Two Wheel Junction - News

HJC SyMax II Helmet Review

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:52:18 EDT

Ogre's Thoughts

I've been wearing glasses for 35+ years. Glasses and full face helmets are not the easiest of life's little challenges to manage. A flip front helmet is an excellent solution to the problem. With the chin bar flipped up, I can put on the helmet on with out having to take off the glasses. I've had other flip front helmets prior to the SyMax II. Again it came back to the glasses issue though. Sunglasses are still required and managing clip on sunglasses while riding can be problematic. In comes the HJC SyMax II! A flip front helmet with a built in retractable sun visor. My dreams had finally come true. I had seen other full face helmets with the retractable sun visor, but not with the flip front until this one. As quickly as I could I went out to try one on. It seemed to fit ok in a large and now it is in my collection of helmets.

First impressions were good. Reasonably quiet for a flip front. The cheek pads were a bit stiff but that is fairly normal and just take a little breaking in. The flip front is very easy to get up and down. The face shield seals pretty well and is easy to get on and off the helmet. The vents are average. One in the chin bar and then one at the back of the temple.

After riding with it for a couple of days, I found the sun visor VERY useful and easy to use. There is a slide on the top of the helmet that puts the sun visor down. It has 3 different clicks allowing a small amount of adjustment of how far the visor comes down. At the front of the slide is a button that when pressed quickly retracts the visor back in the helmet. Both are very easy to work even with gloves on. It did note one problem with the visor. I found the nose cutout to be a bit small for my big nose. After a little examination, I found that I could take the sun visor out of the helmet. With it out, I took it to my workshop and carefully made the nose cutout larger using my handy dremel with a sanding drum on it and once I thought I had enough of a cutout, used the buffing tool and buffed the edge to make it nice and smooth. This made the sun visor much more comfortable for me.
I've now had the helmet for about 4 months and have been overall pleased with it. It made my Iron Butt ride back in June much easier with the ability to put the visor up and down as needed without having to stop and change shields or put on or remove sunglasses.

A couple of things I think could be better. First, the nose cutout is still a little low and bumps my nose occasionally. As noted above, I have already altered it once, but this brings me to the second improvement needed. The way the sun visor clips in to the retracting mechanism is a bit flimsy. It is just 2 small plastic pins that clip in to the mechanism. When I took the visor out a second time to adjust the nose cutout, one of the pins broke on the visor rendering it useless. I am in the process of trying to obtain a new visor.

The last thing I have found a little worrisome is how easy the flip front is to open accidentally. To unlatch the flip front, just pull a tab on the bottom of the chin bar. From a usability stand point, it is very easy. From a safety stand point, it appears that something could easily catch that tab and the chin bar could come open in a crash. I don't have first hand experience with crashing one of the helmets and do not want any, but compared to some of the other flip front helmets, this just seems a bit too easy to open.

The HJC SyMax II is the second generation of the SyMax modular flip face helmet. It is the top of the line modular in the HJC product line, and in it's second generation brings several enhancements, including an integrated internal sun visor. Though this helmet shares a name with the predecessor, it is a wholesale replacement, and not an evolutionary change from a prior model.

With an MSRP of $279-289 (color dependent) this is not the cheapest modular helmet on the market, but it is competitive in the middle of the price spectrum, missing the overall average MSRP of the modular helmets available in the US by just $2.

The official specs from HJC:

Advanced Fiberglass Shell with Adjustable Polycarbonate Chin Bar: Lightweight, superior fit and comfort using advanced CAD technology.

One-Touch Patent Pending Integrated SunShield:Smoke-tinted SunShield deploys quickly and easily.

Single-button Chin Bar/Faceshield Release: Open with one hand even with gloves on*.

"ACS" Advanced Channeling Ventilation System: Full front to back airflow flushes heat and humidity up and out.

SilverCool Interior: Moisture-wicking and odor-free interior with advanced silver anti-bacterial fabric. Crown and cheek pads are removable and washable.

Optically Superior Faceshield: 95% UV protection.

Shield Replacement System: Quick, secure, tool-less removal and installation.

DOT Approved

SIZES: XS-XXL

We acquired two HJC's SyMax II helmets for testing. Both have been in use for a couple of months now, and while the overall impressions have been good, there have been some concerns from both riders. Both riders wear glasses, and the sun visor combined with the modular flip face design is a compelling feature mix. In our research, the options are limited in the US market, there are 3 helmets readily available with both features. The Nolan N103 which is just becoming widely available, the HJC SyMax II, and the Zamp FL-20.

This is the first of the 3 that we have begun to test.

Please note, the images all link to larger (much larger) images, and may take some time to download on slow connections.

Fit and Finish

Paint quality is good, and the visor fits well. The liner is well assembled, but on one of the two test helmets, the plastic snaps that hold the liner in showed a tendency to come unsnapped over the course of usage. Like the previous generation SyMax, the chin strap retains the metal D ring with a plastic snap to retain the end of the chin strap. The vents all have good positive feedback when opened and closed. The face shield has good ratchet points without being so tight that it is difficult to move.

