make other helmets look like old technology. One thing about the Qwest that's very interesting is that it was designed for sitting in an upright position (like on a Strom) rather than in a forward leaning position (like on a sportsbike.) IIRC, it's also touted to be the quitest helmet Shoei has ever made, I think more quiet than any other by 1-2 decibel. Decibel isn't a linear scale, for example: 11 decibel is twice as loud as 10 decibel and 12 decibel is twice as loud as 11 decibel, etc. So 1 or 2 decibel quieter can be significant, that said, noise is a very subjective thing. The best thing about it though is that you get a really good Shoei for a bargain price compared to other helmets in the same class.
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I have a Qwest. Very comfy and very quiet. Recommend it highly. Lack of sun visor is a pain, but like my previous helmet a bit of plastic shoved in the gap at the top works fine.
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The lack of an internal sun visor is something that put me off, but I have a Shark helmet and I change visors anyway. I was going to look at getting one of those stick on strips or whatever else I can find that will do the job. It seems most places sell them with a free extra visor anyway, even though it is a bit of a pain to have to stop and change it. At least it's quick to do on the Shark and looks quick on the Qwest, but it would be very nice if it had an internal visor. Shoei don't do them on any in their helmets, they claim it compromises safety, I'm not sure what to believe.
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Shoei don't do them on any in their helmets, they claim it compromises safety, I'm not sure what to believe.
I'm more of the opinion that it compromises profits - they'd have to fundamentally change their shell design. They can't put off adding them indefinitely, same goes for Arai.
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Hi
Thanks a lot blokes. I am more into Qwest now.
I'll let you know once I ve got it.
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If they don't want to build one into the helmet then they can always design an alternative solution? :grin:
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Cut a bit of black plastic off the bottom of the packet that contains your next Sunday chicken. Shove it between the padding and the shell. Pull up and down as required.
Sorted.
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Decibel isn't a linear scale, for example: 11 decibel is twice as loud as 10 decibel and 12 decibel is twice as loud as 11 decibel, etc. So 1 or 2 decibel quieter can be significant, that said, noise is a very subjective thing.
Juvecu, Although you are correct saying that decibel isn't a linear scale ( its actually a logarithmic scale), 11 decibel is not twice as loud as 10 & 12 not twice as loud as 11. The logarithmic decibel scale goes up in powers of ten: every increase of 10dB on the scale is equivalent to a 10-fold increase in sound intensity. That means a sound of 20dB is 10 times louder than a sound of 10dB and a 30dB sound is 100 times louder than 10dB.
It gets a bit complicated. Have a google, I'm sure someone else explains it better than me. :shrug:
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you can try helmet city they are in westerham on the Kent Surrey borders they are normally quite competitive and will post out got my last two helmets from them for quite a bargain 1x Shoei and 1x Arai and they normally go to the big shows as well
badger1050
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Thanks for the correction, Sven, you're right, it does get quite complicated :shock: I completely misunderstood how it works :shy:
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yes this is exactly what I am going to do. I tried the qwest on at my local shop (£299) and tomorrow I am going to order it from helmet city (£260). I also found it for £210 on the American web page but I am not really convinced I should trust random company that can't be reached if something goes wrong.
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there's a gloss black one here for £240
http://www.topgearsuperstore.com/Shoei- ... 14131.html (http://www.topgearsuperstore.com/Shoei-qwest-motorcycle-crash-helmet-gloss-black-p-14131.html)
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yes this is exactly what I am going to do. I tried the qwest on at my local shop (£299) and tomorrow I am going to order it from helmet city (£260). I also found it for £210 on the American web page but I am not really convinced I should trust random company that can't be reached if something goes wrong.
I believe American ones are different. They have to be harder to meet US standards, but the EC think they are too hard to provide cushioning so they aren't legal over here.... check out the schoei website for details
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Strommer is correct, US helmets have different standards to adhere to and they aren't legal to use here in Europe. For Europe the standard is ECE 22.05.
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I've got the Shoei Qwest in Gloss black and I paid the paltry sum of £190 :thumb: back in January for it. It came with an anti-fog lens inside and the shop assistant did show me how it works, however I think it depends on the vent set-up that you have whether it works correctly or not. I think that the manual does mention this.
I do like this helmet much more than my last helmet and I find it very comfortable however I don't think it's as quiet as the salesperson made it out to be. Maybe it's just me having too high an expectation. I wear this everyday, without plugs, and I have no problems at all. I'm doing the RBLR 1000 in June so I think I'll probably wear plugs for most of that. It is a very nice helmet and I did like it more than the Arai helmet that they offered me and I would definitely buy this again. :grin:
Ritchie
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Which shop? :shock:
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Ritchie where did you get it from at that price?
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Have just bought a Shoei Qwest in Matt Black for £225 delivered from Lidsdirect.co.uk only a few weeks ago. Didn't get any extra goodies with it, just the lid and pinlock anti-mist visor. You'll need to speak to them to get this price... HTH.
