Shoei Neotec II modular motorcycle crash helmet review.

The old Shoei Neotec had been around for a good few years.

If you’re not familiar with it, it was Shoei’s top-dog flip-front helmet, designed to offer outstanding comfort and build quality for everyone from commuters to continent-blasters who wanted a quality modular helmet.

If you don’t remember the old Neotec – in a nutshell, folks loved it for it’s great ventilation, visor system and comfort. You can read that review here if you like.

And so, Shoei’s updated it and called it the Neotec II. Which is about right because the new Neotec II is very much a development of the old version.

Shoei says they’ve redesigned the cheek pads for improved comfort and reduced noise and the visor’s been re-shaped for better sealing and optical qualities. They also reckon the chin bar’s had an upgrade so it’s now P/J dual homologated so you can ride with it up and not get nicked.

So, if you’re thinking of buying a Shoei Neotec 2, here’s our full review – and don’t forget to check out our alternatives section at the bottom of the page where we recommend some other great modular helmets you should check out too.

• • Modular helmet
  • Fibreglass composite shell
  • SHARP 4 star safety rated
  • Chin bar scores a disappointing 70%
  • Drop down sun visor
  • Pinlock anti-fog
  • Integrated for Sena bluetooth (not included)
  • Ride Magazine: Best Buy
  • Micrometric fastener

• Three shell sizes
• Expect to pay £500-£600 (depending on design)

Best places to buy a Shoei Neotec II?

Please click below to visit the Shoei Neotec II 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).

There’s a few safety claims Shoei makes for the Neotec II.

First up is that it has an AIM shell with a dual density shock absorbing liner to give outstanding protection.

Also that the micrometric fastener is made of steel and the chin bar is now dual homologated with a stainless steel locking mechanism – both for added strength and durability.

Like the first Neotec, the shell on the Neotec 2 is made from Shoei’s AIM material – which stands for Advanced Integrated Matrix. Basically, that’s a fibreglass composite that’s used to create 3 different shell sizes – again, just like the old Neotec.

And three shell sizes is a good thing – good for optimising fit, size and safety.

All of which has helped Shoei to show very well in our Safest Motorcycle Helmet Brands top 10 list – at the time of writing taking No. 1 spot.

In 2019, the SHARP helmet safety testing bods got their hands on a load of ECE versions of the Neotec II and scored it 4/5 stars for safety.

That’s the same as the old Neotec, which is a  decent score. And ordinarily, we’d leave it there.

But SHARP also records how often the chin guard remains locked and closed – a key metric if your riding in a modular lid.

And in the case of the Neotec II, the chin bar only stayed locked and closed 70% of the time during testing – which I’d say is pretty poor.

The best performing modulars, including some of our recommended alternatives at the bottom of the page, score 100%.

I’ll let you make up your own mind whether 70%’s good enough for you – but I know it’s not good enough for me!

Of the other stuff that helps with safety – the Neotec’s got a metal micrometric 2 fastener, Pinlock anti-fog visor to stop it steaming up, and a drop down internal sun visor (great for when the sun’s low).

It also features a dual-density shock absorbing lining and Shoei have used a stainless steel chin bar locking system to complement its dual-homologated certification – which will allow you to lock the chin guard in place if you want to ride in open-face mode (legally in Europe).

And while the blurb doesn’t mention it, that new rear shape of the helmet is usually shaped like that to reduce the likelihood of injury if the helmet’s pushed back during an impact – as well as help it clear your collar or hump.

So on the face of it, it’s a mixed bag of results. There’s a few decent features in the helmet to help keep you out of trouble, but if you do take a dive, that SHARP 4 star rating on the helmet shell is pretty good and should give you decent protection.

Just don’t depend on the chin bar because according to SHARP’s results, it looks like there’s a bit of a weakness there.

If you’re after a quiet helmet but also want a modular, then you’re probably going to be disappointed. That’s because most modulars are just noisier than full face helmets – in general.

Shoei has put some effort into making the Neotec 2 a quiet modular though. There’s their ‘integrated vortex generator’ which is something to do with that lip on the bottom of the chin bar that’s designed for better aero and reduced noise.

Plus they’ve reworked the internal cheek pads and including what Shoei calls a ‘noise isolator’ – though there’s not really any detail of what that is or how it works.

The old Neotec was a bit of a disappointment in the noise department. So we’ve scoured the net to find out comments from tons of riders about the Neotec II and the result is… inconclusive.

As usual, some people reckon it’s whisper quiet whereas others say they expected it to be really quiet from the reviews, and were massively disappointed when they bought one. One person says it isn’t as quiet as their old Caberg whereas another says it’s quieter than their last Schuberth C3 Pro – and yet another says it’s not as quiet as their C3 Pro!

