PRODUCT REVIEW: Shoei X-Fourteen Helmet

Rennie Scaysbrook | February 11, 2016

Next level: Shoei’s released the successor to the incredibly popular X-12 in the all-new X-Fourteen. Rennie’s had his head in one for a month now – here are his thoughts.

*A tall, tight fit characterizes the new Shoei X-Fourteen.*

“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos.” Those words do not belong to me, but to the great British novelist Mary Shelley, better known to you and me as the lady who penned that great gothic gest, Frankenstein.

Controlled chaos, it must also be said, is a rather adept phrase when describing motorcycle racing. Racing, even at elementary levels, is a dance of intensity and bravado – at the highest levels; it’s all-out war, and war requires invention.

The battlefield of MotoGP has spawned many of the safety features we as riders now take for granted – traction control, good tires, better suspension, and, life-saving riding apparel. Shoei has long been at the forefront of helmet design and this area of motorcycle safety is every bit as competitive as the next electronic invention that we, in time, will again take for granted.

This is a company with an incredible history of rider satisfaction. Helmets are funny in that way – once a rider picks one they like, it can take a lot for them to change – and Shoei hopes this new X-Fourteen continues that brand loyalty for years to come.

The X-Fourteen is the product of thousands of miles of MotoGP racing and even more hours of testing and design. Marc Marquez has been instrumental in the finished product, as has fellow MotoGP pilot, Bradley Smith.

So what’s new with the X-Fourteen? Well, pretty much everything. Read on.

The Rub

Compared to the outgoing X-12, the X-Fourteen’s shape is far more aggressive. The dimensions have been drastically altered; with a taller frontal area offering more chin protection, wider field of vision from larger center and a sharper rear profile.

This comes down to one thing – aerodynamics. The X-Fourteen’s shape was largely developed in the wind tunnel with the end game being greater high-speed stability, and you can easily see the product of this with the massive rear spoiler. Those grey rear flaps you see on the spoiler edges are replaceable, designed to fine-tune the helmet’s high-speed stability – wider ones for high-speed, thinner for low-speed riding.

The spoiler also acts as one of the exhaust vents to channel hot air away from the rider’s head that enters through chin and forehead vents.

The X-Fourteen is constructed using a fiberglass-mix construction with six different layers to ensure the overall shell is lighter and more comfortable at speed than the outgoing X-12. The new dual-layer, multi-density EPS liner has been redesigned to allow for greater cooling, with air entering the chin and forehead vents and exiting out the back of the spoiler. Interestingly, you can change the angle of the inner liner up to four degrees – this allows for a wider field of vision when in a full race tuck.

Finally, the X-Fourteen utilizes a new face shield that’s 99-percent resistant to UV rays. The shield itself rotates on a traditional ratchet system that’s actually quite stiff, so you can easily lock the visor in place at any point of its rotation, unlike the equivalent AGV or Arai.

The Feel

This was my first experience with a Shoei road racing-helmet. Traditionally I’ve been wearing Shark helmets, then more lately Arai and AGV, and the Shoei is different to all of them.

The X-Fourteen’s shape is quite skinny at tall, which for me with a round face I’d have thought would be a bit of a problem. Initially the fit is very, very snug – the chin bar is quite close to my face, and my nose feels like it’s almost resting against the breath guard. It’s also rather tight around the temples – but it’s a secure feel, rather than an overly tight one. Helmets need to feel like jeans when you first wear them. At first a helmet that feels a touch too small with eventually break into the shape of your head, just like a tight pair of jeans will on your ass.

Vision is superb on the X-Fourteen. The field of view is wider than my AGV Corsa and taller than my Arai Corsair X – in this way it’s similar to my Scorpion EXO-R2000. And I love the way I can pick a visor position and due to the tightness of the ratchet, know it will stay there!

On track the stability at high speed is great. The first time I ever wore this helmet was at Sepang in Malaysia for the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R – I’ve never gone to an international launch without at least trying the helmet first – and the fact I felt comfortable right away is a big bonus for the X-Fourteen. There was no undue buffeting down the two top-speed straights, and I felt confident pretty much straightaway.

At that Malaysian test it was stinkingly hot and humid, and the X-Fourteen flowed plenty of air (even if it wasn’t cool air), enough at least to keep me from boiling over. In this way it’s very similar to my AGV Corsa, a helmet that flows a substantial amount of air.

It’s not the quietest of helmets, but then it’s a race helmet designed to let you hear every nuance and sound the engine makes. If noise is a concern and you want a Shoei helmet, go for the GT-Air model.

The X-Fourteen is an excellent helmet, but considering this is Shoei, one of the oldest and most respected brands out there, that’s not really surprising. I can best sum up the X-Fourteen by saying that once I put it on in Malaysia, after two laps I forgot about the helmet and just rode the bike – which is more than I can say for many other helmets I’ve tried.

X-Fourteen Pricing
Solids: $681.99
Metallics: $692.99
Graphics: $807.99
Replicas: $839.99

www.shoei-helmets.com
Photography Courtesy of Kawasaki and Shoei