Shoei XR-1100

After the Schuberth S1 and S1 Pro, today I moved on to a new full-face helmet that I had read plenty of good things about: Shoei XR-1100 Enigma TC-4 . One of the new graphic versions of Shoei's sport-touring helmet, the successor to the familiar XR-1000.

Choosing wasn't easy this time either. I think it took me four hours in all to reach a final decision, although another test did interrupt things. After the first half-hour, as you might imagine, I was torn between this and the S1 Pro.

Other makes/models I looked at and quickly ruled out:
Schuberth SR1: €750, no sun visor
Suomy Excel and Vandal: claustrophobic, wonderful colours, average workmanship
Arai Quantum: €550, like the old XR-1000; for some reason it left me with an impression of poor quality, claustrophobic

This time I didn't choose the S1 Pro, the other finalist. The first reason was the price. All right, it was only €10 more than the Shoei, but I remember paying no more than €400–450 for one before, even though I have always bought from shops in Turkey. My second reason was the inadequate ventilation at low speeds. Third, there is still no polarised filter option for the sun visor. And as a fourth reason, let's add that I fancied a change this time.

It felt light when I picked it up. Granted, it is 75 g lighter, but out of 1.5 kg that isn't a difference you should feel in your hand. Probably psychological, I thought, and carried on examining it. The workmanship is good. I was expecting something like the Arai; frankly, it's better, or at least it looks that way. The seal and visor mechanism are well thought out; I liked them. Lots of vents, seven in all, and each can be opened and closed individually. All very nice, but will my precious head and delicate hands manage to open and close them with this thing on my head? Trying it costs nothing, so on it goes.
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Of course, as expected, opening and closing the six vents on top individually while wearing it is torture. Perhaps I'll get used to it, but fiddling with them on the road makes no sense. I wish we could open and close them all from one place: my precious head isn't the sort that needs settings such as one and three open, two, four, five and six closed. It's hot, open them all; it's raining, close them all. That's enough for me.

It felt lighter on my head too. Could still be psychological, I told myself. The field of view is wide, as wide as the S1's; excellent! Naturally, there's less room in front of my mouth, but considerably more than in the Arai and Suomy. I didn't feel uncomfortable inside. The chin guard does touch my chin, though; will that become annoying after riding for a while?

Unfortunately, trying that isn't free this time. After plenty of thought and trying on various models, I told myself: right, I'm buying it. I'd also like to thank the staff at Özen Motor again here for their patience and attentive help throughout.

It's hot. My GSR doesn't have exotic electronics to tell me the temperature, but I'd say 45°C. :) I start getting ready for the first ride. The double-D fastening doesn't give me much trouble. All the vents are open, and the visor is still cracked open too. I head slowly towards the coast road. My first aim is to find some traffic. In my beloved city that's hardly difficult: 150 m later, mission accomplished. Stop, start, dodge over there, squeeze in here; we're all jostling in traffic. I've closed the visor fully now and I'm still not suffocating. Mind you, closing it doesn't shut out the outside noise the way the S1 does, but it's airy. For this weather and city riding, I think that's a good trade-off.

Bored with the traffic, I joined the road to the first bridge, then the road to the second. It's relatively clear and I'm riding at a brisk pace, deliberately using more revs than usual. My fuel light is winking too; I hope I don't get stranded in this heat. It's noisier than the S1, whatever anyone says. Not unbearable, but let me remind you that I'm riding an inline-four naked bike with its standard exhaust. The helmet doesn't develop a louder noise of its own as speed increases; in other words, it isn't adding extra noise, it just insulates less effectively. Earplugs will be needed on long rides.

I took the Şile exit. Fresh asphalt, and I'm reaching unnecessary speeds. All for you; this test matters more than my life. :P It's stable at high speed, perhaps the best of anything I've worn to date. The noise has increased too, but I'm still not uncomfortable; keep opening the throttle. Now we're heading into the sun. I reach up, but there's no sun visor. That's not good. Sure, I said I'd wear sunglasses, but what about the tunnels I ride through? Grumbling, I slow down a little. My chin comes to mind: still no discomfort, so that worry was unfounded.

There's a rubbing noise when I do a shoulder check. At first I think it's the loose end of the D-ring strap, but it isn't. It's coming from the nape of my neck; the plastic there must be rubbing against my jacket. If it touches my summer jacket, what will it do with the winter one? Or a riding suit? Should I tilt my head down more? How will I look ahead? I sit a little more upright and the rubbing stops. Fully tucked in, it's gone too. Somewhere in between, leaning gently towards the tank and extending my chin towards where I'm going, that noise appears. I'll either get used to it or change the way I look. Better get used to the noise.

The ride is over and I'm home. I'm smiling. It feels like the right purchase, though it's still early days. Let me spend ten thousand kilometres in it, then I'll continue this review.

Edit: I stayed happy with it afterwards and still use it. I changed the visor; it now has a “smoke” visor, a graduated tint.