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I finally bought a new helmet, i put my HCJ to the back of the closet.
Based on the issues I had with the HJC, I looked for a new lid that covered my needs and wants.
First the old lid had covers for the visor pivot which equals nasty wind noise, the vents were pretty much useless, there was really no difference between open and closed. The lack of sufficient cheek padding made for uncomfortable push back at freeway speeds and dealing with sun glasses in the lid was a PITA.
I started looking a the Scorpion units based on the lid the wife currently has, she likes it and some of the complaints I had with the old lid hers doesn't have, so enter the new Scorpion EXO-500.
The new lid has no side covers, no wind noise! I have the Scala Pro comm system and with the visor down, I don't need to keep the volume way up like before, even with the built in tinted visor down, the wind noise is minimal. There is plenty of room for the boom style mic, I did buy the wired mic, I'm going to try both.
The vent system works well. We went for a ride into the mountains yesterday and I played with the vents as we rode along. the chin vent actually stops airflow. When open a good amount of air moves in, it got a bit cool in the mountains so it stayed closed most of the time. The vents on the top seemed to keep air flow out when closed... open there was some feeling of air.. I doubt enough to keep your head cool on a hot day, (and they are a bit hard to find with gloves) but with the chin vent open it seemed better. It also has the nose bridge thing that helps deflect air and to help keep from fogging the visor. I noticed no wind buffeting at freeway speeds either.
Top vents are in a good place, even with the visor open just a crack or wide open, I still felt air movement unlike the HJC, with the visor open just a bit it blocked the top vent.
The cheek pads have a built in "pump" system that you pump up to help with push back. The lid is a medium and fits snug but not too tight as apposed to the HJC that was tight as a large and now is somewhat loose due to age and use.
With out using the pump system there was no push back when we were on the freeway.. I did pump the button twice and it did snug up the cheek area nicely.. once the padding gets worn a bit I think the pump system will be very useful. The vent button is a bit of a challenge to find with or without gloves on, it's about the diameter of an eraser on a pencil.
The "I want" feature is the drop down tinted visor. The HJC I tried with the same visor system didn't seem to come down far enough for me and left a line just below my line of sight. The EXO comes down farther and with the nose bridge thing it leaves just a small sight line even tho the gap is about 1"
The lever to operate the tinted visor is a bit weak.. and by weak I mean its a challenge to find with gloves on to operate it, bare hands it's OK.. I'm sure with time it will be easier to find.
The outer visor also has a lever that locks the visor closed or keeps it locked open about 1/2" for venting and unlocked. It's a bit easier to find than the other.
The liner comes out for easy washing and replacing if needed. All the padding is comfortable and not itchy like the HJC was at first. The removable liner also makes it easy to install the comm system wires for the speakers, there are nice pockets that the fit behind nicely.
Over all with one days worth of riding, I like it, and the features work well. Time will tell how it preforms for me, but so far it was worth the money.
Based on the issues I had with the HJC, I looked for a new lid that covered my needs and wants.
First the old lid had covers for the visor pivot which equals nasty wind noise, the vents were pretty much useless, there was really no difference between open and closed. The lack of sufficient cheek padding made for uncomfortable push back at freeway speeds and dealing with sun glasses in the lid was a PITA.
I started looking a the Scorpion units based on the lid the wife currently has, she likes it and some of the complaints I had with the old lid hers doesn't have, so enter the new Scorpion EXO-500.
The new lid has no side covers, no wind noise! I have the Scala Pro comm system and with the visor down, I don't need to keep the volume way up like before, even with the built in tinted visor down, the wind noise is minimal. There is plenty of room for the boom style mic, I did buy the wired mic, I'm going to try both.
The vent system works well. We went for a ride into the mountains yesterday and I played with the vents as we rode along. the chin vent actually stops airflow. When open a good amount of air moves in, it got a bit cool in the mountains so it stayed closed most of the time. The vents on the top seemed to keep air flow out when closed... open there was some feeling of air.. I doubt enough to keep your head cool on a hot day, (and they are a bit hard to find with gloves) but with the chin vent open it seemed better. It also has the nose bridge thing that helps deflect air and to help keep from fogging the visor. I noticed no wind buffeting at freeway speeds either.
Top vents are in a good place, even with the visor open just a crack or wide open, I still felt air movement unlike the HJC, with the visor open just a bit it blocked the top vent.
The cheek pads have a built in "pump" system that you pump up to help with push back. The lid is a medium and fits snug but not too tight as apposed to the HJC that was tight as a large and now is somewhat loose due to age and use.
With out using the pump system there was no push back when we were on the freeway.. I did pump the button twice and it did snug up the cheek area nicely.. once the padding gets worn a bit I think the pump system will be very useful. The vent button is a bit of a challenge to find with or without gloves on, it's about the diameter of an eraser on a pencil.
The "I want" feature is the drop down tinted visor. The HJC I tried with the same visor system didn't seem to come down far enough for me and left a line just below my line of sight. The EXO comes down farther and with the nose bridge thing it leaves just a small sight line even tho the gap is about 1"
The lever to operate the tinted visor is a bit weak.. and by weak I mean its a challenge to find with gloves on to operate it, bare hands it's OK.. I'm sure with time it will be easier to find.
The outer visor also has a lever that locks the visor closed or keeps it locked open about 1/2" for venting and unlocked. It's a bit easier to find than the other.
The liner comes out for easy washing and replacing if needed. All the padding is comfortable and not itchy like the HJC was at first. The removable liner also makes it easy to install the comm system wires for the speakers, there are nice pockets that the fit behind nicely.
Over all with one days worth of riding, I like it, and the features work well. Time will tell how it preforms for me, but so far it was worth the money.
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