Schuberth C5

Had my head in mine for many, many hours this weekend - Fast and slow, wet and dry, hot and cold

It did the job, I’m not complaining about it, the drop down sun visor works well, venting works

Is it quite, is it special, am I thinking wow I’m glad I bought this - Nope but I did need a new helmet and if I had to buy again I suspect I’d buy the same at the price I paid

Notes:
I’ve never owned a C3
I prefer open face
Full face helmets have been Adv style the last being the GS carbon thing, so much lighter

As you’ll know , the C5 , ships with Sena speakers , ready to add the Sena SC2

The Sena SC2 involves a main unit , at the rear of the C5, which in itself needs to Bluetooth communicate with the separate control buttons on the side of the C5 . That in itself is an over complex recipe for comms problems IMHO.

However , two of us , me with Cardo and J with his C5 and SC2, have endured ridiculous difficulties , failing to get Cardo and Sena to communicate and our coffee discussions continue with no success ;

mrklunk said:

I'm due to change, my C3Pro is 5 years old. I chose it for quietness (tinnitus) and would only upgrade to C5 if it was significantly quieter but can't seem to get any feedback on that. I don't. want or need to the inbuilt comms and don't like the idea of paying for it. My Cardo is great and is just for my TomTom so will be transferred to the new helmet. The C5 is double the price of the C3 now so I'm veering towards a new C3. £304 in sports bike shop. Even cheaper elsewhere but I have £200 of vouchers for SBS. Never tried a Shoe Neotec but seems a. gamble when the C3 works pretty well for me.

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I just picked up a C3 Pro earlier today from MotoCentral. They also retail it at £304 but quote 'ukgser' (as a discount code - in shop or online) and that brings it down to £274.

In MSL

Having been let down with my C4 I think I will wait for the next Shoei modular design before I commit to buy another lid.

I bought a C5 having owned a C3 Pro previously, I’ve used the C5 for about 2000 miles now including a trip to Spain and Portugal, I am very pleased with the C5 it’s as quiet and as comfortable as I could want, it has good ventilation and first class optics, the internal sun visor and flip mechanism all operate smoothly, the memory function on the visor is a neat and useful feature
I went for the concrete grey as my first colour choice wasn’t available in my size at the time of order, I have only 1 minor gripe which is it’s easy to close the lower visor vent when operating the mechanism to flip the chin piece but that aside it’s a 9/10 from me.

I tried a C5 on at Motolegends.
I’m obviously the wrong shape as it was dreadful .
But then again , after the awful experience of owning a C4, I’ll never buy a Schuberth again .

Arsey said:

...., after the awful experience of owning a C4, I’ll never buy a Schuberth again .

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Same.
And dont even get me started on the accompanying comms kit.

I’ll probably be dropping into ML this weekend to try on a C5 as I fancy trying out a flip lid for a change.
Any other real-life horror or success stories?

@fred22 What exactly is wrong with the comms kit (sorry to get you started) apart from the price? I thought it looked pretty neat, and fairly up-to-date.

There is a 'RIDE' helmet flip front product test in the July issue. The C5 did not fair well and came 4th out of six helmets tested with the Shoei Neotec 2 coming out tops. Subjective I know but may be worth a read!?

Pukmeister said:

Having been let down with my C4 I think I will wait for the next Shoei modular design before I commit to buy another lid.

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C4 and the slightly improved C4 Pro was always the bastard child of Schuberth and BMW. BMW insisted on a design that Schuberth told them was basically crap but BMW reckoned they knew better , it got past the design stage and to production as the new BMW System 7 and then at the last minute after Schuberth had set up the production lines etc BMW pulled the plug and went with LS2 and their Chinese manufactured helmet.

Resulted in Schuberth being in the lurch both financially and regarding production lines and capacities so it was produced to stop f*cking up the company , it resulted in Schuberth keeping the C3 Pro in production as a back up whilst they fast tracked developing the new C5.

Look how short a time the C4/C4 Pro range were in the Schuberth range .

I got this info from a then large UK Schuberth dealer and also the UK importers top rep who I met , just last year I was talking to the now ex dealer who still directly attributes the huge amount of issues with C4 helmets regarding warranties, faults and returns from unsatisfied customers as to why he wound up his helmet business after a good number of years specialising in higher end lids

I love my C4 Pro. It's a superb helmet and the problems that plagued the C4 have all been fixed. (microphone placement, cheap crappy not-Pinlock, bits falling off etc...).

I really liked my C3 Pro, but I prefer the C4 Pro - many due to the plusher liner and larger viewport. Sound levels are bout the same.

Downsides - really only that the built in speakers have poor bass and can't easily be replaced.

I have tried the C5 a couple of times (not on the bike) and the fit of the 61cm model (which fits me perfectly in the C4 Pro) seems to be a little bit loose on me, but the 59com version is too tight. This can probably be "tuned" with different liner pieces. The C5 also feels a bit more claustrophobic in the chin area. The flip closure mechanism does feel more secure though.

