Some gear decisions make themselves.
I ride a lot of different bikes and I do a lot of different types of riding. Commuting through traffic during the week, longer tours, pie runs on weekends with mates and track days that started as a one-off eighteen months ago and have quietly become something of an addiction. For a while now, one motorcycle helmet has come with me for all of it, the Shark Spartan RS.
That changed recently, and not because I wanted it to.
The Crash
I recently went down on one of my older bikes, I’ll save the full story for an upcoming video on the channel, because that bike and story deserves its own conversation. The short version: I hit the ground, the helmet hit the ground, and very luckily, I walked away.
I'll be honest, I’m an all of the gear most of the time kind of rider. But this time I was fully kitted up, and I'm very glad I was. Motorcycle boots, Helstons gloves with the knuckle protection that absolutely did its job, a Segura leather jacket that came out of it looking completely unscathed, and of course the Shark Spartan RS on my head.
The damage to the helmet was obvious straight away, you could see it had taken a serious hit. But even if it had looked perfect on the outside, it would still be retired. The multi-density EPS foam inside compresses on impact to absorb the energy that would otherwise go to your head, and it only does that once. In this case though, there was no question. One look and I knew it was done.
So now I need a new motorcycle helmet. And I didn't spend long thinking about what to get.
Why I'm Buying the Same Helmet Again
When a piece of gear works across every type of riding you do, you don't really notice it anymore. It just becomes part of the routine. It was only sitting here without it that I started thinking about what I actually liked about the Shark Spartan RS.
Vision, first and foremost. This is the thing I keep coming back to. The peripheral vision out of the Spartan RS is genuinely exceptional, wider and more natural than most motorcycle helmets I've worn. In traffic, that matters. On a twisty road, that matters. On track, it absolutely matters. You're not peering through a slit, you're actually seeing what's around you. For a helmet that does everything from the daily commute to track days, that's not a nice-to-have, great vision is THE thing.
The internal sun visor. I thought it was a gimmick. I was wrong. A simple slider at the top of the helmet drops a tinted visor that covers the majority of your face, not just your eyes. It's enough to block the glare, still lets air flow through, and means you're not stopping to swap visors when the sun comes out. I've been leaving my outer visor up in summer and just running the internal tint. It works.
The interior is genuinely comfortable for long days. The perforated leather and textile lining feels premium, the fit is roomy without being vague, and the intercom pockets are set up so well that once the speakers are in, you forget they're there. On a long touring day, that stuff adds up.
Glasses wearers, take note. The internal width means glasses slide in without a fight. Again, small thing, big deal if it applies to you.
ECE 22.06 Certified. What Does That Mean for Australian Riders Buying a Helmet?
The Shark Spartan RS runs a multi-axial composite shell with multi-density EPS, certified to ECE 22.06 currently the most rigorous motorcycle helmet safety standard in use anywhere in the world. I'm not going to oversell this point. The helmet did what it was supposed to do when it mattered. That's the whole story.
For Australian riders looking to buy a motorcycle helmet, the good news is that ECE 22.06 is now a legally accepted standard across all states and territories, bringing an end to what had been a patchwork of inconsistent rules around the country. Alongside the existing Australian standards AS 1698:1988 and AS/NZS 1698:2006, you can now legally ride with a helmet certified to either ECE 22.05 or ECE 22.06, which is exactly what the Shark Spartan RS carries. To confirm compliance, look for the sewn-in label inside the helmet displaying the international approval mark, a circle surrounding the letter 'E', followed by the country certification number.
That said, road rules can and do change, and some states may have additional requirements around accessories, labelling, or pillion passengers. We'd always recommend checking with your local road transport authority before hitting the road in any new helmet.
Shopping for a Shark Spartan RS in Australia? Here's the Full Range
The replacement is already sorted, same helmet, same colour, same size. But if you're looking to buy a Shark Spartan RS and the Byhron isn't your thing, we stock a solid range of them at Biker Torque. From the clean and understated Blank SP in Matte Silver/Yellow through to the aggressive Shaytan graphic, the Gloss Black/Copper/Black SP, and the full carbon variants, the Carbon Shawn in Silver/Anthracite and the Carbon Skin, there's genuinely something in the range for most riders and most bikes. If you want to go full stealth, the Matt Black is exactly what it sounds like.
The Spartan RS platform is the same across all of them, same shell, same ECE 22.06 certification, same exceptional vision. The choice really just comes down to what suits your bike and your style.
You can browse the full Shark Spartan RS range at Biker Torque.
As for the bike I went down on, stay tuned. That video is coming.
Ride safe, and unlike me, keep the rubber side down.