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I got my Qwest from Infinity Motorcycles in Southampton. I got it in January so I think I definitely got it at the sale price. Right place at the right time I guess. :grin:
Ritchie
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Just ordered my Shoei Qwest and a "free" dark tinted visor from www.racevisors.co.uk (http://www.racevisors.co.uk) @ £284.99. I made a last minute decision to go for the matt black instead of the gloss black. I think gloss black shows scratches to easily and I figured the extra £25 isn't going to kill me. Besides, the helmet should last me 2 years, which in my current situation is about 85k miles, and I figured I have to like the look of it for that long too (assuming no incidents that makes me need a replacement *crosses fingers*) I was happy with the Shark RSi Titan I had, it's just that Shark doesn't have anything that appeals to me at the moment and for some daft reason none of their new helmets have double D ring straps :crazy: Now I just have to wait for delivery, it should be 2-3 working days and I ordered early today so I'm hoping for a quick delivery.
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I've heard that the matt finishes show up fingerprints etc horrendously well :shy:
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My Shark is matt blue and I don't have any issues with the matt finish, never had a matt black one though :shrug:
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I have a Matt Black Raid 2 and think that it shows up lees than my previous Gloss Black. :shrug:
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Juvecu - please can you post a review of the Qwest once it arrives? I'm looking to replace my X-Lite X901 which is a fantastically quiet helmet so am looking for something that will be equally quiet and suited to the Wee's seating position - which hopefully the Qwest will be.
Cheers! Dan
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Will do if I remember, else remind me, I should have it by tomorrow or Friday.
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Juv - how are you getting on with the Qwest?
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I was away on training, when I got back in the office on Thursday the helmet was waiting for me. I'm happy with the matt black, I think it looks much better than the gloss black. I used it on the trip back home on Thursday evening, it's about 93 miles. The Pinlock insert is separate in the box when it is delivered so I fitted that right away. When I first put it on it was very tight, I had tried on the Small and Medium and I know the Medium is too big so I wasn't worried, a new helmet will be a bit tight. The first thing I noticed is that it is quieter than my previous helmet. I noticed this before I even got riding, the sound of the engine idling was much more muted (note: I also wear SNR 29 rated ear plugs.) On the motorway the sound reduction is noticeable too, much quieter than my previous helmet (a Shark RSI Titan.) There is much less wind noise and the aerodynamics (having been designed for an upright sitting position) are much better. You can turn your head left and right to check mirrors/blind spots and you hardly feel any pushing against your head (at about 85 mph indicated.)
When I got going I also noticed that my field of vision was improved, the Qwest has a good sized view port and the visor is crystal clear, even with the Pinlock insert in. The Pinlock goes practically edge to edge (top to bottom) on the visor, you have to look to see that you have a Pinlock insert and you only notice it if you concentrate on the far left and right side of your field of vision. This makes the Pinlock hardly noticeable at all and I found this quiet nice that they tought of making it so unintrusive. The visor latching system is spring loaded, when you close the visor fully the springs pull the visor into the rubber that goes around the viewport. This gives a good seal and you can really hear the difference, it's almost as if it does a slight sucking sound when it closes like that while riding. There is a lever thingy on the left, if you press down on it the visor cracks open about a millimeter away from the rubber, it seems to work well, but I can't see myself using it much as it's easier to just open the visor a bit. That said, if you open the visor a bit the wind can make it vibrate, whereas if you used the lever thingy it doesn't vibrate at all. If you push the latch up the visor locks and you can't open it without unlocking it again (pushing it down to the middle position unlocks.)
After about 10 miles I got used to the different way the helmet sat on my head. I realised it hugs my head much better, particularly at the forehead and behind my head. The material that lines the helmet is comfortable, it comes in close to the neck on the sides for a snug fit and I think this contributes to the good sound isolation.
I decided I will experiment with the vents. There is a vent at the front on the chin that operates very easily with a good positive feel. This vent blows air up on the inside of the visor. I could feel the change when I opened this vent (on my old helmet I never knew if it was open of closed.) The top vent was much easier to operate than I thought it would be. It's just a small button that you slide forward/backwards to close/open. It has postive feel and is easy to find, even with heavy winter gloves on. This one is really noticeable when it's opened, it channels loads of air right on the top of your head. Here Shoei has done well, the helmet liner and the holes and channels in the foam are perfect. I can see this top vent being of a lot of use in the warmer months. There are also two rear vents, they operate by sliding them left/right. They are not so easy to find, but this is nothing serious, I just needed to get used to where they are positioned (higher up than I thought they were.) They have a positive feel as well, you know when you've opened/closed one without having to think about it. The left one is easy to operate, the right one is bit more tricky if you are going at motorway speeds and you don't want to let go of the throttle. I turned my head right and used my left hand, seemed to work well enough. I didn't notice any difference with them open or closed, but I might have better results when the weather is warmer and there is more need for cooling. All and all I'm impressed with the venting, it works properly and is easy enough to operate. I also noticed that there didn't seem to be any more noise with the front or rear vents open. The top vent added some expected wind noise, but it was less than with my old helmet and quiet enough to not be of any bother to me.
