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Helmet fail – Indian MC Sport full face
(by Guy 'Guido' Allen, August 2022)
Good price
but a design fail
Product reviews are usually
outside our brief, but this is an exception after
experiencing a surprising fail.
Indian Motorcycles Australia
has recently been advertising a range of helmets at low
prices and we recently bought one. Which has proved to
be a mistake.
The online shopping experience was fine and the delivery
prompt – so full marks there. Billed as the
full-face Sport, it is a dual visor design, with a
'normal' clear visor (with pinlocks and an anti-fog
insert included), plus a tinted drop-down inner
half-visor. Overall a versatile package that mimics
Shoei's GT-Air and the like. (See both helmets, above.)
We ordered a 2XL and everything looked ship-shape,
priced at a very attractive $360. Made in China, the
overall presentation was pretty good.
Normally, I wouldn't buy a motorcycle-branded helmet,
but the pricing was sharp and there's always the
argument that I have an Indian in the shed. And a spare
helmet wouldn't go astray.
So here's where it fell down. The fastening system is a
ratcheted tongue-and-buckle system, again similar to a
GT-Air and probably others.
However once you have it fastened, it's very difficult to undo – read that as unreasonably fiddly and probably a liability in an emergency. Not one for anyone who actually wants to remove the helmet quickly and easily.
So what's the issue? The buckle
strap is too short, trapping the lever (that's it in
red, above, with about 50 per cent showing at full
extension) in the padding beside your neck, where it
cannot be released easily...even with practice and
patience. There simply isn't enough room to get your
fingers in to grip the lever.
Plus, the lever itself is poorly designed, with
insufficient clearance to easily slip a finger
underneath to release it.
Looking at the equivalent Shoei
design, the buckle strap is longer, keeping the buckle
itself clear of interference. You might notice it also
has a flare in the end of the lever, so you can easily
get a digit underneath.
The Shoei, by the way, is
double the price and worth it.
As for the Indian MC full-face sport helmet, I'd would advise against it. Assuming the maker uses the same shell for different head sizes, it may work better for smaller bonces. Nevertheless, it rates as a fail.
(There are other models in
the range and hopefully they're better-sorted.)
The helmet was returned and
Indian was prompt in offering a refund and exchange. So
even though this one didn't work out, it gives you a bit
of confidence about buying from them.
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