Noise

Typical of a modular helmet, the SyMax Ii is a little noisier than equivalent full face helmets. The second generation SyMax seems to be noticeably quieter in most situations than most modular helmets, and on par with many traditional full face helmets. In addition the occasional mild whistling that sometimes occurred on the previous generation SyMax appears to have been eliminated with a redesigned vent closure on the top of the helmet. While still not the quietest helmet on the roads, this is certainly an improvement over most modular helmets today.

Size

Like many vendors, HJC is using a single shell (outer helmet) with different padding to accommodate different sizes. While this certainly reduced costs, it can make a small seem huge, and an x-large seem small. The SyMax II is by no means a lightweight helmet, but the sizing compared to the sizing chart seems quite accurate. Both of the riders that tested the helmet for us measure to a 60cm size which places them at the snug in a Large area. Both reported that to be an accurate sizing. Weight is an issue, but not uncomfortably so. The biggest complaint regarding size is the chin bar rakes back a little and both riders reported being able to touch the inside of the chin bar with their chin.

Face shield & Visor

Optically correct the face shield covers a large opening, particularly large vertically without limiting peripheral vision, the face shield doesn't evidence any color distortion even with polarized glasses on under the shield. The face shield also provides good UV protection, such that it will not trigger the self darkening features of transition glasses lenses. The visor is a medium tint and has two down positions, separated by about 10 mm. For most forward leaning riding positions, the first position should provide ample sun protection. For more upright positions, the lower second position may be required but may impact the nose. Adding the visor does not produce any noticeable distortion even when wearing polarized glasses. The visor can be removed to be reshaped if required, but it is a process that is not difficult, but must be undertaken with care as the retaining clips are relatively easy to break.

Comfort

The high point of the SyMax is in the comfort aspect. Between the SilverCool fabric which breathes well without being abrasive on the skin and ample, if not stellar venting, this is a comfortable helmet even for extended riding. While the interior is prone to fogging while stopped, it vents well when moving and clears quickly. We did notice that the new shape does drop water onto the riders neck in the rain, but that is not a huge issue. Once you are wet, you are wet.

Chin Bar

For the modular helmets, we are looking at the chin bar closely. It is our opinion that this is the most likely failure point in the modular helmet design. If the chin bar fails, you are not wearing a full face helmet but a 3/4 with a face shield. The new SyMax uses a metal pin and clip mechanism on the chin bar latch, so it should withstand the impact of an accident as well as the rest of the helmet should. The latch / release mechanism is the biggest concern with the SyMax II. Visually, this looks like the same single pull release that the original SyMax uses, however, in wearing the second generation SyMax, the release mechanism is very very easy to release. Therein lies the concern with this helmet. In straight on and angled drop testing, the chin bar should be fine, but when you add the changes in angle and bumping of a real world accident, the ease of releasing the chin bar becomes a worry. One bump to the center of the chin bar from the inside (remember the chin touching the chin bar comments?) and the chin bar releases. Admittedly, this is a low percentage risk, but a risk nonetheless, so you should evaluate this on a personal, case by case basis.

Summary

For the price, the SyMax II is a good offering, and at this point is leading the pack when it comes to integrated visors on a modular helmet. Though the chin bar remains a point of concern, the SyMax II is well situation as a good helmet with a difficult to find integrated internal sun visor that makes it an attractive option to the glasses wearing rider, as well as those that do not like wearing sunglasses under the helmet. For the truly safety conscious, the chin bar concerns may dictate a different purchase of a modular helmet with a stronger release mechanism on the chin bar or a full-face without the flip up chin bar.

Additional Pictures

Suzuki Expands 250cc Street Lineup

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:22:18 EDT

In another sign of the explosive growth in scooters and new riders, Suzuki has expanded it's line of small displacement bikes in the US with the addition of a new model targeted the commuter and new rider market.

Since 2007, Suzuki has made the GZ250 available in the US market. This has been one of the few brand name 250cc street motorcycles available, competing directly with the Honda Rebel, Honda Nighthawk, Kawasaki Ninja, Kymco Venox, Yamaha V-Star 250, and a handful of smaller brands with 250cc bikes, all in the $3500-4100 price range.

With 2009 models being announced Suzuki has added the new TU250. Sharing a price point with the GZ250 at $3499, the new TU sports a Fuel Injected engine and a slightly 'retro' styling that gives it a fun and unique visual appeal within the spectrum of 250's. The benefits of fuel injection should be a nice bonus to this bike, and make it one of the best options in the small displacement motorcycle market place.

Piaggio USA Dealer Meetings

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:06:22 EDT

As per the norm, Piaggio USA used it's annual dealer meetings to put some of the upcoming products in front of dealers. While there are no real surprises in the mix, it looks like the path forward is being set. At the meetings, Piaggio USA, announced that the Vespa GTS Super will be coming with a 300cc engine next year, as well as adding a 50 and 150cc to the Aprilia Sport City line. Both of the new Sport City's will come from the Chinese partnership that has been building the Piaggio Fly and the Piaggio Carnaby (not available in the US) for a couple of years now.

Also announced was that the Hybrid powered MP3 will not make their way to US shores until 2010.

While there is little new, there are a couple of surprises. One is that the Gilera GP800 has still not been confirmed for the US market. Second, the Vespa S model will be getting a 50cc variant with a new 4 valve engine that is intended to bring 2-stroke performance to a 4-stroke engine.