Anyway... I am not in the market for a new lid for at least another year, barring unforeseen events, but I do need to go for an extended test ride with a properly fitted C5 before I make a decision. If Shoei brings out a Neotec 3, then that also needs to be factored in.

I've had a couple of Schuberths but found that the visor and flip-up mechanism failed in everyday use, to the point where it wouldn't stay flipped up and the visor would slam shut as soon as the wind pressure increased at speed. I have never had this problem with the Shoei Neotec.

Hopefully Schuberth has addressed this issue with the newer versions.

Engineer said:

I've had a couple of Schuberths but found that the visor and flip-up mechanism failed in everyday use, to the point where it wouldn't stay flipped up and the visor would slam shut as soon as the wind pressure increased at speed. I have never had this problem with the Shoei Neotec.

Hopefully Schuberth has addressed this issue with the newer versions.

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Ditto .
Foolishly listened to a few on here a few years back and bought a C4.
Best helmet ever .
Was it , bollox !
Utter shite in every way . Got rid within weeks and got a Neotec 2 .

LankyRider said:

...
@fred22 What exactly is wrong with the comms kit (sorry to get you started) apart from the price? I thought it looked pretty neat, and fairly up-to-date.

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Looks great doesnt it? Physically/mechanically it has buttons that are just low profile bumps or blisters that are vertically underneath the rim of your helmet which is actually quite an inconvenient place to actually use any kind of button in practice, and so you cannot feel them with any kind of glove on and your hand is awkwardly placed compared to a button on the horizontal plane on the side of your helmet. Then you also need to memorise a load of sequences of button preses to operate. Between the two things -finding the butons and knowing how to perform any actions, its way too much distraction from riding and so many times I could not do what I wanted to -answer a call, make a call, the basics. It has voice control but that never worked.. it was shite, I simply cannot believe anyone can use this thing.

Mine used to die after a length of time but I never knew if it had, just people would tell me. I also had the battery thing where it seems to move in the housing and so people end up wedging in the battery.

Thinking back it was an absolute nightmare. Trying to answer a call and ending up with my music on then not being able to turn that off and then powering the thing down to get rid of the music all whilst riding. I even bought the handlebar control and that has the same excuse for buttons just transferred to the handlebar. How many hundreds of pounds?


I then took the hit and bought a packtalk bold, whacked that on the side of my C4, couldnt use the integral speakers grrrr, but at least ended up with a soliid, simple-to-use, reliable headset with usable buttons and actually working voice control so most of the time I dont even need to lift my hands off the bars "Answer", "Hey Cardo, call Fred", "Hey Cardo, radio on" etc.

In the interest of completeness The helmet itself (C4) I kind of like still, it hurts my head after an hour or two but I got a funny shaped head. Everything else about it is fine for me fit, finish,noise, not sure about the sun visor, aperture size, I still wear this helmet plenty and in winter wear it all the time as my HJC rpha 70 steams up and the Schuberth doesnt.

Had a C3 Pro for 3 years, did not get on with it. Visor always leaked in heavy rain, could feel spray on my face The neck roll had plastic pins that kept breaking off, fix was to drill a 3mm hole in the neck roll and glue in metal rivet stems. But plenty like them, so it just wasn't the helmet for me, also had a Neotec 2 so bought another one. I get on well with the Neotec, but I bet some have had issues with them

I don’t seem to have had any of the problems listed above with my Schuberth helmets. First was a C3 (L) little bit tight to start but shaping the inside with a spoon over a few days sorted it. When I went to replace it I was advised my size was an XL, couldn’t even get an L on. Bought C3 basic (XL), comfortable from the outset, to which I’ve had fitted over the years both the Scala & Sena ‘neck collar’ comms unit. The Scala was the easiest to use but only lasted a couple of years, the Sena works best with the separate rechargeable remote (joy stick and 2 buttons) which is now fitted to my wife’s C3. Also had the PackTalk Bold fitted for a short while. Next was a C4 Held version (XL) which was again a little tight and needed some work on the internal foam. Fitted it with the Sena internal comms until which worked (&still works) well enough. I only use it for solo rides or with my wife as pillion. Next came a C4 basic (XL), fitted with a PackTalk bold. This has been the best and most comfortable to date. Use it when riding with friends using PackTalks. I’ll be trying the C5 as well as the Neotec when the time comes to replace again, not for a few years I hope. Best buys have probably been the C3 basic & C4 basic with the PackTalk comms added. Should add all came with proper Pinlocks fitted.

My Schubert C5 arrived today, I'm well pleased with it, looks a good quality helmet. After my BMW System 6 this C5 is leaps ahead on design and quality.

Has anyone tried a C5 with alternative interior padding and if so who had the alternative bits in stock?

Reason being is all of my previous Schuberth helmets have been size 60/61 and today I tried on the C5 the size 61 was too large , yet the next size down 58/59 was far too tight.

Reckon the 51 with alternative interior would be fine but no one seems to have the bits in stock

Have you asked Motolegends? Admittedly even more of a trek for you to get there than it is for me. I've been very happy with my C4 Pro Carbon but I like the look of the C5. If sizing has changed I'll definitely need to try before buy.