Shoei GT-Air Review

[maf13s10]

Over the weekend I had a new helmet delivered. A Shoei GT-Air in Brilliant Yellow. I had tried this helmet on a couple weeks ago and ordered it online. I received it on Saturday and was able to take my first ride with it today.

The helmet fit me very well. My previous helmet was an Arai Quantum II. Both helmets are size large. The GT air fits just a bit tighter but that could pack out just a bit. I would say I’m in intermediate oval. I’m not going to say a lot about fit. Every head is different and you should get what fits you best.

It came with a Pinlock shield that I didn’t initially install but after my cooler commute this morning the shield was fogging up. I’ll put that on tonight and see how it goes from there. The shield locks in place nicely. If you leave it down but not locked it gives a tiny bit of airflow. The only annoyance I had with this was a whistle when I turned my head right. If the shield was locked the whistle went away.

The helmet has a drop down sun visor. Due to that it is not Snell approved. Snell will not even look at a helmet with an internal visor. I think the visor could be just a little bit bigger and a shade or two darker. But it was very nice not having to change shields with the different light conditions. My commute starts at dusk and I’m usually getting the sun in my mirrors a little later. This sun visor really helped.

Venting was okay, I had a balaclava on so I couldn't really tell what the top vent was doing but that shouldn't be an issue on the next couple rides. I’ll put up an update after a few more rides.

Overall it is a very comfortable helmet and I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

 

[squarebore]

Thanks for the review. I have been waiting to try one for size so I can order one. Replacing a Shark vision-r. I'm used to the internal sun visor and love it but poking forward to having the recesses for speakers.

 

[Philistine]

I have been using a GT-Air for a year now, and I love it, the vent on top works very well, you can actually feel the air rushing in on top of your head, the drop down visor is optically correct, I thought it could be a little darker at the start, but after a while I got use to it and I think it is fine now, I have done a few rides in pouring rain and it holds up fine, the visor is water tight and the pinlock works just great, I have never run with a pinlock before but wont be without one again, the only down side I could think of would be the price of replacement visors $100Au for a clear, but this visor is thicker I think, so that's properly why is more expensive, all in all I'm very happy with this helmet I can wear it all day without out any discomfort at all ::008::

 

[maf13s10]

On my ride home this afternoon I was without the balaclava. I definitely felt the air through the top vent. Much more than I was anticipating. It will be welcome on a hot day. I still had a bit of fogging with 60 degree temps. Something I'm not used to. The Arai only fogged if it was cold out. Anything above 60 degrees and it was fine. Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be really rainy so I'll be caging it to work but Thursday and Friday look good. I'll get the Pinlock put on and see what happens.

 

[Tremor38]

On my ride home this afternoon I was without the balaclava. I definitely felt the air through the top vent. Much more than I was anticipating. It will be welcome on a hot day. I still had a bit of fogging with 60 degree temps. Something I'm not used to. The Arai only fogged if it was cold out. Anything above 60 degrees and it was fine. Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be really rainy so I'll be caging it to work but Thursday and Friday look good. I'll get the Pinlock put on and see what happens.

My experience with Shoei helmets is that they tend to fog up much easier than other helmets I've owned (Arai and Shark). I have the Neotec, and the pinlock insert is a must. It works beautifully in all but the most nasty of weather. Just beware that, over time, the pinlock insert will shrink ever-so-slightly necessitating adjustment of the retainer posts to keep the seal fully engaged with the visor. The posts rotate, so just turn them to tighten of the insert. The instructions that came with my helmet mentioned nothing about that. Eventually, say maybe every 2-3 years, the inserts should be replaced.

 

[Brick]

Well my experience with the GT Air is nothing like yours. I too got the bright yellow and loved how it looked, loved fit and finish, loved how light it is. However it was the noisiest helmet I've ever had. I also don't think I have a head shaped for that model Shoei. I paid a 20% restocking charge just together rid of it.
Got the Scorpion EXO1100 in that bright yellow and love it. Both helmets had the drop down sun visor and the other good stuff. But the Scorpion didn't cost as much.
YMMV




Brick

 

[squarebore]

I tried a GT air on today and the XL was very tight. Strange as a L should have been the right fit. I had heard that Shoeis are strange shape and maybe that is right. I wanted to try a 2XL but none in stock.

 

[fredz43]

I tried a GT air on today and the XL was very tight. Strange as a L should have been the right fit. I had heard that Shoeis are strange shape and maybe that is right. I wanted to try a 2XL but none in stock.

I have worn a Shoei RF1000 and RF1100 in Large, and I also found the GT Air in XL too tight. It seems to take a different head shape than the previous Shoeis I have worn. I tried the new RF1200 Large and it fits perfectly, so I believe I will go with that. I wanted the GT Air, but it sure doesn't fit my head.

