A couple of months ago I figured being bikeless for 20 years was way too long and bought a K75, my first BMW. I love my bike but had a real problem with wind buffeting at speeds approaching 70 and in any kind of gusty,windy situation. A little over a week ago I purchased a Nolan 104. No more buffeting (at least under 100). This is an interesting helmet. The fit is great, though initially the cheek pads felt a little snug. There is no wasted space on this bucket. The chin guard comes down fairly close to your chin and locks in solid. It was easy to inadvertently unlock the chin guard on my previous helmet. Not so with the Nolan. It takes two finger operate the release and it works well with my medium wt. leather gloves. As does the quick release retention buckle. The visor snaps into the closed position with a nice clunk. It has 4 open positions. The first being the anti-fog position. This could be a little wider to provide better airflow, as the shield does fog up on cold Vermont mornings, and during rainstorms. However, a pinlock insert is included with the helmet, so a wider opening is probably unnecessary. I guess I should install it, but I really like how clear the shield is. The shield is gasketed all the way around. I was riding in hammering thunderstorm the other day and no rain infiltrated around the visor. The internal sunshade is great. The mechanism is located on the side of the helmet, rather than on top. Very smooth, intuitive operation. I have read complaints that the shade is either down or up with no intermediate/friction positions. Personally, I either want a shade or I don't. A partial shade position would put a line in my sight line. I have read that the ventilation is great. I think it is ok. This chin vent basically sucks. The top and front vents are pretty good. I have a fair amount of hair, perhaps someone with less would notice the venting a little more. It is quieter than my last helmet. Interestingly, it filters out the low tones, which made me really aware of the mid and higher tones. Time to get ear plugs. I did notice some wind noise on the left side. This may be due to the sunshade control. The viewport is wide. A real benefit when changing lanes. The helmet feels nice and light on my head. The finish seems tough, but I haven't had it that long. As you can see I am really digging this helmet. I will post again once I have put some more miles on this helmet.
