Dual Sport Motorcycle Helmets: Cool, but Functionally Useless? #everide

Pretty good vid

What model Shoei is that?

Excellent Info!

I'm a brand new rider that doesn't even have their bike yet. The future bike is a dual sport for 60/40 commute and recreation This was some very useful info. Thank you.

A dirt helmet peak is to stop sun / light flash in your eyes when riding on trail or track , not for roost to keep you goggles clean , thats what goggle tear off systems were invented for .
You cant see at all if you are pointing your head down at your tank , same as the chin piece is on helmets to stop roost , if you were meant to point your head down and use the peak , why would you need a chin piece ?
Go back and have a look at the evolution of dirt bike helmets from early 70's . they went from open face ( with small SUN visor ) with goggles, to open face with a one piece goggle / face mask , to current chin piece helmet with goggles.

I rode from Houston to Corpus Christi and back. My Arial XD4 dual sport allowed me to tip my head down just a little to allow the peak to block the sun from blasting me right in the face. I didn't do any off roading. Just a nice 2 hour drive to go to the beach. Those peaks are useful for blocking the sun but you have to get the right helmet or like he said on some you can't even see the peak which means it's not going to block the sun or roost.

For riding into the sun it is amazing

There are better designed dual sport helmets where the visor hinge means that when you put it up you can put goggles on without the visor interfering with the goggle straps, then for the 50 mile ride home put the goggles in your pocket and drop the visor back down

Adventure helmets are for suckers. Take my street helmet on adventures all the time.

It's great to see a person go straight to the point and is being 100% honest with everyone. Great video. 👍

I wear a snowmobile helmet in the winter while riding but sometimes in summer and can say the viser is always wished for

I'm in the desert 🏜 and it always seems like I'm heading back into the sun , I rely on my visor and after being stung by bee's a few times in the face I'm afraid to ride without a shield . Bell mx 9 👍

I have 4 peaks in a drawer in my garage that I removed from new "adventure" helmets after a few rides. They may look cool for profiling but are basically useless and annoying for street riding. I tend to like adventure/dual sport helmets for their bigger eye ports/visors and generally better ventilation, but the peaks always end up coming off and staying off after a day or two. It seems there are touring helmets sold in European markets that resemble ADV helmets but without the peak, but we don't get most of them in the US.

Oh now I get it. Street helmet for the street,dirt helmet for the dirt and dualsport helmet for dualsport.

It’s interesting people’s varying aesthetic opinions. I always thought dual sport helmets were the dorkiest looking.

i ride only in SoCal. in the summer or 80 degree days in December you need a sun shield and because of Halo.

For an electric mountain board that goes 30mph what would you recommend

I crashed my 1986 SP125 pretty hard back in around 1990 and the peak closing down for cover saved my face.

The peak and chin also act like a brush guard so you aren't bashing your goggles or lens into every twig.

Sunglasses alone are pretty useless in the face of riding or driving into super bright morning and evening sun. Sun shade with a visor is what helps the most along with sunglasses.

I use the peak all the time to keep glare out of my eyes. I specifically got the shoei for high speed. It matches the use of an 890 advR.

I had a DS helmet years ago when they first came out. I hated it at road speeds which happens when dualsporting. I switched back to a street helmet for dual sporting and haven’t looked back. I use a strip of black tape for a sun block on the top and bottom and it works good. I use my dirt helmet with goggles when I’m hitting the single track trails and that’s about it.

Seems like the peak on the dsport would protect a flipped up visor from getting smashed offroad when u don't want to unmount it or stop the bike.

I was thinking of getting a peaked helmet for rain here in the UK In a downpour vision is just horendous and steaming up is an issue, thought a peaked helmet for those heavy showery days may do the trick???

Brother, I think you completely missed the point of the dual sport helmet. I ride an adventure bike (BMW GSA) and I ride at all times of the day -- including early mornings and evenings, when the sun is at angles that are just annoying if you're on a bike. I am not off-road nearly as much as I like, so the airflow features are a non-issue for me. And I am not racing other bikes, so any "roost" is a non-issue as well. But having a peak to block the sun for about 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, when the sun is right in my eyes, is when I am REALLY happy I have that peak. Being able to tilt my head down, just a bit, gets the sun out of my eyes and clears my vision on the road or trail. I don't wear a helmet to "look cool." My interest in helmets is purely functional.

