Review: HJC IS-16 helmet

[c_dug]

This is my review on the HJC IS-16 helmet, feel free to add your own review of the same helmet in this thread. This is my first go at a review so please offer constuctive criticism and I shall adhere to any advice in further reviews

I bought myself this helmet approximately 6 months ago as a replacement for my free Duchini lid I got from my insurers. I got it for around £150 in gloss black. The helmet came in a pretty standard box, it came with extra screws to secure the visor pods to the helmet. The helmet also has a built in pull-down sun visor.

Fit
As the fit is the most important bit about a helmet I figured it should go first. I had the salesman in Hein Gericke help me find a helmet to fit, it felt a little tight to me, but admittedly my Duchini was far too loose so I figured it felt tight to me because of what I was comparing it to. I was assured that it was a good fit and went with what I was told. To start with I was sure that the helmet was too small for me, I even made a thread on here about it, it left a massive red mark on my forehead every time I wore it, and gave me a nasty headache if I wore it for more than 30 minutes.
I have been wearing the helmet 5 days a week for the last 6 months and now it fits quite nicely, it still leaves a small mark on my head, but nothing unusual. I would be a little concerned that if I had bought a larger size that was more comfortable to begin with, that by now I would have too big a helmet that may be unsafe. So if you are going for one of these helmets, perhaps stray a little on the tight side so it will be a good fit for longer.

Noise
I will say outright that this helmet is not quiet! I've never worn a racey Arai or Shoei but I've heard they can be quite noisy, I would guess that this is in a similar league. On the plus side I can hear sirens miles off.

Lining
The lining and cheek pads are fully removable and are held in place by white poppers. They can be a pain in the arse to pop back into place but once you get the technique right they are easy enough to work. I believe the lining has some sort of silver anti-bacterial stuff in it, I don't have a smelly helmet so I guess it's working. There is plenty of room to have headphones in place under the helmet without comfort issues.

Visor
The visor comes pinlock ready but without an insert. The visor is very easy to remove and refit, easier than any other helmet I have owned. Tinted visors are easily available for this helmet. The visor has 4 positions including fully open and fully closed, it is sturdy when in place and if halfway open would not be ripped open or forced closed by the wind when riding. Unfortunately the smallest gap it allows for is about 4 inches, which is too open to ride with in the rain, and puts the line of the visor right at eye level.
There is a built in sun visor, it is controlled by a sliding mechanism on the top towards the rear of the helmet, it has three points to lock into, though the lower points may clip your nose depending on your face shape. My Japanese friend didn't suffer the same issue. It releases with the push of a button on the very top of the helmet. The seal around the edge of the visor is good while shut and doesn't leak even in heavy rain.

Ventilation
Just by looking you would assume this is a very well ventilated helmet. In fact at the right angles you can see daylight coming through from inside. I have never felt too hot while wearing it, but I do suffer from the visor steaming up at slow speeds. I would say the head ventilation is good, but the front vent could be bigger or better flowing to prevent the visor steaming. Perhaps this is why they felt necessary to include pin lock points on the visor!

Finish
I have knocked and bumped this helmet many many times, there is the odd minor scuff on it, but no sign of any chips in the paint. None of the air vents are coming away. It is generally holding up pretty well. My one complaint is that there is something small that rattles around the inside of the helmet, you can't hear it while riding so it is not often an issue.

Altogether I would say this is a good helmet for the price. It has it's niggles, but with the exception of the visor steaming up I don't notice it when I'm wearing it and that's probably the best thing you can say about a helmet!

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/product_images/hjc_is-16_black.jpg

https://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/hjc/is-16/hjc-is-16-liner.jpg
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[FBSF]

Rip the chin-curtain out. Stops the fogging completely. Worked wonders on my IS-16.

[WannaBeDude]

My review of AGV GP Tek 1 0r 2 ...

Bargain and fucking awesome, as long as it fits you, which mine does nicely.

https://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/covdude/2012/IMAG0035.jpg

https://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e53/covdude/2012/IMAG0034.jpg
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Jogging on, destination living.

