The Scorpion Exo R1 Air is Scorpion’s top of the range racing/sportsbike helmet. It’s actually the exact same helmet that Fabio Quartararo wears in MogoGP – well it is if you buy a size small because that’s the size that’s been FIM tested/homologated for racing.
It’s a composite fibre full face helmet that’s been designed to work on the track and on sportsbikes. Which means it needs to have great aero qualities and excellent all-round vision as well as give amazing impact protection.
But Scorpion’s also tried to create a helmet that works on the road too. So they’ve made it bluetooth headset friendly, stuck a glasses groove in there so your specs will sit nice and comfy. And they supply it with a Pinlock-ready race visor (with Pinlock Max Vision in the box).
So maybe you can have the best of both worlds: a helmet to go MotoGP racing on the weekend as well as commute to work in the week 🙂
- Composite fibre full face
- FIM homologated track helmet
- Air pump cheek pads
- Pinlock Max vision included
- 3 Shell sizes to fit XS-XXL
- Double-D ring fastener
- EQRS
- ACU Gold
- Lightweight (1.35Kg or 3lbs)
- Expect to pay around £300
Best places to buy an Scorpion Exo R1 Air?
Please click below to visit the Scorpion Exo R1 Air helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
Overall/Summary
The Scorpion Exo R1 Air offers the track day bandit and sportsbike rider a ton of helmet for the money.
Not only does it have a MotoGP pedigree and is track-proven on the head of Fabio Quatararo (as well as impact tested at most races by Alvaro Bautista!) but you get so much track-tested helmet for your money it’s untrue.
Not only do you get a well designed, lightweight composite fibre helmet with EQRS, a titanium double-d ring fastener and decent ventilation system. But with a pair of visors in the box plus a Pinlock Max Vision antifog insert all for the price of an entry level Arai, it’s hard to see how you can go wrong with an R1 Air.
Safety
(more about helmet safety)
The Scorpion Exo R1 Air has a composite fibre shell with multi-density polystyrene EPS liner.
That’s a composite that Scorpion calls Ultra TCT which is a composite of fibreglass, aramid and organic fibres that’s been designed to offer strength and impact absorption while keeping it as light as possible.
There’s also Scorpion’s version of EQRS in there – a must in a track helmet these days to help paramedics more easily remove your helmet after an accident. Though in the R1’s case it doesn’t just remove cheek pads as in most helmets, but that large neck roll too.
The helmet’s held on your head using a titanium double-d ring fastener. They’re pretty easy to use and usually what you’ll find on a racing helmet.
It’s made in three shell sizes, and because it’s made of relatively light weight composite fibres, the finished helmet weighs around 1.35Kg/3lbs (depending on helmet size). That’s pretty light weight – which is great for both comfort and the helmet’s ability to manage impact during an accident.
So does it all work?
Well, the FIM (you know, motorcycle racing’s governing body) has their own testing regime these days. And Scorpion’s sent a size small of the R1 Air over to their testing labs at Ferrara – I guess because that’s the size Fabio Quatararo wears in MotoGP. Over there, it passed all their tests and is now homologated for MotoGP racing.
In addition to that, it has of course been ECE 22.05 certified for road riding in Europe (plus it’s DOT in the US).
All of which means there’s no reason to suspect the Scorpion Exo R1 Air will give anything other than excellent protection whether you hit the deck on the track or your local bypass.
Happy days.
Ventilation
(more about helmet ventilation)
On the front of the R1 Air, you’ll find a double chin bar vent that’s operated by a single slider. And inside the chin bar, there’s another slider that allows you to choose whether you want air towards your mouth or the back of the visor to help with demisting.
Up top, there’s a single forehead vent that routes air through the helmet shell and around the scalp via some very generous and deep venting channels cut into the EPS liner. And all the warm and moist air leaves the helmet through a single exhaust towards the rear of the helmet.
Overall, the sliders are easy to find and use in gloves and the early word is that ventilation’s good. Not class-leading, but good.
And if you’re particularly worried about having enough air getting to your visor, the F1 Air usefully also comes with a pair of Pinlock-ready visors and a nice big Pinlock Max Vision insert in the box.
So, if there’s not enough airflow to keep the visor fog-free, stick in the Pinlock and it should nicely supplement the vents to keep things clear.
Visor
(more about visors)
The visor on the Scorpion Exo F1 Air is quick release, Pinlock and tear-off ready, and has a central visor lock to keep the visor from popping open when you don’t want it to.
Unusually, Scorpion sells the F1 Air with a couple of different visors included in the box – a clear visor as well as a dark tint. Both visors include tear-off visor posts, are Pinlock Max-Vision ready and they also include a Pinlock anti-fog insert in the box too.
Not only is that very useful, but it’s incredible value when you consider the F1 Air is a relatively inexpensive racing helmet to start off with.
