Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

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Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by C00kiemonster »

I bought one of these at the NEC show a week or two ago.

Nolan N87, pinlock, sunvisor inside and space for my intercom - £150. Well pleased.

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Matches the new bike nicely.

Well i've been out with it for the first time today (the bike said 3 degrees brrrrr) after wearing it around the house for a bit as i don't like new lids digging in to my big bonce.

Anyways, initial impressions of the lid are a very good quality construction. The rachet clip (i'm used to D fasteners) is easy enough to use, though my cold hands did struggle a little with it, but thats practice.

It fits really well and doesnt need much more bedding in. I've taken out the small sponge areas for my glasses and they fit way way better than my glasses in my old trust Shoei. The built in sun visor is ace too - it was sunny but cold so a good test also. It's nice and dark and comes down low enough but also allows partial opening.

The lid is really comfy, so i'm happy. Ventilation seems adequate - no steamed up glasses on a cold and moist day, so cant to be too bad.

There is a problem though. Wind noise.

Maybe i've been spoilt with my Shoei, but even at 30 mph you hear a lot more wind noise. I deliberately didn't wear earplugs for this first test, so i need to experiment, but there is way more noise from the top vents (open or closed) and seemingly around my ears. Maybe this is because there is more space at the side of my hear (the shell seems a little bigger than the Shoei). My other theory is that the seal around the top of visor isn't sealing as well as it was bitter cold today so the rubber is less pliant? It could also be that the visor on/off mechanism allows a degree of noise through the shell.

After being happy with the lid, i'm a little disappointed. Not sure what i was expecting for £150 as everything else is great. I'm going to try it with plugs in and also a bit for padding around the ears. I'm also taking the supplied pinlock off the visor in case it is effecting the seal.

Overall, relatively happy, but more fiddling required. :|
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by Kwacky »

I always wear plugs but at some speeds I have found my Nolans to be a bit noisier than other lids. I think they're a bit wider than other lids and I think you're right about the vents on top. They are a bargain though
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by Rossgo »

To be fair it sounds like a good lid for the money. You can't expect a £150 )lid to be prefect. You have your plugs which will eliminate most of the noise, but I'll admit o enjoy putting my lids to the test so fully understand

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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by duke63 »

Wear a buff round your neck. Stops the wind getting underneath and into the lid which is the biggest cause of noise.
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by C00kiemonster »

duke63 wrote:Wear a buff round your neck. Stops the wind getting underneath and into the lid which is the biggest cause of noise.
I did, but i might get a thicker one to try out.

I've had the lid apart yesterday (i always seem to take everything apart :D ) and there is a large space around the ears, which i reckon might be good for some more padding. I've also fitted my intercom now which takes up some of the air space in the lid. After all we all like a cosy helmet :)
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

very nice looking helmet, for what its worth my shoei xr1100 is the nosiest helmet I have ever had, I cannot wear it without ear plugs in really, but its by far and away the most comfortable helmet and best vision I have used so happy to put up with the noise, but for £150 that looks a proper ace helmet!
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by C00kiemonster »

I've been out today for a couple of hours as i'm gradually trying to get this helmet to where i want it.

It's not as comfortable as my previous Shoei and though it needs bedding in, i'm not as impressed as i should be.

I've added some padding to the ear areas which has helped a little with noise and i've had to shave the contour of the forehead polystyrene as the edge of it digs in and give me a headache after about an hour.

It's getting better with a bit of work, but it's still not there. There simply isn't enough sponge padding between the polystyrene layer at the top front of the lid and your head, it's remove-able so you can see underneath but it's a pretty flimsy piece of cloth and foam.

At the moment i wouldn't want to use it for more than a couple of hours at a time, which bugs me as it's a nice lid. I'll keep working at it, but if i cant crack it i'll be back to the Shoei for now - which is a shame.
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by C00kiemonster »

I'm still trying to bed this in, however my own fault i guess, but when i got home from a ride the other day, i took the visor off and put it submerged in a bowl of water (i've always done this) as after about 30 mins the flies (of which there were many) just fall off and the visor doesn't scratch at all with any cleaning then.

This time however i forgot to take the pinlock off. When i came to clean the visor. i took the pinlock off and the seal came away from the pjnlock at the same time and now its knackered :? Some of the glue is still on the visor too.

Anyone else been this daft? I'm not too worried as i didnt use the pinlock system on my old Shoei but im sure the glue shouldnt come away from the rubber seal!
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by Monty »

Nope, just you
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by duke63 »

They are made to soak moisture up. I suspect that is what happened here.
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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by Rossgo »

That will need replacing. Maybe next time use Muc Off visor cleaner?!

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Re: Nolan N87 Ongoing Review

Post by C00kiemonster »

I'm starting to get somewhere with this lid, I've reshaped the polystyrene a little (nothing drastic so it's still very safe) and my funny shaped bonce fits much better now. An hour on the bike today and no real pressure points, so i'm starting to like it more.
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