Keys in hand to a shiny new KTM 1190 Adventure and orders to put enough miles on the new Shoei Hornet X2 to give it a true tried and tested review. YES, SIR! One month later, spanning two countries of dirt, street, rain, fog and even some sun, and I am ready to share. After 2,600 miles I can say Shoei addressed nearly every complaint I ever had about the original Hornet.

I’ve always been a Shoei fan, but was less than excited with the first generation Hornet, which I wore for several years. The fit and function of the new Hornet X2 are what I would expect of a premium lid. The new Hornet fit perfectly from the first time I put it on and addressed virtually every issue I’ve had with not only my first Hornet but ADV-style helmets in general. Not to say I don’t love my Arai XD but “perfect” is a hard target to hit and Shoei is shooting for the top slot.

By the nature of adventure and dual-sport riding we have to straddle two sides of motorcycling, and that means compromise. Off road, the helmet needs high ventilation at lower speeds and an opening large enough to accommodate goggles. It should be lightweight, with a visor to protect vision. However, on the road it needs to be quiet, have a clear, optically correct visor, a quick-access visor release for swapping or cleaning visors, good ventilation to keep from fogging up, and the aerodynamics to minimize wind noise and neck fatigue.

Shoei seems to land slightly to the road side of the equation but with a nice balance of both. Noise levels were louder than my Shoei road helmets but this is the quietest ADV-style helmet I have ever used. Airflow was impressive both on the road and during slower trail work. The chin bar is flatter than most ADV helmets, making it ideal on the road but not giving as much “heavy breathing” room when things are going slow; a minor complaint at best. Fit and finish are top notch and the PinLock system worked flawlessly. I did an intercom install so I could chat with my riding partner and the precut pockets swallowed up the speakers, making them undetectable until I heard voices. The most impressive ADV helmet feature is that the helmet visor has an almost undetectable amount of lift and is still long enough to work as a visor should. The original Hornet had a visor too short for shading where others are almost as long as motocross visors. This helmet is truly the Goldilocks of the ADV helmet world.

My one big regret is that at the end of the testing period I was not able to sweat enough to stink up the liner so they would refuse to take the helmet back and instead just tell me to keep it. MSRP: $594.99–$715.99 Shoei-Helmets.com

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