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Review of the Scorpion Exo GT920 motorcycle helmet.
Scorpion Exo make some great performing mid-price motorcycle helmets.
There’s the composite fiber Scorpion Exo T1200 street helmet that uses Scorpion’s air fit system to really tailor the fit.
Or there’s their top-flight sports touring Scorpion Exo ST 1400 that’s super lightweight with a Pinlock and EQRS thrown in.
And there’s even the cool/wacky Scorpion Exo Convert that’s really an open face helmet that wants you to look like stormtrooper.
And all of these can be had for waaay less than the price of even an entry-level premium helmet (like the Arai Regent X).
So if you’re after buying an all rounder modular helmet but don’t want to pay much, then Scorpion’s gotta be well worth a look. And when their GT920 model is a sportsbike-derived helmet with all the potential for cool looks and great aero that brings, then you’ve gotta raise at least an eyebrow, right?
- Modular Helmet
- Polycarbonate shell
- Sportsbike aero and styling
- 2 Shell sizes
- Everclear treated faceshield
- Integral sun visor
- double-d ring fastener
- Size XS-XXXL
- 5 year warranty
- Expect to pay $220-$250
Looking to buy a Scorpion Exo GT920?
The GT920’s now been discontinued, but the last time we checked it was still available on Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion GT920 helmet page, and if you buy from them, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
Overall/Summary
The Scorpion Exo GT920 is a well liked flip-front helmet that’s excellent value for money.
OK it’s a polycarbonate – AKA plastic – helmet, but that just means it’s got a lower price on the ticket. Plus it’s got some great features such as its excellent anti-fog faceshield system together with a hyper-useful integral drop down sun visor.
The chin bar system is real easy to use too and the helmet’s pretty lightweight (for a modular) and does a reasonable job at keeping things quiet as well.
On the downside, there are one or two question marks about the sizing and you might find the cheekpads a bit of a squeeze. Plus, in the UK the 920 was SHARP safety tested where it scored only 2 stars (*though we can’t know if their 920 differs from the US GT920).
If you can get over that safety rating, what owners love is the fact that the Scorpion Exo GT920 works well as a daily helmet for not very much money at all. And if that’s what you’re after from your next flip-up helmet, then by all means take a look at the Scorpion GT920.
You’ll find other suggestions either on our Top 10 Modular Helmets pages or check the bottom of the page for other suggested alternative helmets.
Safety
(more about helmet safety)
OK, so you buy a helmet to protect your head. So let’s look at the basics.
It’s a polycarbonate helmet which is the cheapest helmet material. But that’s OK as many polycarbonate helmets offer amazing protection – it’s just it’s to cheaper to manufacture a helmet using plastic, so the shelf price is less.
It’s made in two shell sizes which isn’t the best for looks or fitment (and hence safety) but at this price point, that’s no massive surprise.
But it does have dual density EPS shock absorbing lining inside, designed to absorb higher and lower speed impact forces.
More expensive helmets have an even wider range of EPS densities in there and some even have slip-plane internals to reduce the rotational forces that can injure your neck or brain (such as the Bell Qualifier MIPS or 6D ATS-1).
But for a lower priced helmet, the EPS on the GT920 is fairly typical.
It’s kept on your head by a good old fashioned double-d ring fastener. These are as old as the hills but they’re simple tech and most of us find them easy to use – though not as easy as quick-release micrometric fasteners.
Obviously, the GT920 is a modular helmet and that moveable chin guard is a potentially weak point. It needs to be well constructed to be secure so it’s good to see the Scorpion uses a metal locking mechanism.
The GT920 is DOT certified so should give a decent overall level of protection. But it hasn’t been Snell certified (contrary to some reports, modular helmets can be Snell certified – just that none have been yet!).
We might be able to get some more insight into the level of protection the GT920 offers by looking over to Europe, where the UK version of the GT920 (sold as the plain Scorpion 920) was tested by the independent helmet testing crew at SHARP.
When they test, they record how often that chin bar lock stays securely locked and score it as a percentage.
The score for the Scorpion Exo 920 was that the chin bar remained locked and closed 90% of the time.
That’s actually a pretty good score when you’re looking across all tested modulars – the lowest recorded score is 23% for a long-obsolete Duchinni.
But it’s up to you to decide if a 10% failure rate is good enough for you. That score means the chin bar lock became unlocked around 3 times during its 32 impact tests.
Overall the UK Scorpion 920 scored two stars for safety (out of 5). We don’t have any information about whether the US GT920 differs from the UK 920 other than they have different fasteners. But that 2/5 safety score really ain’t the best.
As you can see from their 8.5 M/s test results, it’s dropping marks for side impact protection – probably where the chin bar mechanism sits – and the forehead protection ain’t great either.
