There’s nothing like getting a new lid. The smell, the solid feeling in the liner as you strap it on for the first time, there’s just nothing like it. If I could, I’d get a new lid far more often than I do already just for that. But there’s a reason for me now having a second lid to work with here at BRM.
With my tried and true lid not suited to all bikes when it comes to getting that awesome shot (black and fluoro yellow tends to be like that…), we called up Darbi Accessories to see if they had a good quality lid with a less “safety police” vibe to it. Safety was still right up there with our choice though. After all, we try to lead by example here at BRM, but we appreciate not everyone can fork out over a grand for a brand new Arai…
New for this year is a range of new graphics and colours for the popular FG-ST helmet from HJC, and with free reign to pick out a lid that suited my tastes I settled on the red Crucial scheme seen here, since I could already imagine it would look pretty swish with my similarly coloured Rev’It! Replica jacket aboard a sportsbike. There’s also the bonus of white standing out on the road, so while it’s not fluoro, there’s more chance of a driver seeing it than say, a solid black version. At least that’s the theory.
It’s got plenty of features I love apart from the colour. There’s a drop down sun visor which snaps into place in the blink of an eye (it’s really quite quick!). The visor itself locks into place securely with a fastener at the apex of the chin bar and is easily removed with HJC’s RapidFire II replacement system. Then there is of course the supplied PinLock anti-fog visor insert which comes with the helmet straight out of the box.
But most of all it is comfy and easy to use. It’s glasses friendly – I can slide mine on and don’t get any discomfort from the arms, something that many other helmets aren’t so great at despite the rising age of your average rider.
Something I still struggle with my other helmet is knowing whether or not the air vents are open or closed, especially when I’ve got a fairing in front of me reducing air flow. On the HJC it’s a Mat-proof system, with the vents (which are essentially the same as on the FG-17 model) blatantly open or closed.
Wind noise is pretty good for a mid-range helmet which was a nice surprise considering even some pricier lids can be real shockers.
For the price – $419 – it’s a damn good offering and well worth a look if you want a high quality lid that won’t break the bank.
Distributed by: Darbi Accessories
