After decades of building motorcycle riding boots and then branching out into jackets, pants, airbag vests and other gear, Alpinestars now appears to be planning to nail down a corner of the high-end helmet market. It’s been releasing a small-but-steady series of moto helmets over the past few years and just introduced its latest, the S-R10.
This is obviously aimed at the streetbike market—actually, it’s aimed at trackday enthusiasts and racers, although the design elements that will see improved track performance will also benefit street riders, Alpinestars says. As the PR puts it:
“With the S-R10, the focus of the design was to ensure the highest level of performance, particularly when it comes to protection and providing a new level of safety. Additionally, the S-R10 Helmet has been engineered to provide the perfect blend of excellent ventilation, unsurpassed comfort, and the lightest weight possible, without compromising on any other front. Another crucial element unique to the S-R10′s design and development is the helmet’s advanced aerodynamics, achieved through countless sessions in the wind tunnel focused on reducing drag and providing optimal aerodynamic stability. This benefits performance on track, and greatly improves comfort for long rides on the road.”
Alpinestars says this helmet was developed with much input from MotoGP’s Andrea Dovizioso, who they sponsor. It’s going to come in six sizes (XS-2XL), and four separate outer shell sizes as well as four separate inner shell sizes, so your helmet isn’t awkwardly oversized for your head, or too heavy. Of course, this helmet uses carbon-fiber and aramid construction on the shell, to keep the weight down as well.
The inner liner is EPS; Alpinestars did not use the proprietary MIPS anti-rotational tech in this helmet. Yet, the PR says it’s still designed to fit rotational forces, with the EPS liner polished so the comfort liner can move smoothly against it, instead of binding up as it twists inside the helmet:
“The result is increased rotational and oblique and linear force management, allowing the rider’s head to move independently inside of the helmet, or vice-versa, which can significantly reduce the amount of force transmitted to the head, neck, brain, and spine from an oblique impact, while simultaneously reducing the possibility of a concussion.”
The S-R10 helmet also comes with Alpinestars’ A-Head fitment system, which adds or subtracts padding to dial in the ideal comfort level. And since what happens outside the helmet is also important—a helmet with too much wind drag is going to wear you down—Alpinestars says it developed this helmet with wind tunnel data from Day 1:
“The result is a helmet that achieves the lowest level of drag, and the highest level of aerodynamic stability at high speed compared to any other race helmet that we have tested in the wind gallery. This has made the S-R10 already the helmet of choice by factory MotoGP teams for its top aerodynamic performance. Road riders will likely benefit from this too, with reduced strain on their necks at high speed and low levels of wind noise.”
The helmet’s aero system includes spoilers and winglets, and turbulators on the visor that go beyond just a simple shell shaping to help the rider cut through wind even more cleanly.
Alpinestars says some of these new helmets are going to be available for sale through its website, but it sounds like the majority of them have been allotted to dealers—and they’re expensive. While we haven’t seen a Canadian MSRP yet, US pricing starts at $995.
