Flippin’ heck – how useful is this lid!

There comes a time in every biker’s life when they have a moment of panic – sometimes that’s when a kamikaze creature of the night leaps out in front of you on a country road, a car driver declines to indicate and recklessly pulls into your path, or in my case for one reason or another I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am going to be sick! 😛

That terrible feeling of heat rising in your chest, the sweat popping out on your brow, the frantic checking of mirrors as you hastily try to find the nearest and safest verge to pull over to, the desperate three attempts to get the side stand down and the utter panic as you frantically hurl yourself off the bike, try to get your gloves off, undo a suddenly twisted D-ring and almost rip your ears off to get your full face helmet off your head before you unceremoniously up-chuck your cookies in the nearest bush!

Now I’m not saying this is a regular occurrence with me but I had stomach issues for years, and in almost seven years of riding I have only failed to get clearance once 😦  The reason I was reminded of this – and am sharing it with you, is I bought a new helmet recently as my last good-quality one had to be binned after I took up flying lessons!

Having read lots of reviews of it, with the touring I do, I could not resist a very good deal on a flip lid – the Shoei Multi-tech, which was lowered in price as they have a new model coming out this year, the Neotec. It came with a whisper strip, chin curtain, smoked and clear visors and a Fog City so I was definitely quids in.

I’ve always been of the opinion that a full face is a lot safer than anything else, including a flip, and honestly thought it would just be for holidays to help keep cool, deal with those awkward moments such as passport photo checking, and tolls, when the operator just cannot hear you but then you need to get it and your gloves on quickly to get out of the way of cars behind you!

Having now tried out the Multi-tech, I am a convert to wearing it as my main lid ;-). It feels solid and secure and not likely to flip open in the unfortunate event of a crash landing! It’s not much heavier than my old Arai Viper GT and is a damn sight comfier – the space around my ears is great – it’s been recessed so you can wear ear plugs comfortably yet doesn’t have wind noise. The whisper strip and chin curtain are also fab at doing what they say on the tin – keeping all that cold away from my neck and into the lid. The vents work properly (high praise from a woman who always gaffer tapes hers up). By this I mean that when they are open they are open and when they are shut THEY STAY SHUT!

A downside would be that the traditional fog insert sits too low in the visor with the top edge right in the line of fire when riding with a tucked down head. I solved this with the racers insert – risking that it might compromise the seal as it comes up much higher, but am pleased to say it has not impinged on the lid’s performance.

And yes – whilst generally hale and hearty, having recently caught a bug I’ve been prone to some strange coughing fits that have necessitated quick stops for a bit of stomach excavation! And that’s when I realised just how flippin’ good a flip lid really is 😛 😛

Ride safe