Finally! Its about time we got a Shark helmet that fills the void left behind by the Shark Raw and a new contender against the Caberg Ghost. The Shark Drak is everything a biker could want out of an open face helmet with a more modern and aggressive style. In fact, it fills the void left behind by the Raw because.. Well it -is- the Raw! Shark have changed the name but it’s still the same helmet.
The Shark Drak is definitely a rival to the Caberg Ghost when it comes to looks alone. There’s a clear, ballistic, SWAT like influence behind the design that just makes it look awesome. The goggles even look like ballistic goggles that the police and military would wear. Its described as a street fighter style helmet and I can hardly argue, this helmet would look great whether you’re on a cruiser or a naked street bike and it was quite popular back when it was known as the Raw. So what made the helmet popular? What made it so popular that they brought it back? Well, if we can’t count how awesome it looks, we’ll have to dig deeper and look inside the helmet to find out why.
The shell of the helmet is made from an injected thermoplastic resin. Its not the most impressive of processes or difficult materials to make a helmet shell out of but its still impressive stuff. The properties of the thermoplastic make it so that the force of an impact is distributed around a larger area over the shell instead of staying focused in one area which helps to prevent cracking. An added benefit of it being an open face helmet is also the size and aerodynamics of the helmet. Its a much more low-profile style that sits closer to the skull and looks great, saving on weight and allowing the wearer to sail through any wind resistance.
The face mask is nothing special in terms of the materials its made from but it still looks really cool. Its sturdy and does well to break through the wind, allowing you to breathe without air being shoved into your lungs at 70mph [or faster] and saves you from a mouthful of bugs.
The goggles are top notch, though. They’re designed by a world leader in optics called Carl Zeiss so they already sound like half the cost of the helmet is for the goggles alone. They’re anti-fog and anti-scratch, so you don’t need to worry about your goggles misting up on you and they can take the small abuses of being taken on and off or stored away. The strap of the goggles is also quite nifty, it sits under low profile panels that cover where the ears would be. This system allows you to lift and lower your goggles as much as you like and the strap will never move positions or risk slipping off like on other open face helmets. However, if you’d rather ride without them, the goggles and the face mask can detach from the helmet and you can feel the wind on your face. If you wish, you can just ride with the helmet and goggles without the mask, so there are a few configurations you can wear the Drak in.
To make things easier for the riders who wear glasses, the Drak has grooves in the sides of the helmet padding to accommodate the rims of glasses and save you from having to bend them into shape just to get them to fit. Your glasses should also fit beneath the goggles too unless the glasses you wear are particularly large.
The helmet is fastened with a Micrometric buckle system on the chin strap for quick fastening or removal of the helmet- a big time saver compared to the fiddly double D-ring fastening method. The lining of the Drak is also removable and really easy to wash. You can just put it all in a washing net and pop it in the washing machine on a cold or delicate cycle. Hang it up and let it air out naturally though instead of throwing it in the dryer. Behind the liner you’ll find space in the Drak designed to accommodate the SHARKTOOTH Bluetooth system, it means there’s extra space around the ears for intercom devices but if it fits- it fits. So do give other speakers and devices a try if you have them already.
The Shark Drak is available in other colours and graphics too. The graphics include-
The Shark Drak is a fantastic, modern open face helmet with a really unique look. Shark are obviously quite proud of their work as the helmet also has a 5 year warranty- that’s how you know you’re buying quality. From £209.99 to £239.99, you’re getting yourself a truly awesome helmet.
Thank for ready, everybody! Until next time!
-MattW at Ghostbikes.com
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