Shark Vision-R Helmet - Review

Shark helmets have revolutionised the way we look at (or more specifically, through) the visor by extending up and outwards with their new Vision R helmet for 2011, armed with our sample lid and a fair few thousand miles Kate cracks on and gets the lowdown

Initial Thoughts

I think Leigh's preference for Shark helmets seems to have rubbed off on me, at the 2010 Motorcycle Live Show we are doing the rounds and speaking to clients when we eventually get to the expansive Shark display, knowing full well he will be bagging their newest top of the range helmet I get to looking at the range and the newest innovation on offer seems to be the Vision-R, a helmet that has had the panoramic treatment across the visor in order to widen the overall field of view. Being a more street and touring bias is perfect for my use and so I bag myself one to come through in 2011.

Construction

I almost never end up with the lightest helmet and I am told that the more lightweight 'racy' lids are usually designed and aimed at racers and those that like to emulate them, I have this backed up by one of the Shark technicians I got speaking to who confirmed that for regular street riding a little extra weight can be just a little additional padding which usually reduces road noise and as a result, increases comfort. You will not see me on the track, you will normally see me riding pillion through Derbyshire and as such I want that all important comfort, putting the Shark Vision-R on does feel heavy though and compared to the last helmet I got to review it is a little lighter feeling so I am a happy gal.

The Vision-R in a small size weighs in at 1395g, not too shabby at all. The helmet features a drop down sun visor, bags of comfortable padding and a few new techy features such as a new autoseal visor which aims to create a creater seal thus reducing wind noise, on the visor you also get a fast anti fogging system which in reality is a small catch designed to pop a small area of the visor open enough for a little rush of air to get in - simple, effective, perfect for me.

As you get moving you notice that the Vision R helmet lives up to its claim of being quiet, at very much illegal speeds you get none of the typical booming found in lower spec helmets, there is zero helmet lift either in that as the wind speed rushing at you increases your helmet does not try and break free from your face and fly both up and back - this in itself helps stop my neck and back suffering any ache and fatigue during long rides. But I have not got to the biggest feature of all yet and believe me, it really is eye opening in more ways than one.

The Vision-R is aptly named as vision is massively improved on just about any other helmet you can fit on your dome, from the front it feels like you are sat in one of the new cars with a panoramic windscreen as the visor gives you a massive 25% more vertical vision and even side to side you get a boost of 10% on the norm. What that means in real terms though is that you see everything around you which having shared the lid with Leigh for a day is confirmed as he explains that the racier a helmet gets the smaller the viewport seems to be as on track you dont look for the distractions to the side and rear of you so much, as a helmet for touring you find you are taking in much more of the surrounding scenery too.

One thing that detracts from an otherwise blinding product is the size and shape of the helmet, I got mine in the plain white which I do not think helps much but the relationship between the chin bar and the extended visor makes it look a bit odd from the front, like someone has used a liquify brush in photoshop a little, when you put it side by side with a typically small shell helmet such as an Arai or Suomy, even medium sized models the Vision R is noticably bigger and more stretched out. It seems that in order to reduce noise and helmet lift the shape is necessary and the fact the helmet lives up to its claims works for me but it is no oil painting compared to others on the market.

The extended height on the visor does mean you catch more of those oh-so rare sun rays though when you get a good day and means you reach for the internal visor more often, the lever is easy to locate and has a solid resistance to it's action which reflects on the overall quality of this helmet, the vents are enough to keep your head cool on a hot day without introducing unwanted wind noise and overall the £229 asking price for the Shark Vision-R puts it in my opinion a better value for money bracket than a number of pricier lids.