The Caberg Justissimo has been in production probably longer than any other motorcycle helmet.
It’s approaching a ten year anniversary and it’s still a very popular helmet.
Continuous improvements and evolution through the years have kept it fresh.
The current iteration, the Justissimo GT, is still one of the best-looking flip-up helmets to be found.
It also has all of the modern features and conveniences expected in 2012 and it received a 4-Star SHARP rating.
After all this time, the Justissimo can still outperform the competition in this price range, a testament to its excellent basic design.
We first reviewed the Caberg Justissimo (review) way back in 2004 — light years ago and many parsecs away in Motorcycle Helmet Time.
The ground-breaking Justissimo had been designed and developed in the early part of the decade and first hit dealers’ shelves in 2003, which means that its 10-year anniversary is soon to arrive.
Many motorcyclists may not realize this, but a DOT version of the Justissimo was actually sold in North American for a short time, followed by a “Jarow” rebranded version.
The distribution issue was as complex and difficult back then as it is today, and for a variety of reasons, importation ceased.
But the value of the Justissimo concept lived on, as most good designs will.
The ground-breaking helmet was improved and evolved and changed over the years and it is still one of the most popular flip-up helmets in Europe today, with something approaching a half-million sold to date.
Actually, the Justissimo is a true modular, in the webBikeWorld definition, because it can be converted from a flip-up to a “Jet” open-face design by removing the rotating flip-up visor.
Its stylish good looks, solid construction and feature set make the Justissimo GT a leader in its price range. Congratulations and best wishes, Justissimo, and here’s wishing you another successful decade!
Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality
Some motorcycle helmets come and go so fast that their names are only a fleeting memory. But the Justissimo has been around for so long, it’s hard to remember motorcycling without it!
That it still can outperform just about any flip-up I can think of anywhere near its price speaks volumes about the excellent basic design.
Not that it hasn’t been improved over the years — in some ways, the Justissimo GT of today seems very different from the Justissimo of 2003. Yet all of the core design elements from its beginnings are still there.
But what’s really amazing is that today’s Justissimo GT — especially in white — is in my opinion one of the best-looking flip-up helmets available today at any price.
My favorite design elements are the curvature around the chin vent, with its brushed metal surround, and the “movable wing” top vent, a unique and ingenious design that looks great, is very easy to use when riding and it works.
We have always found Caberg quality to be outstanding and the Justissimo GT is no exception.
The paint and moving parts on this one are perfect and the split lines are nice and tight. The helmet has a solid feel — especially so for a flip-up.
The liner and padding also has a quality feel and overall I can say that for the list price of £189.99 (approx. $295.00 USD) it can’t be beat. On top of all that, it’s 100% made in Italy.
Score: I’ll give the Caberg Justissimo GT an “Outstanding” rating for excellent overall quality. See the Summary Table at the bottom of the page for a description of our rating system.
Caberg Justissimo GT Helmet Fit, Internal Shape and Liner
The Editor did the evaluation and review of the original Justissimo in 2004 and I can only vaguely recall wearing the helmet back then…but I don’t recall many of the details.
What I can say is that the size large Justissimo GT of 2012 has a comfortable fit. It feels roomy on top and slightly snug on the sides, so I’ll call this one a “Slight Narrow” shape.
But the Editor reports that it also fits just fine atop his “Round” head, so the internal profile of the helmet should work for most head shapes.
The size large is listed as a 59/60 cm and the XL as a 61/62 cm. I think the size large fits just as expected for a large, but like the original Justissimo, the internal front-to-back dimension feels shorter than average.
My chin just touches the back of the chin bar, so this may be an issue with other head/jaw shapes.
The removable liner has a comfortable “sanitized” fabric. The padding is a bit thinner than average, but overall it is still comfortable.
I’m not sure how many shell sizes are made for the Justissimo GT but I’ll guess two, as the size chart ranges from XS to XXL.
So our size large may have the smaller shell in the largest head size, which can sometimes result in a slightly thinner than normal padding to make up the difference.
My eyeglasses can fit easily inside the helmet and I’m not really sure why, because there is no special arrangement for glasses molded into the helmet liner. But mine slip right in, no problem.
When I’m riding the motorcycle, the Justissimo GT feels very comfortable and it offers excellent outward visibility.
The helmet feels solid and it just has an overall ambience of quality that is most definitely missing from any other flip-up helmet anywhere near this price range.
