The Scorpion GT920 flip-up is new for 2016.
It’s a good-looking helmet that could easily be mistaken for a full-face.
That goes for both looks and performance.
It has a super-plush interior, with very thick padding.
That makes it comfortable (as long as your head shape matches) and helps control noise.
The GT920 helmet shell comes in 3 sizes to span the head size range, which is unusual for a flip-up in this price range.
The eye port provides good outward visibility although the optical quality of the face shield could be better.
The helmet has a tight fit on the sides due to the thick cheek pads.
You may have to go one size up or buy the optional thinner cheek pads.
But all told, the Scorpion GT920 is a very nice flip-up helmet that feels “de Luxe” in everything except the price.
Scorpion GT920 Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality
The GT920 is a “mid-range” flip-up helmet with features that belie it’s reasonable list price of $209.95.
Scorpion helmets have typically excellent quality overall and our GT920 is no exception.
The color choices are limited to black, matte black and white or a GT920 in “Satellite” graphics — black with just a few thin lines of yellow, red or silver.
For some odd reason, flip-up motorcycle helmets generally have the colors more suited to funeral duty than motorcycle riding so if you want “high viz” with your GT920, the closest you’ll come is the all-white version.
That’s OK with us however, as the white paint on this one is flawless without any of the imperfections, dust bits, runs or drips you might expect on a two-hundred-buck helmet.
And hey — white is supposed to be one of the most visible colors anyway, right? And you can always add some bright reflective stickers for more.
The best part about the GT920 — besides the overall styling, which also shows itself to best advantage in the white version — is the interior.
The padding feels “a mile deep”, making this one comfortable flip-up — much more so than just about any other flip-up helmet that comes to mind.
The only drawback to that is that Scorpion went a bit overboard with the stuffing in the cheek pads. Many owners are commenting that the cheek pads are too tight.
The solution to that is installing a thinner set, but apparently Scorpion doesn’t sell just the cheek pads.
You have to buy a replacement “KwikWick II” liner set in a thinner size and use just the cheek pads. The catch? We haven’t been able to find a KwikWick II liner set for the GT920.
And one more thing — the “EverClear” face shield isn’t quite up there with the best in terms of optical quality. It’s acceptable for a helmet in this price range but you might notice that it’s not as crystal-clear as the best.
It does include the Scorpion anti-fog coating though, so you don’t have to rely on a fussy Pinlock. It’s also treated with an anti-scratch coating and it has “100% UV-A & UV-B protection”, according to Scorpion.
Overall though, the GT920 feels solid and it has absolutely none of the typical flip-up helmet creaking and groaning noises when you move that rotating flip-up visor up or down.
Score: We rate the GT920 as “Excellent” for overall quality and feature set. See the Summary Table at the end of this page for a description of our rating system.
Scorpion GT920 Internal Shape and Helmet Fit
The GT920’s internal shape is difficult to classify because of the cheek pad issue. It’s just very slightly narrower than “Neutral” on top but the tight cheek pads make it “Narrow” along the bottom half.
Overall, we’ll score it as a “Slightly Narrow” helmet.
I (Burn) usually take a size large in a flip-up helmet and something like a Shoei Multitec (review)fits me pretty nicely.
The Scorpion GT920 in size large was too tight by what felt like nearly two sizes, especially when I closed and locked the visor.
The size XL shown here fits tight, more like a size large, and the cheek pads feel pretty tight, although my head shape narrows towards the bottom.
I think that anyone with a “square” jaw or round head may have to order one size up in the GT920.
The top part of the helmet has more room for me; I’d even call it a “Neutral” fit up top, although it still seems tight for a size XL.
By the way, the GT920 is made in 3 shell sizes to span the size range, but the size range is wider than usual for a flip-up at XS to 3XL.
Bottom line: I think this size XL fits more like a large. It should fit 59 cm to 60 cm narrower shaped heads.
UPDATE (April 2016): Scorpion just told us that new thinner cheek pads are in process and they will be available in the near future. The cheek pads will be 5 mm thinner on each side for a total of 1 cm at the cheeks. We’ll post more info as it becomes available.
More information on helmet fit can be found in the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page.
Also, see the chart that lists the helmet weights of webBikeWorld reviewed helmets and also by shape on the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.
Score: We’ll give the GT920 a “Very Good” rating for internal shape and fit that works fine as long as your head matches.
Single rocker top vent is easy to find and works well. Large single rocker chin vent flows air through a slot in the chin bar.Eye Port and Visibility
Wearing the GT920, with its snug fit and nicely padded interior, seems indistinguishable from wearing a full-face helmet and that seems to be one of the goals for Scorpion in this design.
In fact, Scorpion says the GT920 has “All the features of a modular helmet with the low profile and sleek design of a race helmet!”
That goes pretty much for the face shield also, which has very good outward visibility or sight planes that are better than the average flip-up in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
In fact, it seems easier to do an “over the shoulder head check” with the GT920 than with other flip-up helmets (like my Multitec), and that’s a definite safety advantage.
Face Shield
The face shield moves through 4 firm detents, although the first opening is 25 mm (1″), measured from the bottom rim of the face shield to the top of the chin bar.
That’s fine if you’re riding behind a windscreen — and maybe that was the planned design. But it would have been nice to have a first smaller defogging position of perhaps 5 mm or so, just enough to let in some fresh air when you’re moving slowly.
