VOLUME 57 ISSUE 13 MARCH 31, 2020 P81
S TANDOUT FEATURE
Excellent all-day comfort
RIDER AN ALYSIS
The Shoei Neotec II is—in my book—a
bit of a Rolls Royce of flip-up helmets,
the style of which has been increas-
ingly prevalent in my collection.
It's got one of the most comfortable
liners we've ever felt, and the fact that
the Bluetooth system was designed
around the helmet, and not just a
bolt-on unit that will suit every helmet,
makes the system super easy to use
with no added bulk.
The Neotec II is noticeably heavier
compared to something like the Bell
SRT Modular, and fits (my head at
least) a thousand times better than
the Schuberth C3. That weight is
dispersed quite well across the helmet,
but it might take a bit of fiddling
around with the padding sizes to get
HELMET
designed around the Neotec II
and integrates seamlessly into
the bottom-left side of the shell.
The DOT-stamped Shoei
Neotec II is available in a vari-
ety of colors and sizes XS-XXL
(via the Neotec's four shell
sizes). Retail price starts at
$699 for solid colors and $799
for metallics and multi colors.
The Sena SRL system sells
separately for $299 through
Sena.
LOWDOWN
the right fit for your head.
At speed the Neotec is comfort-
able and quiet and has the best face-
port opening of any modular we've
tried with the red-colored lock on the
chinbar. The Neotec II runs a dual
locking system for improved holding
power when in the fully opened posi-
tion, but I wouldn't advise riding with
it open if you're going over 40 mph
as the tall position of the chin bar in
the fully open position doesn't exactly
make for the most aerodynamic of
helmets.
I'm not a massive fan of the
dropdown inner sun shield, but then,
I never have been. They add weight
and don't cover your range of vision
fully, but the Neotec does a decent
job of it. Still, I'd rather not have a
dropdown screen at all and just run
the transition shield when it becomes
available.
•A BIT HEAVY
•CAN'T RUN THE
TRANSITION SHIELD
•EXCELLENT BLUETOOTH
INTEGRATION
•LONG RANGE COMFORT
•GOOD VENTILATION
The Neotec II is getting up there
in terms of price, but it is an excellent
helmet. And when you consider the
Bluetooth system was made specially
for it, that makes the Neotec II argu-
ment even more compelling.
Rennie Scaysbrook
MSRP: $699 (as tested)-$799
Website: https://www.shoei-helmets.com
The Neotec II
helmet is also built
with comfort in
mind for those long
days in the saddle.
