Long Oval Head? Try a Shark RSI! My mini helmet war:

I've been searching for a helmet to fit my big head with a snug fit with out spending $400 or more. I actually recently figured out I'm an alien head. I've been wearing round head shape helmets not knowing that I was actually a true long oval type. I started with a Fulmer Modus years ago and it fit very well till the thing broke!

So, I've tried:

HJC CL-15 XL Good and cheap helmet for my ride to work. Its Round but, works for short trips. Easy to modify for fit. I can't stand the stiff screen adjustment, you can't crack it open. But for $80.... its a good work helmet to leave around the office.

Nolan N-102 XL I made it fit taking a knife to the foam. The weight is the issue for me, not enough chin room too. I got by with it last year and a half I really liked the flip up, the thing is huge and heavy though. Lots of noise even with plugs. Its beat up from daily use now. I will not buy another.

AGV Stealth XXL Better for very mild oval shaped heads. Sizes run small, very light, good quality. The liner is not as plush. The XXL is too tight for me. I have never really ridden much with it, to much pressure on the noggin up front. I don't know why I bough the thing... Looks good though.

Shark RSI XL Acid graphics, Bought for $168.00 shipped on Ebay. Long Oval fit, good air flow, weak shield adjustment, felt tight for a change, graphics are great, shield is thick and clear, shield comes off very easy, very light weight..... This is my new main helmet.

I took a chance and rode 500 miles with it and my head did not hurt, my neck is not sore from the weight and I will be buying a few of these things to put back! If you shop them, prices under $200 are out there. The retail prices are $300 to $400 depending on the graphics and year model. I didn't like the RSI the first day, felt too tight on the cheeks. But, its breaking in very nice yet staying snug. It has less noise than my Nolan flip and my head is stable at 100 mph unlike my CL-15 which try's to rip my head of at anything over 80 mph. Its nice having a helmet exceed expectations.

If your long oval, try on the Shark RSI. YMMV :clapping:

Sagebrush said:

I've been searching for a helmet to fit my big head with a snug fit with out spending $400 or more. I actually recently figured out I'm an alien head. I've been wearing round head shape helmets not knowing that I was actually a true long oval type. I started with a Fulmer Modus years ago and it fit very well till the thing broke!
So, I've tried:

HJC CL-15 XL Good and cheap helmet for my ride to work. Its Round but, works for short trips. Easy to modify for fit. I can't stand the stiff screen adjustment, you can't crack it open. But for $80.... its a good work helmet to leave around the office.

Nolan N-102 XL I made it fit taking a knife to the foam. The weight is the issue for me, not enough chin room too. I got by with it last year and a half I really liked the flip up, the thing is huge and heavy though. Lots of noise even with plugs. Its beat up from daily use now. I will not buy another.

AGV Stealth XXL Better for very mild oval shaped heads. Sizes run small, very light, good quality. The liner is not as plush. The XXL is too tight for me. I have never really ridden much with it, to much pressure on the noggin up front. I don't know why I bough the thing... Looks good though.

Shark RSI XL Acid graphics, Bought for $168.00 shipped on Ebay. Long Oval fit, good air flow, weak shield adjustment, felt tight for a change, graphics are great, shield is thick and clear, shield comes off very easy, very light weight..... This is my new main helmet.

I took a chance and rode 500 miles with it and my head did not hurt, my neck is not sore from the weight and I will be buying a few of these things to put back! If you shop them, prices under $200 are out there. The retail prices are $300 to $400 depending on the graphics and year model. I didn't like the RSI the first day, felt too tight on the cheeks. But, its breaking in very nice yet staying snug. It has less noise than my Nolan flip and my head is stable at 100 mph unlike my CL-15 which try's to rip my head of at anything over 80 mph. Its nice having a helmet exceed expectations.

If your long oval, try on the Shark RSI. YMMV :clapping:

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I too have the same problem. I decided that this year after wearing an Icon Mainframe that I was on the lookout for something with a bit more quality. The seals were falling off the ICON, it was noisy and heavy. After spending the entire spring trying on every friggen helmet known to man and not finding one that felt or more importantly fit correctly, I had all but given up.

I happened to be at a Dealer one day that had sharks on the shelf. I'd wondered how these would fit my melon, but figured if Arai and Shoei couldn't get it right for me, then no one would. Well, we slid the Rsi on my head and I was in heaven. Turned out that the dealer had a could RSX's that were clearanced for around 200 bucks, where the reatail was 460ish. I instantly fell in love. I did need to do a slight modification in the forehead area, the RSX wansn't quite the same shape as the RSi, but close enough. What I'm most amazed with is how well it moves air, how light it is and just generally how much higher the quality was from anything I've owned in the past.

