VOL. 55 ISSUE 28 JULY 17, 2018 P89
S TANDOUT FEATURE
Incredibly light, even for a
carbon helmet
RIDER AN ALYSIS
I'm a sucker for branding. I get
that. As such (and a proud Aus-
sie), I've always wanted to try
a Nolan helmet simply because
Casey Stoner always used one
(and still does). If it was good
enough for him...
A Nolan I'm still yet to
try, but an X-Lite I have. The
Petrucci is easily my 'like' of
the replica bunch that includes
a sweet, incognito Stoner rep-
lica, and the WorldSBK official
helmet. It's got that super-cool
Hawaiian vibe, with white and
blue flowers and pretty things
to make you feel all warm and
fuzzy about motor-bicycling.
But, seriously, the X-803 UC is a
very nice helmet, indeed.
You notice two things when
you put it on: The first is just
how tight and racy it is. The way
the cheek pads grip, the mesh
lining on the top of your head,
and the way the bottom half of
the face opening curves down
just screams "race!"
The second point of notice
is the weight. There's nothing
of it. It's so damned light it
makes you wonder if it's going
to break apart. Luckily, I've
seen Petrucci himself test this
theory multiple times and it
never has, so that gives me
confidence.
At speed, the X803 UC is
extremely stable, and you can
alter how the helmet reacts via
the little spoiler at the rear.
One issue I did have was I
found the extreme peripheral
vision to be lacking, as the side
of the helmet comes up not
too far from my eye line. For
example, when looking through
a really long corner like The
Bowl at Chuckwalla, I thought
the X-Lite didn't have as good
of side vision as something like
my Arai Corsair X. However,
at high speed, I felt the X803
UC was extremely stable and
comfortable, so it's a win there.
In all, for under $800, you
get a great helmet for the
money. X-Lite USA tells me this
is the exact same spec as what
Danilo wears at Pramac Ducati.
Whether this is completely
true, I cannot say, but I have no
reason to doubt them.
The X803 UC is an excellent
helmet, and don't be surprised
if you start seeing more X-
Lite and Nolan products on the
roads and tracks near you soon.
• Great value for money
• Very light with great venting
• Double visor-lock mechanism
makes screen openings in a
crash a rarity
• For my face shape,
peripheral vision could be better
• The vent openings at the top
of the lid feel cheap
LOWDOWN
Inside, the liner is
constructed using what
X-Lite calls the "Carbon
Fitting Racing Experi-
ence," which is a fancy
way of saying they've
used carbon filaments in
the construction of the
liner. X-Lite claims the
liner helps move more
air from the front chin
vent and the quad top
vents around the rider's
head to keep them cool.
The cheek pads are also
just two units, remov-
able via the red strap at
the base, and washable.
The face shield
(pinlock-equipped) also
comes with two locks;
one on the left side and
one at the front where
the thumb lever resides.
The X-903 UC comes
in three shell sizes of
XXS-S, M-L and XL-
XXL.
PETRUCCI REPLICA
LIST PRICE: $759.95 • www.xlite-usa.com
The rear spoiler
(above the
9) allows you
to change
the helmet's
stability at
speed