Something about this helmet says “old friend” as soon as I put it on and I think it’s a helmet that one could develop a long-term relationship with and not have a complaint.
The ear pockets are very shallow, which may account for the ease of use with eyeglasses. Caberg makes what they call the “Just Speak” helmet Bluetooth intercom system, and one of the evolutions that the Justissimo GT has undergone was a modification to accommodate the Just Speak system.
The padding in back of the chin bar is molded to accept a microphone, as is the EPS at the ears.
A molded plug on the lower left-hand side of the helmet can be used to install the intercom module but the shell and liner design along the bottom of the helmet makes for an easy fitment of other types of intercom helmet mounts.
More information on helmet fit can be found in the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page, along with the chart that lists the helmet weights of webBikeWorld reviewed helmets and also by shape on the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.
Score: I’ll give the Caberg Justissimo GT an “Excellent” rating for shape, comfort and padding with a very nice liner and padding.
Caberg Justissimo GT Eye Port, Outward Visibility
A shorter front/back dimension usually helps improve visibility because it puts the chin bar closer to the face, which can give a wider viewing angle in the vertical plane.
As a result, the Justissimo GT has average to better-than-average vertical visibility and about average in the horizontal plane.
The face shield is thinner than average for some reason, at 1.735 mm. The face shield also doesn’t quite seal tightly enough against the eye port gasket along the top on this example, so some water can leak in across the top.
This, and the face shield removal system are where the helmet shows its age.
To remove the face shield or to convert the helmet to its “Jet” format, the large side plates are (carefully) removed. As you can see in one of the photos below, there are several pieces to be unfastened before this can be accomplished.
We suspect that had the Justissimo been designed more recently, the system would be much simpler and with fewer parts.
But the flip side, if you’ll pardon the pun, is that the helmet would then probably sell for much more than its current list price, which reflects the amortized tooling.
The face shield is said to have been treated with an anti-scratch coating. Despite the slight air gap along a few millimeters of the top gasket, the face shield seals well and it has a small first opening position for defogging.
The rotating flip-up visor works well and has a solid feel. A large rubberized button in front, just under the chin vent, is easy to find and to use.
The visor has a few slight detents as it raises and a stronger detent when it reaches the topmost position, so it stays in place when lifted (although riding with the visor in the raised position is not recommended).
At one point in its evolution, magnesium receptacles were added at the front edges of the Justissimo helmet shell to lock the rotating flip-up visor in place when it’s closed.
This is another first for a motorcycle helmet as far as we know, and the system seems to give the Justissimo GT a solid feel when the visor is locked.
Overall, the visibility, face shield and its operation on the K4 EVO are all excellent and seem a bit better than you’d expect in this price range.
Caberg Justissimo GT Sun Visor
The Justissimo was one of the very first motorcycle helmets to include what we now consider a modern internally rotating sun visor, operating through an external lever on the helmet shell.
It rotates smoothly and it can be stopped in an intermediate position. It has sharper angles than we’d like on each side and it doesn’t quite rotate down far enough to remain out of the line of sight.
But it’s better than some others we’ve tried and if the helmet is correctly situated on the head, with the chin bar pulled down slightly to create a forward-leaning helmet orientation, the sun visor is fine.
Score: The Justissimo GT gets an overall “Excellent” rating for the combination of face shield, rotating flip-up visor and internal sun visor.
Caberg Justissimo GT Ventilation and Air Flow
The Justissimo GT has one of the most unique top ventilation systems we’ve ever seen on a motorcycle helmet.
It is both functional and beautiful…or should we say stylish? I don’t remember the original Justissimo but this system is actually fun to use, if that can be said about a motorcycle air vent!
The top vent cover is a very dark smoked plastic “wing” shaped slider that is very easy to locate and to operate when wearing gloves.
Push back on the cover and it moves towards the rear of the helmet, opening a V-shaped channel on either side. Underneath are a series of longitudinal vent slots and a vent passageway towards the front of the “V”.
The air moves into the helmet with little noise and it flows above the liner and out the rear exhaust vent, which also has a matching smoke-color edge.
Although the air isn’t felt directly on the rider’s head, due to the design of the liner, the helmet remains comfortable even in the warmer high-80 degree (F) current weather.
The chin vent is just as stylish; in fact, we think it sets off the entire helmet and makes the Justissimo GT one of the nicest-looking flip-up helmets (any) money can buy.
