BMW Motorrad GS Carbon Helmet Reviews

Ah, buying a new helmet.

For some reason, I think it can be as exciting as buying a new motorcycle. Think about it: Basically, what you wear on your head, it's gonna become your "new face" while you ride. Your riding identity, to put it in a way.

Some go super flashy, some go with a low-profile design, some go with something in-between. Oh, and let's not start about the type of the helmet!

Sport? Jet? Modular? MX? Adventure?

Maybe you never thought about it, but your helmet tells a lot about who you are, and what and how you ride.

Me, I adore Adventure helmets, that weird breed spawned from combining Motocross helmets with Touring ones. They retain the sleek, aggressive shape (visor, beak) of the first, coupled with all the comfort of the latter. The ultimate helmet type? No, not really. They have pros and cons as everything in this world. A good compromise for long-range touring and offroad riding? Most definitely.

My latest purchase in that sector is the BMW – GS CARBON helmet, a full carbon, edgy, stylish, comfortable head-saver from the guys in Munich, Germany.

The first thing that made me turn my head at the dealership, was the color scheme. I saw it standing there, under a spotlight, back in 2013, when it got first released. White, with dashes of dark red fading into neon orange at the back, with blue stripes with a dash of blueish-purple over the surface, and three big, bold, "GS" logos. I feel in love with it. Love at first sight.

Why?  Think about it: white, blue, purple, red. BMW's Motorsport flagship colors, bringing back memories of the glorious R80s racing in the Dakar Rally, BMW M3s racing in the FIA-GT championship, boy oh boy. Heaven!

The helmet's shell is particularly well thought, as well. In the back, you can see a "nervation", made to accommodate a pair of off-road goggles (more on that later). On the front, it retains the beak of thousands of other ADV models, with BMW's often weird sense of design. At the end of the beak, is a dark, plastic spot, resembling a German Shepherd's nose (for lack of a better comparison). That black spot is none other than the main air vent of the helmet, working in two ways. You can either click the lower part, opening a small vent that channels the air right onto the lid (preventing it from getting foggy), or, in case of extreme heat, you can remove the "dog's nose" all together and reveal a MASSIVE air intake. Brilliant feat.

Speaking of the lid itself, it's one of those with two glasses, working wonders against foggyness. You can also remove it entirely (it's very easy), transforming the helmet into a proper offroad one, mx goggles and all. About transformations, you can mix the helmet in various ways:

Asphalt touring? Remove the peak on the top. That way the helmet is almost an integral.

Dirt riding? Remove the visor, leave the peak.

ADV? Keep everything on!

I think that this "adaptability" greatly reflexes the nature of the bikes we ride, and I honestly love it.

But in the end, is this helmet comfortable? Without going round in circles with words, yes. I used it off-road both on my ex-R1200GSA, and my ex-SuperTenerè, I used it for touring, I used it for my daily commute, I used it for trips with breaks after 400kms, and this helmet performed brilliantly. No head buffeting at all, no turbulences (keep in mind that BMW designed it in the wind tunnel), and most importantly, it kept me fresh in the heat, and warm in the cold. That's because for once, all the air intakes have a function (let's be honest, a lot of helmets sport these air vents as decoration), while in the cold, thanks to an optional chin flap (there's two, both come with the helmet, don't worry) the helmet becomes this closed-environment, with no whiffs of air coming through. I rode on the Stelvio pass with -2° Celsius, through the pouring rain (transforming into a hailstorm), and...well, let's just say I'm glad I wasn't wearing my old helmet.

Interiors are completely washable, the lower part of the helmet even has some padding so that the base won't hurt your neck, and you can even use a neck-brace. Since it's also a helmet made for touring, yes, you can also install a bluetooth communicator.

So, is this helmet perfect? Sounds like it, eh? Well, no. For starters, it costs a small fortune, starting at € 650,00, which is quite the investment. I was lucky enough to find the last in the shop, and even luckier to find out that the last one was also my size, and the dealer shaved off € 200,00 from the final price. Another downside, for me, is that the helmet doesn't have "integrated sunglasses" like a lot of other competitors. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but trust me, try putting on and taking off your regular sunglasses while riding through a series of tunnels in a summer afternoon, going from "blinding bright" to "pitch black" in a matter of seconds.

Well then, if you've managed to read all this review up to this point, consider yourself a hero, and give yourself a pat on the back. I'm gonna include the video I made about the helmet, so if you feel like wanting to watch the helmet in detail, go give it a look, ok?

https://youtu.be/DIF390NDI2I

PROS:

• Lightweight (a size M is 1490 grams)
• Great airflow if needed
• Stylish
• Lots of features
• Customizable

CONS:

• Price
• No integrated sunglasses for touring

PierreADV