Imagine me in an "Entry Level Lid"?....

JINKSTER

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As much as it hurt me to do so?...I needed to retire and replace my 8 year old Shoei RF1100 with it's killer Diabolic/Revelation graphics because the EPS foam was hardening up while the cushion foams were breaking down. :(

I've always dropped big bucks on Shoei lids but at 60 years old I no longer desire the fancy eye candy graphics but what I do desire is functionality, convenience and ease-of-use...you know...things that make life easier...like google maps streaming through a Bluetooth unit with real time directions getting pumped into my nearing dementia days head so I don't get lost! LOL!...(for too long anyways! LOL!)

Then again?...it's also nice to have Sirius/XM to listen to when you are lost...so I got that app too! LOL!

It's also nice to have but one permanent face shield that never needs to get swapped out which came in the form of a "Transitions Face Shield" that actually came with this $269 Bell Qualifier DLX/MIPS helmet where with a Sena Bluetooth unit installed?...came in at about $450 total (with my military discount at cycle gear WPB, FL) which is about $200-$300 less than what I would've dropped on a Shoei...with one clear shield and no Bluetooth and so far?...this entry level lid is pretty amazing and quite the bargain for what it is.

Two Speakers and a Microphone...Cell Calls...Maps/Directions...Music...911 LOL!...I'm pleased. :)

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Coolllll!!
I like it. Have you tried taking a call while riding? Curious how the in / out audio is. This could help me be able to use my bike more if I can take work calls if needed. My GPS on the bike pops up the calls on screen already but at the moment I have to make a stop, take out the phone and it’s just a pain.
 
Coolllll!!
I like it. Have you tried taking a call while riding? Curious how the in / out audio is. This could help me be able to use my bike more if I can take work calls if needed. My GPS on the bike pops up the calls on screen already but at the moment I have to make a stop, take out the phone and it’s just a pain.

Sorry....haven't done the call thing yet but I did get a chance to give it a 30 minute test run up and down I-95 and listening to some Motown off XM at 80 wasn't a problem even with Coffman exhaust tips...there was more wind noise at speeds over 60mph than with my old RF1100 but this Bell is amazing in its stability as wind buffeting was pretty much nonexistent...I'll do the call test tomorrow.
 
I run the same Sena Bluetooth SMH 10 I believe. Great call quality. Some people can't tell if im on my bike. Depends on your lid though, quieter lids will keep the air turbulence out more than others. Had it for 5 years now. Still running hard. I have a few extras so that when friends want to ride we can all talk. 4 riders max I beleive. Nice price ya paid for lid and communicator.
 
Coolllll!!
I like it. Have you tried taking a call while riding? Curious how the in / out audio is. This could help me be able to use my bike more if I can take work calls if needed. My GPS on the bike pops up the calls on screen already but at the moment I have to make a stop, take out the phone and it’s just a pain.
Get one. I highly recommend them. To take the call just press one button. Hanging up is the same button. Thing only has two buttons. One for phone calls and the other for conference calls between riders.
 
Sorry....haven't done the call thing yet but I did get a chance to give it a 30 minute test run up and down I-95 and listening to some Motown off XM at 80 wasn't a problem even with Coffman exhaust tips...there was more wind noise at speeds over 60mph than with my old RF1100 but this Bell is amazing in its stability as wind buffeting was pretty much nonexistent...I'll do the call test tomorrow.
Okay thanks keep me posted!! If you need someone to call and test I volunteer. I have a 13 year old HJC AC12 Carbon it’s still in great shape. I am having difficulty admitting to myself that I will have to one day retire it. (631)484-3484 :race:
 
I run the same Sena Bluetooth SMH 10 I believe. Great call quality. Some people can't tell if im on my bike. Depends on your lid though, quieter lids will keep the air turbulence out more than others. Had it for 5 years now. Still running hard. I have a few extras so that when friends want to ride we can all talk. 4 riders max I beleive. Nice price ya paid for lid and communicator.
Thanks zeep, I definitely have to invest. I would like a lid with one of those nifty built in sunglasses
 
I picked up an HJC RPHA 70 ST with the drop down dark visor-got tired of carrying around a second visor.
I love the drop down visors. I have one I use all the time. My dealer has a lot of Bell helmets with the "Transitions" Lenses. I may have to look into one. I am still using two helmets that say Harley Davidson on them.
 
