Your helmet is possibly the most personal piece of your safety equipment when riding a motorcycle.

While day in, day out, many riders take comfortable helmets for granted, it’s the uncomfortable ones that really stand out as you fight the effects of a bad fit.

Long story short, selecting the correct helmet is vital if you want to keep your head clear on the road, plus vision and, of course, safety are crucial points of the purchase.

I’ve long wanted to try a Shark helmet on for size, so when the guys at Ficeda (the Australian distributors) offered me the opportunity to test one I was more than happy to take up the offer.

The RSR2 V+ has been developed with the best GP riders, ranking as Shark’s elite top of the range helmet, with increased lateral vision over its predecessor.

Its shell is made from Carbon/Kevlar multi-directional composite fibres, with five different sizes of polystyrene absorber, two shell sizes (XS-MD, LG-XL) and a multi-element internal shock absorber with differentiated density.

Another good point is the F1-type enhanced safety three millimeter visor that’s visibly thicker than most on the market.

The visor is a dual-treated (anti-scratch/anti-fog) ‘Total Vision’ visor that features a ‘Push One’ visor quick release system that has four anchorage points.

It also has optimized demisting thanks to ‘veturi’ side extractors.

The airflow is directed by integrated ducts, utilising a high flow ventilation system with an easy-opening vent.

The interior is adjustable, removable and washable, featuring top of the range ‘coolmax’ and sanitized fibres. The ergonomic cheek pads in 3D foam, while it also has the regular double D-ring chin-strap.

Topping off the list of technical features is an anti-fog mask and chin cover.

Apart from the helmet, all RSR2 helmets also come with a high performance anti-fog winter mask and tear offs, retailing for a recommended price of $869.95.

The styling of the Shark helmets have always been popular, and I’m a huge fan of the large intake air vent that stands out above the visor at the top of the helmet.

While a range of colour options are available including replica helmets from some of the world’s top racers, the particular helmet colour that I’m testing is the Kinetic white colour that features a funky looking design on each side and attracts plenty of attention from fellow riders.

Another strong point of the Shark lid is its finish, as both externally and internally you can tell you’re in a high quality helmet.

The internal materials are ultra comfortable, although it did take about half a dozen rides for my head to ‘mould’ into the padding so it was 100 percent comfortable for my head shape.

The padding that surrounds each end of chin-strap within the helmet is quite long and thick, which also took a bit of getting used to compared with helmets I’d ridden with previously.

While it’s mostly been winter that I’ve ridden with the RSR2, I would definitely say that the air venting is excellent and certainly keeps you cool on the run, which should also work as a major benefit come summer time too.

The visor is a cinch to put on and off – possibly even too easy! – and transferring to a dark visor made the helmet look that much better while also assisting in fending off the effects of the sun too. Just make sure you have a clear one on hand incase you get stuck riding at night or in heavy rain.

PURCHASE DETAILS:
Sizes: 54-62
Available Styles: Kinetic, Indy, Profile, Absolute, Elite (various colours in each style)
Price: $869.95
Distributor: Ficeda Accessories
Website: www.ficeda.com.au

PLUS POINTS:
+ Styling
+ Air venting
+ High quality

MINUS POINTS:
– Bed-in time