[Moo.]

I have the IS-16 and find it a fantastic helmet, bit noisy like you say, but fits perfect and i like the use of the sun visor.

I had the red mark on my head like you described, and after riding for an hour and a half, i kept getting headaches. Went on for a few months. I solved the problem by taking out the lining and cutting out a tiny bit of the foam on the forehead, just a bit of padding, nothing crucial. Have never had the problem since and hasn't affected the helmet in anyway. I have mine the the 'Scratch' blue colours
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A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Will add to sticky thread in Show and Tell.
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My Flickr

[Paris2]

I too have the IS-16, in matte black. Its been my only helmet but I like it.

I especially like the handy tinted drop down visor, its helpful for commuting when the sun is setting/rising and you don't want to have a tinted visor all the time.
I had the issue of steaming up, but with the addition of a pinlock I haven't had any issues since. I would recommend it
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Current Ride: Daytona 600

[kelvyn]

Matt black is16 for erm, ages now.
Pinlock sorted fogging, I too had red mark and just got used to it, after a while much better.

[AlexW]

I too have the same lid, It has been my only one too so I can't really compare it to any others.

I taped over the mesh bit on the chin guard to make it a little nicer, I keep the front vent open all the time and crack open the visor at low speeds or when stopped to stop it from steaming up.

I do love the internal visor, Couldn't live without it.

[c_dug]

I'm not actually a fan of the internal visor myself, isn't dark enough as standard. They're pretty easy to buy replacements though.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[woll]

The chin bar fell apart on mine about 5 months after buying it. The inside of the chin bar would wiggle about inside the shell.
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Current Bike- Suzuki DRZ400 SM K6
Previous bikes - Derbi Senda Xtreme50r, Honda CBR 125, Kawasaki ZZR 250, Yamaha DT125R, Suzuki Bandit 600, Gas gas ec 250, Honda CBR600FW
Damaged spleen, damaged kindey, 2 popped lungs, 2 broken ribs, broken face, broken wrist and 5 back fractures... remember kids walls hurt

[talkToTheHat]

It's been resurrected and re-branded as the TR1 in the UK. I think it's a different head shape to the IS17, which I cannot get to fit.

I have one, used it in 2011 and early 2012, didn't get on.

The vents are terrible, of all the HJCs Ive tried this had the most difficult to operate vents. The top ones are really stiff to the point of sometimes needing two hands. The chin vent is really hard to find and operate with ticks gloves on and super-flimsy. They don't supply a lot of air either, FG15 has better airflow and a better top vent closure. IS17 has better vent closures all round. Completely blown out of the water by my Shark Speed R, which is most refreshing when fully open.

The Sunvisor is reasonable, although the return spring is a little violent, causing it to return with a hell of a bang. Gives good coverage.

The claimed anti-fog coating on the inside of the visor isn't upto much, but it's pretty good when pinlocked. Combination of sun visor and pinlock is good for winter low sun use. Chin curtain is good and kills some noise, but causes fogging of visor unless pinlocked and glasses at all times so never used. Breath deflector a liability with glasses.

Swapping visors is easy enough, but carrying a pinlocked clear visor in a waist pack quickly destroys the seal between the two and eventually the pinlock. That said I didn't have a tinted visor that would fit until I bought an FG-15. Visor mechanism is reasonable, easy to operate and has a decent open a tiny bit for ventilation setting. Visor lock is fiddly and although it might lock the visor closed against aerodynamic forces, I frequently forgot I'd locked it and more often than not the visor lifted anyway.

This was probably the loudest helmet i've owned. Worse than my FG15, much worse than my shark. Loads of wind noise over 50mph and drowned out my 125s by the time they reached an indicated 60.

It's pretty cheap though and visors are inexpensive.

I have a few spare parts, helmet retention mechanism and screws for such and a sunvisor. Will send for the price of postage to any BCF member.
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Bandit. does. everything.