Nolan N87 Helmet

This helmet is fantastic, it's quiet, light, comfortable, huge eye port.

It flows more air than my shoei GT air and it's quieter than my schuberth c3.

Who cares how it looks, I can't see it when it's on my head.

I have this helmet for 3 months now and I can say it is the only helmet in the price range that provides me with enough comfort for my eye glasses. It was only once in minus temperatures when my eye glasses got fogged but with a veeery slight opening of the visor the problem was solved.

I had the N86 before I read the favorable reviews on this helmet. Generally, I'm an Arai guy, but their prices are putting them out of reach for most of us. The N87 is VERY close to Arai IMO, in every aspect but venting. The lack of ventilation is the only gripe I have with this helmet. Maybe it's just the shape of my ugly head, but I feel NO air coming thru any of the vents, even on cool days. Not a deal breaker though, because everything else is outstanding. Much more comfortable than the N86. Also, someone finally put in a sun shield that comes down far enough, and is dark enough. Overall quality is excellent. I think this helmet is comparable to others costing twice as much. Put in better vents, and it would be almost perfect. No regrets.

To preface, I've only owned one other helmet which was a 2008 Icon Alliance SSR and it had gotten too worn for me to feel safe anymore. I spent weeks reading reviews and settled on the N87. For me, it perfectly fit the bill of being 1) of good build quality, 2) full-face with integrated sun shield, and 3) from a reputable company. Nice additions were the chin flap, pinlock insert, and good venting.

I’m a narrow oval and measured 60cm so I ordered a large, which was very snug initially but is breaking in and becoming quite comfortable. I removed the padding cutouts to make room for my frames and my glasses fit very comfortably. The sun shield comes down reasonably far, but I would like just one more notch. The tint is dark enough that I don’t need sunglasses, but it could stand to be a shade darker. The air flow is excellent from the top. I can't really tell a difference between an open/closed chin vent, but the fog clears quickly regardless once you're moving.

I'm completely happy with this helment and feel it has been a solid investment. My small complaint is that the Microlock chin strap isn't soft/compliant like a nylon strap, so even with the strap’s padding there's a bit of discomfort when properly tightened. That aside, I really like the mechanism and it makes fastening the helmet very easy.

Additional note: the black graphite color is closer to a matte finish than a gloss finish.

I'm very happy with my purchase. This helmet feels exactly like a shoe air gt, but lighter. Albeit, the components are not as solid, but they are still very reliable. The inner lining is extremely comfortable, hugging the face in a more all-encompassing manner. The inner sun visor functions smoothly and is very wide as well as low, this adds a lot more visibility. The weight for a polycarb is crazy light considering what you're getting, medium with VPS is around 3.2 pounds and without 3.1. The noise is crazy quiet in low speeds but it does pick up 75+. At this speed it is still relatively quiet though. The wind buffering is noticeable, and when doing head checks there can be a small whistling. I believe this is from the top vents. This helmet is ideal for 3/4 to neutral, due to the vents. The tuck is fine, but you will hear that small whistle, my experience.The microlock feature may be something of preference, but I've learned to like it. Very easy to work with gloves. OH, this also comes with free PIN-LOCK!! A must have if you're in San Francisco like me.

Here's what I have to say in list form

PROS:
- Free PInlock!!
- Super quiet until 75+, then it's relatively quiet.
- Very comfy
- Smooth, VPS operations
- light 3.1-3.2 pounds, with or without VPS.
- love microlock, easy to operate with gloves
- Visibility is Amazing, running very wide, both VPS and Pinlock
- Good ventilation, both from the front and top vents. Not fantastic though.

CONS:
- Some whistling at high speeds due, what I believe, top vents
- Head checks are good, not fantastic.

Some things to know:
- Ideal for 3/4 and neutral, and occasional tuck.
- I love this helmet for the price, features and crazy light weight.

Hope this helps

First off I just want to say I'm very happy with my purchase so far. It was finally time for me to upgrade from my 11 year old Aria Astral-X which was the only helmet I've had for the street. So perhaps I don't have enough experience to really say what's good about this helmet compared to others currently on the market, but I can at least tell you what I like and what I don't so far. I've only put a few hundred miles on it and later on, if my opinion changes, I'll update my review.

Pros:
Lightweight: I was really surprised to find out how much lighter helmets have gotten over the past decade. I can really feel the difference in weight coming from my old helmet.

Sun Visor: This part was a must have for me. I was so tired of always having to carry sunglasses that I wouldn't buy a helmet without a way of blocking out the sun just a bit. Now that I've been spoiled by this helmet, I don't think I could go back. This visor comes down plenty far. I originally was worried it wouldn't come down far enough and that the bottom edge would be a distraction. Thankfully I have no complaints with the visor. Comes down really far and is dark enough to keep eye strain down in really sunny weather.

Pinlock: I love that this helmet comes stock with a pinlock. As with the sun visor, I don't think I'll ever have another helmet without a pin lock. Early in the morning heading to work my helmet would always fog at stop lights. With the pinlock, I haven't even seen a bit of fog yet. Worth it's weight in gold it is.

Chin curtain: the chin curtain is really helpful at keeping cold air from getting up into the helmet which I'm sure also helps keep the noise down. It's also split down the middle a bit to make it easy to get the helmet on.

