For the last 2+ years I've been more then happy with my Scorpion EX-400, it was a plain Matte Black and fit my head well. But I've been casually looking for a new lid, with possibly some graphics I liked and maybe a few oz lighter.
I started reading lots of reviews on the Shark brand helmets and I rarely if ever so any of them here. Well I like some of their more expensive designs but I really can't justify to myself spending $500-600+ on a helmet. Then I caught a glimpse of their new 2008 line-up and I found my match.
The 2008 Shark RSI Eden Matte-White.
First Fitting:The first thing I noticed was the ears. My previous helmet allowed my ears to be free no pressure on them at all. The RSI has padding there and pushes the ears kind of flat. It's not shoving them into the side of my face but it's noticeable. I didn't really notice how much lighter it was until I picked up both of the helmets and could instantly feel the weight difference. The visor "lift" tab is pretty far off to the left side of the helmet. Which doesn't matter while lifting but trying to close it makes the shield warp and not close all the way. It was kind of annoying, but simply overcome by pulling down from the top of the visor. More on this later.
First Ride:Yesterday I took a pretty good long ride (
Ride Map Here) which had several different types of roads. I started out on the freeway heading for the "meet-up" point. I always ride with ear plugs but i did notice it was a bit quieter overall, probably due to the padding over the ears now; However, while at freeway speeds (65-80mph) There was a high pitched noise that was kind of annoying, something I've never dealt with. It could be just that my EX-400 was just so loud I couldn't hear any tonal differences in the noise.
My ride took me into several different micro climates, cold, windy, heavy fog, and dry heat. For those affected by temperature changes this ride can be a killer. The visor not once fogged up on me. I wear sunglasses under my helmet which fogged like crazy all morning, but the visor never hinted at it in the least. During the ride I never noticed that Higher Pitched noise, this is with speeds ranging from some 15mph 180 deg decreasing radius off-camber hill climbs to *cough*
+120mph*cough* sweepers. I did notice it again when i was super slabbing it back home on the freeway.
I'm not sure if it was the shape or maybe the light weight but during the freeway portion I felt as if my helmet was being lifted from my head and pulled back. It could have been the wind but it's also not something I've ever felt. It also is effected greater by turning my head while traveling. My EX-400 was a very round shape where the RSI I think is designed for head stability while facing forward into the wind.
Like I said earlier the visor won't close simply by pulling the tab, but while traveling in the hotter climate during the 2nd half of the ride I found out why. My EX-400 had like 4 visor positions equally spaced in 1/4 opening increments. Well the RSI has 1 position right above closed which leaves a very small gap to provide EXCELLENT air for cooling while still providing cover. It was like a gift from the heavens. I never knew what I was missing out on with nicer helmets. I'll take the visor not closing from using the tab for this low open position.
Well I'll update this as I continue to ride and test out this relatively unused brand helmet.
