My new HJC AC-12 carbon fiber helmet....
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Jax, FL
My new HJC AC-12 carbon fiber helmet....
Well after a few months waiting, I finally got the new HJC AC-12 carbon fiber helmet.
I’ve had it on back order with the Helmet Shop in Daytona for a few months. Most places are selling it between $349 and $399. Helmet shop had the cheapest price out of any place I checked. I’ve dealt with them in the past on my last helmet and other gear purchases, and had nothing but outstanding service, so it was an easy decision to buy from them again.
They finally received their first shipment of the carbon AC-12 this past Wednesday and called me right away. I paid for it when they called and I had it by Thursday afternoon. I also went ahead and ordered a silver tinted shield for it at the same time.
My first impression is that this helmet is very light. Much lighter then the AC-11 I’m replacing. I thought my AC-11 was light, but this is a world of difference. I didn’t put them on a scale, but it’s a noticeable difference between the two.
I have used the AC-12 for about 4 days now and I love it. The ventilation is great. It almost feels like there is an air conditioning vent in the top of the helmet. Normally when riding in the Florida heat, I had to keep the shield on my AC-11 cracked open so it wouldn’t fog up and so I wouldn’t sweat to death moving or stopped. I don’t have any of those issues with the AC-12 carbon. I can feel quite a lot of air movement when riding at any speed. With the vents and anti fog shield, I can keep my shield fully closed and not have to worry about sweating to death or the shield fogging up. I have even been able to keep my shield closed when I come to a stoplight. It’s that comfortable.
The anti fog shield works like it’s supposed to. I haven’t had any issues with the shield fogging up at all. That will be great for those of us that ride year round in the rain and cold. The only downside to the replacement mirror shields is that they don’t have the anti fog on them. I found out after the fact, that the dark smoke and light smoke replacement shield have the anti fog coating on them. The mirrored shields are the only ones that don’t.
Speaking of visors, the new system the AC-12 uses is awesome. I can change the visor in about 8 seconds. It’s very easy to do. That was my major problem with the AC-11. Every time I would try and change the visor, the ratchet gears would break. I must have replaced 8 of them in the two years I used the AC-11. That’s not going to be an issue with the AC-12. I’ve already changed out the visor a few times and taken it off numerous times to show friends how it works. The new visor also has a lock on it, to prevent the visor from coming up at high speeds.
The only downside to the new AC-12 carbon that I can find is it’s noisy. When riding over 45 mph, it’s quite noticeable. It is louder then the AC-11 was, however I’m assuming that’s due to the better ventilation system in it. So that’s not even something worth complaining about.
Overall, I’m defiantly happy with this helmet and glad I decided to get it. At over $300 it’s pretty steep, but it’s still a lot less then some of the other high-end helmets out there. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate this helmet as a solid 8. I’ll try and get some pics of my AC-12 Carbon up in the next few days. I’ll also do a side-by-side comparison between the AC-11 and the AC-12 to show the differences between the two.
Here is a link in the meantime to HJC’s website to get more info on the AC-12 Carbon if anyone is interested.
http://www.hjchelmets.com/ac12_carbon.htm
Here is a few pics of it. I had the silver mirror shield on at the time these were taken.
[IMG]http://i25.photob
I’ve had it on back order with the Helmet Shop in Daytona for a few months. Most places are selling it between $349 and $399. Helmet shop had the cheapest price out of any place I checked. I’ve dealt with them in the past on my last helmet and other gear purchases, and had nothing but outstanding service, so it was an easy decision to buy from them again.
They finally received their first shipment of the carbon AC-12 this past Wednesday and called me right away. I paid for it when they called and I had it by Thursday afternoon. I also went ahead and ordered a silver tinted shield for it at the same time.
My first impression is that this helmet is very light. Much lighter then the AC-11 I’m replacing. I thought my AC-11 was light, but this is a world of difference. I didn’t put them on a scale, but it’s a noticeable difference between the two.
I have used the AC-12 for about 4 days now and I love it. The ventilation is great. It almost feels like there is an air conditioning vent in the top of the helmet. Normally when riding in the Florida heat, I had to keep the shield on my AC-11 cracked open so it wouldn’t fog up and so I wouldn’t sweat to death moving or stopped. I don’t have any of those issues with the AC-12 carbon. I can feel quite a lot of air movement when riding at any speed. With the vents and anti fog shield, I can keep my shield fully closed and not have to worry about sweating to death or the shield fogging up. I have even been able to keep my shield closed when I come to a stoplight. It’s that comfortable.
The anti fog shield works like it’s supposed to. I haven’t had any issues with the shield fogging up at all. That will be great for those of us that ride year round in the rain and cold. The only downside to the replacement mirror shields is that they don’t have the anti fog on them. I found out after the fact, that the dark smoke and light smoke replacement shield have the anti fog coating on them. The mirrored shields are the only ones that don’t.
Speaking of visors, the new system the AC-12 uses is awesome. I can change the visor in about 8 seconds. It’s very easy to do. That was my major problem with the AC-11. Every time I would try and change the visor, the ratchet gears would break. I must have replaced 8 of them in the two years I used the AC-11. That’s not going to be an issue with the AC-12. I’ve already changed out the visor a few times and taken it off numerous times to show friends how it works. The new visor also has a lock on it, to prevent the visor from coming up at high speeds.
The only downside to the new AC-12 carbon that I can find is it’s noisy. When riding over 45 mph, it’s quite noticeable. It is louder then the AC-11 was, however I’m assuming that’s due to the better ventilation system in it. So that’s not even something worth complaining about.
Overall, I’m defiantly happy with this helmet and glad I decided to get it. At over $300 it’s pretty steep, but it’s still a lot less then some of the other high-end helmets out there. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate this helmet as a solid 8. I’ll try and get some pics of my AC-12 Carbon up in the next few days. I’ll also do a side-by-side comparison between the AC-11 and the AC-12 to show the differences between the two.
Here is a link in the meantime to HJC’s website to get more info on the AC-12 Carbon if anyone is interested.
http://www.hjchelmets.com/ac12_carbon.htm
Here is a few pics of it. I had the silver mirror shield on at the time these were taken.
[IMG]http://i25.photob
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 789
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RE: My new HJC AC-12 carbon fiber helmet....
Yeah sweet helmet!
I bought a HJC CL-15 Orbit (sorta close in style to the AC-12) when I got my bike this year.....and like you said, the thing is pretty noisy--that's my only complaint.
I bought my dad a HJC CL-14 last year for Father's Day and I gotta say (& he agrees) that changing the shield on the new HJC 2006 Helmets is SOOOOOOO EASY!
It's a pain in the butt on his CL-14, but with my CL-15 (& the AC-12).....it just pops off with the push of a button and then just snaps right on. I love that feature.
I bought a HJC CL-15 Orbit (sorta close in style to the AC-12) when I got my bike this year.....and like you said, the thing is pretty noisy--that's my only complaint.
I bought my dad a HJC CL-14 last year for Father's Day and I gotta say (& he agrees) that changing the shield on the new HJC 2006 Helmets is SOOOOOOO EASY!
It's a pain in the butt on his CL-14, but with my CL-15 (& the AC-12).....it just pops off with the push of a button and then just snaps right on. I love that feature.
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