Product Review: 6D ATS-1R Helmet

I’ve been rocking the 6D helmet for a month now and it’s safe to say I’m pretty damn impressed with it. Everything from comfort to minimal wind noise made the ATS-1R the perfect lid for road riding and a great companion for the daily rider…

Zane recently put some km’s in with the 6D ATS-1R helmet on-board the KYMCO DT X360…

Read Zane’s review of the KYMCO DT X360 here…

One perk in my line of work is that I’m never stuck with an old helmet. At most, I’ll wear a lid for a year before changing it up to something else. This means it takes a lot for me to notice an outstanding helmet when I wear it, enter the ATS-1R.

Subtle in the dark.

Then the light hits to show off the carbon fibre!

The ATS-1R is my first helmet from the 6D brand so I was eager to give it a go. As I said in my first impressions of the lid, the solid colour is not something I’d usually go for but after taking it out in the sun and seeing the transition to un-hidden carbon fibre looked spectacular!

“Clicking the dark smoke tinted visor added to the stealth look, matching this with a black jacket, black gloves and black jeans completed my “invisibility cloak” for drivers.”

The helmet itself isn’t that light despite its carbon fibre shell. The XL weighed in at 1640grams, which is actually heavier than the helmet I had on rotation last, the AGV K3 S-V, which doesn’t have a carbon fibre construction and is over $600 cheaper than the ATS-1R. With that being said, the 6D ATS-1R doesn’t feel heavy at all and allows for plenty of easy movement.

Zane noted that wind-noise was minimal when cruising down the freeway. A track day would be the true test…

On the road and the tinted visor, which comes anti-fog, was awesome. Usually in the colder months, I’ll have to flip my visor open to stop it from fogging up but the dark smoked visor didn’t fog up no matter how hard I tried! Wind noise is at a minimum, I would’ve loved to try it at a track day as there’s a visor lock on the side which seals the lid off to the world.

Large, top intake vent.

Plenty of exhaust vents.

Light Smoke Visor.

Dark Smoke Visor.

I started to get a little bit hot in the helmet even with all the vents open. When I was blowing into the top open vents and I couldn’t feel any breeze on my hand inside the lid, but, when you blow into the exhaust vents, you can feel it. It may be that 6D have tried to maximise the dispersing of air throughout the interior but it seems to have minimised the airflow. I’ll have to check back in the summer months but the fact that the lid is black, you might get a bit hot while riding on a sunny summer day.

In terms of general comfort, the 6D ATS-1R shines. I have a big head so I wear an XL and it fit me perfectly, I’ve had some lids the same size that have squished up against my cheeks and some that I’ve had to send back for a bigger one. But, even with my glasses on, the removable padding doesn’t squash my cheeks and my chin doesn’t poke out at the bottom.

Interior padding is interchangeable for a custom fit.

Fabric chin cover.

The ATS-1R is the first helmet I’ve had that has a a fabric guard under the chin, wow what a difference this makes in terms of comfort. The guard essentially seals your head off into its own little cockpit, this minimises wind noise too and eliminated the need for my usual neck sock on cold days.

If you’re looking for the maximum amount of safety for a reasonable price, make sure you add the 6D ATS-1R to your shopping list.

All up, the 6D ATS-1R is a comfortable, super safe (check out the tech talk below for all the safety info) and good all-round lid. It wouldn’t be my first pick based on looks but I’m glad I was given the chance to test it out. I’m looking forward to putting in a few more KM with it and installing the Cardo Spirit HD intercom system that rocked up in my mailbox today.

RRP of $999.95.

Great for cold winter months!

At $999.95 there’s a few helmets that have most of the same features for a fraction of the price but the 6D safety system seems like it’s definitely worth the money. A nice livery on this would do it a world of good, maybe I’ll use it as a base for a custom paint job as it currently sits on my helmet rotation as my go-kart race lid…

Tech Talk
The brand name name “6D” is a reference to the engineering term 6 Degrees of Freedom, which refers to the ability to move three dimensionally on the X,Y and Z axis, including rotation about each axis. The Omni-Directional Suspension system utilises this term to maximise its ability to absorb and mitigate energy. Read further into their Omni-Directional Suspension system here.

This impact system is improved over the last model ATS-1R, with the new design taking heavy inspiration from the ATR-2 motocross helmet. For 2022, 6D have shed 200 grams off the total weight with the new lid weighing in at 1560 grams (medium).

For comfort, they’ve redesigned the shield base plates for an improved feeling and seal.  The fitment as a whole has been improved thanks to a larger shell opening and cheek pad shape, combined with a new chin curtain and neck cuff. The internal breath guard directs fresh air up the inside of the shield, while exhausting breath down and out to reduce fogging.

Gloss Black.

Grey.

Gloss White.

Gloss Silver.

6D know not everyone’s head is the shape, so they have multiple pad options available to help you feel comfortable. All of these features are wrapped up neatly in a 3K carbon fibre shell with three visor options: clear, light smoke and dark smoke. All of which are VESC-8 certified and anti-scratch. A clear Pinlock 120 anti-fog insert is also included. 

The 6D ATS-1R is available now at your local motorcycle store or through McLeod’s Accessories for an RRP of $999.95 in a choice of gloss black, matte black, gloss silver, grey and gloss white.

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