Shoei's X-Eleven has one of the top road racing helmets on the market since it hit the scene in 2003. For 2010, Shoei has a new helmet that improves on the X-Eleven, and it's called the X-Twelve.

The new road helmet has a QRSA (Quick Release Self-Adjusting) Base Plate System that is an update on the previous QRBP (Quick Release Base Plate) system. The new system has Shoei's patented new spring-loaded technology, which eliminates the need to adjust base plates for proper sealing. Every time the shield is lowered, the spring-loaded base plates pull the shield back to contact the window beading evenly, ensuring a wind and waterproof seal.

The all-new CW-1 Shield on the X-Twelve is both wider and taller than the CX-IV that it replaces. In addition, the CW-1 shield protects Shoei riders from 99 percent of the sun's damaging UVA and UVB rays, and its three-dimensional injection-molding process is made to give distortion-free vision. Another advantage of the CW-1 shield is its ability to work in conjunction with Shoei's optional pinlock system. The lens of the new pinlock system is also larger, and extends to very top of the helmet's larger eye port.

Designed with ease of use in mind, Shoei's new CWF-1 "racing" shields provide a flat surface to accommodate racing tearoffs. Previously, the QRBP system required a careful adjustment to accommodate these flat shields while still ensuring a tight seal between the shield and the helmet's window beading. With our new QRSA base plate system, however, the shield now automatically adjusts itself to make a perfect seal with the beading, making it much easier for riders to change between flat CWF-1 racing shields and the more optically correct, three-dimensionally curved CW-1 shields. Additionally, newly-designed tearoff buttons allow for tearoff tension to be adjusted without tools, making it much easier and quicker to install racing tearoffs.

The heart of any motorcycle helmet is its shell, and the X-Twelve features an all-new Snell M2010-approved AIM+ shell equipped with the new Aero Edge Spoiler 2 that is designed to reduce lift at high speeds and minimize the aerodynamic drag coefficient of both the rider and their motorcycle. The X-Twelve has five shell sizes spanning its range of XS-XXL.

Shoei engineers improved on the ventilation system from the X-Eleven, and gave the X-Twelve five intake and 10 exhaust vents, making it the most aggressively-ventilated helmet Shoei has ever produced. It also has new Side Extractor Vents developed by Shoei's MotoGP racing service to help clear warm, humid air from the racer's face to increase comfort and reduce fogging.

The X-Twelve's Dual-Layer EPS Liner not only provides enhanced impact absorption, it is designed to allow cooling air to travel unrestricted through tunnels created in the EPS liner, further enhancing the X-Twelve's unmatched ventilation characteristics.

Shoei understands that safety and comfort are interrelated. If a helmet provides a comfortable environment, it allows the rider to focus on the task at hand. The X-Twelve is equipped with a fully removable, washable, and replaceable 3D Max Dry liner. Shoei's says its proprietary Max Dry material has been proven to absorb and dissipate sweat two-times faster than traditional nylon interiors. In addition, the X-Twelve's interior components are three-dimensionally shaped to match the contours of a rider's head, for comfort and to keep it firmly in place at high rates of speed.

Borrowing technology developed for Shoei's VFX-W motocross helmet, Shoei equipped the X-Twelve with it exclusive EQRS (Emergency Quick Release System) that allows emergency medical personnel to easily remove the cheek pads from an injured rider's helmet. With the cheek pads removed, the helmet can be more easily removed from an injured rider's head.

The X-Twelve also includes a removable breath guard and chin curtain to complete the comfort package.