Davec.va
Dave in VA
Sorry for how long this is but I hope it helps in the decision making process for someone!!
A little bit o? history before we get into this review?
Last January I purchased an FJ1200 and it came with two ?Fuel? brand flip face helmets. Both were in near new condition and fit perfectly. I used one primarily and have the second as a back-up/spare parts unit ? and I?m VERY glad I did!! About five weeks ago the face shield managed to fly off. I scavenged the one off the spare helmet and then started looking for replacement parts since I was quite happy with the Fuel helmets. It was quickly discovered that replacement parts are virtually impossible to get, even from the MFG. I also learned that these were Wal-Mart/Target helmets with a MSRP of $119.99. This was actually very surprising since I absolutely LOVE the helmet!! Fit is great, finish is very acceptable and they?re rather quiet. But the inability to purchase replacement parts turned me off them completely. What good is a helmet if you can?t replace the face shield?!?! So?I started seriously looking for a replacement helmet.
The reviews I had read about the HJC SyMax III indicated this is one of the best flip-face helmets on the market. The price is fair and the features are excellent. There was also talk of this being the quietest flip face helmet currently on the market. So the decision was made to locate and possibly purchase one. Locally, no-one stocks this model in my size (XL) so trying for fit was out of the question. I wound up ordering one from Motorcycle-Superstore in silver. I rode with it for a week and here?s my impression.
External Fit and Finish ? Excellent. The overall appearance of the helmet is excellent. Paint quality is excellent, all parts fit tightly and there was no damage upon delivery. Something else many mention is the chin bar latching mechanism. This unit has metal studs on the helmet with metal locking mechanism in the chin bar. It?s easy to operate and latches with a positive feel and audible ?click.? Once locked the chin bar feels ROCK SOLID!
Face Shield and View Port ? Excellent. The face shield has no distortion at all. Very clear field of view with wide peripheral view capability. The helmet comes with a PinLock ready shield so I ordered the PinLock insert as well. With this installed there is a ?ring? around the entire field of view but it?s not bothersome. I did NOT water test the helmet so no feedback on that.
Ventilation ? Very Good. The HJC SyMax has a good ventilation system with intake vents on top and in the chin bar, and exhaust ports on the back of the helmet. Air flow can be felt when moving faster than about 10MPH. The helmet was comfortably ventilated while moving along but sitting still in traffic, it?s still hot. I wish someone would put small ventilation fans in their helmets to help the air move while stuck in traffic!! Comparing it to the Fuel lid, I definitely feel it?s much better.
Internal Fit and Finish ? Acceptable. The interior padding feels like a perfect blend of thickness and density, providing great comfort while affording perceived excellent protection. How effective it is at protecting one?s noggin is something I can?t attest to but the official tests say it?s good. I did find two interior problems - the finish on the chin bar and the liner?s retention system.
There is nothing to neaten up the chin bar area at all ? it?s just exposed plastic giving the helmet a cheap appearance. There is a smooth plastic area directly in front of the mouth/nose (concealing the vent and locking mechanism) and the areas to either side are overspray finished, injection molded plastic. These areas are rough to the touch and make the helmet look cheap and unfinished.
Every time I take the helmet off after sweating, the liner comes right out. It sticks to my bald head like GLUE! This may be prevented by wearing a skull liner (or having HAIR!!) but I?ve never used one and am not thrilled with the idea. A little Velcro on the top to adhere it to the impact absorbing polystyrene foam may help. Also, better retainers around the view port wouldn?t hurt.
Features ? Very good. The HJC SyMax includes some nice features, the most important being the built-in sun visor. This operates very easily using a lever on the top which is out of the way, large enough to operate with gloves on and provides smooth movement. She sun visor has two deployed positions and goes far enough down that it?s very unobtrusive. It could be a little darker but it?s a great feature for us four-eyed riders. Retraction is done with a simple press of a button.
Another big feature is this helmet comes ready for Bluetooth ? there?s a cut-out on the left side for Chatterbox?s Xbi2 communicator module and locations for helmet speakers cut into the foam. Installing the speakers and hiding the wires is very easy. I have a Scala G4 though so mounting the base for this was a problem. The built-in port for the Chatterbox unit creates a hole (albeit covered) which interferes with the Scala Rider?s installation. Since the helmet was designed for speakers I found the audio to be very clear when not riding. There?s nothing covering the speakers which deaden sound, but this benefit is lost as soon as you start riding.
