Modular Motorcycle Helmet

The ILM 808 dual visor motorcycle helmet has some really amazing features. This helmet is the beginner helmet in the ILM lineup, it’s got your basic features, it’s very simple but that doesn’t stop it from being a really really good buy.

Design

This helmet has a very sleek aerodynamic design, the design comes more from the function than from the form but that’s what you want in a helmet. You don’t want a helmet that’s not going to be unsafe but you also want a helmet that looks cool.

You want a helmet that looks fast, you want a helmet that makes you feel fast while are you riding your bike and this helmet has that. Each one of the speed lines adds to that form but it also makes the helmet more aerodynamic and adds to the amount of speed and the decrease of drag that you need while still being safe while you’re riding your bike.

Features

One of the main features of that helmet is the modular flip-up design where you can actually flip up the front of the helmet in order to better see what’s going on around you, it also allows you to put your helmet on and take your helmet off easier.

Another great feature of this helmet is the dual visor system. The front visor has a wide view system allowing you to use your peripheral vision while driving and while wearing this helmet.

However, there is also an inner visor that has a sunglass tint to it allowing you to open up your main visor and still have your eyes protected. If you want to drive, you want to feel the wind on your face but you still want to be safe.

Interior

Last but not least we’re going to talk about the inner lining of this helmet. This helmet is an EPS impact absorbent helmet which means that you have a very safe helmet. The inner lining of this helmet is also detachable which makes it really easy to pull the lining out, wash it, and make sure that your helmet is smelling nice and clean for your daily ride.

HJC RPHA 90 Modular Helmet

The HJC RPHA 90 modular motorcycle helmet is the new high-end flip-up helmet by HJC helmets from Korea. And did you know that HJC helmets are the largest helmet manufacturer in the world?

This is HJC’s pride and joy, the newest high-end flip-up helmet which completes the RPHA line. The RPHA line contains the RPHA 11, which is the full-face racing helmet, and also the RPHA 70 which is a touring/sport full-face helmet.

Now this one has the best of both worlds, or should we say the best of all worlds, which are three to be exact.

Safety

Starting with the first one, which is safety and protection. The outer shell of this helmet is made from the P.I.M.+ technology which is a layered fiber mix. This means that different types of fibers such as aramid fiber, carbon fibers, fiberglass – have all been used in different types of layers and put all on top of each other to create a very strong and lightweight shell.

This has definitely worked because the helmet weighs around 1500 grams. This is the size medium if you get a size small or size large you’ll have a different shell size. So it could be a little bit lighter or a little bit heavier, but overall these helmets are pretty much the lightest flip-up helmets around now.

If you take a look at the front of the helmet, just under the visor which if you open up you will see two reflective panels. They have been placed there to increase visibility to make sure other road users can see you in the dark. And they have also been featured on the bottom of the helmet just around the neck roll.

Chin Strap Retention System

While we’re looking at the underside of the helmet let’s take a look at the new micro buckle retention system, which is now made from stainless steel. Before these were made from plastic but now it’s become a lot safer as it’s made from metal.

It also has two notches at the beginning, which are basically one notch but welded together, and you need to push it through those two notches to actually lock it. So it’s actually extra safe.

Sports Features

That brings us to the next world, which is the sports world. It does have a lot of sporty features as it does come from the RPHA family. Which has the RPHA 11 – a very sporty helmet and the RPHA 70 sport and tour.

This helmet has a very, very compact helmet shell. So as we already mentioned before it’s very light and strong, but it’s also one of the most compact shells around on the market for a flip-up helmet.

Design

HJC has gone with a very clean look and a very clean design. There are no external spoilers or anything like that but there are a couple of small fins at the front to stabilize the helmet. Apart from that, it has a very clean look.

Aerodynamics

HJC have their own wind tunnel which is where they have tested the helmet and optimized it for the aerodynamic. So all this has a reason and the shell does have a very nice shape which you would see better in real life but it’s got a lot of thought gone into it. Now we’re going from that part, we’re going to look at the visor.

