Skwal issues

[talkToTheHat]

So the visors on the Shark Skwal are prone to breaking at the hinge claws. Easy warranty replacement and it's happening a lot. My Skwal has just been back to have the lights repaired. It's come back with with a new visor and either new or cleaned and very lubricated hinge and ratchet mechanisms. New pinlock too. Winning I thought. Only it doesn't seal now, whistling really loudly above 40. With the visor closed there's room to fit a business card between the visor and eyeport seal. There's no obvious way to adjust. It's now gone from a feature failure to being unfit for purpose.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Dave70]

That's a shame, as I was considering buying one myself.

I might wait to see if these are just teething problems that they sort out or just not bother.
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There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk.

2012: R125 killed by white van. 2016 R125 killed by 30,000 miles of redline. Current: 2016 Kawasaki ER6f.

[P.]

Yet shark wouldn't honour my broken hinges and expected £80 to replace it, suck my dick mate.

I'm not buying another shark, I just don't like them now they hate being warranty lovers.

[waffles]

Someone on a recent ride out knocked her Shark Skwal and snapped the visor on one side. It wasn't a particularly hard knock either and it broke right at the hinge.

I tried on recent Shark lids and they don't fit like the older ones do, really big gap at the nap of my neck so that I could fit my hand there. Designs look amazing but quality seems pretty hit and miss.
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[talkToTheHat]

Some of the shark lids are very cool, quirky perhaps, and the 5 year warranty is attractive but I'm increasingly feeling the detail design has been rushed. There's so much I like about the shark lids I've had but at the same time they're awkward.

I'd have another Speed R if i was riding naked bikes and jackets that were less bulky in the shoulders and not wearing any with a vestigial speed hump. Not a feature I require but jackets that tick my other requirements tend to sprout them. Tricky visor mechanism means it would likely see more use in summer.

A Skwal-like helmet with no LEDs would be great if the visor sealed properly and wasn't fragile. It did seal really well on the first visor and with the replacment visor. It looks like they changed things to deal with the fragile visor issue (which is potentially dangerous) and turned it into a leaky noisy visor issue.

And guess what, in between these two posts I've been out with the skwal and for the first time with a shark it leaked so badly water got behind the pinlock.

As they replaced the visor and worked on the hinges without my consent I don't think they have a leg to stand on. I think I'm supposed to give them an opportunity to rectify the situation before any kind of particularly nuclear option. The problem will be unravelling who I'm actually dealing with as it's been handled by J&S ho I don't want to fall out with, the distributor nevis who will try to claim I have to talk to them through a retailer and perhaps shark themselves who will pass the buck back to retailer and distributor. Oh the joy.

I'm really angry.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[SBDJ]

Interesting, my Shark (Vision R Series 2) also snapped at the claws and when I called the retailer I bought it from all they wanted to do was sell me a new visor.

Even more frustratingly when I turned up during their opening hours they were closed and would be 'open again in a few hours'.

I ended up going round the corner and buying a new helmet and still haven't got around to sorting the Shark. It was only 6 months old when it broke!

https://thumbsnap.com/s/LGL0hqVc.jpg
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1998 ZX9R C1
1998 YZF600R Thundercat

[Dave70]

There's also the issue with their S900C lid, as the visor flies open when you do a lifesaver at around 50 mph or above.

It's a shame really, as I also like the look of their lids and out of all the brands I've tried on, Shark fit my head shape the best.
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There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk.

2012: R125 killed by white van. 2016 R125 killed by 30,000 miles of redline. Current: 2016 Kawasaki ER6f.

[talkToTheHat]

Nevis (shark distributor) are replacing the visors with broken claws under the 5 year warranty on the helmets. If you have problems with your retailer try contacting shark or nevis perhaps?

J&S have always been really good to me with warranty issues, and I think the skwal style visor issue is really widespread so there's really no excuse for retailers being lazy.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[talkToTheHat]

Helmet came back from Shark. Visor is still not sealing. Shark are saying the helmet is free from manufacturing defects. They also claim to have road tested my helmet and been unable to replicate the fault.

The manager at J&S appears to be hiding from me, junior staff are hiding behind Shark say it's not faulty and they are the experts. However the suggestion that it might be a design fault, and not in shark's best interest to admit such having just changed the visor design and changed my visor to a later specification along with an offer to go for a ride with a lapel mic pointed at the visor from inside the hemet and my drift camera pointed at the helmet from outside quickly turned into a leave the helmet with us, I'll see what we can do

I'm so glad this is not my only helmet.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[talkToTheHat]

I got a call on monday saying the baseplates on my skwal had been changed and it wa sready for collection. Called in today to collect it. Manage to damage the spring clip on my drift camera taking it off my AGV helmet as I was stowing it in the top box. Not only are replacements surprisingly expensive but also not in stock at J&S.