If you get them down south. Shark are nice helmets and very good value for money

Hey Jonnie!....on that note?...the big attraction for me about this Bell Qualifier DLX/MIPS lid was the fact that it came out of the box wearing a Transitions Face Shield...especially since I've been a long time Shoei fan and just the Transitions Face Sheild alone for a Shoei is over $200...

Shoei CWR-1 Transitions Pinlock-Ready Face Shield - RevZilla

where the bonus points that sealed the deal for me with this Bell lid was...

1. It was designed for use with the Sena Bluetooth unit with recesses (in the EPS foam) to mount the speakers behind the liners and the cool "Snap-in/Snap-off" recess in the shell for mounting the main Sena unit and?...

2. In the store?...I had a Shoei RF-1200 (for $489) that I kept swapping on and off my head back-to-back with this $269 Bell Qualifier and besides the Bell fitting me like they used my head for the mold?...the liner material of the Bell actually felt both plusher and more durable...sort of like the difference between brushed suede leather (the Bell) and micro-fiber cloth (the Shoei) and where physical weight between the two was concerned?...you could barely tell the RF-1200 was slightly lighter than the Bell Qualifier with an emphasis on the words "barely" & "slightly"

(Note: I do like using Cycle Gears website because they give you the physical weights of most lids (unless it's a newly released lid) and the weights they gave for the Shoei RF=1200 was 3.5lbs while the Bell Qualifier tips their scales at 3.57lbs...or IOW's?...the Bell was .07lbs heavier...but at almost 1/2 cost and did I mention the Transitions Face Shield? LOL!)

Now the ^ABOVE^?...was all things I noticed in the store and on the web but once home and on the road?....(so far and as compared too my old Shoei RF-1100)...

PROS:

1. "The View" (as compared too my old Shoei): is like looking out a bay window in panoramic view....unlike my shoei?...I can go into a full tuck and crouch angling my eyes upward WITHOUT the lid intruding into the top portion of my view and a full 180deg peripheral is available without head movement.

2. "Aerodynamics":
In the past two decades?...I've owned a couple HJC CL-17's...Scorpion/EXO...a flaming Aria Quantum (fitted and purchased at The Helmet Shop in Daytona pix below)...a Shoei RF-900 (that matched and came with my Silver/Gray '03 Busa)...and then a Shoei X-11 (TC5=Vermulen) and finally my recently retired Shoie RF-1100 and?....this $269 Bell sits my head at speed like my neck was forged of steel with less wind buffeting than any helmet I ever owned and what was really amazing was?...I could crack my face shield too the first notch without any noticeable increase in the already nonexistent buffeting...

*I was quite taken by this and "The Why" is in the...

CONS:

1. "Ventilation & Airflow":
Falls solidly into the "Could Be Better" dept...it's maybe a tick better than my old HJC CL-17's but flows nowhere near the air that my RF1100 did *However?....

* "I could crack my face shield too the first notch without any noticeable increase in the already nonexistent buffeting..."

and ^THAT^ flowed plenty of air and did so without shooting it into my eyes like my RF1100 did...matter fact?...on long rides I needed to wear glasses under my RF1100 or my eyes would dry out to where I felt like I suffered a mild weld flash by days end...there's none of that with the Bell.

2. "Noise Levels": The loudest helmet I ever owned was my Shoei X-11...(it was "designed for racing" where earplugs was a great idea)...this Bell Qualifier is very near the noise levels of that X-11 and I contribute that to the fact that Bell sculpted out the recesses in the EPS foam to accommodate the Sena Speakers (hidden behind the comfort liners) and then on the left side (just under your left ear)?...you have the Sena Unit protruding out into the wind with pretty much nothing between it and your head but the clip that holds the Sena control unit in the recess and the polycarbonate shell so yeah...wind noise wise?...it's a loud lid once the speedo rises above 60mph.

but with a spin of the dial?...I just turn up the Sirius/XM Jazz/R&B! LOL!