Noise Level ? Poor. Here?s the one area where most flip face helmets seem to fail ? noise. Unfortunately, the SyMax III is not good at controlling it either. There is a LOT of wind noise coming from ALL around the chin bar. The first ride was like, ?WOW is this NOISY!!? Just for comparison I brought the Fuel helmet with and swapped out at my turn-around point. There was a very noticeable difference ? the $280 helmet is definitely WAY louder than the $120 helmet. Initial reaction was ?send it back? but the features made me reconsider and start thinking and tinkering.
To lessen the noise level one needs to seal up the noise entry areas. The initial effort was using foam rubber self-adhesive window seal, but that didn?t work too well. The action of opening/closing the chin bar simply rolled this up. Then it struck me ? my favorite product will save the day again!!! VELCRO!!
I swear, Velcro is one of the most useful products ever invented so I?ve ALWAYS got some around the garage!
All around the pivot point of the chin bar there are gaps which allow wind noise into the helmet. By installing the soft side of the Velcro to provide a barrier, noise entry was GREATLY diminished! The soft surface of the Velcro allows the chin bar to operate smoothly (without scratching the finish) while providing a semi-seal all around the openings, effectively blocking out approx. 50% of the noise. After completing the Velcro installation the test ride appeared to indicate a great deal less wind-noise. This helped the helmet experience significantly! But it was STILL WAY louder than the $120 lid!
CONCLUSION -
After riding with this helmet for a week I made the decision to send it back.
The wind-noise is just too much. I could not hear anything. Even with the Scala volume at MAX it was drowned out when riding with the helmet in a wind stream. If this is a quiet helmet I?m in trouble!!
Another problem I found was the removable liner consistently stuck to my head. The week I had the helmet the temps were regularly over 95F ? excellent test of the ventilation but also identified the liner problem. This is VERY annoying when you take the helmet off and still have half of it stuck to you!!
I also started experiencing problems with the Scala G4 mount staying on the helmet. The hole for the Chatterbox system made it very difficult to get a good clamp on the helmet. The interference and helmet curvature also caused the G4?s mounting plate to bend making it impossible to remove and replace the unit for charging. (Loosening the clamp screws helped but then the unit base moved around.)
I believe this is a good helmet overall. It offers features which are very welcome and user friendly, an overall good quality finish and great fit/feel for my noggin shape (Shoei helmets fit PERFECT!). The liner problem was extremely annoying and made the final decision. If you?ve got hair, and ride with the helmet behind a screen, this helmet may work nicely for you.
As for me, I?ll stick with the $119 WalMart helmet until I can afford a Shoei NeoTech!
A little bit o? history before we get into this review?
Last January I purchased an FJ1200 and it came with two ?Fuel? brand flip face helmets. Both were in near new condition and fit perfectly. I used one primarily and have the second as a back-up/spare parts unit ? and I?m VERY glad I did!! About five weeks ago the face shield managed to fly off. I scavenged the one off the spare helmet and then started looking for replacement parts since I was quite happy with the Fuel helmets. It was quickly discovered that replacement parts are virtually impossible to get, even from the MFG. I also learned that these were Wal-Mart/Target helmets with a MSRP of $119.99. This was actually very surprising since I absolutely LOVE the helmet!! Fit is great, finish is very acceptable and they?re rather quiet. But the inability to purchase replacement parts turned me off them completely. What good is a helmet if you can?t replace the face shield?!?! So?I started seriously looking for a replacement helmet.
The reviews I had read about the HJC SyMax III indicated this is one of the best flip-face helmets on the market. The price is fair and the features are excellent. There was also talk of this being the quietest flip face helmet currently on the market. So the decision was made to locate and possibly purchase one. Locally, no-one stocks this model in my size (XL) so trying for fit was out of the question. I wound up ordering one from Motorcycle-Superstore in silver. I rode with it for a week and here?s my impression.
External Fit and Finish ? Excellent. The overall appearance of the helmet is excellent. Paint quality is excellent, all parts fit tightly and there was no damage upon delivery. Something else many mention is the chin bar latching mechanism. This unit has metal studs on the helmet with metal locking mechanism in the chin bar. It?s easy to operate and latches with a positive feel and audible ?click.? Once locked the chin bar feels ROCK SOLID!
Face Shield and View Port ? Excellent. The face shield has no distortion at all. Very clear field of view with wide peripheral view capability. The helmet comes with a PinLock ready shield so I ordered the PinLock insert as well. With this installed there is a ?ring? around the entire field of view but it?s not bothersome. I did NOT water test the helmet so no feedback on that.
Ventilation ? Very Good. The HJC SyMax has a good ventilation system with intake vents on top and in the chin bar, and exhaust ports on the back of the helmet. Air flow can be felt when moving faster than about 10MPH. The helmet was comfortably ventilated while moving along but sitting still in traffic, it?s still hot. I wish someone would put small ventilation fans in their helmets to help the air move while stuck in traffic!! Comparing it to the Fuel lid, I definitely feel it?s much better.