Good to know, as oval heads have to stick together! I have been wearing the HJC-12 oval. Fits pretty well, not perfect though. Nice to have options.

Hello. My name is Bluesman and I'm a long oval.....

I just bought an Arai Profile, medium. My last two helmets were Quantum/f in a size large. I was able to get the Profile to better fit my head and go down a size.

I've only used it once, but I need to get in a long ride to see how it does.

The great thing about this helmet is the entire liner can be removed and cleaned/washed. One thing I noticed immediately was the helmet felt lighter, and at speed the helmet had excellent aerodynamics. The helmet felt like it wasn't on my head it was so light. When I turned my head I could feel the resistance in my neck trying to keep my head up straight, turned straight ahead again and it was like the wind was bypassing me altogether.

The Arai's are pricey but I got it at Cycle Gears sale last weekend for 20% off, I couldn't pass up that deal.

Hmmm ... an oval outing I see :blink:

I'm liking the Sharks too. Had several Shoei RF-1000 and predecessors and the Sharks were just the same shape but more comfy and far lighter.

neeyedsmiley:

sradek said:

Hmmm ... an oval outing I see

Click to expand...

:blink: :laughingsmiley:

FJRBluesman said:

Hello. My name is Bluesman and I'm a long oval.....
I just bought an Arai Profile, medium. My last two helmets were Quantum/f in a size large. I was able to get the Profile to better fit my head and go down a size.

Click to expand...

Have a profile and I must say it is quite a comfy helmet. I have an oval (long oval, not sure) and the profile was the nicest fitting helmet I have ever found and the fact that you can improve the fit with different pads is a big plus. YMMV.

I did another 300 miles yesterday with the "LO" RSI and it's still fitting with no pain. The only thing I don't like is the sheild closing at speed. If I have it cracked open and get the speed over 75 mph the thing snaps shut. Stays open just fine when fully open at speed. Not much room for speakers, I use ear buds so, no issue for me. Its the best helmet I've tried. I did pick up a dark mirror shield, its great for those brite days and its easy on easy off.

It's now comfirmed, I'm a LONG Oval head. I was avoiding the truth with my Nolan. Now, when will they make an oval fitting flip up?

Another Shark convert here. FWIW, the cheekpads do break in over time, mine were very tight at first.

My last two helmets were Arai Signets (Profile). I switched mainly because i was fed up with Arai's shield changing setup, but i was shocked at how much quieter the Shark was and it had much less buffeting too.

Question:

Does anyone know if there are any modular/flip up helmets with a long oval fit?

I use 7 helmets and I own ten. I just can't find one that does it all. My head measures long oval 5.5" by 9.2" but down below I'm rounder with space needed for my ears. So, I'm more comfy in an intermediate oval helmet because of my jaw and ears. I'm going to list my helmets and what is good/bad with them if for nothing else then to bring you a picture of my personal helmet hell. Now I'm not that picky about my other gear but something about wearing it over your head for ten hours a week just seems to bring out every little lack of perfection and magnifies it.

HJC AC-12 XXL: light, good vents, quiet, great visor, looks good, but too short front to back requiring sandpaper mod and the cheek pads kill my left earlobe so I had to cut the back off of them, and while now comfy it makes for a drafty helmet.

HJC CL-14 XL; heavy, poor venting, comfy and fits well with ear pockets, but why are these pluses - because I wear this lid in the worst wet winter months with a fog city in the visor, and with that nylon tube thingie over my head the way too round fit of the thing is not a problem. However, this is an awful helmet for any other conditions.

Caberg 104 XXL: just bought this lid on closeout, fits well, has built in sun glasses, looks good, visor works well, but poor vents, noisy, stupid large quick release chin strap that digs into your neck at times, and I had to modify the cheek pads like for the AC-12 as well as remove the part of the nylon chin strap that ran to the rear of the helmet right over my ear lobes (and I'm still working on if I think this is safe). Truncating the cheek pads did not increase the draft though as on the AC-12.

Bell Mag 8 XXL: Open face helmet for summer, fits OK, and I like the visor, but a bit too round and lacks ventilation with the visor down making it a rather hot helmet on a hot day.

Nolan X-Lite 801 XL: comfy and fits well, nice visor with pinlock system that works well, but vents stunk - they did nothing and were noisy, the upper one felt like a tiny manufacturing plant was operating in your head and not even ear plugs helped. The vents kept breaking from the get go and they vibrated too, so I just yanked them all out leaving the openings wide open. This actually lowered the noise and increased the ventilation but seeing as I bought this lid to replace the winter CL-14 it is now not adjustable and open to the rain, though I still wear it sometimes because the pinlock anti fog is more transparent than the fog city in the CL-14.

