System 5 helmet, would you buy it again?

[peter.trub]

#9476

So long as you keep it adjusted and it cant move they are not a problem Alex. They work on an eccentric fitting which in the case of my helmet came loose. I now keep it on the maximum and have had no problems since  😀

[Dave Ross]

#9477

I would never have noticed that it's an eccentric fitting, that would have required me to read the instructions. I usually read the instructions only after I have broken something.

[ROBIN MOSS]

#9478

Hi Alex.Seems you have bought your helmet, however if you are contemplating a system 5 in the future my comments may help. I have been very busy lately and sorry for the late reply but only just noticed your thread.As you know my entire adult life has been based around Motor Racing and consequently I have probably had more helmets than breakfasts and now we have the Hanz device. Currently I have in my stable 5 Helmets for Car Racing, 2 System 5 helmets (one belongs to Zoë my better half) and two Hanz devices. These later devices are proven to stop the injuries that can be caused in severe circumstances by Helmets but you would never wear one on a bike, as they are very restrictive to side ways vision.I tried many flip top helmets for riding  and the system 5 beats them all hands down. All my riding is done on the tarmac and so I can't say how well they perform of road but for what it is worth read on.1) The system 5 is not DOT approved, that is it is not approved for motor sport, but no Flip Top is, they are approved and meet or exceed all other standards.2) Ventilation and fogging, none better, with the ventilation on full, all vents open, you can enjoy during hot days a lovely cool airflow around your head without any increased noise. The fogging issue, I will answer like this, I wished they were DOT approved for the system 5 is superior to any helmet that I have used in motor racing and with in car temperatures getting on occasion as high as 60 degC fogging is a real problem. Recently I rode around the bottom of the South Island and experienced rain for 3 days. I mean real rain, huge stuff, water everywhere, huge waterfalls poring across the roads, get the picture it was sp wet and damp that no helmet would not fog up. Everyone had terrible fogging problems. The inside helmet liner on day three was damp. Dry rider gear was wet rider gear and yet the system 5 except for the 4th day when the sun came out had no fogging problems. This was as a result of the wet liner being warmed up by the sun and body temperature, the fogging was minor and never posed a safety issue, my riding friends during this time had severe problems to the extent that riding with the visor down was not possible. As a result two friends went and bought system 5 helmets, one friend had purchased the Shoei Flip Top prior to the 4-day ride. 3) Fit, is superb, they work on circumference measurements taken around your head, just above your eyebrows. I was told by a knowledgeable biker who swears by the system 5 to go smaller than larger, I have a head measurement that is at the top of my size, that is my head size is say 57cm, helmet range is 55 - 57cm nest size is 57- 59cm. So I went for size 55 - 57 and it was the right choice. "When Zoë wore her system 5 for the first time and we applied the same theory to her size she said that helmet is fabulously comfortable, I love it." She wanted to go up a size but we had been told not to, Zoë can be pig headed, born to shop woman style not born to work, thank god the advice was good.4) Noise. It is better than the Shoei but they all generate some wind noise from the area between the visor and flip top mechanism and arguable no noisier than a "good" (expensive) conventional full face helmet. I find that 80% of my riding is done with the visor 60% open, wind and noise is low and you get to smell all those lovely smells of trees and bushes etc. They BMW must have spent an awful lot of time in wind tunnels. The system 5 is brilliant in this design area.Wind noise decreases as speed gets above 100 km/hr. The visor is easily replaceable or changeable (No tools) I wear glasses and use a tinted visor but not good for night riding and changing to the clear visor is easy and quick. The visor has an anti fog layer built in to the polycarbonate and requires some care when cleaning. The handbook has good instructions. My visors are as good as the day I bought them. No scratches.The flip top opening mechanism is better than competing brands and single finger operation is simple. I have fitted Blue Ant, blue tooth communication to both our helmets and the system adapts to the helmet really well. The helmet is easily pulled apart to enable professional fitting of the blueant system and we enjoy very clear rider to pillion conversation up to 130 km/hr. Visor up or down, when I first fitted the system the communication was not good after about 80km/hr. I decided to glue the earpiece into the helmet, helmet has a built in recess for the earphone and comes with velclose for attachment, the glue idea worked a treat and improved communication 10 fold. It is simple to do.  BMW withdrew their Blue Tooth system off the market. To many problems. You need two systems for rider to pillion communication and can also talk bike to bike at the same speeds up to a range of about 150 meters before communication deteriorates. Below  80km/hr 300 metres bike to bike is good.Any body fitting this system can contact me for some help, like everything the second and third attempts always show improvements.That’s about it, the helmet takes a little getting used to, like riding off with the flip top up, and must mention that the helmet is a breeze to fit with your glasses or sunnies on. They are light in weight and once used to the helmet you never know you are wearing it.My opinion is that compared to any other helemt Shoei and Scuberth included the system 5 is far superior. The investment is well worth it. CheersLeigh