Visor

The visor is actually not really that big, a lot of helmets these days are getting really long visors, but that also means that the chin bar is going to get a little bit smaller – so less protective. They’ve kept the shell intact and kept the visor to normal size.

The visor has an extra lock on the front, so you actually have to lift up a button situated at the front/bottom of the visor to open the visor. And when you close it, it falls into place and it locks so it cannot be the case that the visor would accidentally open while riding.

And if we take a look at the mechanism that the visor is connected to, this part over here is a very quick release. You can just open up the button and it comes right off, you can replace it with a dark visor or anything like that – works perfectly.

Ventilation

There are large vents on the top and on the chin which can both be opened and closed. The one on the rear: the outlet – this can also be opened and closed so you can choose if you want your helmet to breeze, to give you the nice summer breeze or if you want it to be completely airtight.

Sun Visor

Now moving on from the ventilation to the sun visor on the inside. This is something that the RPHA 11 doesn’t see, as it is a racing helmet, but the RPHA 70 which is the tour/sport helmet – it does have one. This one is not different, however, it does have a very wide sun visor which is anti-scratch and has received an anti-fog coating.

It can be controlled using the slider on the left side of the helmet, which is different from past flip-up helmets by HJC where it was often on the top of the helmet, so this is slightly more convenient I would say.

Interior

Taking a look at the interior of the helmet. If you wear glasses they are not an issue because you can just put them right in – there’s been some room spared inside for your glasses. The interior is a 3D shaped interior, which means that it’s supposed to fit your head very snugly, very tightly – which eliminates the wind noise while riding.

It’s also a Polygiene Odor-free interior, which is a brand that uses their stuff in sport shirts and things like that to eliminate bad odors. Which is not very nice inside your helmet.

If you looked at the underside you would see there are a couple of flaps around the neck roll used to enclose around the neck to make sure the noise and the wind are all isolated, so there will be no cold and no noise at the bottom of the helmet.

The same goes for the chin curtain at the top, and this is something we’re seeing in a lot of modern flip-up helmets – to make sure that it really does enclose around the neck.

In Summery

You have a high-end flip-up helmet by HJC which is designed for touring and sport riders, it comes with a five-year guarantee – which is very generous. It comes with a max vision Pinlock anti-fog lens and it is also prepared for communication.

If you want to install a communication device that is as discrete as possible, you can take a look at the Cardo Smart-H system, which has been designed especially for HJC helmets.

Now the price of this helmet is circa $400 in a basic solid color: that could be matte black, that could be glossy white, that could be fluorescent yellow – they’re all the same price.

And the designs cost €529, so you can check out the designs and all the current prices on our website Fortamoto.com Thank you for watching this video, give us a thumbs up if you liked it – subscribe and then we will see you again next time.

Shoei Neotec 2 Modular Helmet

Normally there is a Pinlock anti-fog visor in the box when your helmet arrives but don’t worry if you can’t find it as Shoei has already placed inside the visor, at least ours was when we opened the box.

Construction

The first thing I’m going to tell you is that this helmet’s outer shell is made from a multi-fiber A.I.M. material, and the inner shell is made from EPS with a dual-density. So you have a very strong helmet on your head and it’s also relatively light. It weighs about the same as the Neotec 1, so there’s not much change there.

However, it is a lot quieter than the Neotec 1. So they’ve made it a lot more noise resistant – and I’ve heard rumors that it’s quieter than the Schuberth C4. Now we have not tested this yet ourselves, but I do sense a little competition over here.

Ventilation

Now getting into why this helmet is so quiet. The ventilation has been vastly improved. On the chin, you have a big ‘pet lip vent’ flip out, which if you open you have a large opening for the chin ventilation.

The same goes for the top ventilation, they have made the design so that the air flows perfectly into the ventilation. It has two different settings you can put it on, simply by sliding the top forward or backward. The outlet at the back of the helmet cannot be closed, but it also acts as a small spoiler.

Aerodynamics

The helmet has a two-point spoiler: it has one near the top rear of the helmet for people who are more like tour riders, and for people with a more sporty bike there is the second spoiler just below the first to make sure that your helmet does not yank at your head.

