Military-themed helmets are hot, hot, hot, with models
like the Akuma "Ghost Rider"
selling faster than an F-22A.
I'm not sure about the origins of the military look, and as for the
sociological implications of people dressing like soldiers...well, let's not go there. Maybe
motorcyclists are simply getting tired of helmets with same-old same-old
artwork -- the typical stripes and
dots, anyway you like 'em, in red, blue, black or yellow.
I never could figure out what stripes and dots have to do
with bikes. At least the military look draws upon some of the same
adjectives that are used to describe the appeal of motorcycling -- risky, rugged,
independent and tough are a few that come to mind.
The Marushin X-Moto "Squadron" Enduro helmet uses the
military look
to good effect. I'm not kidding when I say that absolutely everywhere I've worn this
thing, people are on me like flies on...uh, well, we don't want to go there
either.
Everybody wants an X-Moto -- well, almost everyone.
Enduro helmets don't quite cut it with Sportbikers, but then again, they
have the Akuma Ghost Rider.
The Marushin X-Moto can be yours for only £99, but us Yanks
will have to cough up
another £50 for shipping from Olde Blighty.
Yep, that's a pound symbol,
not a dollar sign; Marushin helmets aren't (yet) available in the Colonies, so
you'll have to find an X-Moto retailer in the UK, take the hit on the
exchange rate (about $2.06 per quid as this is written -- yikes!) and also chance
the non-DOT safety standard.
One more thing -- better order an extra clear visor while
you're at it, that is if you can find one. We were surprised to
open the box and find our X-Moto had a dark (real dark) visor; had we known this, we
would have ordered a clear visor when we purchased the helmet, to save on
shipping costs.
The Marushin X-Moto shown here has the "Squadron" graphics; there are also plain
versions of the X-Moto, so if you want this one, make sure you order
the Squadron. And better hurry -- it's our understanding that supplies are
limited and only medium, large and extra-large Squadrons are left)
OK, so the X-Moto is about
the coolest-looking Enduro helmet you'll find. But how does it work?
Fit and Finish
Let's face it, the Squadron graphics are what make the Marushin X-Moto pop.
The helmet has a matte finish, and it's not that rubbery-feeling new-wave
coating; it's just simple flat paint.
The "Squadron" theme is reminiscent of a WWII European
theater night fighter -- maybe something like a P-61 "Black Widow"?
It comes complete with details like dirt, exhaust
marks and missing bits on the white lettering, all just like the real thing.
The big skull with crossed bayonets; the star in the circle; the bomb run
symbols -- it's got 'em all.
So no problems with the graphics; they're not everyone's
cuppa,
but no doubt about it, they'll garner attention.
Unfortunately, the rest of the fit and finish details aren't quite as successful, in my
opinion. The thin gasket around the bottom of the helmet is made from a
type of shiny material that seems more plastic than rubber, it's not evenly
applied with lots of waviness, it has a mis-matched seam in the back and
some glue overruns can be seen here and there, made more obvious by the matte surface.
Other detail issues include a flimsy-feeling top vent
assembly; the top slider features many tiny scratches on our example, so either the
quality control needs some improvement or maybe the helmet bounced around in
the box during shipping.
The visor has some issues also that I'll
describe in a minute, and all of these minor details that can make the
difference between a good helmet and a great helmet give me a bit of a pause
regarding the overall quality of the Marushin X-Moto.
By the way, the liner is claimed to be removable, although I
haven't tried to do this. It hangs out the bottom of the helmet; it
can be seen in some of the photos below. The liner uses some type of
sewn-on plastic tabs that are supposed to squeeze up in between the helmet
shell and the padding to hold the liner in place with friction, but the fit
is very loose and the liner easily moves in and out as the helmet is put on
or removed.
The helmet comes unassembled; that is, the dark tinted visor
must be attached to the helmet with the supplied side plates and aluminum
screws (see photo below). The instruction booklet is very basic but
had enough detail to allow us to figure out how to assemble the parts.
Score: I'll give the styling and paint an excellent,
but a poor rating for the hardware bits.
Sticker on back started peeling immediately.
Marushin X-Moto Top Vent.
wBW
Video Tour of the Marushin X-Moto Helmet
Helmet Fit and Liner The X-Moto has what I'd describe as a fairly neutral fit; that is, it
probably won't work on extreme long oval or extreme round head shapes, but
should be a decent fit for the majority of riders under the ol' Bell Curve, out
to about one Sigma or so.
I'd say the internal shape tends slightly towards the long oval
side of an HJC CL-14,
and maybe close to the fit of an
HJC AC-12 Carbon or the new
URBAN N20 Astro. Our helmet is a size XL and based on
this particular example, I'd say the X-Moto helmets probably run a size small; that is, our XL fits
more like a size large. It's tighter than I expected for an XL.
Nevertheless, the liner actually feels pretty comfy.
It has relatively shallow pockets at the ears, so anyone planning on fitting
thick speakers may have problems, although the helmet is noisy (see below),
so I doubt you'll want to do this anyway.
