John Doe’s JD One Helmet, the latest addition to the brand’s moto gear lineup, aims to be the only helmet you’ll ever need. The modular retro-inspired offering is now available to order at select European retailers and conforms to ECE and DOT standards.
Revealed on 24 August 2024, the JD One is the culmination of years of development and research and it’s been very well received on looks and specs alone.
Choosing a retro helmet just became a tad more difficult. Here’s a first look at the JD ONE.
JD One Helmet: The Only Helmet You’ll Ever Need?
The JD One is a beautifully proportioned retro motorcycle helmet, with a silhouette that looks like the lovechild of the Hedon Heroine 2.0 and the Shoei Glamster 06. It pays homage to classic designs of the seventies while integrating modern safety features and conveniences.
This is a significant first for the German brand (est 2001), which in the last decade especially, has built a solid reputation for vintage-inspired and urban riding moto clobber, among classic, custom and retro riders.
Here’s what you can expect from the JD/One Helmet.
JD One Helmet Multi-Lock System: 1,305 Ways to Make It Yours
Aside from its eye-catching proportions, the main draw of the JD One Helmet is its Multi-Lock System. It’s a feature that allows a rider to change the look and function of the helmet by changing accessories.
John Doe said in an Instagram post, “Our newly developed Multi-Lock system allows you to attach accessories such as sun visors, covers and visors. This allows you to customise your helmet to fit you perfectly.”
The premise is you don’t need to buy multiple helmets to match your machines or your riding style. You simply swap the visor for a sun peak and hey presto you’ve got a retro MX helmet to wear on your scrambler or (vice versa) a full-face lid on your cafe racer.
In the JD One accessories catalogue, I counted 17 visors, 6 short-peak and 6 long-peak visors with corresponding screw sets. (Five for face shields visors and the other five for long and short-peak visors.)
According to my (possibly dubious) calculations, the system allows for 85 possible face shield visor combinations plus, 30 short-peak and 30 long-peak visor setups. Meaning, each helmet offers 145 potential configurations.
Across the collection, that’s 765 face shield visor combinations and 270 combinations long and short peak visors each.
With nine helmets in the collection, there are 1,305 potential unique combinations. So it’s unlikely your mate Dave will have the same setup. Although, you are besties so he might.
JD ONE Helmet: Retro Look, Modern Tech
Like most vintage-inspired lids, the JD One Helmet combines yesteryear’s style with modern safety features. Available in nine variants including two carbon versions, visually its silhouette is reminiscent of seventies-era helmets. However, the colourways are firmly rooted in the present. I’m a fan of matt black or carbon finishes. However, the Frozen Titanium and Off-White for some reason stand out to me.
Despite the vintage looks, John Doe’s crammed as many modern features and conveniences into this bucket as possible. Firstly the fastening system is a tried-and-tested Double D-ring, checking the retro and safety box simultaneously.
Moving on to the outer shell: it’s composed of lightweight plastic-reinforced fibreglass (FRP) and carbon composite weighing in at 1.45 kg – give or take 50 grams depending on size.
Inside, you’ll find a multi-part EPS liner, with variable shock absorption capability plus an Emergency Quick Release System (EQRS), making it easier to remove the helmet safely if things go sideways. It should be noted, that just a handful of vintage helmets have this EQRS – the Shoei Glamster and its direct competitor the Arai Concept XE are among them.
Feature-Rich
There are a bunch of features that you’d expect to find on contemporary-looking lids but are sometimes missing from old-school-style helmets.
For example, they aren’t known for great ventilation. Their era-respecting design considerations (i.e. smooth domes) means limited ventilation ports.
Viewing the released images alone, John Doe has tried to address this common issue with adjustable ventilation. Two pill-shaped mesh-covered ports are placed on either side of the brow, separated by a longer mesh opening. Exhaust ports on the rear echo the front configuration.
However, there doesn’t appear to be ventilation in the chin-bar so it’ll be interesting to see how well it performs.
What about Noise?
Another retro helmet quirk is that they’re typically noisier than their modern-looking counterparts. Where the JD One Helmet appears on the noise scale, will only be revealed through a thorough road test. However, without a wind deflector, it’s likely to be similar to other retro offerings. But perhaps the tight seal between the helmet and the visor may somewhat minimise noise.
The helmet is also available in several sizes, from XS-S, M, L and XXL, with four shell sizes, so less chance of the all-too-common bobblehead look.
More importantly, multiple shell sizes combined with an intermediate shape mean it should accommodate a wide range of head shapes.
Speaker Cutouts Included
Further comfort and convenience are found in the speakers and glasses-friendly interior, along with the anti-fog, anti-scratch and UV block treatments to the visor.
John Doe elected not to utilise Pinlock, preserving the clean look of the visor. However, it says its anti-fog system is as effective; confirmed by Urban Rider.
The whole package conforms to the latest ECE 22.06 (EU) and DOT FMVSS No. 218 (US) standards, meaning riders in Europe and North America can legally use it on the streets.
JD ONE Helmet Price & Thoughts
Growing up in the eighties makes you somewhat cynical of two-in-one products. Think VCR/TV combos! Look it up or ask your Mum and Dad.
The hype rarely lived up to the promise. And neither half performed as well as a standalone product.
That said this isn’t the eighties and the JD One helmet’s not created in the same vein. Its fundamental function (protective headgear) remains the same whatever combination you choose. It’s not one minute a television and then the next minute toasting your bread.
You’re merely swapping a few components for mostly aesthetic reasons… unless you’re truly planning to go off-road. As such, you may need to consider on-road performance versus off-road more seriously.
It’s unlikely that the Multi-Lock system will be the main element that persuades riders to pick up this lid. Nor is it likely that this will be the only helmet you’ll ever want to purchase. Maybe it will, I don’t know.
The truth is most of us love buying new motorcycle helmets. So it might be a just a really cool feature on a truly gorgeous helmet.
Price
Price-wise, the ONE is incredibly competitive starting at £255 / $346 / €359 for the standard version. The carbon variant is £338 / $462 / €479.90.
Summing Up
Comparitively with so many features and great looks, the ONE ostensibly represents excellent value. Ultimately, a road test will answer that question. But in the interim, I suspect many riders will be buying this helmet.
[You can pick up the JD One Helmet at FC MOTO (a Renchlist partner) or on John Doe itself and Urban Rider amongst others (not partners).]