Just goes to show how everyone’s opinions of a quiet helmet can differ massively.

We found about an equal number of owners calling it noisy to those calling it quiet – so we’ll mark it down as about average for noise.

The last Shoei Neotec was designed to have tons of ventilation – and owners reckoned it worked well.

And the Neotec II is made to let in even more air, according to Shoei.

There’s a single chin bar vent covered by a nice, large, glove-friendly panel. And there’s also a single crown vent, again covered by a large slider.

These pull air into the helmet and it’s all extracted at the back through a large twin extractor.

Owners of the Neotec II say tons of air gets into the Shoei. They reckon the vents are easy to find and operate in gloves and they’re easy to use too.

The only downside is that the visor doesn’t have a cracked-open or city position, with the first detent being around an inch gap. Many riders use a cracked open position for a bit of extra ventilation while keeping protected behind the visor, so that’s a bit of an omission.

Other than that, venting on the Neotec 2 is bang on.

Shoei says the new visor is redesigned and shaped to give a better weather seal and has been formed to minimise optical distortion.

There were no worries with either the seal or distortion on the old Neotec that we’re aware of, and owners of the Neotec II still say it’s still a great visor system that seals well against wind and rain.

It features a locking, Pinlock-ready visor and Shoei includes a Max Vision Pinlock in the box – called a Pinlock Evo when it’s supplied by Shoei. They say the Pinlock is their top race-spec version so that should be a Pinlock 120.

Word is that the Pinlock and visor system work well, except for the lack of a cracked open position as mentioned above.

And like the old Neotec, the Neotec II has an integral drop-down sun visor that operates by a slider to the bottom left of the visor pivot.

According to Shoei, it offers 99% UV resistance and it’s distortion-free.

Owners say it works well, is easy to find, operates smoothly and gives decent coverage – so all should be fine with the sun visor on the Neotec.

The chin guard of the Neotec II is all new. It’s been redesigned to be sleeker with better aero properties and has a new dual-locking mechanism to allow you to ride legally with the chin bar up and open – what’s called dual-homologated (or P/J homologated).

Shoei say they use a stainless steel locking mechanism on the new Neotec too – which is a good thing because all the modulars with the best performing (safest) chin bars do.

What’s not such a good thing is that when the helmet safety bods at SHARP tested the Neotec II, they found that chin bar only remained fully locked in only 70% of the tests.

Which means it unlocked – potentially exposing a rider to danger – about 9 times during testing.

When you’re selling modular helmets on the premise that it offers the ‘safety and protection of a full face helmet’ then that’s not good at all. And it’s a double kick in the teeth to Shoei given the old Neotec scored a much more respectable 93%!

On the plus side, owners do say it’s easy to operate and you can comfortably ride with the chin bar raised up to around 5Omph without and problems.

It’s just a shame that new design of chin bar doesn’t seem to have made the grade.

Shoei helmets are known for producing comfortable helmets.

The last Neotec was widely loved for being comfortable and made from quality materials; and owners of the Neotec 2 say pretty much the same. Everyone we came across seem to say that it’s a massively comfortable helmet.

That’s even though the Neotec II is a little on the heavy side, weighing somewhere around 1.8Kg (4lbs) depending on size. For reference, the average weight of a modular is usually a smidge under 1.7Kg (3.7lbs).

Inside the helmet, there’s a removable and washable interior – including cheekpads and chinstrap cover – while those multilayered cheekpads have also been redesigned to reduce wind and noise ingress and provide even greater levels of comfort than before.

And if you find the fitment not quite right, then Shoei does offer cheekpads in different sizes to tailor the fit more.

Of course, the fact that the Neotec is made in 3 shell sizes (4 according to Shoei US) will help with optimising the fitment too – making sure you’ve got just the right amount of EPS and comfort padding for your head size.

So all in all, while it’s on the heavier side of motorcycle helmets, the Neotec II is seen as cosy, comfortable and uses great quality materials to make a helmet that’s really easy to live with on the road.

Looks & Graphics

On launch, there’ll be all the usual plain/solid colours available – blacks, whites – and a range of classy greys. There’s also a wine red and a matt metallic blue.

They also have a fancy graphic version called the Excursion – available in grey, black/white and black yellow.

You’ll find some examples up and down this page but click through to our recommended retailers using the links below to find the latest designs and prices.

Best places to buy a Shoei Neotec II helmet?

Please click below to visit the Shoei Neotec II 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).

Shoei Neotec II Video

The official Shoei Neotec II launch video – 2m37s.

