Porter
Junior Member
Well it was pricey, but I value my big noggin and my comfort on hot days.
I initially wore a half helmet for 2 weeks before getting the HD modular full face helmet (black with flames) a little over 2 years ago.
I liked the feel and openness of the 1/2 helmet, but I had issues at speeds over 50 mph with noise. Bugs, rain and cold were a problem, but for a relatively low speed cruise it feels great.
With a drop in temperatures and a more comfortable adjustment to my 100 mile commute every day at 65-80 mph, the modular HD helmet suited my tastes and made putting the helmet on or talking to others at traffic lights and such, very easy. It also helped with heat will sitting or moving slow in traffic because I could just raise the front to get air. It was difficult to ride above 40 mph with front up because it acted like a sail in the wind. I replace the lexan visor twice, but the tabs wore out very quickly, meaning that I could not ride with the clear visor open for ventilation. It woud just slam shut at modest speed. This helmet was my first, ever, full face motocycle helmet. It did well in the rain and it did not leak around the lexan visor. It has ventilation ports in the front and on top. The front worked pretty well at reducing fogging, but the airflow pretty much washes the inside of the visor. Neither of the vents did much for cooling me on warm days. In my opinion the top vent is useless and just makes noise.
After 2 summers of roasting in the helmet I queried this board for suggestions and after trying on a few, I settled on the Shark Evoline 2 (sliver color for better visibility). It looked to have all of the multitasking that I wanted and it offered the range of a 3/4 helmet with/without visor (up or down) and a full face design. It was pricey at $365. As buying helmets is a 1 shot deal, I am happy to say it is worth EVERY penny. The day I bought it I left for a 900 mile round trip in 3 days from MD to NC. I went through day, night, cool, hot, and rain. It performed terrific and aside my my head getting used to the new pressure points of this helmet, completely comfortable. It is lighter then the HD helmet and has much better padding (better fitting and better located at the cheeks. The HD didn't fit this well when it was new.) Similar to the HD, there were no leaks around the visor in the thunderstorms. Converting the helmet into any of the formats is easy to do with one hand, at any speed. Having the front of the helmet swing all the way to the back and lock in, out of the wind, makes all the difference in the world, as far as catching the wind like a sail. The clear lexan is much easier to replace than the HD model, as there is a single, push button tab on each side. The clear visor did stay up at any speed (vibrated quite a bit above 70 mph in the raised position, but down in the 3/4 mode it was smooth and quiet), but since it is new, I wait to see how long it will last, so no comparison yet, but the mechanism/hinge appears much more robust. And unlike the HD model the hinge is permanent on the helment and not part of the lexan visor itself. There are two small vents in this helmet but they seem about as effective as the HD model: not much. But, if I am hot or need some air, I just open the helmet up.
The Shark also has the "fighter pilot" style, daytime visor that slides down. This was a new feature that I didn't think I would like. I think I look stupid with it down, but I actually like its' function, so I will be looking stupid for a while longer.
As it retracts into the helmet, and unless you sneeze with it down, it should pretty much stay clean for a long time. Very convienent for changing light in the evenings going between heavy shade and low bright sun as sunglasses are hard to change in a full face helmet, while riding. In a 3/4 mode, I don't like the tinted visor as much as sunglasses. The visor works for glare but since it is not as close to your skin as glasses, I did get some occasional dust in my eyes. You are very well protected from bugs, small stone, etc though with the tinted visor and the clear visor down together.
At leas for my face, the tinted visor comes right to the bridge of my nose but does not touch at all. Perfect fit. Given all that is going on with this helmet, I was impressed how well everthing works. Serious engineering here when you think about how many heads this stuff has to work for.:s
I ride with earplugs, but the noise much less than the HD up to about 60 mph. Above that speed, the noise is a little better (less) in the Shark, but everthing gets loud going that fast. Vibration from wind buffeting is much less with the Shark. I know this is subjective based on rider height and windshields, but in the summer I have a 6" windshield for getting all the air I can and I am 6'4" as a reference. I am pretty much getting the blast from the batwing right in the face.
The convertability works as advertised. It is a quality product that appears to be made very well. For me this lets me take one helmet and be as comfortable and as protected as I want to be for the riding conditions and my own risk acceptance.