I just got a Sparx XXL: on closeout, and so far it seems pretty good as it fits my head and has ear pockets. and is not noisy, but it vents poorly, fogs easily, has a visor that impairs my vision with ripples (though I do wear progressive bifocals so this may be something just for me), and has cheek pads that are hard on my head when removing the helmet.

Suomy Vandal XXL: This is the only really great helmet I have the visor is clear and the mechanism super smooth and it fits me perfect with a lush interior, it vents super well and on my head and bike is not too noisy and it feels close to not having a helmet on at all, fog resistant, and it looks so great it is a bit like a treasure, but I only wear it in summer as it would freeze me in winter, and tthe rain would run right onto my head through the vent holes. This thing seems to me closer to a bicycle helmet than a motorcycle one. The trick to the little turning head vents is that a number one philips head screwdriver adjusts them tension of them - they can actually vibrate making much noise.

In addition I've owned the following.

HJC CL-SP XXL: a total mistake it is for round heads only and had the cheek pad problem of the AC-12 while rattling around on my head so much it once bent my glasses.

KBC VR1 XXL: a nice comfy summer helmet, noisy but with good vents, used it well and wore it out.

KBC VR2 XXL: bought to replace the VR1 but it was too short front to back and I gave it to a more round headed fellow because my forehead was being squashed.

HJC CL-12 XL: like the CL-14 but worse.

And before this I wasn't picky and could wear a single helmet for years without doing anything to it, what the heck happened to me?

Maybe I just hate all helmets. I think I'm going to have to stop looking for the perfect one and just switch back and forth for various conditions. I actually think my wall of helmets is a pretty good solution. When you begin to hate one wear another. I think my left ear lobe thing bothers me the most because you can't feel that problem until you have about 6 hours in the lid and then it never goes away.

Your friend

the man in the composite mask.

I think the Shark helmets are some of the only currently on the market which meet the new ECE standards, which if I understand, is the most stringent and throrough standard to date. Again, I think.

-BD

Can't believe no one has mentioned Z1R helmets yet. They are a great option for the long ovals, are very reasonably priced, and fully certified.

Z1R Clicky

I was lucky enough to know who I got the Shark from and just took it back. It's a great helmet and there wa a lot to like. However, sit the two next to each other and the Shark is much bigger than the Shoei RF1000, especially toward the bottom. Riding, I could tell the difference and got tired the neck exercise so went back to another RF.

FJRBluesman said:

Hello. My name is Bluesman and I'm a long oval.....
I just bought an Arai Profile, medium. My last two helmets were Quantum/f in a size large. I was able to get the Profile to better fit my head and go down a size.

I've only used it once, but I need to get in a long ride to see how it does.

The great thing about this helmet is the entire liner can be removed and cleaned/washed. One thing I noticed immediately was the helmet felt lighter, and at speed the helmet had excellent aerodynamics. The helmet felt like it wasn't on my head it was so light. When I turned my head I could feel the resistance in my neck trying to keep my head up straight, turned straight ahead again and it was like the wind was bypassing me altogether.

The Arai's are pricey but I got it at Cycle Gears sale last weekend for 20% off, I couldn't pass up that deal.

Click to expand...

Arai: Same here. Old style Q/f, which worked well. New helmet is the Profile. The ONLY helmet which would fit my 7-3/4 head. Had to fork over the dough, but great helmet, that Arai.

Rolavine,

I found with "our" big heads that the cheaper helmets just don't cut it. Wasted lots of time and gasoline shopping, only to return to Arai. Could have saved myself the trouble.

All you oval head bitches just need to follow the example of the 3 stooges, and stick your mellons into a vice and squeeze 'em down to the proper shape.

Then we wouldn't have all these long "oval head" posts...

Checkswrecks said:

I was lucky enough to know who I got the Shark from and just took it back. It's a great helmet and there wa a lot to like. However, sit the two next to each other and the Shark is much bigger than the Shoei RF1000, especially toward the bottom. Riding, I could tell the difference and got tired the neck exercise so went back to another RF.

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Well, the RF1000 is a round type helmet and has a bit more weight? Its not a long oval helmet, maybe slightly oval but nothing close to my head. The RSI is very slim at the bottom and compact to me. Did you have a RSI?

jmdaniel said:

Can't believe no one has mentioned Z1R helmets yet. They are a great option for the long ovals, are very reasonably priced, and fully certified.
Z1R Clicky

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And very cheap, cheap price, cheap feel. Scratchy liner, web bike world couldn't figure out what to call the "fit type".... It is very light for a $79.00 helmet though.