A couple of useful links…
– All our track helmet reviews –
– FIM Hologated helmets –
Including a Pinlock in the box is really handy if you’re planning to use an F1 Air as your road helmet too as it’ll keep things fog free for your early morning starts as well as when it rains.
The visor uses Scorpion’s Ellip-Tec II visor system that’s designed to keep the seal nice and tight when you close the visor. And it’s got an easy to use central lock on there that auto-locks the visor when you close it but is relatively easy to unlock and open when you need to.
That Ellip-Tec visor also includes a decent quick release system: open the visor, pull a lever and off pulls the visor. That’s it.
Of course, if you’re a (very) serious track day rider, you might miss tear offs not being included in the box. But for most of us mere mortals, Scorpion’s got all bases covered with the visor on the R1 Air.
Comfort and Sizing
(more about comfort and sizing)
Scorpion helmets are usually really comfy helmets and the R1 Air shouldn’t be any exception.
It’s designed to fit riders with medium oval headshapes (that’s most of us) and they’ve stuck their latest KwikWick III liner inside that uses comfortable synthetic materials, is moisture wicking and hypoallergenic.
It also includes 3D shaped cheekpads that are integral with a very generous neck roll (that keeps out noise and wind) and incorporates glasses grooves to make it much more user-friendly for glasses wearers.
If you buy an R1 Air but find things don’t fit quite right inside, you can always swap out the internals for different sizes.
But that ‘Air’ isn’t just a name. It signifies the helmet’s been fitted with Scorpion’s Airfit system: there’s a small balloon behind each cheek pad that can be slightly inflated using a pump that’s located behind the chin bar.
That inflates the balloons and pushes the cheekpads towards your face to tighten things up and hold the helmet more firmly on your head.
Whether you’ll use it much in practice is very much dependent on personal preference – and whether your helmet fits well enough I guess. But it’s a nice feature to have just in case it comes in handy.
If you’re looking to use a bluetooth headset while you’re chasing down Marc Marquez wannabe’s, then Scorpion’s put some cutouts inside the F1 Air so you should be able to fit most popular communicators in there too, provided the speakers aren’t too large.
Looks & Graphics
All Scorpion Exo R1 Air helmets use the same composite fibre helmet shell. Though there is a carbon version of the R1, it seems like it’s the same helmet but with a nice carbon fibre layer on top.
In addition to the Carbon Air, there’s also a plain/solid black/white version along with Halley, Infini, Ogi, BlackLetter and Corpus graphics – most with a couple of colourways.
Finally, at the time of writing there’s a limited edition Quatararo replica and Bautista replica available – but expect those to be updated fairly regularly.
Scroll up and down the page to see examples of most of these – but to find the latest graphics and deals on the R1 Air, you might want to click through to the Scorpion Exo R1 Air pages at our recommended retailers below.
Best places to buy an Scorpion Exo R1 Air helmet?
Please click below to visit the Scorpion Exo R1 Air helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
Scorpion Exo R1 Air Video
Here’s a 10m video showing you around a gloss white R1 Air.
Other stuff – chin curtain, warranty
The Scorpion Exo R1 Air comes with a removable chin curtain, breath guard and a wide neck roll that shuts out most of the air and noise from below.
It’s their premium helmet and comes with their premium 5 year warranty.
Good Alternatives to the Scorpion Exo R1 Air
If you’re looking for an excellent sportsbike helmet or helmet to take on the track, here’s our pick of the crop which you might want to check out.
The big names on the block are of course the Arai RX-7V and Shoei’s X-Spirit III. They’re both tried and tested racing helmets that scored maximum safety stars in the SHARP test (and are Snell certified) and will be excellent helmets – though they cost substantially more than the Scorpion.
Bell make a bevvy of quality track helmets to suit most budgets in the form of the Bell Star range. The composite Bell Star is their entry-level version; the Pro Star is their most expensive carbon racing lid that’s FIM homologated for racing; while their Race Star is their middle SHARP 5 star rated racing lid. All helmets are great performers.
If you like the idea of a modular helmet for your sportsbike, AGVs Sport Modular is SHARP 4 star safety rated, lightweight (for a modular) and comes with a Pinlock in the box.
Finally, if you’ve spent all your money on your bike and you’ve only a few coppers left, then how about an Airoh Valor. It’s a thermoplastic full face sportsbike helmet that can be had for under a ton; but it’s Pinlock ready, reasonably light weight and – here’s the ace in its pack – it’s SHARP 5 star safety rated!
Check out our Sportsbike or track helmets sections for more previews and reviews of helmets suitable for your sportsbike.
Best places to buy an Scorpion Exo R1 Air?
Please click below to visit the Scorpion Exo R1 Air helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