The dimpled front vent holes hide a sliding cover that is operated with the red horizontal three-position slider. The entire assembly is highlighted by a very nice brushed metal surround, which accents the tapered chin area and gives the helmet a posh look.
The chin vent does not flow air directly through the chin bar unfortunately — another artifact of the age of the design probably.
It does flow the air up on to the back of the face shield through a vent along the top center portion of the chin bar, and the air can be felt when the vent is open.
A built-in vinyl chin curtain is included and this helps to keep noise levels down as well as preventing most of the unwanted air flow from underneath the helmet.
Overall, I’ll rate the Justissimo GT as having slightly better than average ventilation, especially noteworthy considering the age of the design.
Score: I’ll rate the ventilation system of the Caberg Justissimo GT as “Excellent”.
The rear exhaust vent on the Caberg Justissimo GT.
The side panel is removed to convert the helmet to the Jet format or to change the face shield.Caberg Justissimo GT Sound Levels
That unique top vent does a good job at keeping noise levels low, and the close fit along the bottom of the helmet, along with the chin curtain, does the same for the lower portion of the helmet.
In fact, the only issue is the wind hitting the narrow edge at the front of those large side plates. It does create a louder than average wind rushing noise and I can tell it’s coming from the side plates because it disappears as soon as I place a hand over the edge.
There’s a lot of potential for this helmet with its top vent system to become one of the quietest flip-up helmets available, but redesigning the side plates would basically mean an entirely new helmet.
In the meantime, considering the wind rushing sound, the Justissimo GT probably rates about an “average” for noise levels when compared to all of the other helmets we’ve reviewed.
The lower-frequency noises that can be generated around the bottom edge of the helmet seem to be well controlled, so not problem there.
And I have also noticed that the top vent works well with a windscreen of the type that can direct turbulent air at or towards the top of the helmet.
Note that our helmet evaluations are a combined effort of several riders over time on different types of motorcycles with and without windscreens.
Evaluators wear correctly fitted, high quality ear plugs (even when evaluating motorcycle intercom systems).
Always protect your hearing when riding a motorcycle. See the wBW Earplug Reviews for more information on choosing and wearing earplugs.
Note also that perceived noise levels will vary, depending on the individual.
Noise can be caused by many factors, including helmet fit, the type of motorcycle and windscreen, wind speed and direction and even the rider’s clothing.
For more information on helmet noise, visit the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Noise page.
Score: I’ll give the Caberg Justissimo GT a “Neutral” rating for noise control.
Helmet Weight
This Justissimo GT in size large weighed in at 1754 grams (3 lbs., 13-7/8 oz.). This is about average for a flip-up helmet with the same features.
It’s within one gram of the Caberg Konda (review) and about the same as the HJC Sy-Max II (review) at 1762 grams in size L.
It’s also close to the Caberg Sintesi (review) in size L at 1772 grams; the HJC Sy-Max III (review) in size L at 1778 grams and the Nolan N90 (review) at 1784 grams.
The comfortable fit of the Justissimo GT masks the weight and the helmet feels nicely balanced when riding. It also does not exhibit any undue buffeting or movement. In fact, I was a bit surprised that the Justissimo weighed more than I thought.
I had estimated around 1500 grams or so from wearing it prior to putting it on the scale.
Note that all of the helmets reviewed on webBikeWorld have been weighed and the weights are available on the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Weights page, along with a chart that lists the helmets by weight and shape on the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.
Score: I’ll give the Caberg Justissimo GT a “Very Good” rating for its weight and good balance.
Miscellaneous
The Caberg Justissimo GT has a “microlock” chin strap attachment. The strap has a sewn-in metal D-ring to lock the helmet to a motorcycle.
The padding underneath the chin strap is generously longer than normal and very comfortable.
The Justissimo GT meets ECE helmet safety standards only. It’s a shame that a North American distributor has not yet made a deal with Caberg to distribute the helmets, as the brand always seems to have higher quality and much more innovative designs than just about any other motorcycle helmet manufacturer.
Plus, unlike some other “Italian” motorcycle helmet brands I could mention, Caberg helmets are made in Italy.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, the fact that the Caberg Justissimo GT looks better than just about any other flip-up helmet out there and also functions better than most of them in and above its price range is a testament to its inherently strong design.