 

[Kevhunts]

I have worn a Shoei RF1000 and RF1100 in Large, and I also found the GT Air in XL too tight. It seems to take a different head shape than the previous Shoeis I have worn. I tried the new RF1200 Large and it fits perfectly, so I believe I will go with that. I wanted the GT Air, but it sure doesn't fit my head.

Fred, would you say your head is more round than oval?

 

[fredz43]

Fred, would you say your head is more round than oval?

Well, I don't know for sure what shape my head is. I do know that I have worn Shoei helmets for years, starting with a RF200 thru a RF1100 and they all fit me very well. I tried on the new RF1200 and it fit great, but the GT Air didn't work at all.

 

[maf13s10]

I think I'm a round oval. I used an Aria Quantum II and it is designated a round oval helmet by Aria. The fit on the GT-Air worked great for me. I tried a RF-1200 while I was at a dealer and it didn't fit as well.

 

[tomatocity]

Web Bike world usually has good information http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmets.htm

 

[fredz43]

Web Bike world usually has good information http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmets.htm

Thanks for that, Tim. I found something interesting in reading their review of the RF1200 that explains why I didn't find the GT Air fit to work for me. They say:

The RF-1200 has a different overall shell shape profile than the GT Air, which means that the size large RF-1200 fits over my bulb-shaped head where the size large GT Air did not.

The GT Air has a very narrow taper towards the bottom of the helmet; so narrow, in fact, that I couldn't fit it over my head without tearing my ears off, so I had to return it for an XL.


I tried the GT Air in my normal size Large and did manage to get it on with some difficulty, but it felt too tight. I also bent one of the temples of my glasses when trying to slide them into the GT Air. Perhaps if I tried a size XL instead of my normal Large, it would work.

 

[BButl]

A couple things I noticed about my Shoei GT-Air.

1. It does fog a lot more than Arai. I had the Arai Corsair without pinlock and it would FOG LESS than this Shoei GT-Air with pinlock installed.
2. Doesn't fit me as good. I did replace headliner and cheek pads with smaller ones but has a more round fit than the oval of the Arai.

 

[rbernie]

I have an intermediate oval head, so I fit the Arai Signet and most Shoei helmets better than anything else. I'm sold on the notion of an integral sun shade - I wear glasses and ride a lot of long distance on the 'slab, and I find stopping to change glasses when conditions change to be a PITA. I have two GT-Airs (one for me and one for the youngsters on pillion) and a Neotech. I've pretty much moved away from the Signet and non-sun shade equipped Shoei's into the GT-Air/Neotech line, and the older helmets are now pillion loaners.

So far, I have about 3K miles split between the Neotech and the GT-Air. At 85mph, the GT-Air is quieter than my 5-6 year old Signet or the Neotech, and the Neotech is marginally quieter than the Signet. The Neotech head opening is narrower than the GT-Air, which is in turn narrower than the Signet. I wound up replacing the 35mm cheekpads in the Neotech with 31mm, but the 35mm pads in the GT-Air fit me just fine.

I've tended to use the GT-Air around town, and use the Neotech on the 'slab when I want the ability to raise the chinbar and eat/drink while I drone along. I also find being able to raise the chinbar at stoplights helps me keep cool when stuck in no'Texas traffic, so the Neotech is now also doing commute duty as well as touring duty. If I had to standardize on just one, I'd probably standardize on the Neotech because of the versatility of being able to raise the chinbar.

 

[fredz43]

Thanks for that, Tim. I found something interesting in reading their review of the RF1200 that explains why I didn't find the GT Air fit to work for me. They say:

The RF-1200 has a different overall shell shape profile than the GT Air, which means that the size large RF-1200 fits over my bulb-shaped head where the size large GT Air did not.

The GT Air has a very narrow taper towards the bottom of the helmet; so narrow, in fact, that I couldn't fit it over my head without tearing my ears off, so I had to return it for an XL.


I tried the GT Air in my normal size Large and did manage to get it on with some difficulty, but it felt too tight. I also bent one of the temples of my glasses when trying to slide them into the GT Air. Perhaps if I tried a size XL instead of my normal Large, it would work.

To update my earlier post, slightly off topic. I decided to try the RF1200 and couldn't be happier. It fits more like the RF1000 that I had previous to my RF1100. It feels lighter and is quieter, comes with a Pinlock shield, so I don't have to buy that as I did with the RF1100. It doesn't have a drop down sunshield, but for years I have had my glasses made with Transition lenses, so they darken automatically when it is sunny and lighten when the sun goes down. My normal size Large fits perfectly and goes on easily. Works for me.