Internal Fit and Finish ? Acceptable. The interior padding feels like a perfect blend of thickness and density, providing great comfort while affording perceived excellent protection. How effective it is at protecting one?s noggin is something I can?t attest to but the official tests say it?s good. I did find two interior problems - the finish on the chin bar and the liner?s retention system.
There is nothing to neaten up the chin bar area at all ? it?s just exposed plastic giving the helmet a cheap appearance. There is a smooth plastic area directly in front of the mouth/nose (concealing the vent and locking mechanism) and the areas to either side are overspray finished, injection molded plastic. These areas are rough to the touch and make the helmet look cheap and unfinished.
Every time I take the helmet off after sweating, the liner comes right out. It sticks to my bald head like GLUE! This may be prevented by wearing a skull liner (or having HAIR!!) but I?ve never used one and am not thrilled with the idea. A little Velcro on the top to adhere it to the impact absorbing polystyrene foam may help. Also, better retainers around the view port wouldn?t hurt.
Features ? Very good. The HJC SyMax includes some nice features, the most important being the built-in sun visor. This operates very easily using a lever on the top which is out of the way, large enough to operate with gloves on and provides smooth movement. She sun visor has two deployed positions and goes far enough down that it?s very unobtrusive. It could be a little darker but it?s a great feature for us four-eyed riders. Retraction is done with a simple press of a button.
Another big feature is this helmet comes ready for Bluetooth ? there?s a cut-out on the left side for Chatterbox?s Xbi2 communicator module and locations for helmet speakers cut into the foam. Installing the speakers and hiding the wires is very easy. I have a Scala G4 though so mounting the base for this was a problem. The built-in port for the Chatterbox unit creates a hole (albeit covered) which interferes with the Scala Rider?s installation. Since the helmet was designed for speakers I found the audio to be very clear when not riding. There?s nothing covering the speakers which deaden sound, but this benefit is lost as soon as you start riding.
Noise Level ? Poor. Here?s the one area where most flip face helmets seem to fail ? noise. Unfortunately, the SyMax III is not good at controlling it either. There is a LOT of wind noise coming from ALL around the chin bar. The first ride was like, ?WOW is this NOISY!!? Just for comparison I brought the Fuel helmet with and swapped out at my turn-around point. There was a very noticeable difference ? the $280 helmet is definitely WAY louder than the $120 helmet. Initial reaction was ?send it back? but the features made me reconsider and start thinking and tinkering.
To lessen the noise level one needs to seal up the noise entry areas. The initial effort was using foam rubber self-adhesive window seal, but that didn?t work too well. The action of opening/closing the chin bar simply rolled this up. Then it struck me ? my favorite product will save the day again!!! VELCRO!!
I swear, Velcro is one of the most useful products ever invented so I?ve ALWAYS got some around the garage!
All around the pivot point of the chin bar there are gaps which allow wind noise into the helmet. By installing the soft side of the Velcro to provide a barrier, noise entry was GREATLY diminished! The soft surface of the Velcro allows the chin bar to operate smoothly (without scratching the finish) while providing a semi-seal all around the openings, effectively blocking out approx. 50% of the noise. After completing the Velcro installation the test ride appeared to indicate a great deal less wind-noise. This helped the helmet experience significantly! But it was STILL WAY louder than the $120 lid!
CONCLUSION -
After riding with this helmet for a week I made the decision to send it back.
The wind-noise is just too much. I could not hear anything. Even with the Scala volume at MAX it was drowned out when riding with the helmet in a wind stream. If this is a quiet helmet I?m in trouble!!
Another problem I found was the removable liner consistently stuck to my head. The week I had the helmet the temps were regularly over 95F ? excellent test of the ventilation but also identified the liner problem. This is VERY annoying when you take the helmet off and still have half of it stuck to you!!
I also started experiencing problems with the Scala G4 mount staying on the helmet. The hole for the Chatterbox system made it very difficult to get a good clamp on the helmet. The interference and helmet curvature also caused the G4?s mounting plate to bend making it impossible to remove and replace the unit for charging. (Loosening the clamp screws helped but then the unit base moved around.)
I believe this is a good helmet overall. It offers features which are very welcome and user friendly, an overall good quality finish and great fit/feel for my noggin shape (Shoei helmets fit PERFECT!). The liner problem was extremely annoying and made the final decision. If you?ve got hair, and ride with the helmet behind a screen, this helmet may work nicely for you.
As for me, I?ll stick with the $119 WalMart helmet until I can afford a Shoei NeoTech!
