We were fortunate to receive the brand new Helite Turtle 2 on loan from Helite to test. It was too big for me, so I didn’t ride-test it, but I did get to try out detonating (is that the right word?) a cartridge while wearing it. It really does provide nearly instant neck stabilization and after this test, I’d be very confident in it protecting me when I really needed it to.
You should definitely read OnlyTwoWheels’ full writeup. I’m putting one of these (in the correct size) on my Christmas list for sure!
For the first time in a long time, I have two brand new lids. One was a planned replacement of my 5 year old Shoei GT Air, and one was a purely spontaneous purchase because, well, tentacles.
I’ve been commuting with this lid for about a week now. My regular Shoei size (S) fit perfectly, and I’ve never been so glad that my head is a longish oval - the Airflite is not the lid for those of you with round noggins. If my head were even slightly more on the round side, I’d have needed to try swapping out cheek pads to get a better fit. Adding the new Cardo Packtalk Bold with JBL speakers was a breeze, and the Cardo unit doesn’t seem to add much drag on the lid.
Ergonomics
If that’s really the right word. The face shield is really glove-friendly, thanks to a easy-to-grab lip on the lower chin. The face shield is kind of a weird Hannibal Lecter style, with the shield covering the chin bar’s air intake, but that’s also what makes it glove-friendly. The face shield doesn’t have particular open settings - it seems to just stay put at any height you crack it open to. The drop down internal sun visor (it blue!) is just a bit fiddly to operate with gloves. To deploy the visor, you need to press in and then up. It’s taken a bit to get used to, and on one particularly sunny ride home, I just couldn’t get it so it was a really squinty ride home. One last note on field of vision - it’s pretty huge, more like what you’d get in an offroad lid compared to my touring lid.
Airflow
Inky is definitely my new favorite summer run-around-town lid. The massive chinbar intake and the exhaust ports on top flow all the air. All of it. I’m actually looking forward to the hot Portland summer now, thinking I won’t be as much of a sweaty mess after a ride. Add in the anti-fog coating on both the faceshield and the internal visor and you’ve got it made. All that airflow comes with a price though - the lid is noisy! If I were planning a lot of highway miles, I’d probably be reaching for my touring lid because it’s a lot quieter and a lot less fatiguing.
Looks
Not gonna lie, this lid is a LOT of look. So much look that it’s not usually my thing. But again, tentacles! And high-vis blue metallic. Oh yeah, and fishies. Winner all around. Bonus points - one of the younger folks I work with saw it on my desk and pointed out HOW COOL it was.
Niggles
I just have a couple, one being the fiddly internal sun visor deployment mechanism. I suspect I’ll get used to that before too long. My other big niggle - that internal visor is just a little short. If it were even a couple of millimeters longer, it’d offer better light coverage, particularly on morning commutes when the sun’s just coming over the horizon.
It’s not too much of a secret that I really like octopi. I missed out on getting Icon’s Airmada Colossal lid a few years back, and I’ve regretted it often. I don’t think I’ll make the same mistake with their new Airflite Inky Blue. It’s a lot of graphic. More than I usually like. But holy tentacles. And fishies! Yeah I think I’m going to have to pick this one up.
That feeling when you get a status update from the shop on your motorbike and that status update is that your bike is defying diagnosis. Ugh. And of course my backup bike has a dead battery and is also in need of some TLC like an oil change.
I have two motorbikes, and neither of them work. Le sigh. This is putting a cramp in my everyday rider style, just as the weather’s getting NICE.
It’s Mileage Maniacs time again! Mileage Maniacs is a really fun rally that’s simple - any motorcyclist can do it. The goal is to just ride as many miles as you can between March 1 and November 30. Documentation is a snap - once you’ve registered all you need to do is post a photo with a dated receipt and your odometer to start. As an added bonus, the rally is a fundraiser for Freedom Service Dogs, a really great organization that rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to be service dogs for folks who really need them.
It’s time to replace my trusty Shoei GT-Air (just checked the label, and it rolled off the production line in February 2014). I’m a bit of a data nerd, and over the life of my lid, I’ve worn it at least 843 days. With an initial purchase price of $610, that works out to a daily cost-per-wear of $0.72. Not too shabby, and a pretty decent investment.
Fortunately, Shoei’s released the latest version of my lid, the GT-Air II, just in time. I just preordered my new lid from Revzilla and it should be in my hands by the end of March. Naturally, an unboxing and first impressions review will be coming.
In the meantime, here’s a whole lot of info and tech specs direct from Shoei for your reading pleasure.
And can I just say how stoked I am that they’re hanging on to my first GT-Air’s color scheme (photo courtesy of Revzilla/Shoei)??
Hey would ya look at that? I’m on another podcast! Check out episode 6 of 200 Miles Before Breakfast for a discussion with me! I’m almost getting used to these now.
The official description from the BMW MOA: Join us for a discussion with Liz Howe, MOA member since 2016, solo Euro-traveller, blogger and year-round F 800 GT rider.
I’ll have much more to share later on, but I just put up a couple of shots from tonight on Instagram (follow me there at @1girl1bike1world if you like bikes, cats, and tiki drinks!), and I couldn’t resist sharing this photo that OnlyTwoWheels took of me…
…taking this photo!
If you’re in Portland this weekend, you really should get down to the show - so many incredible bikes!
This season called for a shiny new pair of winter riding gloves (I’d worn a hole in the left thumb of my BMW two-in-one gloves, which might mean I’m a little too aggressive when I turn on my turn indicators…). I’ve been really happy with Racer gloves for my summer riding, and decided to give their Tour FHH winter gloves a try.
The Tour FHH (FHH stands for ‘For Heated Handgrips’) gloves are only available in mens’ sizing, so I measured and fell in between a M and L. Because my fingers are long, I sized up to the L, and that proved to be the right choice for me.
These gloves are so, so soft inside - it sounds a little ridiculous, but it felt like my hands were wrapped in cozy flannel sheets. They’re thick, but not so thick that you can’t really feel your controls. Plus, remember that FHH? The palms have less insulation so that there’s much better heat transfer from your heated grips. I’ve tested this a bunch this winter, and they’re absolutely a warmer glove than my old gloves. Better grip and feel, too. They’ve also got a waterproof membrane, so even when it’s wet out, my hands have stayed nice and dry. I’ve got about 4 months of near-daily use on these gloves now, and they don’t look any worse for wear than when I pulled them out of the package.
If you’re looking for a winter glove that will keep you warm and dry but won’t break the bank, I’d absolutely put these on the list to try.
Here’s some more detailed specs, straight from Racer’s site:
Last night, Scott and I were on the radio! We had so much fun chatting about why we ride, some of our adventures, and the music that makes our adventures memorable. The show’s available now to stream at your convenience - give it a listen if you’re so inclined!