[Dave Ross]

#9479

1) The system 5 is not DOT approved, that is it is not approved for motor sport, but no Flip Top is, they are approved and meet or exceed all other standards.

Thanks for the in-depth response, Leigh. I like the system 5 and chance are that I will buy one next, well it's now Gerda's turn for a new helmet.The system 5 is not Snell approved either. However, the ECE-22-05 standard is about reducing the shock to the brain by making the helmet softer. The Snell standard is tougher on helmets, as they have to survive multiple hit on the same spot. However, the Europeans think  that your brain would be mush at this stage anyway. They have convinced me and so I prefer the European standard. New Zealand accepts any of the above standards, so you'll have to make that decision for yourself. Most falls are from a relatively low height, unless you spectacularly high-side.The Shoei I have bought was also available on trademe, but with the Snell standard and without a pinlock, but $39 cheaper. I bought mine at motomail.The system 4 upwards used to be the only helmets that past the same standard as the integral helmets. Not sure if this still applies. Look for the P without an N, and a dash with a number after it, on the white patch sewn to the helmet strap. The denotes that it has passes the chin piece impact test.I still love the flip-up helmets for touring and weekend rides. The hornet seems to work well for commuting, it's not too loud at those speeds and has excellent ventilation, almost like having the chin piece flipped up. I have yet to try it in the rain. Hopefully I won't have to while riding down to the CCA ride.

[Anonymous]

#9480

I would keep it installed Alex.  You can never tell when you may need it and I wonder if constantly fitting and removing it would eventually cause it to become loose which would really bugger it up.  😐  If you treat it as you do your visor it should last as long.Malcolm

My system 4 is 7 years old and I'm continually taken the visor off and on over the 7 years. The visor is still as tight as when new.  I have a new police system 5 waiting for winter so will see how this helmet lasts .

[Richard Kuysten]

#9481

My system 4 is 7 years old and I'm continually taken the visor off and on over the 7 years. The visor is still as tight as when new.  I have a new police system 5 waiting for winter so will see how this helmet lasts . I'm not talking about removing the visor, I have no problem with removing that - but constantly removing the pinlock insert could IMO cause wear on the eccentrics which may lead to loose fit thereby allowing air into the gap and buggering up its effectiveness.Malcolm

[Anonymous]

#9482

I never new you could take the pin lock off. I learned something tonight. 

[Dave Ross]

#9483

I've just found a replacement set of pinlock cams with the other helmet parts. They may also be available individually. Being able to replace them if the wear out, could mean that it's okay to leave them of during times where fogging is unlikely to be an issue. I am not too keen on having the pinlock in there all the time. I ride with the visor open quite a bit, so the inside of the visor gets its fair share of contaminants. Although I haven't tried it yet, I wonder if the pinlock insert restricts vision, as it is quite a bit smaller as the rest of the visor.

