Bell RS-1 with SolFX TRansistions photocromatic visor.

[hbliam]

I picked up one of these:



and added one of these:



Bell RS-1: Easier to manipulate vents then my last three Arai's, the EASIEST visor swap ever, cool lock feature on visor, about as noisy as my last two street Arai's. I looked though the short owners manual for the "how to swap the visor" section and thought, "They forgot to include how to swap the visor?" Then I looked at the helmet and realized it's so easy they didn't need to. Magnet is a nice feature on the chin strap. Rather then a snap to lock the strap down it simply clips to itself magnetically.

Visor: Used it tonight for work. I used to carry an extra clear under my jacket on the afternoon ride in and swap at the station prior to my 545AM ride home. Today, I had bright sunlight on the way in and the tint was nearly instantly dark. I looked in the bike mirror and it was black, couldn't see though it at all. Looked up, directly at the sun, and did not feel the need to add sunglasses. Perfect. So I got off early and rode home at 12AM. Look in the bike mirror test...clear as clear can be. No hint of tint. The lens supposedly has some anti fogging stuff. Easy for me to test. I ride over the ocean on a bridge at one point and normally fog when it's cool (night, early morning). No fogging today. Sweet. Visor also blocks 99% of UV rays. Bonus.

All in all happy with the new lid and am very happy with the new visor. Now let's see how they hold up. Cost? I paid $425 OTD. Not bad, I'm used to paying Arai prices.

[ducpainter]

Does the visor company have a website?

I can't seem to find it.

[hbliam]

Does the visor company have a website?

I can't seem to find it.

http://www.transitionssolfx.com/

http://www.transitionssolfx.com/road.aspx#3

Only available for Bell Helmets for the time being.

[ducpainter]

Thanks.

[Triple J]

I have the Bell photocromatic visor on my 2010 Star helmet. So far it has been great...used it on my 2,300 mile ride to Laguna and back. It still works very well. 

I prefer my Bell to the Arai in warm to hot weather. Cool weather the Arai still gets the nod as it doesn't ventilate as well so is warmer.

[seevtsaab]

I have that visor on my CF Akuma (very light) and the visor
is nothing short of well, something and beer. Awesome.

[zarn02]

So it actually, factually works, and works well?

Neato.

Now if only they'll start making them for other helmet brands. Wonder if they have to wade through some sort of licensing, etc. to do that?

[turbodude]

I have been waiting for a transition shield for a long time.  It seems to be a PITA to have to carry an extra visor just so you can get home after dark.  I can't remember how many times I left somewhere early because I had a tinted shield and didn't want to have to ride home with the shield up. 

Since you are comparing it to an Arai I assume the fit is quite a bit different than Shoei?

[thought]

Now if only they'll start making them for other helmet brands. Wonder if they have to wade through some sort of licensing, etc. to do that?

yeah, it seems that only akuma and bell have them right now.  i'm surprised that arai/shoei/hjc havent picked up on them yet... with those 3 covered you pretty have taken care of at least 75-80% of the market.

[ChrisH]

Ive been wanting one for my Star, this makes me want one even more. How do you like the lid itself?

If the helmet is new to you, watch the magnet in the chin strap. Within a month of receiving my helmet the magnet fell out somewhere, so Bell replaced the helmet for me. The replacement took longer to start coming undone, but the stitching started coming out around the magnet so I superglue it shut every 3 months or so now.

[thought]

motorcyclist magazine just tested photochromatic visors and rated this one 4.5 out of 5 stars.  basically said it's the equiv of having 2 visors in one.

makes me really look at bell for my next helmet.

[zarn02]

How dark is the dark? I use the 'dark smoke' visor for daytime riding most of the time.

[thought]

the article said that it went to a dark smoke color.  i saw some other random reviews online that said one drawback is when you ride in the rain.  the drops of water on your visor can cause speckling across your visor.

[Triple J]

The down side:
The tint seems to be on the outside of the lens only.  Mine has some pits from bug guts leaving it speckled with clear spots.  Nothing lasts forever and I am very happy with it.

The speckles should go away when the visor is cleaned...mine did. I think the speckles (from either rain or bugs) come from that tiny portion of the visor being shielded from sun, so it doesn't darken like the rest of the visor, hence leaving a light speckle.

Bummer about your Star. I still love mine. No chin skirt problems and my deflector came black.

[jthom999]

I've got the same set up, but its my first helmet/visor, so I don't really have a frame of reference. I know that if I'm riding West at sundown, there's no stopping the AZ sun, but other than that, I've had no problems.