I wear glasses thats why i wear like the visor i dont like prescription goggles and very expensive

Just got old thumper in addition to my street bike. Good points in this. I was thinking about adv helmet, but I didn't actually know that chin/air intake seems to be indeed quite a bit more restricted to mx helmet. I used mx helmet for short time in my youth, but since street and never adv. Thanks for this. Looks like I'll keep my street helmet for road/trails and just get mx helmet for summers and more technical rides. Heck mx buckets are also way cheaper generally speaking.

Actually I want dual sport to have more chin protection, not for the peak!
Are they really better for that ??

Anyone using a duel sport helmet instead of a Moto helmet for trail riding? I wear glasses now and can't get a system working well with my new Fly helmet. Thinkin gof going duel sport helmet instead.

Every day is a day at school is it not ??? But now not sure which helmet to go for because I do a little of everything and am also sadly bias to style ??

The visor of dual sport helmets are big to give a great view in all manner of head movement, so the peak is needed. I took mine off for a long road ride but I really missed the shade. On my Bell Mx-9 the peak doesn’t add any real noticeable buffeting or noise, and I’ve never had it pull my head on an over the shoulder look on the tarmac. If the helmet comes with a peak, leave it on. Taking it off is a sales tactic, and it serves a purpose with the taller face shield opening so goggles can be used on a dual sport style helmet.

In an era of MIPS and other rotation safety, why would anyone run a giant lever to spin the helmet (and your head) in a street crash? Seems like a break is only viable off-road and preferably with a breakaway technology.

Ever ride into the direct sun? That’s what a peak is for…duh…

I'm just about to buy my first motorcycle. So I'm choosing my first helmet. Your video has been helpful to make me decide about it. Thanx!

I use a Shoei Neotec II and Klim Krios Pro on a Africa Twin Adv Sports. Stock windshield makes the wind on the peak no issue. The peak makes a huge difference when I get the face shield dusty.

This guy has never ridden 'on-road' into a rising or setting sun with a thin layer of dust on the shield. Yes, peaks or 'sun visors' do actually help and are useful for street riding.

Sun protection is a major thing when travelling. when the sun sets and you are riding in its direction......well worth the peak on your helmet

I have the Shoei helmet depicted in this video. It works perfectly when shading my eyes in low sun. There's two European women wearing the Hornet helmets, they are circumnavigating the world on and off road, on ADV bikes at the minute and they have these helmets with goggles and they don't seem to have the problems you mention......

I think that the visor works for me, i like clear shield so it shields the sun for me just fine

bravo

thanks for enlightening me.

What you missed was when you have a face shield full of dust from riding off pavement and heading into a low(ish) sun. the shield can be impossible to see through because of the reflection from all the dust. without a peak, you're out of luck. The peak allows you to dip your head slightly to put a shadow on the shield and improve your vision significantly.

You only have to use the peak to block the sun once to find it useful on the road, and obviously it does what every peak on an offroad helmet does, protect your shield/goggles. It's also good in the rain/snow, especially when a car next to you splashes up a stream of water! Same motion when dirt gets flung up offroad, duck and take it on the peak. I always wear a DS/peak helmet when I commute now no matter what bike I'm on! Admittedly it's a compromise on some bikes at high speeds. But most things in life are a compromise...

Throwing chunks off their knobs 💀

Humid heat + 250cc = Dirt bike helmet for any occasion outside of rain/winter.

"Put your helmet on and be honest with yourself, how much of that peak can you actually see past the brow of your helmet?"

Eh? I find such peaks very effective at keeping the sun out of my eyes when its low to the horizon. Have you never rode at close to sunrise or sunset..?
My latest helmet doesn't have such a peak, and it annoys me so much I just ordered a new helmet this morning that does have one.

Thank you! You just saved me some time and money. I'm mostly on the pavement and I won't need a dual sport helmet.

One thing you didn’t really mention, is the size of the viewport in a dual sport helmet vs a street helmet. I personally don’t like the peak as I do ride on the highway, and I do ride lots of gravel and two tracks, but as you say, the peak doesn’t really help. I find that a street helmet does not give me the view I want, because they are typically smaller for safety reasons and aerodynamics. I always go back to a dual sport helmet and pull the peak off

Same question why we ride dual sport bikes?!? No perfection on any end but doing great all over. Sun blocking in the mornings and afternoons - essential, keeping branches off the screen and what not riding trough forest, also when riding gravel behind others exactly as explained protects your screen. Also if you fall, and you will on dual sport bike, it additionally protects your face - acts as force absorber... This review is nothing but Shoei paid commercial! "...functionally useless"?!?! WTH