When you consider that this helmet design is nearing its 10 year anniversary and it basically beats any other flip-up in its price range…and that it’s still a very popular seller in Europe — is proof that it works.
By the way, the life span of the Justissimo is probably the world’s record for continuous motorcycle helmet design.
It’s too bad the Justissimo GT doesn’t come in a DOT version, but in today’s global economy, it takes only a couple of mouse clicks to order one up from the UK, delivered right to your door.
| wBW Review: Caberg Justissimo GT Helmet | |
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| Manufacturer: Caberg | List Price: £189.99 (approx. $295.00 USD) |
| Colors: Solids, graphics. | Made In: Italy |
| Sizes: XS-2XL Shell Sizes: Unknown | Review Date: August 2012 |
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Rating Scale is subjective: Unacceptable, Poor, Neutral, Very Good, Excellent, Outstanding.
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Owner Comments and Feedback
See details on submitting comments.
From “D.L.” (June 2014): “After 12 years it is probably past time to replace my old helmet. After looking for many months, competitor helmets just do not meet the quality and fit of a Justissimo.
The fit is excellent, after this many years the materials have not broken down, liner materials are still good as new. Vent system is the best I have worn in any helmet.
After years of use the release mechanism works as well as the first day I ever used it, drop down visor works perfectly and to this day does not have a scratch on it. I love the flip face helmet.
It’s nice to be able to stop for gas flip the face and see what you are doing, be able to get a drink going down the road.
All I can hope for is that Caberg has not made any changes in a perfect helmet.”
From “M.C.” (August 2012): “Hi, I bought one of the U.S. distributed helmets. Wore it about an hour. Loved the ability to open it and cool off or holler over to a riding buddy. I put it on the next day and had to take it off in less than 30 seconds.
My chin apparently rubbed against the chin bar the day before.
Trying helmets on is a lot like trying ski boots on: you need to bring a book, wear them an hour or so, take you boots off and look for the red pressure points. But you can’t with a helmet.
Normally I wear a Shoei RF900 in XL. Not a perfect fit, but it is comfortable enough to take for a two week road trip once in a while.”
Editor’s Note: If you’re still wearing that RF-900, time for a new helmet, that one is 3 generations old! See the Shoei RF-1100 review.
From “R.B.” (August 2012): “Your contributor makes some excellent points regarding the weight of flip front helmets, and I agree that my spine and neck muscles were not actually designed to carry an additional 1.75 kg.
Personally I think all the helmets available to the average motorcyclist are far too heavy and may actually constitute a danger in themselves, not that I would consider riding without one.
I’ve worn glasses all my life and for the first 20 years of riding a motorcycle I never had any problems with getting a helmet to fit, but this was before the massive increase in padding and shell size.
I have tried to buy a non flip front helmet but I simply cannot get my glasses to slide in to locate properly, and this is after specifically buying frames with slimmest arms I could!
Perhaps my head is an unusual shape, I don’t know, but for me it’s either a flip front or an open face helmet, and I do rather value my lower jaw. Perhaps there is a case for a rethink in helmet protection and design?”
Editor’s Note: Be sure to read our Randolph Engineering Aviator eyeglasses review. They were specifically designed to fit inside helmets and have been used by the U.S. military for many years.
Also, note that helmet weight is only one factor; fit, balance and aerodynamics are all important and can help to make a helmet feel comfortable when riding.
From “D.W.” (August 2012): “I was reading the review of the Caberg Justissimo GT helmet and I realized that for the life of me, I can’t figure out why people buy flip up helmets.
In my years of riding, the only thing about helmets that I have come to believe is that lighter is better. I ride a cruiser/touring bike and a sport bike and I have found the lighter the helmet, the less the buffeting and the longer I can ride without fatigue.
Even though the difference between the lightest helmets and the heaviest is less than 2 pounds, it makes a material difference.
When I first started riding, I bought the best helmet I could afford (a KBC). There were lighter helmets on the market, but I did not want to pony up the extra money for what I felt would not be a big difference.
I am 5’10” and 190 pounds and I did not believe that an extra 10-20 ounces on my head would make any difference. I was completely wrong.
Which brings me full circle to the flip up helmets. They are almost always heavier than a full face helmet and except for a couple of exceptions, you can’t (shouldn’t) ride with the shield in the “up” position.
So what benefits are you buying? I can communicate completely in my full face helmets and it is not so difficult to remove the helmet to have a drink or snack. Just my two cents.”