As I say, we can’t be sure the US helmet is identical to the UK helmet as manufacturers do sometimes change things a little – and indeed we do know that the chin strap locks and face shields are different between the helmets.
If that score’s a concern for you, you might want to take a look at our Top 10 best rated modular helmets list instead – or check out some of our recommended alternatives at the bottom of the review.
Helmet Noise
(more about helmet noise)
Because it’s been designed to look a bit like a sportsbike helmet with a large rear spoiler and head-down aggressive looks, that should mean the GT920 has a slippery shape and that can equate to a quiet helmet.
Couple that with relatively plush comfort padding and only a couple of air vents (more air vents means more noise inside the helmet) and things are looking up for noise in the GT920.
On the flip side, it’s a modular helmet and that generally means it’s gonna be noisier than your typical full face helmet – though of course it’ll always be quieter than an open face helmet.
With the GT920, it seems the two cancel each other (modular v good aero) out because owners seem to rate the Scorpion GT920 about average for noise suppression.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing because lots of flip-front helmet makers have tried and failed to make their modulars quiet, so an average score is OK.
Ventilation
(more about helmet ventilation)
There are a couple of front vents on the GT 920: a single vent on the chin bar and a single crown vent. Round the back there’s a single rear exhaust, hidden under the spoiler.
There’s also a hidden brow vent inside the helmet to try and take air that’s blown into the crown vent and push it back onto the inside of the face shield to help with demisting.
Both front vents are covered large panel rockers – press one end to open and the other end to close. They’re nothing fancy but they’re both effective and easy to find/use in gloves.
A couple of useful links…
– All our Scorpion helmet reviews –
– Top 10 Flip-front helmets –
Inside the helmet, there’s large channels in the EPS lining, designed to circulate air front to back, and these channels correspond to large cutouts in the comfort liner to help that cooling air get through to the head.
So except for the routing of the air back onto the visor, it’s a reasonably conventional venting setup. But the question is, does it work?
Well, yeah – according to most owners, it does.
Owners of Scorpion GT920s reckon it mostly works well – it’s probably not the best venting helmet around but most owners say there’s enough air to keep them pretty cool in the summer and, coupled with the anti-fog coating on the faceshield and the breath deflector, there’s enough air inside to keep the shield clear.
So it’s a thumbs up for the ventilation system on the GT920.
Shield
(more about shields)
With any helmet you buy, you need an effective face shield system. And, according to riders out there, the Scorpion Exo GT920 has pretty well covered all the bases.
The shield uses Scorpion’s Ellip-tec system which is a system that gently pulls the faceshield back towards the rubber gasket when it’s closed to keep it nicely sealed against air and water.
It’s also got toolless shield removal so you can easily swap it out using fingers and a bit of tugging, and the whole thing opens/closes on a ratchet system for those of you who like to easily position your shield at intermediate positions.
A few riders said they found the shield to be amazingly optically correct too giving them the feeling that there isn’t a shield there when riding – though Scorpion don’t make any claims about it being an optically-correct face shield.
They do however say it gives 100% UVA and UVB protection which is always good to know. All polycarb visors give at least 90-95% protection because that’s the nature of polycarbonate plastic, but it’s great to see Scorpion using a visor that gives 100% protection (and actually telling us about it – because most brands don’t!).
The faceshield’s coated with an Everclear antifog coating which is designed to stop things fogging up, and owners say it works really well.
A few owners commented that it’s a nice and wide visor too, giving good wide peripheral vision which gives a nice uncluttered view of the road as well as improving safety when you’re city riding.
You’ll find the opening tab on the GT920’s shield to the left hand side – we’d prefer one one each side or a central one so you can easily open the shield at stop lights if you’ve got the clutch in.
But we’re getting into niggles here because word is that Scorpion’s done a great job with the shield system on the GT920.
Sun Visor
(more about sun visors)
Same goes for the integral sun visor.
OK, there’s one or two people saying the sun visor could do with being darker, but there’s rules about how dark sun visors can be out of the box, so that’s not really Scorpion’s fault.
Other than that, people reckon it drops down nice and low and the slider is easy to find right behind that left hand shield pivot – slide it back drop down and forward to push it up again, simple.
Scorpion has coated both sides of the sun visor with that Everclear antifog treatment too, which is great.
One or two folks reckon it can fog up if it’s really cold so it sounds like they’ve not got it cracked entirely, but same goes for most sun visors when it gets really cold or humid.
Other than that, it seems like the sun visor on the Scorpion GT920 is right up there with some of the best.
Chin Guard
(more about chin guards)
Like most chin guards you’ll find on modular helmets, the chin guard on the Scorpion Exo GT920 flips up to just above the line of sight. It’s not a flip up where the chin bar rotates to the back of the helmet like the LS2 Valiant or Shark Evo One 2.
