Nolan X-Lite X-551 Dual Sport Helmet Review:

Happy you found a helmet that fit you, that's what matters

Hi. I have Nolan N84 helmet and it has an issue with pinlock: during process of visor opening or closing, pinlock touches rubber compactor (?) *rubber strip on the perimeter of viewport (eye-port)* and after several time begins to scratch the main visor and itself. This helmet had same problem?

This question is mostly addressed to people who had used this helmet for some time

P.S. sorry for my English

Здравствуйте д33т,
Нет. Царапины, не проблема.

PS - sorry for my Russian

RomaDakota, thanks :)

And one more question: is it possible to breath normal in this helmet when riding offroad? In N84 it was mostly impossible even with all vent's and visor fully opened, because amount of air in helmet was very small. In AFX FX-39 (last time i rode in this helmet) it was a much easier to breath and and only in very difficult situations became not enough oxygen.

Figures I find the features I'm looking for in a helmet not available in the US. The FC-Moto price is $494 shipped to the US. Kind of stuck if the size is off. I guess I'll wait and see if it makes it to the US market this year. I know how to speed up that process. I'll buy another helmet and BOOM the Nolan will be shipping from US sources for hundreds less.

I'm still curious to know how well the peak blocks the sun. Is it like the Shoei (which gives little to no shade on the eyes) or like the Arai which does a great job and they even realized they needed black tape on the bottom to further reduce glare.

I guess it is a moot point anyway since they don't ship to the US. My head is a tweener... right between L and XL depending on the brand.

Ducatirdr for sure

Cliffy - at it's highest position it is slightly lower than the Shoei and at it's lowest goes further down than the XD3. Visor/Peak is excellent.

When I bought mine the price was a little over $300, which was a STEAL for the quality of the helmet. I haven't priced it in a month but if it's $500 shipped they've really gone up

BTW, when you look at the price in US dollars on the site, it includes VAT, but when you put it in the cart it knocks the VAT off which is about $61. I also used the DHL shipping which was about $20 vs $50-60 for UPS

Sorry for annoying, but still: is this helmet suitable for off-road riding? It looks more road-oriented than similar helmets of other manufacturers.

And one more question: it comes without pinlock?

P.S. i try to make decision between this helmet and AGV AX8 DS EVO

Actually, they do ship to the US, DHL or UPS. UPS costs 2x more, but in reading other threads regarding FC Moto, it seems to be a more reliable option.

Mine included the pinlock shield with tabs

Loving this helmet

LoneStar, thanks for answer :)

One quick question that you almost touched on: what size did you get? Or did I miss it? My XD4 is an XL and fits decently and having recently returned to riding, don't have much helmet comparison data.

Not sure if you were asking me or not but if so I wear a XXL in helmets. My XD3 fits perfectly in XXL, and bought the Nolan in XXL. It runs true to size, but the design fits more "snugly" as in less head movement in the helmet, which is a tribute to the designers.

By snugly I don't mean tight or binding in any way. In fact it's the most comfortable helmet I've yet worn - after about 10 mins you forget it's on almost.

Keeping in mind it's my head and all the yada yada disclaimers lol

The neck port is smaller than the XD3, and that initially makes it seem a bit tighter slipping on but its actually not.

And it has more visibility than the XD3

I really hope they get this thing DOT approved before I really need a new helmet. My head measures 58 cm yet every size large helmet I try is FAR too tight. My chin hands out beneath most of them. A size large Nolan N104 feels like a clamp is pressing in on my jaw. The XL feels much better but is a bit loose. It drives me nuts. I really must try on and ride with a helmet before buying it (yes, my local dealer carries Nolan and they do allow test rides with a helmet which is why I will gladly pay a little more to buy from a brick and mortar store).

I dont think they have any plans to bring it to the US.. they arent even trying to get it DOT approved.. have you heard differently?

Had a few months with this helmet now and have really been pleased with it. Coming off a 2 week trip into the desert mountains in west Texas, I experienced very high winds combined with interstate speeds, heavy dust, temps from 28 to 90 and have nothing to complain about - lovin it.

As mentioned before I think the noise is about the same as XD and I think the venting might be less. Only gripe has been I can't mount my GoPro on it as easily LOL

Will probably order another and a couple of spare shields in case they don't bring them over here

great review!

I forgot to mention that removing the visor and face shield are a breeze... couldn't be simpler.

Visor is held on by three plastic wing nuts... comes off easily.

Shield is simply raised to highest position, and then you press the center pivot donut, which is a spring loaded button, and move the visor forward slightly and it pops off.

No fiddly parts to keep track of or gyrations and voodoo magic required.

Takes longer to describe it than to do it.

Rock on bros...

Damnit. Why the hell wouldn't Nolan get this DOT approved? Grrrr... :huh

Just returned from Mexico trip and it's been great - upwards of 90 mph for hours with visor/peak attached and slips through the wind perfectly. Now that the foam has fully broken in, it's slightly looser. Still not enough to warrant having gone down a size - just an observation

I went online to look at buying a second for a spare and sheesh the price has gone up! Base model is $450-ish and top paint job is $622

Yikes - glad I snagged one early