I have what the motorcycle helmet industry refers to as a long oval head, meaning it’s notably longer front-to-back. As a result, it’s hard for me to find helmets that fit perfectly since most helmets are made for medium oval heads. Many times I have excitedly tried on a helmet I wanted to buy, only to discover it was too tight against my forehead. For the last 10 years I have been wearing Arai helmets, specifically the older Profile and Signet Q lines which are specifically designed for long oval heads.
You should replace your helmets every five years due to degradation of the expanded polystyrene foam liner, the part of the helmet that absorbs impact in a collision. My Arai Signet Q was overdue for a replacement, so I started looking for a new helmet earlier this year. By default I was looking to buy an Arai Signet X, the new and improved successor to the Signet Q. Unfortunately I didn’t like any of the available designs, nor was I excited about its $829 price tag. Enter the Shoei RF-1400.
Positioned just below the X-Fourteen racing helmet, the RF-1400 is Shoei’s newest helmet, replacing the outgoing RF-1200. It’s a lightweight full-face helmet design designed for sport riders. It’s impressively priced at $629 for models with graphics, a full $200 less than the Arai Signet X. The only problem for me was that its predecessor, the RF-1200, was not a good fit for my head. On a whim I decided to visit my local Cycle Gear store and try the RF-1400 on, and much to my surprise, it fit very well. It seems Shoei made a slight change to the RF-1400, giving it a little more room front-to-back.
Flush with excitement, I immediately started looking for a design that I liked. Unfortunately Shoei also seemed to have trouble manufacturing enough RF-1400 helmets to meet demand, but I finally got my hands on one. Sure enough, it fits my long oval head snugly, and it also provided a few improvements over my Arai Signet Q:
- It’s noticeably more aerodynamic, especially when turning my head to check blind spots
- The visor port is larger, so I have a pleasantly wider viewing angle
- Shoei has a more straightforward visor attachment system (changing visors on an Arai can be challenging)
I’m looking forward to my next track day with the improved aerodynamics, especially since my Arai Signet Q was unquestionably the least effective track helmet I’ve used in terms of its ability to cut through the air at high speed. It looks like Shoei has a winning helmet in the RF-1400 for sport riders with long oval heads.
Update: I did indeed take it to a track day at Willow Springs International Raceway, and it performed beautifully even at speeds over 160 MPH. This helmet is a winner.