Visor

Another striking part of the front of the helmet: the visor. The visor has also been improved it now has curved edges, which is something new. It’s a little bit like your smartphones of today. It has curved edges all around and when you open the visor it comes forward a little bit.

So when you open and close the visor, it actually sucks against the rubber seal around the visor, so it’s completely windproof – and that does a lot of good stuff for the noise isolation.

Chin Bar

To open the chin bar using the Shoei system you have to press the button on the chin bar to lift the chin bar and when it’s open, it’s open. You can push it back another notch, this has been done for the dual homologation (the P/J approval). And it’s kind of like an extra lock for the chin bar, so that’s a really safe and good idea.

Sun Visor

Another thing that makes the helmet comfortable is the sun visor, which we also saw in the original Neotec. It’s in the same place, it can be operated from the left side of the helmet and that’s all anti-scratch. It’s really really long and a nice visor which is useful.

Interior

They have changed the cheek pads, the interior feels pretty similar but the cheek pads have been made to give better noise-isolating. They’ve improved the fit slightly, but it still feels as comfortable as the Neotec 1. It’s the original Shoei comfort that we all know and love.

Chin Straps

This modular helmet comes with a micro ratchet stainless steel strap, which needs to be opened all the way to release the ratchet from its lock. Under the ratchet you will see two extra flaps, they are made from leather and they go at the bottom of the strap to connect with the chin curtain, this seals the helmet around the chin area to cut out wind noise.

Communications

With this modular helmet, they seem to have thought about everything and that includes the communication system, which has been designed by SENA. There are two parts on the side of the helmet which will be replaced with the SENA parts, there is a place for the battery on the back and all the parts on the inside have been hollowed out so you don’t have to drill any holes, you don’t have to stick anything in.

Colour

The matte blue version is not the only one available, there is also the matte black. (word of caution) The matt colors show up every mark and scratch so you need to be very careful handling the matt helmets or they start looking scruffy very quickly.

AGV Sportmodular Carbon Full Face Helmet

The AGV Sportmodular Carbon Full Face Helmet is the most extreme flip-up helmet around today – and it’s also the most expensive. But let me tell you why.

This helmet is made 100% from carbon which means it’s really strong and really really light, and even the chin bar on the front and this is the first Helmet in the world to be made from full carbon.

The helmet weighs in at 1295 grams in the smallest shell size which is really really light for a flip-up helmet, regular full-face helmets are often higher in weight than the AGV.

Design

This helmet has a really really sporty design. It has the AGV Racing DNA through and through and is made for the fast sporty rider who would like a flip-up helmet instead of a full face. If you’re looking for the convenience but also the sporty features then maybe this is the way to go.

Visor

This visor has been developed by AGV and modeled on the most expensive model from AGV the Pista GPR which Valentino Rossi rides in the Moto GP. It’s 5 millimeters (just about) thick and it has a 120 Max Vision Pinlock anti-fog lens inside.

What’s special about this visor?

This visor has a really really wide field of view. It has 190 degrees viewpoint, which means that it has the exact same field of view as the human eye can see. It kind of feels like you don’t have a helmet on because you can see everything.

The locking mechanism for the visor is a metal system that falls into the bottom front of the chin bar. You have to push the button on the front of the chin bar to open the visor otherwise nothing will happen.

The same goes for the mechanism on the side, it is also made from metal to make sure it is really strong, and this is really really unique on a flip-up helmet.

Interior

Something I really like about this helmet which is really special is the interior is actually removable. You can take out the head part of the interior and turn it around. It has a cool side and a warm side so when the weather is warm you can turn it around to the cool side and when it gets cold you can turn it around to the warm side. It’s a really interesting feature as I haven’t seen it in a helmet before.

Wearing Glasses

If you have any kind of glasses you can just slide them right in – no problem. And you don’t have to worry about sunglasses because there is an integrated sun visor, which can be operated by a slider mechanism on the front side of the helmet.

Ventilation

Because the ventilation of this helmet is really really powerful. On the front, you have a large vent and on the top and then the one on the back you can close. So if you need a lot of air circulation there are a lot of options for you.

