Review #1
Monday, May 5th, 2008One of the best reviews for the Shoei X-11, also known as the X-Spirit, was done by Rick K. for webBikeWorld.com. Below is an exerpt from the article - conclusion part.
Conclusion
Shoei has conducted studies that show that the X-Eleven can keep a rider’s head much cooler than the XSP-II, which was lauded for its efficiency. Air flow is very important for rider comfort, especially in the summer months when most street riding takes place. While many helmets on the market appear to have various devices to flow air, very few are really successful.
The X-Eleven lives up to its claims by providing a prodigious volume of air in all the right places, while doing so at low noise levels that rival the leaders in this area. In fact, that’s probably the most outstanding aspect of the X-Eleven; that it can flow so much air with such (relatively) low noise levels. Some serious thought and experience went into this design.
The quality of the levers and features on the X-Eleven is also first-rate; each lever’s movement has a precise feel and I’m betting there will be no problems with any of these devices over the long haul. The liner is nicely designed and is very comfortable, and the individual liner parts can be replaced to provide a custom fit.
The external finish of the X-Eleven is also flawless. The scheme shown in these photos is the Norick Abe design, which is a real eye-popper, and everyone who has seen it has commented on how great it looks. You’d have to pay big, big money to get a custom painted design like this on a solid colored helmet, so I say it’s definitely worth the extra hundred bucks or so to get either the Norick Abe or Tohru Ukawa designs. Or how about getting a Daijiro Kato replica to honor the late, great hero?
No question that the X-Eleven is relatively expensive. But as the saying goes, if you have a cheap brain, buy a cheap helmet! If you can only own one really nice, really high-quality helmet in his or her lifetime, this is the one!
You can read the entire article here.