Halfway home I stopped at a motorway services and fitted the chin curtain to the helmet. The curtain is quite big and quiets things down even more by stopping wind from coming in at the chin opening. I think I will leave it on, if it's too warm in the summer I might take it off, but I don't think it will be.
I'm very happy with the purchase and I think it's excellent value for money. I paid £260 at racevisors.co.uk and I got a dark tinted visor included too. I was out for a quick ride today to the nearest B&Q and I used the dark visor, it's not as dark as my old one and I think I might add a "dark" tinted Pinlock insert to it to get it to the right amount of light reduction for my light sensitive blue eyes. I guess most thing such as noise and comfort are very personal and that different people will perceive them differently, but I don't think I could have become a better helmet for the same price.
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Great - thanks for the update. Will definitely have to try one of these.
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Had barnet cut monday as it was quite long and found my multitec(white) a bit loose when getting ready to go to work,so on the way I popped into my local Honda dealer and got a white qwest.6 days in and I'm not to impressed.Shoei,s web site is a bit misleading regarding to noise levels,all week I have been on my GSX650f and found the helmet is worse than the multitec.Today went out on the strom and no differant and that was using the sports screen,tomrrow will put on the madstad and givi screen and try again if I don't get a result I will find mr Shoei and shove it up his arse(there I feel better for that).The actual fit is spot on,on the GSX650f at speeds of 80+ the wind was pushing the lid up where as the multitec didn't, I also found the wind to be very noticable around the neck,(need to sort this out before winter)will also try a comparision with a Arai astro/j.I also ordered a size 39 chin pads(size 35 is standard but having bigger size means the pads are in contact with my checks where the 35,s went,and don't ask how much :bawl: which I fitted a short time ago and again see if they give any improvement.oh yes a dark smoke visor for my german trip which is coming up.
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I tried on the qwest on friday and the multitec and found that I went down a size to what I normally have but I also tried on a schuberth c3 which fitted so well and the difference it made while in the shop to noise around me was surpriseing but at £475 its alot of money but will have to see what happens
the thing I don't like and its been mentioned before that its hard to find a place that let you test a helmet before you buy I have looked on Shoei's website and they show some dealers that do but will have to find a place that let you try the c3 but may be off to helmet city next week so lets see what happens
badger1050
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vwee, are you riding with the visor catch set to be a crack open or completely closed? And do you ride with your head tilted down or do you sit up straight?
I find that when I crack the visor open it makes a whistling sound and it's more noisy (obviously) then when it's closed completely. The top vent also increases noise, but wind rushing into any helmet does that. I always ride with ear plugs so that probably helps :)
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the thing I don't like and its been mentioned before that its hard to find a place that let you test a helmet before you buy
Helmet City told me that if I left some ID and a deposit they would be happy for me to take a lid out and ride around to try it.
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the thing I don't like and its been mentioned before that its hard to find a place that let you test a helmet before you buy
Helmet City told me that if I left some ID and a deposit they would be happy for me to take a lid out and ride around to try it.
thanks for that I might try that as I could leave the wife there as a deposit but then I might just forget to collect her (trouble is she knows her way home)
badger1050
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Hi juveco,the helmet is now spot on ,have put the madstad/givi screen on the wee, spent most off monday sorting out a setting I'm happy with,still needs slight fettling but the wee is a darn sight better than the fixxer.
Fitting larger size cheek pads also helped and I will have to play with the visor as it needs to be open slightly around town,will give a more detailed report more once I get back from germany next week I'm hoping a couple off more tweeks and be able to ride on the autobahns with the visor up,having done this last year using the multitec(and having the flip bit up)the qwest should be as comfortble and noiseless as the multitec.hence not being at the southend shakedown.
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Quick update.qwest seems a lot nicer to use now esp after 1507 miles to germany,mind you I did cheat by using the madstad/givi combo.cheek pads also made a differance by fitting closer to the cheeks.visor changes is quick and simple,still a pain on the gsx but waiting on a new screen,got a small mark on the back where it touch a bar on security gates at work,not happy about that,but otherwise very happy with the lid. :thumb:
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Good to hear you're happy with it all now :thumb: Which size cheek pads have you taken out and put in? I feel that the cheek pads on my quest is just a tad too tight when I wear a neck tube/buff, though they did loosen up some with use. On the other hand, tight probably helps with keeping outside noise.
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Hi,juve the qwests come with 35,s as standard so put in 39,s.the problem is at £33.00 its lots of dosh for a dealer to carry every size cheek pads seeing as not everybody has the same face shape.