[peter.trub]

#9484

I have not found it to restrict my vision ( but then I am half blind according to her). Cant see a problem with leaving the insert out as they are simple to fit and remove. If its not fitted it cant come loose  😀

[David]

#9485

From one who knows Alex, leave it alone! You'll break the pins, they're only plastic after all. Once you use up the spares you cant buy more, it's more dosh for another visor with pinlock or bog the holes they leave. Once the weather gets a bit wet you'll never want to ride without it. I dont notice any peripheral vision restriction with it in place. Er, and by the way, peel the protective plastic off before you ride  🙄 , you look bloody stupid when some cute chick comes along and does it for you….Contrary to Leighs writing I wont buy another System 5, they're noisy, take some 'running in' - it took about 2 days to get it to fit without hurting my forehead. and are bloody expensive. That squitty little BMW roundel adds $500 to the price. After my visor went down a wall, yeah, on the helmet and with my head in it, it cost $220+ to replace 😕 The BMW pinlock pins are a different material and shape to the original pinlock pins and mine wore through and broke 2 minutes after the warranty expired. It was, of course, during last years RAG when it absolutely persisted down all the way home! The BMW pins have no provision for rotating the cam to get optimum sealing between the outer and inner.  I had to steal the pins off my old SHOEI visor and finally had to use a sealant to seal the pinlock screen to the visor.  That worked fine until its little mishap in the New Year.I had a Shoei Synchrotec, with pinlock visor, the forerunner of the Multi-tech, and will probably buy another when the Sys5 needs replacing.

[Dave Ross]

#9486

BMW does charge a premium for their products. However, to be fair, their design and fit is usually a cut above the rest. If you like the look and want certain features, you usually can't get them elsewhere. The replacement visor for my Shoei Hornet is $199, plus the actual pinlock insert. Not exactly a bargain either. That hornet costs 459 euros in Europe while the BMW Enduro Helmet retails for 415 euros, 475 euros if you want graphics. I have rarely regretted buying good gear. The cheap stuff however reminds you every day of its shortcomings.

[ROBIN MOSS]

#9487

Hi alex.As a response to some of the threads that originated on your helmet discussion i found this in an old motor cycle magazine that I bought to lesson the boredom on an overseas flight. you might find it interesting. At the time the system 4 was tha latest available. An increase in noise level by 3 dB means a doubling of the noise. 88 dB is therefore twice 85 dB.    Although a 3 dB rise is in fact a doubling, the human ear only experiences a 10 dB rise as a doubling of noise.    At 85 dB noise on the shop floor, you are legally required to wear hearing protection. TerminologyLaeq equivalent noise pressure level, average noise pressure during the test minutesLLpk max measured maximum noise peak during the test.At 120 km per hour, all integrated helmets exceeded the permitted daily dosage by between 7 and 58 times! Each helmet was rided for 4.8 Km around the same test circuit. Results system helmets80 km/h                         120 km/h                              Helmet type    LAeq        LLpk                Helmet type              LAeq             LLpk Schuberth Concept   87,3 111,4 1 Schuberth Concept 96,4 123,4 Osbe Cabrio 87,9 116,8 2 Osbe Cabrio 96,4 126,4 BMW System 4  88,4 122,4 3 Caberg J1 Plus 97,3 123,7 Shoei Synchrotec 88,6 121,7 4 Shoei Synchrotec 97,5 127,6Nolan N100 Trend 89,0 119,7 5 BMW System 4 97,8 130,1 Caberg J1 Plus 90,1 118,3 6 Nolan N100 Trend 99,1 127,8 Lazer Century 91,4 132,9 7 Lazer Century 100,0 129,5 Oxscon XCS 100 93,4 129,6 8 Oxscon XSC 100 101,8 133,3 X lite X1001 94,6 124,1 9 X lite X1001 102,0 128,4 Conclusion, we should propably always ride with ear plugs. Cheers Leigh.

[Jim Young]

#9488

I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to try out a system 5 helmet and rode about a hundred km with it and believe me I couldnt wait to change back to my system 4.It felt as if it had no padding in it and it pressed on my forehead enough to start giving me a headache.Another point I didn't like was that when it was flipped open it felt as if I was wearing blinkers as it didnt seem to go up as far as the system 4.So it looks like it doesnt suit my shaped head so when I look to replace my existing helmet it will be a case of shopping around.

[Author]

Posts