Otherwise, the operation of the face shield is fine and it removes easy enough. There are three small plastic tabs to line up when re-installing the face shield however, so you have to be a little careful, but it’s pretty easy to do.
There’s a big lift tab on the lower left, and that’s a nice feature. We’ve noticed some of the lift tabs seem to be shrinking lately on motorcycle helmets and bigger is sometimes better (to a certain point, of course).
The Scorpion “EverClear” treatment means that the face shield is anti-fog and anti-scratch coated and the anti-fog coating does seem to work pretty nicely, although we haven’t experienced the really cold and damp weather that would fully test it.
Face Shield Safety
The face shield is labeled as meeting VESC-8 standards and this one measures 2.24 mm thick. It is not designed to hold a Pinlock insert.
Wet Weather Riding?
With the face shield closed, the eye port is tightly sealed with a gasket that presses against the back of the face shield and passes our water entry test.
The face shield rotating mechanism is also spring-loaded and it pulls the face shield closed tightly against the gasket.
The top vents, chin vent and brow vent also close tightly so the GT920 is a good choice for wet-weather riding as I discovered during some light rain that we experienced recently.
Internal Sun Visor
The internal sun visor operates via an on/off slider located on the upper left, just behind the back of the face shield.
It provides a solid feel but there’s no intermediate position for the sun visor — just on or off.
The sun visor has good coverage, although it does have quite a bit of curvature along the bottom and the cutout for the nose that is in the bottom part of the line of sight. I’d prefer more of a straight cut along the bottom.
Score: We’ll give the GT920 an “Excellent” for outward visibility and the sealing performance of the face shield.
Ventilation and Exhaust
Ventilation is usually where low- to mid-range flip-up motorcycle helmets fail. But the GT920 is an exception.
Chin Vent
The chin vent is a large single rocker that’s very easy to locate when wearing gloves. It brings air in through a horizontal slot, located in the back of the chin bar up near the top.
Some air is also directed through the top of the chin bar for defogging.
Top Vent
The top vent is also a large single rocker, also easy to find and operate.
Single rocker top vents are a good idea because it makes operating the vent much easier and you don’t want to have your hand off the grip for too long, messing around with 2-3 (or more) tiny vent switches.
The top vent works exceptionally well for a flip-up helmet. It brings air in through two large holes through the EPS and the key here is the molding design, which has big channels to direct the air on to the rider’s head.
Also, the fabric liner is open along the top with matching fore/aft channels that don’t impede the air from moving along the top of the helmet.
Overall, this is an excellent design and the GT920 actually has better upper ventilation than many or even most full-face helmets.
The downside is that there is some added noise when the top vent is open, due to the way the front lip of the rocker catches the air flow.
The helmet becomes very quiet with the top vent closed however.
The rear exhaust vent is the “always open” type and that’s fine. It seems to work well.
Score: We’ll give the GT920 ventilation system and operation of the parts a score of “Excellent”.
GT920 Sound Levels
The GT920 is relatively quiet and quieter than most flip-ups, which tend to transmit more noise than full-face helmets due to the design.
The very generous padding and the snug fit along the sides certainly help in this regard. The helmet also comes with an owner-installed chin curtain, which helps to control noise from underneath.
The lower part of the helmet also helps control low-frequency noise generated from windscreen turbulence and overall, we think that the GT920 is quieter than most flip-up helmets.
Speaker and Intercom Installation
The thin bottom gasket allows most intercom helmet clamps to fit and the GT920 has built-in molded pockets in the EPS for speakers. We did not mount an intercom in the helmet but foresee no problems in doing so.
Score: We’ll give the GT920 an “Excellent” for average noise levels.
Helmet Weight
This GT920 in size XL weighs 1754 grams (3 lbs. 13-7/8 oz.), which is fairly heavy even by flip-up standards. The snug fit and good aerodynamics help to mask the weight, however.
For comparison, the Kabuto Ibuki (review) flip-up in size XL weighs 1771 in size large and theSCHUBERTH C3 (review) in size XL weighs 1709 grams.
All of these 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: The GT920 gets a “Very Good” for its weight and excellent balance.
Miscellaneous
Scorpion has a five year warranty on the GT920. The GT920 meets the DOT standard in the U.S.A.
| webBikeWorld Overall Opinionator: Scorpion GT920 | |
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| Picks… | …and Pans |
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Conclusion
The Scorpion GT920 is an excellent all-around street and touring helmet. The price is very reasonable considering the overall quality and styling.
The comfortable padding is a real plus and the helmet feels solid, unlike most or all other flip-ups in this price range.
There really isn’t much wrong with the GT920 and we’ve nitpicked it a bit. Other than offering a greater choice of colors and perhaps thinner cheek pads, there isn’t much Scorpion can or should to to change this helmet.
It’s been some time since we’ve reviewed a flip-up helmet and the GT920 basically includes everything a flip-up helmet owner would want.
See Also: Scorpion EXO-AT950 Review
(Dual-Sport version of the GT920)
| wBW Product Review: Scorpion GT920 Helmet | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: Scorpion Sports | List Price: $209.95-$219.95 |
| Colors: Solids and graphics | Made In: China |
| Sizes: XS to 3XL | Review Date: April 2016 |
| Shell Sizes: 3 | |
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Rating Scale is subjective: Unacceptable, Poor, Neutral, Very Good, Excellent, Outstanding.
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