The liner material doesn't feel that special, but it does have a
comfortable surface and even if the fit is on the snug side, it does feel
good. Remember that correct helmet fit is crucial for comfort, safety
and noise reduction; see the
wBW
Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page for more information on
finding the right fit for your particular head shape.
Score: I give the X-Moto a score of good for fit and
liner comfort.
Helmet Weight
Our Marushin X-Moto Squadron in size XL weighs 1518 grams (3 lbs., 5-1/2 oz.).
This is relatively light and nearly identical to the
Shoei VFX-R Air, which is a pure motocross off-road helmet.
Usually the added features like a visor and the visor mounting mechanism can
add some weight, but not here.
Marushin says that the shell is made from fiberglass, which probably helps keep the weight low. But the helmet does seem more
flexible than others; see our Marushin X-Moto video, which illustrates the
amount of flexing in the sides of the helmet as it's being squeezed.
The flexibility seems a bit disconcerting, but who knows -- maybe
this same flexibility allows the helmet to absorb more energy in a crash.
In any case, it's
ECE
22.05 approved and Marushin claims it is also
ACU Gold approved, but ours did not carry the sticker. Again, note
that as of the date of publication, this helmet is not DOT approved.
See the
wBW
Motorcycle Helmet Weights page for our helmet weight comparison table
and chart to get a better idea at how the Marushin X-Moto compares with the 71 other
helmets in our database of reviews.
Score: I give the X-Moto's weight and weight
distribution an excellent rating.
Parts required to assemble visor to helmet.
Venting
Like most Enduro or off-road helmets, the X-Moto gets a lot of ventilation
from air blowing up under the extended chin bar. The helmet has four
metal screen covered vents on either side of the chin bar (but none directly
in front), but it's hard to determine whether these provide any extra air
flow.
A single top vent opens via a flimsy-feeling slider, but,
like the top vents on most helmets, it's hard to tell whether or not it's
doing anything. There are two exhaust vents out back, and the holes
popped into the helmet shell are very, very rough, which adds to my concern
about the overall quality of this helmet.
Score: I rate the venting system as
good, simply because a lot of air seems to flow through the helmet in spite
of the questionable vents.
Visor
The dark tinted visor that came with our helmet seems relatively thin.
It has what I would call an extreme amount of waviness; so much so that it
affects my vision, making it feel like I'm nearsighted. I'm not sure
how this visor can pass ECE 22.05 standards, although I don't really know
what the standards call for in terms of visor clarity.
The visor lift tab on the left-hand side has a very sharp
and unfinished plastic point on the inside that I'll probably have to file
down before it either scars my gloves or my fingers.
Marushin does warn that the visor is for off-road use only,
but this is rather ingenuous, since the helmet is sold with the visor and
the helmet will probably see much more street use than trail use.
The visor is not notched, so when it raises and lowers it is
dependent upon the friction created by the tightness of the screws holding
the side plates.
Score: I rate the visor on our helmet as unacceptable.
Noise Levels The X-Moto has a split personality when it comes to the amount of noise
transmitted to the rider. Over about 40 mph, our helmet becomes noisy
and very loud at cruising speeds of around 70 mph. But keep it under
40 mph or so, and it's not bad at all. So if you're using the helmet
to plunk around the neighborhood, it may not bother you at all.
Once the speed picks up, the top vent creates a whistling
noise and there's lots of turbulence up under the sides and rear of the
helmet, which creates a lot of wind noise when riding either an unfaired or
"naked" bike and especially behind a half-fairing. I can lift my
shoulders up and decrease some of the noise, but I get the feeling that the
thin-feeling fiberglass shell isn't attenuating noise like it should or
could.
Note that these comments are valid only when riding with
correctly fitted earplugs. See the wBW
Earplugs and Hearing
Protection page for more information on choosing and wearing earplugs.
Score: I rate the noise level when wearing this helmet
as poor.
Other Features The X-Moto uses a "quick release" chin strap, but this is one of the
better examples, with a plastic or Nylon ratchet-type strap that fits into a
ratcheting clip. Once the range of adjustment is fixed on the Nylon
webbed strap, it's a simple matter of inserting the notched strap into the
clip and pushing it in a few notches to tighten up the strap. Not
bad, actually.
The Marushin X-Moto is designed to be a "three-in-one"
helmet, in theory. It can be used with or without the peaked visor;
with or without the tinted (or clear) visor; or with both.
The helmet has Marushin's "M.A.R.O." (Marushin-Anti-Roll-Off)
system. This is claimed to prevent the helmet from pivoting off the
head from behind and to also reduce the amount of helmet roll that could
hurt the rider's neck in a crash.
Conclusion
This is the first Marushin helmet we've had in the webBikeWorld shop, and
based on this example, our opinion is that the quality is wanting.
There are just too many little details on this helmet that should be better
than they are. With that
said, there's no doubt that the cool graphics save the day on this one.
It just looks so good, especially with the dark tinted visor
(that also makes it hard to see straight), that many of the details can be
overlooked. And although it is noisy, it is also rather comfortable.
The bottom line? If you have to have one, go for it, but don't expect
the equivalent of, say, an Arai XD
or Shoei Hornet.
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.