Helmet Windjammer

I took my previous Shark RSR helmet out for a spin yesterday to revisit an item designed to cut wind noise on helmets I had purchased some years ago.

Called the Windjammer II from Proline Sports UK I first purchased this to use on a KBC helmet I previously owned that was particularly noisy. On that helmet riding the Buell XB Lightning I found little change so discarded the Windjammer until unearthing it recently.

The idea is the Windjammer affixes to the lower rim of a helmet and is held in place by a combination of elastic and sticky material where it grips the helmet, inside the helmet there is a neoprene skirt that cuts the wind roar. I can vouch the sticky elastic grips well and can be moved from helmet to helmet and has not lost its effectiveness despite being a few years old. I can also say the Windjammer when riding my Buell Firebolt works well.

To experience the idea behind the Windjammer next time you are riding place your left hand palm down below your helmet under your left ear and note the effect on reducing the wind noise.

So why did not not work before? I think the effectiveness is limited by the way the air flow is around the rider related to each model motorcycle. On the Lightning the air blast was crazy, the small screen in front of the instruments seemed to actually focus the wind on the rider’s neck and head. By comparison my Speed Triple and MV Agusta Brutale both had defused wind around the rider’s head thanks to well designed instrument pods/screens. The Firebolt with it’s bikini screen is similar having a defused wind flow at the riders head but at highway speed there is still enough wind to create a that familiar wind roar noise. The Windjammer did reduce this in testing yesterday.

If your not wearing earplugs your damaging your hearing when riding and the noise reduction from this is not comparable. If your using  ear plugs then this is probably not needed so where does it fit. Well I guess if you cannot wear ear plugs then this is worth a try given the price of just 10 pounds. If you listen to your iPod or use comms devices while riding then this may be of assistance. And if you use lite earplugs or soft silicon ear plugs which still allow some noise then this might be worth a look depending on your bike and helmet.

Comparing the Shark RSR and Nolan Jet helmet

A couple of observations between the Nolan Jet style and the Shark conventional style helmet. First thing I noticed was the reduction in vision on yesterdays ride using the Shark. The lower front vision reduction did not matter, actually as I have previously noted sometimes the reflection from the road with the Nolan is unwanted however the loss of side vision was bothersome on the motorway doing checks for vehicles around me and I felt closed in a few times when needing to turn my head more to see.

The Nolan is not as plush, the jet visor fogs easier and the internal sunscreen could extend down longer (I pull it down more by hand) however the extra vision provided is hard to go back from. The Shark is a more comfortable helmet due to the liner yet it became hot inside by midday even in autumn weather where as the Nolan rarely has heat build up due to the massive vents on it’s top and that you can lift the jet visor and leave internal sunscreen visor in place at low speed to flow air like an open face.

I would like to see some improvements done to the Nolan’s breath guard and internal screen however it does deliver much better vision to the rider over a regular helmet.