OGK Kabuto RT33

[Guest Kakugo]

Earlier this year, I replaced my old and faithful FF5V full face helmet with the latest offering from OGK Kabuto the RT33 .

I also have what I believe is the best full face helmet presently on the market (Arai RX7RRV) so I have a good meter of comparison.

 

This new helmet is much better well made than the FF5V: interiors (the FF5V's weak point) are made with the same materials as Arai's and are much better fitting.

Visor, vents etc are sturdier than Arai's, as it was the case with the FF5V. This is a great everyday helmet.

Ventilation has been much improved over the FF5V, especially at low speeds. We are not Arai's levels yet but getting there. No small wonder since both brands have their helmets's aerodynamics studied at the Aerodynamics Department of the Tokyo University.

Now, and this is the most surprising thing, this is probably the quietest helmet I've ever owned. Even without earplugs this helmet is seriously quiet: wind noise is really no concern here.

 

All in all I am extremely happy with the purchase, including price: with shipping I paid just US $375 for it.

[blackyam]

I have a Shoei Multitec that I need to replace. I was thinking about getting a Neotec. My friend recently bought a Kabuto (I don't know which model, but it is a flip-up) that he likes. As Kakugo says, a Kabuto can be had for under $400, which is about 2/3 the price of a Shoei Neotec. Can anyone here compare a Kabuto with a Neotec? Is the Neotec worth the extra cost? I have been very happy with my Multitec, but it is now long in the tooth (six plus years). Thanks.

 

---John.

[Skywagon]

I have a Neotec and a Multitec. No experience with kabuto. The Neotec is a good deal quieter than the Multitec. Ventilation is much better, can remove all the insides, has pull down visor, and comes with pinlock. I took out the pinlock as it distorted my vision. Got my on-line from Dallas Honda for significantly less than anywhere else...but still expensive.

 

My only issue with the Neotec is it feels heavy when riding all day.

[Guest Kakugo]

I have a Shoei Multitec that I need to replace. I was thinking about getting a Neotec. My friend recently bought a Kabuto (I don't know which model, but it is a flip-up) that he likes. As Kakugo says, a Kabuto can be had for under $400, which is about 2/3 the price of a Shoei Neotec. Can anyone here compare a Kabuto with a Neotec? Is the Neotec worth the extra cost? I have been very happy with my Multitec, but it is now long in the tooth (six plus years). Thanks.

 

---John.

 

The OGK Kabuto model you are referring to is the Ibuki.

 

I tried a Neotec in 2014 and absolutely hated, very much like I hated the two Shoei's I had in the years of yore. My main complaint with Shoei's are ventilation and especially the interior/padding. I don't know what Shoei uses, but it cooked my head to a crisp even on a cool Autumn day.

 

A while later I tried on an Ibuki at a motorcycle show. It's in another league. The interior is not as comfortable as that on the RT33 (which is made of expensive Coolmax) but good enough for me and way way better than Shoei. Differently from the Neotec, it's a helmet I could live with if I still used flipups.

 

Regarding pricing... here's the funny thing. I usually get my helmets straight from Japan and the pricing difference between Shoei and OGK Kabuto there is small: the Ibuki is 53,000 yen while the Neotec is 58,000 yen.

 

 

[blackyam]

Skywagon and Kakugo, thanks for your replies.

 

I have been very happy with Shoei over the years, wearing thr RF-700, 800, 900, and then the Multitec. I must have a Shoei-shaped head. :-)

 

My only issue with the Neotec is it feels heavy when riding all day.

 

Compared to the Multitec? I'm ok with the Multitec all day.

 

I usually get my helmets straight from Japan and the pricing difference between Shoei and OGK Kabuto there is small: the Ibuki is 53,000 yen while the Neotec is 58,000 yen.

 

That's less than a $50 difference. How do we order directly from Japan? What additional costs are there (shipping, taxes, &c.)?

 

Thanks again.

 

---John.

[Skywagon]

Helmet weights...

 

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-weights.htm

[lkraus]

I'm glad I saw this thread. My wife is only an occasional passenger, maybe 2-3 times a year. I've been dissatisfied with the helmet she has been using due to its age and the wind noise that makes voice activation of our Sena headsets a bad idea. She has been discouraging the purchase of a Schuberth C3 Pro due to the high cost and the few times she rides with me.

 

The Kabuto Ibuki looks like it will make us both happy. Modular, built-in sun-screen, Pinlock included, eyeglass friendly, CoolMax lining, lighter than the C3 Pro, reasonable cost - perfect. Most retailers are showing it on closeout, Amazon has it for $258.60, shipped.

[blackyam]

Skywagon, thanks for the weight chart. If I read it correctly, it looks like the Neotec (L) weighs 7/8 oz more than a Multitec (L).

 

Ikraus, thanks for the lead on Amazon.com. Wow, what a great price. By the way, the weight chart that Skywagon suggested links to a review of the Kabuto Ibuki.

 

Does anyone know how the Kabuto Ibuki is sized? What does a Shoei Multitec XS and S (both my wife and I need new helmets) correspond to for the Kabuto Ibuki? Thanks.

 

---John.

[Guest Kakugo]

 

Does anyone know how the Kabuto Ibuki is sized? What does a Shoei Multitec XS and S (both my wife and I need new helmets) correspond to for the Kabuto Ibuki? Thanks.

 

---John.

 

OGK's are sized exactly like Euro market Arai's: if you wear an L Arai, you wear an L OGK. The only difference I can tell is Arai's have very slightly tighter cheekpads.