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I had a Simpson many years ago. it was loud. My bell was loud. I am on my third shoei with a shark in between my 1100 and my now owned 1200. I am hoping the 12 is no louder than the 11. The shark had the nice drop down darker screen.and was almost 150 bucks cheaper which was a consideration at the time I fit shoei's. I got a great deal on a new 1200 all white at the bike show. A little red pin striping. a Kanji on the back and we are away:). Can not ride yet anyway. weather is warming but the salt is extensive and there have not been two solid rains between snows yet
everyone has a fit they like as long as it meets Snell standards I am happy
 
Just for the sake of discussion?...the most important aspect about any lid I buy is "Fitment"...I can deal with noise by wearing earplugs or?...there's also sound canceling Bluetooth firmware out there to experiment with and I can even deal with low airflow/ventilation by cracking a visor but if there's any uncomfortable fitment issues?...that's a deal breaker no matter how cool, quiet or pretty a lid may be but there's another dynamic at play here..."Money"...cause when I spend more than several hundred bucks on a lid?...(and I've done that many times over)...two bad things happen...

1. Is I'm always worried about it getting chips, nick or scratches and?..

2. I get reluctant to replace them when I should and wind up riding them well beyond their respective expiry dates.

and that's pretty much why I went bargain basement this time around but if you ask me?....many of the $250-$300 lids these days are just as good as some of the $500-$600 lids 10 years ago...maybe even better with the technologies of photochromic face shields, integral sun visors, Bluetooth and modular systems (though I'm not a fan of the latter)
 
Hey @JINKSTER How is the view on the bell compared to the cl17 helmets? Im looking for a new helmet and I really like the transition lens on the qualifier but the panavision on the bell star mips really caught my attention just don't like having ti spend an extra 150 for the transition lens.
 
i got the same problem. i have a shoei x12 that has the best graphics ive ever seen. to me anyways but its wwwaaaaaaaay out of warranty. gotta make a choice soon. i lik your lid. might have to try on a bell and see if it fits fat head
 
Hey @JINKSTER How is the view on the bell compared to the cl17 helmets? Im looking for a new helmet and I really like the transition lens on the qualifier but the panavision on the bell star mips really caught my attention just don't like having ti spend an extra 150 for the transition lens.

While I can not comment on the Bell Stars "Panavision" feature with what's claimed to be an improved viewport?...after just coming back from a weeks worth of GA Hwys 60/180/28 & 129 along with Richard Russell, Joyce Kilmer, Cherohala Skyway, BRP, Warwoman and The Tail of The Dragon at Deals Gap?....I had absolutely zero issues with the Bell Qualifier or it's viewport other than the viewport being one of the more impressive features because no matter how steep the grade or how low the lean and tight the curve?...my vision just seemed to never run out of viewport no matter how high and too the right or left I needed to look as I always had a full view of the road and it's side too side view exceeds that of my peripheral vision so?...I can't imagine how much better this Panavision feature of the Star model could possibly be.

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i got the same problem. i have a shoei x12 that has the best graphics ive ever seen. to me anyways but its wwwaaaaaaaay out of warranty. gotta make a choice soon. i lik your lid. might have to try on a bell and see if it fits fat head

Don't get me wrong cause there's a lot of temptingly great looking lids out there but after experiencing the fit, comfort and all around performance of this Bell Qualifier?...as compared to the pricey lids I aspired to in my younger years?...I've concluded that $269 + Tax gets a rider a lot of helmet these days and the Transitions Face Shield was just $139 worth of value added bonus points.
 
Thank you for the review @JINKSTER , just out of curiosity did you end up with the same size you would have gotten in an hjc helmet? I've read a lot of mixed reviews saying sizing runs a little small and to get a size larger then you measure for.
 
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