It was however designed so you can ride with the chin bar up if you like – as it’s dual homologated in Europe. Just make sure you don’t try and flip the bar up when you’re on the move as that’s gonna end in tears – and probably much worse.
The locking mechanism for the chin bar uses a single central button just underneath the bar, so you can press the button in and move the chin bar up in one easy move using one hand. Owners say it’s really easy to use, even in gloves.
And it has a metal locking mechansm to make sure it’s robust enough in an impact. In fact, SHARP tested the locking mechanism during its independent impact testing and found it stayed locked in 90% of their impact tests.
The average score across all tested modular helmets is actually 80% so it’s well above average there.
Whether it’s above average enough for you and your safety is another matter. I’ve gotta say I’d want a score of 100% (minimum!) from my modular.
Where a modular helmet’s scored maximum marks for this, we always include the figure in the helmet review.
Comfort and Sizing
(more about comfort and sizing)
The Scorpion Exo GT920 uses Scorpion’s KwickWick2 liner which is a comfortable and hard wearing fabric that’s both anti-microbial and moisture wicking.
It’s fully removable and the cheek pads incorporate grooves for glasses so you can wear your specs or shades without them digging in (Scorpion calls this Kwikfit tech).
Owners of the GT920 reckon that overall it’s a nice comfy helmet and glasses wearers say the glasses grooves make things nice and easy too.
But there are couple of things riders say you need to watch out for.
First up, the sizing. While most folks say it’s about right (so measure your head and order the appropriate size) quite a few owners say they’re sized really small and had to order a size larger than normal.
So if you’re looking to order one online, it might be worth ordering both sizes and sending one back? Just a thought.
Secondly, quite a few owners also said that the cheek pads can feel really tight when you first get it.
Most will bed in over the first few weeks but if they’re still too tight, you can buy thinner replacements from Scorpion.
The overall fitment shape of the GT920 is medium oval so it should suit most of us. Get all these right and most owners find the GT920 a very comfortable helmet indeed.
Looks & Graphics
Most of the colorways of the Scorpion Exo GT920 are pretty muted with a cement grey being the only other plain solid color available, apart from the usual blacks and whites.
There’s a few colorways available in the Shuttle, Satellite and Unit graphics though. We’ve sprinkled some examples up and down the page, but to see other colorways and any new graphics that’ve been released since we wrote this review (and to find any deals that’re going on) please click to visit our recommended stores using the links below.
Best places to buy a Scorpion Exo GT920?
The GT920’s now been discontinued, but the last time we checked it was still available on Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion GT920 helmet page, and if you buy from them, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
Scorpion Exo GT920 Video
This 8m video gives you a decent look around a solid black GT920.
Other stuff – fasteners, audio, weight, build quality, warranty
In the US, the GT920 comes with a double-d ring fastener, unlike other territories that get the micrometric strap. Double-d’s are pretty simple and reliable though, and they’re very secure as long as you make sure you do it up nice and tight every trip.
Inside the GT920, there’s speaker cutouts for your bluetooth set. They’re not massively deep, so you might struggle a bit with older kits, but in our research we found users with Sena SMH10, 10s and a Cardo G4 fitting their bluetooths without a problem.
Weight shouldn’t be a problem either because even though modulars tend to be on the weightier side, the GT920 is only about 3.5lbs (1.6Kg) which is below average for a modular helmet.
If you’re looking for a helmet that’s well built – and who isn’t – then word from owners is that the Scorpion GT920 uses good quality materials and it’s put together well. Even though it’s a lower price helmet, it’s well finished and owners seem to be happy with the build quality.
Finally, the Scorpion Exo GT920 comes with a full 5 year warranty. That’s excellent and should cover you for most of the life of the helmet.
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Good Alternatives to the Scorpion Exo GT920?
If you like the idea of a modular helmet that works on a sportsbike, then AGV’s SportModular was made for you. It’s way more expensive than the GT920 but it’s a carbon fiber lightweight flip-up helmet with 5 layer EPS and SHARP 4 star safety rating.
Or there’s the Evo-One 2 from French maker, Shark. It scored well in safety testing, comes with a Pinlock antifog and the chin bar spins round to the back of the helmet for a real 3/4 helmet feel.
For something that’s even cheaper than the Scorpion, HJC’s IS Max II is great value and comes with a sun visor, though it’s heavier than the GT920.
Looking to buy a Scorpion Exo GT920?
The GT920’s now been discontinued, but the last time we checked it was still available on Amazon. Please click below to drop onto their Scorpion GT920 helmet page, and if you buy from them, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).
