LS2 Dragon FF807 Carbon Helmet – The Sound Of Silence

Visors

The optical clarity of LS2 visors is something I’ve always found impressive. There is nothing wrong with your current visor, and then you wear an LS2 helmet, and the difference is noticeable.

The sun visor is the same. There is nothing wrong with the sun visor in my other helmets, but how good the other sun visors could be becomes evident when I use the LS2 one.

Most sun visors are just dark. They cut out some of the light, which sounds obvious, but how the reduction in light is achieved matters.

Buy a pair of cheap sunglasses, and you are looking at the world through opaque plastic. It works, but the world isn’t the right colour.

I’ve no idea how LS2 has managed to remove the glare and turn down the brightness of a sunny day without a dramatic colour shift, but they have. It is impressive, and occasionally, I’ve found myself forgetting to put the sun visor up when taking the helmet off.

I did find the smallest of gaps at the sun visor’s extreme edge, perhaps only noticeable when you are road-testing a helmet and searching for such things. Having seen them, I don’t notice them in day-to-day riding.

And if sun visors are not your thing, LS2, kindly includes a dark visor in the box along with a Max 120 Pinlock.

Where Can I Find

Road Riding

In the last few days, I’ve ridden a couple, if not three hundred miles, wearing the LS2 Dragon Carbon. I’ve ridden sixty-mile stretches on motorways, enjoyed sweeping fast A-Roads and twisted my way across the Lincolnshire Wolds.

And after all that, what do I have to report about the LS2 Dragon? … Not much.

I keep looking for something to say. Something of great importance. A staggering fact uncovered by hours spent in the saddle. But when a helmet works this well in every area, there is nothing to report.

Is the helmet stable and quiet at naughty speeds? Yes. Yes, it is.

I’m riding a Suzuki GSX-S1000GT with a standard screen, and I also tried the Dragon with the Puig “Flip”. I got the same result each time: Stable, quiet, and comfortable.

How is the FF807 Dragon when you turn your head? Stable, with only a slight resistance from the wind when turning my head back to look forward. The viewport’s width is excellent, making “life savers” easy and not requiring any gymnastics to check the blind spot and destabilise the bike.

The viewport’s shape also works well when tucked in. I don’t have to lift my head to keep my focus in the distance.

The GSX-S1000GT turns best when I move my body into the corner, which helps to keep my weight forward and the front end planted. The visibility and aerodynamics of the LS2 Dragon make using my body to help turn the bike perfectly natural.

I don’t have to stretch or twist my head to look through the corner and into the distance. It feels relaxed and easy.

So, if there is anything to report, it is that the LS2 Dragon is boringly brilliant. A journalist’s nightmare, a helmet that does everything so well that you quickly stop noticing just how good it is until you put your old helmet back on.

What Would I Change?

I have big ears – we are talking dumbo level – and if there were anything I’d change on the LS2 FF807 Dragon, it would be to take two millimetres of padding from across the width of the skull cap.

Occasionally, I can feel the padding touching the top of my ear. It isn’t uncomfortable, and it usually means that I didn’t take a moment to ensure I’d tucked my dumbo lugs safely out of the way.

My other change is the location of the throat strap, and this change is a stupid idea. LS2 place the throat (chin) strap further back than many other manufacturers.

This small difference is significant as it helps prevent the helmet from rolling off in an accident.

In reality, I’d leave the throat strap on the LS2 Dragon exactly where LS2 have placed it, but it can be a little frustrating when trying to find the double-D ring on a cold day when I’ve packed on the layers to keep the cold out.

Who Are LS2

LS2 Helmets began in the early 1990s when Arthur Liao started a small helmet-manufacturing business from his home. With an initial investment of about 350 Euros, he began producing helmets in a tiny workshop. As demand grew, the company expanded, opening a new plant in 1992 and hiring over 100 workers.

Initially known as FENGXING, “LS2” gained significant popularity in its domestic market. In 1997, the company rebranded to MHR and began focusing on international markets.

More growth followed, and in 2005, Arthur Liao and his brother Paul established Jiangmen Pengcheng Helmets, Ltd. (JPH), which produced over 2 million helmets annually.

The LS2 brand was officially launched in 2007, and its first helmets were showcased at the EICMA in Italy.

Today, LS2 helmets are manufactured in a state-of-the-art factory that spans over 330,000 square feet and employs more than 1,000 staff.

Only twelve helmet manufacturers worldwide produce helmets that pass the FIM Racing Homologation Programme (FRHP) and can be used in MotoGP. LS2 is one of them.

Bottom Line

The LS2 FF807 Carbon costs £350. For your money, you get a quiet, sports-touring, 100% carbon fibre helmet with excellent aerodynamics that can easily be worn all day. It comes in three shell sizes and weighs 1,280 grams for the smallest shell and 1,500 grams for the largest.

It uses a double-D ring throat strap. I’m sure the ratchet clasps are all very good, but I never understood why the double-D ring needed “updating”, and I’ve not yet seen a ratchet clasp approved on a race helmet.

LS2 doesn’t outsource any of its manufacturing. They are not just a brand; they are the manufacturer, hence the quality and the price. No one is in the middle, clipping the ticket and adding to the cost.

When comparing helmet prices with those from other manufacturers and with similar specifications, LS2 could easily double the price of the FF807 Dragon and make you buy a dark visor.

Thankfully, they don’t and with a regular 4-star rating on Sharpe’s Helmet tests, they aren’t cutting corners to keep the price down.

The LS2 advertising strapline is “Always Ahead.” It’s a clever play on words, but this time, the marketing department got it right.