Chin strap: I've always used D rings and I have to say, this is taking some getting used to. I've tried locking the ratchet system while wearing gloves and I haven't quite got it down, but I can tell it's possible with a bit of practice. However a slight con would be that I wish the microfiber straps that protect your neck from the ratchet were a bit shorter. They are a little long and overlap which is a little uncomfortable. I just move them around til they are comfortable and forget about it.

Wide view: when riding this helmet doesn't obstruct your view. Come to think of it, I don't even think I can even see the side of the helmet out of my peripheral vision. Of course you can see the top and bottom while wearing it, but that's not as important as seeing what's coming up on your left and right.

Cons:
The interior liner feels barebones: When I go back and forth between the Nolan and my old Aria, I immediately realize how plush my old Aria felt. That helmet felt so comfy and well padded. The Nolan on the other hand doesn't feel like it has a very thick liner and you can feel the groves at the top for the air vents. It's not really a huge negative for me, and for the price I didn't expect the same level of luxury that a helmet twice the price cost. You do have to make some sacrifices to keep the price under $300

The cheek pads are a bit long: this is probably my biggest complaint so far. The cheek pads to me seem just a bit too long front to back. The very back corner comes back and causes a pressure point against my ear. After an hour or so, it gets painful and distracting. It'll even make my jaw hurt a little. To fix this, after I put the helmet on, I put my hand up in the helmet and pull the back corner of the cheek pad forward. Once I do that it's perfectly fine.

Highway speeds: at highway speeds over 70 I think it doesn't do well in an upright position. It just doesn't cut through the wind as well as my old Aria. I can feel the helmet wanting to lift off my head slightly. Not a big issue as I just tilt my head down on the highway. If you're riding in the 3/4 position you'll be fine.

Air flow: What air flow? I can't tell a difference between open and closed air vents. To be fair, I couldn't tell on my old helmet either. But I guess I was expecting some sort of improvement. I haven't rode in hot weather yet so maybe the venturi vent in the back is working without me knowing. But I can't feel the top front vents and I can't tell if the chin vent is even venting the visor. Thankfully with the pin lock, it's a non issue.

To sum it up, it's not a perfect helmet, but for the price your paying I think it's too of the line in its category.

I ride a middleweight naked bike and have the Nolan N87 in a size Large.

I love this helmet mostly 100% in all ways. It is light, Nolan is known for safety, the internal visor is the best I have ever tried out.

The chin vent does a U-turn and blasts air onto the visor instead of your face which adds even more defogging ability to this helmet and although it makes it might take more than a second to cool down your face in the dead of summer it still works eventually. This also makes it a good 4-season helmet I suspect because of that.
As well, I wear glasses full time and do not have much problems with them fogging either other then when I am first putting my gear on and getting the bike going in the morning. Even at red lights and stuff I have had no problems

There is ONE odd quirk. On the streets this helmet for me is perfect BUT on the highway it is super loud with my face forward. Whether I wear ear plugs or not I cannot hear my bike whether I have my head straight up or in a tuck. The weird thing is that if I turn my head slightly to the left or right just an inch ALL wind noise goes away. No exaggeration, it just is gone and I can hear my bike and everything around me perfectly.
Everyone says how quiet the helmet is and I suspect the fact mine seems so loud straight on has something to do with how I have a large which is the smallest size you get in the second shell size. I bet this makes mine a little more clunky then other sized and I bet someone in a Medium or small would not have this issue.

Ride: 2008 Kawasaki mean streak 1600.

Between sizes, I emailed revzilla. They said to size down, wear it for an hour, and if I didn't like it to send it back and they'd cover all shipping. Couldn't go wrong. Ordered the M (23" head), wore it for a while and it seemed okay, a kinda tight on the forehead, but I thought it'd break in. IT DID and now it fits great. I ride almost daily and it has gotten much comfortable over the last 2 months.

It's loud if you don't wear headphones or earplugs. Seriously, protect your hearing regardless of what helmet you buy.

Ventilation... hmm. The last helmet I had was a big handmedown, so of course the ventilation was better in the old helmet, but ineffective should there be a crash. The Nolan ventilates, I think. I'm not dying of heat stroke (summer riding in texas) when I get off my bike after a ride, but I don't feel it actively cooling me either.

The vision and drop down visor are both fantastic features, as is the pinlock.

It's a very solid helmet with the features I wanted for much less money than others with similar amenities. I recommend.

I got this helmet as I just purchased a gs1200 and my airoh dual sport helmet was really noisy. The nolan, like my airoh is well made and feels very sturdy, compared to my other GMAX and speed & strength helmets.

Pros
- Well made, sturdy
- Good padding
- Love the sun visor, very wide and all encompassing, lightly tinted
- Good peripheral vision

Cons
- Hate the nolan logos pasted front and back. Should give us an option to remove all these.
- Absolutely no ventilation. Tested it on a 60mph road in 100 degree weather and my face was heating up when I closed the visor. Adjusted the vent holes and I could not even feel any difference.
- Hot air is trapped around the mouth area.
- The helmet is really not good for summer weather.
- The noise reduction isn't much compared to my dual sport helmet. Very disappointed.