Other stuff – audio, aero, glasses, build quality, warranty

The Neotec II has been designed to integrate with the Sena SRL/SRL2 communicator. That’s a great system based on Sena’s 20 series and an excellent solution if you’re looking for a best-in-class integrated bluetooth kit.

It means there are pockets to fit the control panels and batteries within the fabric of the helmet and it’s been specially designed to perfectly fit the Sena speakers inside. OK, one or two owners said it’s tricky to find the buttons to operate the kit, but that’s often the case for most helmet mounted bluetooth systems.

For those of you who’d be looking to use a different, non-integrated kit, it might compromise fitting your set a bit. A couple of folks we came across said they found it a struggle while some other guys said their Uclear HBC200 and Interphone systems fitted quite easily.

So if you’re going to try and fit a 3rd party system to the Neotec II, I guess it’s just going to take the usual bit of trial and error before you get it to fit right.

As for aero, the whole shape of the Neotec II has been wind-tunnel designed to reduce buffeting and lifting – as well as noise. We’ve covered noise above. As for turbulence, a few people said the aerodynamics seem to work well with the helmet feeling very slippery and giving very little buffeting or bobbling in the air flow.

Inside the Neotec II there’s a glasses groove to take the stems of your glasses. Owners seem happy with it. From the reports we’ve seen, they’re plenty big enough and the sun visor drops down with a decent clearance so you you shouldn’t have problems wearing glasses in the Neotec II.

Build quality is one of the big features of most Shoei helmets and the Neotec II is no exception. Owners say everything looks and feels well made with operation of things like the visor and chin bar feeling solid and having a premium feel.

There have been one or two small quality control issues covering things like visor seals and chin bar closure but these seem to be very isolated cases and should be quickly handled by your retailer under warranty (as always make sure you buy from a responsive store who don’t leave you hanging – like our recommended shops)

And finally – warranty. The Shoei Neotec II will come with a 5 year warranty (or 7 years from date of manufacture – whichever comes first) which is pretty much as good as helmet warranties get.

Overall/Summary

With the Neotec II, Shoei’s taken a solid helmet that scored well in a host of areas, and have refined and developed it further.

It scores the same overall score for safety as the Neotec I (four stars out of five) when it was independently safety tested by SHARP – but the chin guard score of 70% was actually worse than the old helmet and lower than most buyers would probably accept from their modular helmets (see safety section).

It’s a little on the weighty side too – though we didn’t come across any owners who thought that’s a problem.

Those issues aside, in terms of levels of comfort, ventilation, build quality and visor system, owners reckon it’s a fantastic helmet that’s hard to beat. It’s not cheap but as a daily helmet to live with or cruise across continents in, they say it’s a pleasure to use.

It’s also great if you’re looking for a helmet that integrates with a bluetooth kit because the Sena SRL is one of the best.

All in all, if you love Shoei’s build quality and can look past the niggles of chin guard score and the fact it’s not the quietest helmet out there, you’ll probably love the Neotec II.

But for that premium price, there are some good alternatives out there that you might want to check out. See our alternatives section below…

Crash Helmet Buying Guides & Top 10s

For (hopefully!) other useful information to help you when buying your next helmet, check our various Motorcycle Helmet Buying Guides - or have a look at our Top 10 best helmet lists where we've got the top 10 best rated helmets overall along with Top 10 Best Budget/Top 10 Safest/Top 10 Best Full Face/Top 10 Best Modular/Flip-up/ Top 10 Best Sportsbike/Track helmets.

Good Alternatives to the Shoei Neotec II?

We mentioned three sensational modular helmets up in the helmet noise section – they’re all well worth looking at.

But there’s also the SHARP 4 star safety rated Compact ST. That’s a thermoplastic shelled modular with a sun visor – thermoplastic meaning it’s nice and cheap. But the chin guard also stayed locked 100% of the time (unlike lots of modulars) so you can ride feeling secure.

There’s also our old favourite the Caberg Duke – a SHARP 5 star rated flip-up helmet that’s light(ish) cheap and comes with a Pinlock in the box.

Or how about the Schuberth C3 Pro which is a popular alternative to the Neotec II. It’s got great build quality, a Pinlock and sun visor – though it’s only about the same as the Neotec II for noise suppression (despite the hype).

Other ways to find the Best Modular Helmet

If you're after a new modular/flip-up helmet, they've never been more popular and there's a ton of choice out there. You can find our latest top 10 modular helmets list here or check out all our modular helmet reviews here. You can also visit our Safest Modular Helmets page or our smart filters page where you can click the flip-up/modular check box then choose a few other features to find the best flip-up helmet for you.

Best places to buy a Shoei Neotec II?

Please click below to visit the Shoei Neotec II 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).

Star Ratings

Ride Magazine 43/50 Apr 23