Chin Straps

This helmet has a titanium double D-retention system which is normally only used on full-face helmets. This is a really special but it also shows you that they really really wanted to create a sporty helmet but with all the convenience of the other type of helmets.

Aerodynamics

The AGV Sportmodular Carbon Full Face Helmet is a very aerodynamic flip-up helmet with a sporty design and has been wind tunnel tested. At 130 km/h or 80 mph, you do not feel it yanking at your head, so it has no dynamic weight at that speed.

LS2 FF399 Valiant Modular Helmet

The LS2 FF399 Valiant Modular Helmet is a modular lid that LS2 designed to be well balanced and stable. The exterior shell is constructed from LSU’s KPA material and it’s designed to be up to 20 percent smaller than competing models.

Shell Sizes

They use two shell sizes for the valiant, the smallest size is used for extra small up through large and then the larger shell size is used for extra-large and above.

Chin Bar

One of the things that makes a valiant really unique is the 180 degrees flip-up chin bar, this design provides a couple of things.

When it’s in the full-back in the locked position it creates a better balance for the helmet so you know when you’re riding down the road you’re not feeling as much neck fatigue, as with other modular helmets that will leave the chin bar somewhere up near the brow of the helmet.

It also removes that sail-like effect that you can get with some modular helmets when you have that big chin bar catching in the wind.

Visor

You’ll also notice that the face shield looks a little bit different than most normal helmets, LS2 puts the tab up on top and that’s part of giving clearance for the chin bar. It’s also the reason that the face shield retracts and moves when you’re either locking it into place or you’re setting it back into the full-face position.

Fully Locking Mechanism

The chin bar is designed with a full locking mechanism, they use metal parts inside to keep it nice and secure and LS2 too has made it so that if you dis crash with the chin bar down it’s not gonna flip-up even if the face shield happens to get torn off.

Sun Shield

This is also a twin shield helmet which means it’s got an internal drop-down sun shield. It’s operated by a little stainless steel cable-actuated slider on the side of the helmet, it gives you a little bit of eye protection in bright conditions.

DOT and ECE Approved

Another key feature is that this helmet is DOT and ECE approved for safety. It’s homologated as both a full-face and an open-faced helmet

Ventilation

The top brow vent up has an open and closed setting and so does the chin bar vent. The vents around the back of the helmet stay open all the time to maximize airflow. The LS2 has cut channels in the EPS liner inside to make sure that the air is able to move freely front to back.

The lining inside makes use of hypoallergenic material that’s applied directly to the laser-cut foam and that’s to avoid having to use so much glue that you might find on other manufacturers’ interior liners. It gives it a comfortable feeling, especially for those that have a more sensitive skin

Chin Straps

The valiant also comes with a DOT approved quick-release chin strap, its a hallmark of a lot of LS2 helmets. Just slide it in and it stays nice and secure, you pull the tab and it comes right out.

LS2 Features

LS2 really set out to make a well balanced modular helmet that was going to meet the needs of people who were sick of feeling like they had a brick on their heads. The 180-degree design chin bar, the attention to detail on the interior they’re all going to be these small elements of a helmet that people are really going to appreciate.

HJC CL-Max 3 Modular Helmet

The CL max 3 is the newest version of the CL max line, it replaces the CL max 2 and in this post, we’re going to show you what you can expect for around $140 price point from HJC.

We’re also going to talk about the upgrades you’re getting over the previous version of this helmet. To start things off this is a modular helmet so, if you are looking for the entry-level modular helmet with an HJ’s line, this is the one you’re looking at.

For around the $140 dollar price point, you get a Polycarp shell, you get one shell size with four EPS liners which differentiate the sizing for this helmet. It is a DOT rated helmet and comes with two intakes and two exhausts.

You will notice the intakes on this are going to be different than the previous version and we will talk about that venting scheme in one minute but the real story here is the fit.

Fitment

This an intermediate oval helmet, which means it’s a little bit longer front to back, a little bit narrower down the inside of the head and it will work for the majority of your riders out there in the American market.

Sun Visor

This helmet is slightly heavier than the previous version because the real upgrade that we’re seeing with this is the internal Sun Visor. The actuator for this sun visor can be found on the top of the helmet.

