Which <£200 lid?

Master Skooter

Master Skooter

Master Skooter

Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
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Location
Somerset
I desperately need to replace my aging Arai, unfortunately funds will not allow me to spend a huge ammount. Thinking of around the £150 mark.

I want a composite shell, and looking for something that's put together half decent & fairly comfortable, as I do a daily 35 mile commute.

The 'budget' Arai and Shoei's are around the £200 mark, so I've been looking into AGV's, particularly the Stealth and (slightly cheaper) S-4 lines.

Here's the one's I've short listed (cheapest first):

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AGV S-4 (2007 discontinued) - £129.99 (£137.49 inc p&p, no spare visor).

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AGV S-4 (2008 design, solid stripes) - £159.99 inc free black/iridium visor & free delivery.

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AGV S-4 - £159.99 inc free black/iridium visor & free delivery.

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AGV Stealth - £159.99 inc free black visor & free delivery.

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AGV Stealth Dragon - £195.99 inc free black visor & free delivery.

I quite like the plain gloss black Stealth, but wondering if the S-4 may be slightly quieter as it doesn't have external air vents? My bikes black, and most of my gear is black/red.

My son likes the Dragon & my wife the cheapest S-4 (surprise surprise!)

Has anyone owned either of these models please?

Anyone, I'm RUBBISH at making decisions....which one do you lot like? :)
 
I've not tried the Stealth, but I'm assuming that both helmets would be a very similar fit? Maybe somebody can comment of this? The dealer could probably also advise me on this.

I tried an S-4 at the NEC last year, so I've got the correct size. My Arai was a medium.
 
by best fit i dont mean - will it fit on your head. by best fit i mean how much movement does it have if you have an impact.

for example my head fits in all helmets depending on size but safety wise my head only fits a HJC, Arai or an OGK (if you can get them). my head wouldnt fit a shoei, suomy, shark, takashi etc.

stick the helmet on your head, do the strap up and then basically wiggle it from side to side and try to pull it off etc. the one with least movement is the best one for your head. you dont want the helmet 'hitting' you in the head as the slack in the helmet gets taken up when you hit something if that makes any sense?
 
As there are only 2 different models out of the 5 pictured, and I imagine that the difference may be zero, I'm concentrating more on which I like the most.

The S-4 I tried was very nice. Light, comfortably snug (it will give don't forget). The large (60) was too loose around the forehead. The trouble is until you own it, you couldn't really comment on how comfortable it is on a daily basis.

I've really only owned Arai's (I used to have money before I had kids!), so no idea what an AGV is like to live with.
 
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Try the Shoei Raid II, I used to wear an AGV/Lazer (same lids, different badge), and the difference between it and my Shoeis I have now is immediately obvious. I got my plain black Raid II for £175 locally, and it was definitely worth the extra £40 odd over my Lazer. If you're used to an Arai, too, I'm surprised they didn't feel 'cheaper' straight from the off.

The chinbar on the lids you've posted is REALLY close to your face as well, depending on the shape of your face you might find them uncomfortable, I know I did when I tried them on. (Edit: Just saw you've tried it on, you must have no chin :D)
 
I bought an AGV lid which I owned for around an hour before I took it back to the shop and asked for a refund. It misted up very easily, vision was poor compared to my nitro, way too much padding and the 'seat belt' strap thing was useless. In the shop it felt a good fit but as soon as I rode arrived home from the shop I knew it was going back!

I got myself a raid II, fantastic helmet. I'll be getting another unless I find a helmet that fits better.
 
I thought the AGV's had an 'anti-mist' visors?

Which model did you buy mate?

Maybe I should look at the bottom of the range Arai/Shoei's then.

Cheers for the comments, keep them coming.
 
Master Skooter said:
I thought the AGV's had an 'anti-mist' visors?

Which model did you buy mate?

Maybe I should look at the bottom of the range Arai/Shoei's then.

Cheers for the comments, keep them coming.
Click to expand...

I can't remember the name, it was a mid-range lid. £140 reduced to £70 (horrific paint scheme/ex display/no box)

Besides the Shoei has pinlock, I haven't managed to steam it up yet even when trying really hard when bored at the lights! I think arai have their own version of it as well.
 
Thanks for the links, had a quick look for that X-Lite lid on Cissbury's site, but couldn't see it.

I've found Shoei Raid II's (plain colours) inc Shoei dark tint visor & free delivery for £199.00.

The Arai Condor in plain colours is also this price, but the black one has a nasty gold badge *pukes*

I'll have to see how much I'm allowed to spend :)
 
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