 

As per ordering from Japan: express shipping from there is ridiculously cheap and very fast. I have a mate who works there who as a side business sells motorcycle parts and accessories. I can give you the contact if you are seriously interested.

Regarding import duties... I still haven't understood how the customs here work. Sometimes you pay them and sometimes you don't. I suspect when collecting duties is not worth their while they just wave parcles through...

[blackyam]

Kakugo, thank you very much for offering to share your contact in Japan. I appreciate that sincerely. However, thanks to Ikraus's lead about the sale on Amazon.com, my wife and I decided to purchase helmets from them.

 

After wearing Shoei for twenty years, it felt really weird to order another brand. I hope that we won't regret it.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your assistance.

 

---John.

[Skywagon]

keep us posted on how you and wife unit like the fit compared to Shoei, the air flow, and the quality. I've been wearing Shoei about 20 years too. Current Neotec just hit 4 year mark.

[blackyam]

Skywagon, I will let y'all know what we think of the Kabuto Ibuki compared to our Shoei Multitec, I hope in a few weeks. Cheers.

 

---John.

[blackyam]

Skywagon, my Kabuto Ibuki arrived, and I have tried it on a 35-mile ride, mostly on a highway at 65 or 70 mph. My initial impressions compared to my trusty Shoei Multitec.

 

Pros of Ibuki

-------------

- Fits well

- Feels a little lighter (although that might be my imagination)

- Not noisier (I use ear plugs)

- No apparent undue wind buffeting

- Sun shade (nice not to have to change the main visor between clear and smoke)

- Ears feel more comfortable (feels like more room)

- Ratchet chin strap latch (quick and easy to use)

 

Cons of Ibuki

-------------

- Cannot flip up without closing face shield completely,* so cannot carry the helmet around by the chin bar easily

- Sun shade (it could extend down more; the cutout for the nose lets in too much light for my taste; does not seem as dark as the dark smoke on my Multitec)

- Flip-up release is on the side**

- Does not open as wide (not as vertically) in the flip-up position

- Lining does not feel as plush to the touch (subjective; but I wear a helmet liner)

- Ratchet chin strap latch (I still like double D rings, but maybe I won't miss them after a while)

 

*On the Multitec, the helmet chin bar and the face shield have two different pivots, and I can open the flip up completely with the face shield also open completely; on the Ibuki, the helmet chin bar and the face shied share the same pivot.

 

**On the Multitec, the release is in the middle, so I can use either hand to open the flip-up.

 

I have not used it on an all-day outing yet, so I can't comment on how the Ibuki would feel at the end of a long day.

 

If the Ikubi were to cost $150 less than a Neotec, I would buy a Neotec; but costing about $350 less than a Neotec (at Amazon.com now), I will live with the Ibuki.

 

By the way, I am having trouble removing the chin curtain (wind shutter) on the Ibuki. Can anyone offer any tips? I feel like it will rip if I were to yank on it any harder than I have tried. Thanks.

 

---John.

[blackyam]

Brief followup. My wife tried the Ibuki and the Multitec back-to-back last weekend on short twenty-mile trips at highway speeds. Sitting perched on the pillion, she reported wind noise in both, but she said that the wind noise sounded more turbulent with the Ibuki. On the other hand, she likes the main air vent in the Ibuki over the Multitec hands down, even though it was noisier. It was about 85F last weekend.

 

Cheers.

 

---John.

[Guest Kakugo]

Post a picture of the wind curtain. Before I tell you something we'll both regret.

 

Regarding the interior: as I said I am not a fan of "plush" interiors like Shoei uses. In fact, I downright hate them as they make my head sweat even in mild weather. But every head is different, as they say...

[blackyam]

Hello, Kakugo. I don't need to remove the wind shutter now. I wanted to remove it because I thought that it might interfere with my Scala mic. After installing the Scala, however, I found that it does not interfere. Thanks very much.

 

I'm eager to see how the Ibuki fares in 90F to 110F heat in the summer here compared to the Multitec.

 

---John.

[Guest Kakugo]

Hello, Kakugo. I don't need to remove the wind shutter now. I wanted to remove it because I thought that it might interfere with my Scala mic. After installing the Scala, however, I found that it does not interfere. Thanks very much.

 

I'm eager to see how the Ibuki fares in 90F to 110F heat in the summer here compared to the Multitec.

 

---John.

 

I am telling this on a strictly theoretical way.

 

Usually on OGK helmets the wind shutter underneath the chin bar is just pressed in place and can be removed by lifting the plastic strip to which the fabric is sewn on one corner and then peeling it out.

Installation is exactly the opposite.

[blackyam]

Usually on OGK helmets the wind shutter underneath the chin bar is just pressed in place and can be removed by lifting the plastic strip to which the fabric is sewn on one corner and then peeling it out.

Installation is exactly the opposite.

 

Thanks. I'll give that a try some time. :-)

 

---John.

[blackyam]

Rode in 102F heat this afternoon, and my head did not feel too sweaty in my Ibuki. Not bad. :-)

 

By the way, I've found that removing the main face shield to clean it is pretty simple. Nice mechanism. That's a big plus for me because, living around lots of rice fields, vegetable fields, fruit orchards, &c., I get hit by bugs quite a bit.

 

Removing the inside sun shield is another matter. I couldn't remove it, and I hurt my thumbs and forefingers trying. :-(

 

So far, I am continuing to like the Ibuki overall.

 

---John.