Adventure bikes have surged in popularity in recent years, a trend driven in part by riders’ desire to blend the allure of long-distance touring with the go-anywhere spirit of off-road motorcycles. And as with truck or SUV-based overlanding, the availability of purpose-built equipment that’s versatile enough to deliver comfort as well as rugged capability has played a crucial role in this evolution.
“This type of riding style is rooted in Europe, but it’s gaining a lot of momentum in the United States now,” says Jamie Beckett, director of Simpson Race Products’ motorcycle division. “And the demographic for that type of riding is also changing. This is something that younger riders with more off-road experience are really getting into.”
Beckett notes that the introduction of bikes like the Harley-Davidson Pan America have also had an effect on the popularity of adventure motorcycling with riders who prize functionality but also have an appreciation for a sense of style. “When it comes to motorcycle gear, Simpson has a bit of a reputation as a non-conformist – the ‘anti-hero,’ if you will. I think there are a lot of folks out there who identify with that, and we felt like this was a space where those riders were being under-served.”
He likens adventure touring bikes to the Jeeps and Broncos of the motorcycle world – a dual-purpose machine that may spend the majority of its time on paved roads, but also have the versatility to perform in varied and often harsh terrain and climates. A trail or a gravel road may be the destination, but the vehicle must also get to that location without beating up its rider on the highway.
“The gear has to be adaptable, able to handle whatever the environment might throw at you,” says Beckett. “And that’s really the perspective that designers use when developing an adventure motorcycle helmet. It’s a blend of both a street-style helmet design as well as a moto helmet because it needs to perform well in both scenarios. There’s a sense of freedom to this type of riding, a feeling that your route isn’t limited by traditional boundaries. And of course you get the bragging rights of taking the road less traveled. But the riders on bikes like Triumphs and Pan Ams also tend to differ stylistically from your traditional adventure bike rider, so we wanted to bring a new perspective to the adventure touring world that speaks to this rider more directly.”
As a result, later this year Simpson will be launching two new helmets – the modular Journey and full-face Excursion – that mark its first entries in the adventure motorcycle helmet segment. These helmets incorporate all of the must-have safety and functionality features you’d expect from an adventure helmet while also bringing Simpson’s distinctive design into the fold.
“I think it’s hugely important to strike the right balance between street-specific and motocross-specific features with a helmet like this,” Beckett says. “The position that we took is that these helmets could use some attitude, but above all, they needed to be the safest helmets available in that space. We don’t throw all of the bells and whistles into our designs – we focus on what riders really need, and we construct those helmets with high-quality materials and premium craftsmanship.”
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He points to the Journey’s dual certifications for riding at speed with the chin bar raised or lowered as well as the availability of the full-face Excursion design at launch as examples of how Simpson prioritizes rider safety rather than gimmickry. At the same time, Simpson also has a reputation to uphold when it comes to head-turning design.
“There’s a bit of irreverence to what we do,” Beckett explains. “I think that if you look at the perspective of our customers, you find that a lot of them are the ones who weren’t interested in a Shoei or an Aria when they got their first helmets, so they sought out auto helmets instead. So we wanted to offer those folks a purpose-built helmet for this type of riding that incorporates that pentagon-style nose form on the front of the helmet, along with aggressive venting. These helmets also have large eye ports for excellent visibility, and we have ridges on the top of the shell that were inspired by our Ghost Bandit line.”
But Beckett is quick to remind us that there’s substance backing that style. “Premium hardware is something that we’ve always used with our helmets, so the chin bar and visor screws are all made out of metal rather than the plastic you’ll find on a lot of our competitors’ helmets. To enhance fit and finish, the shell venting is created using a water jet manufacturing process, and those vents are backed by metal mesh rather than plastic pieces. It’s all part of the larger goal of delivering top-notch quality.”
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To enhance all-day comfort, these helmets feature a moisture-wicking liner material and internal padding that is removable, the latter of which allows riders to swap out the standard set of pads for sets of different sizes to get a more tailored fit. The Simpson Journey and Excursion adventure motorcycle helmets feature ear pockets that allow for a hassle-free communications system install as well.
Both helmets also feature an internal retractable sunshield to allow riders to make on-the-fly adjustments as lighting conditions change on the road or trail. “The Pinlock shields that these helmets are equipped with use an anti-fog and anti-glare technology that functions like a dual-pane lens to ensure that you always have good visibility,” Beckett says. “Features like these are here to provide riders with all-day usability no manner what the situation is. And we feel that can be accomplished without making the design overly complex.”
Simpson will launch these helmets with a variety of available shields that include colored, tinted, and mirrored options. If owners prefer not to use the helmets’ standard peak visor, an adapter kit will also be available to allow riders to simply use the hardware with the shield.
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The Simpson Journey and Simpson Excursion adventure motorcycle helmets will be available with either a tri-blend composite or carbon fiber shell. Buyers will have an array of color options to choose from as well.
“The first graphic we’re offering for the Journey is the Dalton, which is available in three colorways – gray/black, white/yellow, and blue/white,” Beckett tells us. “The solid color options are White, Armor – which is kind of a battleship gray, Gloss Black, and Matte Black. And the carbon fiber version of these helmets have that raw carbon fiber look to them. For the Excursion we have the blue and red Mojave graphic, which kind of aesthetically aligns it with the Triumph, Ducati, Honda, and GS bikes. We’ll also have the BC, a two-tone design available in a gray and yellow or gray and orange colorway.”
The Excursion will also be available in White, Armor, Gloss Black, Matte Black, and carbon fiber when Simpson’s new line adventure motorcycle helmets officially launches on November 7th of this year.
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