I initially wore a half helmet for 2 weeks before getting the HD modular full face helmet (black with flames) a little over 2 years ago.
I liked the feel and openness of the 1/2 helmet, but I had issues at speeds over 50 mph with noise. Bugs, rain and cold were a problem, but for a relatively low speed cruise it feels great.
With a drop in temperatures and a more comfortable adjustment to my 100 mile commute every day at 65-80 mph, the modular HD helmet suited my tastes and made putting the helmet on or talking to others at traffic lights and such, very easy. It also helped with heat will sitting or moving slow in traffic because I could just raise the front to get air. It was difficult to ride above 40 mph with front up because it acted like a sail in the wind. I replace the lexan visor twice, but the tabs wore out very quickly, meaning that I could not ride with the clear visor open for ventilation. It woud just slam shut at modest speed. This helmet was my first, ever, full face motocycle helmet. It did well in the rain and it did not leak around the lexan visor. It has ventilation ports in the front and on top. The front worked pretty well at reducing fogging, but the airflow pretty much washes the inside of the visor. Neither of the vents did much for cooling me on warm days. In my opinion the top vent is useless and just makes noise.
After 2 summers of roasting in the helmet I queried this board for suggestions and after trying on a few, I settled on the Shark Evoline 2 (sliver color for better visibility). It looked to have all of the multitasking that I wanted and it offered the range of a 3/4 helmet with/without visor (up or down) and a full face design. It was pricey at $365. As buying helmets is a 1 shot deal, I am happy to say it is worth EVERY penny. The day I bought it I left for a 900 mile round trip in 3 days from MD to NC. I went through day, night, cool, hot, and rain. It performed terrific and aside my my head getting used to the new pressure points of this helmet, completely comfortable. It is lighter then the HD helmet and has much better padding (better fitting and better located at the cheeks. The HD didn't fit this well when it was new.) Similar to the HD, there were no leaks around the visor in the thunderstorms. Converting the helmet into any of the formats is easy to do with one hand, at any speed. Having the front of the helmet swing all the way to the back and lock in, out of the wind, makes all the difference in the world, as far as catching the wind like a sail. The clear lexan is much easier to replace than the HD model, as there is a single, push button tab on each side. The clear visor did stay up at any speed (vibrated quite a bit above 70 mph in the raised position, but down in the 3/4 mode it was smooth and quiet), but since it is new, I wait to see how long it will last, so no comparison yet, but the mechanism/hinge appears much more robust. And unlike the HD model the hinge is permanent on the helment and not part of the lexan visor itself. There are two small vents in this helmet but they seem about as effective as the HD model: not much. But, if I am hot or need some air, I just open the helmet up.
The Shark also has the "fighter pilot" style, daytime visor that slides down. This was a new feature that I didn't think I would like. I think I look stupid with it down, but I actually like its' function, so I will be looking stupid for a while longer.
As it retracts into the helmet, and unless you sneeze with it down, it should pretty much stay clean for a long time. Very convienent for changing light in the evenings going between heavy shade and low bright sun as sunglasses are hard to change in a full face helmet, while riding. In a 3/4 mode, I don't like the tinted visor as much as sunglasses. The visor works for glare but since it is not as close to your skin as glasses, I did get some occasional dust in my eyes. You are very well protected from bugs, small stone, etc though with the tinted visor and the clear visor down together.At leas for my face, the tinted visor comes right to the bridge of my nose but does not touch at all. Perfect fit. Given all that is going on with this helmet, I was impressed how well everthing works. Serious engineering here when you think about how many heads this stuff has to work for.
:sI ride with earplugs, but the noise much less than the HD up to about 60 mph. Above that speed, the noise is a little better (less) in the Shark, but everthing gets loud going that fast. Vibration from wind buffeting is much less with the Shark. I know this is subjective based on rider height and windshields, but in the summer I have a 6" windshield for getting all the air I can and I am 6'4" as a reference. I am pretty much getting the blast from the batwing right in the face.
The convertability works as advertised. It is a quality product that appears to be made very well. For me this lets me take one helmet and be as comfortable and as protected as I want to be for the riding conditions and my own risk acceptance.