If you upgraded to something like the IS-Max which stands for internal sun visor max, that was previously the model that you had to upgrade to if you wanted the internal Sun Visor. What you don’t get with this one is you don’t get a spring-loaded three-position Sun Visor, this is just up and down and you have to actuate it yourself.

With this sun visor, you are either fully open or fully closed, nothing in between. If you upgraded to the IS-Max, for example, you would but bear in mind the IS-Max is adding an extra fifty-sixty dollars to the price tag.

If you were to bump up to that helmet you would have an internal Sun Visor but again this is going to increase the weight, that’s where we really started this whole point was this is now going to be four pounds in a medium so it’s about six to seven ounces heavier than this CL-Max.

Ventilation

Let’s go ahead and just discuss some of those changes that you’re going to see if you decide to bump up to this helmet. The first change you’ll see is the vents have changed, they’ve changed the design of the chin vent so you now get a cleaner line, they have also changed the twin vents on the brow of the helmet so you now have one large central event which is actuated with a switch. You get a massive amount of airflow pushing into two direct channels.

I like this because it’s a lot easier to reach up and flip back for open and down for closed than it is to try and figure out which one of these snaps is in the right position and you have to do it on both sides.

Anti-Fog

This helmet now comes with a pin lock ready face shield included, the previous version didn’t have that. You’re not getting the pin lock insert in the box but you are getting the face shield so if you want to add pin lock to this all you have to do is buy the insert.

Pin lock if you’re not familiar is a fog-resistant shield that you can put inside of this visor. For colder mornings or for days when it’s raining and you’re face-shield tends to fog up pin lock helps to eliminate that problem.

Ventilation

The vents at the back of the helmet have changed, the shape of the helmet has also changed from the previous version. It’s a little bit more sport touring now, a little bit less aggressive because they’re realizing that the average person that’s looking at a modular helmet is probably going to use it for touring purposes and they’re not taking this to a racetrack

You are getting a little bit of a larger shell and part of that is to accommodate that internal Sun Visor as well so just keep that in mind.

You’re also losing the pre-housing for the Bluetooth for their proprietary unit, what HJC realized was that they wanted to give people options as far as to which unit they wanted to use. With the new unit you can use pretty much any of the universal comm systems, they will clip on to the side and there are still speaker cutouts for the inside of this helmet.

Interior

This helmet has a really nice chin curtain and this is something that’s in addition to the previous version. It has a little bit of a nicer thicker feel to it and it just gives you a really tight closure when this is in the closed position. It helps to stop the wind from pushing up and cuts down on noise a little bit.

This helmet has metal posts that give you a much more secure closure than what you’re seeing with some of the other entry-level modular helmets that utilize plastic. If you remove the cheek pads you will see this helmet has speaker cut-outs making it comms ready.

open this up we’re just and take a look at the interior and we’ll go ahead and we’ll pull the cheek pads out first and I want to just show the speaker cutouts because again you do have speaker cutouts so it is still common ready if you want to add any constituent to this and you can notice the speaker cutouts are going to be

This helmet comes with a brow mounted interior which adds comfort, you don’t have the snaps inside the foam which puts pressure points on your forehead, it also comes with a nice channel cut out for the inside which helps to push that airflow from the front to the back.

What you’re seeing is a refinement over the CL Max2 and again the CL max2 was a solid entry-level modular helmet. This is getting a slight bump in price about a 10 to 15 dollar bump in price over the previous version.

That does depend on whether you’re going with a solid or a graphic design helmet but really what you’re seeing for one hundred and forty dollar price point is a nice upgrade from what you had with the CL Max2.

You’re getting extra features like that internal Sun Visor, you’re also getting the pin lock ready face shield. I like what they’ve done with the venting on this helmet, the only thing that you would want to consider bumping up to the IS max for is the IS-Max gets you two shell sizes so it’s going to be a slightly smaller helmet.

For around $140 dollar price point and for those of you out there looking at just getting a taste of what a modular helmet can give you the CL max 3 is definitely an option for you to consider.