Still plenty of play in the visor mechanism, but I was prepared to try it. Went and got petrol then went for a bit of a ride home. Visor was whistling a bit at high speed, and as I slowed for a 30 zone through a village I cycled the visor up and down. With the visor down and hopefully sealed I left the village with enthusiasm. Then my head got snapped back hard as the visor flew open and then detached. I was just a bit surprised and got a bit of a wobble on. I pulled over and stopped for a bit before retrieving my AGV from topbox, going back up the road in search of the visor and returning home. I couldn't find the visor, so I suspect somebody's car might be wearing it, but it was getting dark so I'll have another look tomorrow.

I'm still feeling a bit shaken up by the whole thing. I doubt I would have survived a meeting with a stone wall or an oncoming vehicle.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[ScaredyCat]

I really like my Vision-R and was looking at replacing it, probably with a Shark Spartan Carbon. I think I might look elsewhere given how this has turned out for you.
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[Dave70]

I think I'll give this lid a swerve and look to buy something else myself too.

It's a shame really as I quite liked the look of it.
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There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk.

2012: R125 killed by white van. 2016 R125 killed by 30,000 miles of redline. Current: 2016 Kawasaki ER6f.

[grr666]

Still early days but my Spartan Carbon has been fine so far.
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Currently enjoying products from Ford, Mazda and Yamaha
Ste wrote: Avatars are fine, it's signatures that need turning off.

[talkToTheHat]

Looks like the spartan and skwal have the same visor and visor mechanism. That's a shame. I don't know whether to have another speed R (fiddly but sound) or just avoid shark altogether after this.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Dave70]

[talkToTheHat]

Yeah, I like the shark fit.

AGV K3 fits (and I have one allegedly as my spare), but the k5 and I think it was the skyline feel a bit wide on me. This is a shame as the K3 is very aggressively styled, but works best quite upright. If I tuck in to any extent I find myself looking through the edge of the old-style pinlock.

HJC IS-16 was crap in many ways, but fit was crash-tested by me, and the pinlock worked. FG-15 had crumbling vents and swapping visors killed the pinllocks but fit very well. Very disappointed the IS-17 was too round a fit.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[SBDJ]

I'm much much happier with my RPHA11 that I replaced it with. Lighter and absolutely no issues turning my head at speed - I could really feel my Shark drag/pull doing that.

The only downside is it fogs much more easily, even with the pinlock
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1998 ZX9R C1
1998 YZF600R Thundercat

[Shinigami]

I've a shark s700 possibly an older model, not had a single problem with it so far and had it a year now, best helmet i've owned so far.

Was looking at the skwal ones too, guess i'll pass
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Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[NJD]

Well at least this thread makes me feel better about my opinion on that my Shark Skwal visor has never fully closed as it should from new and requires a hand either side of the visor to give it one final push down that really renders it useless on the road unless you want a rush of air and noise up into the helmet that I'm sure I only ever endured a few times because I didn't go above 40mph.

Visor design has always annoyed me and made me feel that I'm soon to snap an expensive part so have only done a few times.

J&S overprice it at £199 when in reality I think it retails for like £130 so there's no chance of earning money back even from new, roll out the showroom and your stuck with it. Mines residing in its box and shall remain that way. Might donate it once I've finished shaking my head at some point in future.

Looks like a nice lid and has a wide visor but beyond that I can't say anything nice about it.

I like the look of the Shoei GT Air but is a bit above what I'd pay, at retail prices, plus I'm not really in the market.
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[talkToTheHat]

I have obtained a refund. I had to be firmer than i wanted to be with junior staff, which was a shame as they are very nice to me and i put them in an awkward position as the store manager wasn't in today. They were very careful not to acknowledge a fault and insisted the refund was discretionary. They are well trained in ass covering.

I cannot say J&S were unreasonable about this. Far from it.

I think they might be in bother if they sell further helmets that exhibit the same defect having been notified.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[NJD]

I wouldn't think twice about having to put your foot down to get what you wanted because it's your safety out on the roads not theirs plus the alternative is what I had when one of them tried to walk all over me and tell me there was nothing wrong when I returned my HJC RPHA ST, takes them a while to realise you wont back down and leave until you get your request.

I don't think they'll care about your case because as you say they tried to deny all knowledge of a fault. Unless you're going to stand outside with leaflets I guess they'll happily take the money of the next Joe Bloggs who wanted to buy one.

Poor show in my experience from J&S where helmets are concerned.
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[ackack]

This is very interesting, I have owned 4 Sharks with no problems but a friend has just got a skwal and the visor is really stiff. We thought it was stiff because it was new but after reading this thread I worry that he's bought a duff one.

[Aky208]

I have had my Shark Skwal for a while now and haven't experienced any major issues. The visor is a little stiff but it seals fine and i find the LEDs don't last that long.
I will keep a careful eye on this now.

[talkToTheHat]

NJD, what happened to your RPHA ST?

I think the visor hinge claws are especially vulnerable to breakage during hot weather and if the hinges aren't full of silicone lube. That I had a visor changed and much lube applied to the visor hinges when the helmet was in for repair to the lights (not fond of water apparently) and the visor was loose after that suggests that stiff and unlubed is possibly the better option, or part of the baseplates broke or was misaligned during the procedure.
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Bandit. does. everything.