Brushed is the finish that makes this helmet look like a piece of machined metal rather than a painted shell — a matt grey with a directional texture, which on a café-racer silhouette is exactly the right reference.

A café-racer jet — and which generation this is

🔵 Check which generation a review describes. The earlier Le Mans 2 SV, distributed through Oxford and covered by the motorcycle press, held ECE 22.05. The Le Mans 2 SV S on this page holds the current 22.06.

Both look similar and they are not the same helmet. The current standard tests at more impact points and higher speeds, and adds a rotational assessment the older one did not include.

About the Brushed A2 finish

A brushed effect works here for the same reason bare metal works on a classic motorcycle: it reads as material rather than as decoration, and it sits with chrome, alloy and unpainted components in a way a colour never quite does. On a plain unbroken dome with no vent hardware to interrupt it, that texture is also the only styling available — there is nothing else on this shell for a design to sit on. The practical case is separate and strong. Grey sits at the value where city road film, dust and dried rain all show least, which makes this the lowest-maintenance finish of the three; and it is meaningfully more visible than black in the flat overcast light a European city supplies for most of the year. 🔵 Like every matt finish it is washed rather than polished. The brushed texture also holds fine dust slightly more than a smooth matt would — a rinse rather than a wipe is the right approach.

What an open-face helmet does and does not do

🔵 A helmet carrying two approval marks — ECE 22.06 and DOT — can look comprehensively protective. Both certify this helmet as an open-face, on schedules that do not test a chin bar because there is none to test.

If chin coverage matters to you, MT's Jarama SV is a retro full-face with the same styling language and an actual chin bar.

HIRP and 1125 grams

🔵 What a thermoplastic shell means in practice: it is injection-moulded rather than laid up by hand, which makes it cheaper to produce and heavier than a composite of equal strength. It also makes it very consistent, because the process is machine-controlled.

On a jet the weight penalty barely registers — at 1125 g this is a helmet you stop noticing within minutes.

The drop-down sun visor

Sunset on a westbound commute is the condition that decides whether a sun visor was worth having, and it is precisely the condition a fixed tinted visor handles worst — half an hour later it is dark and you cannot see through it.

🔵 A drop-down shield retracts in a second and costs you nothing when it is up.

Why there is no intercom here

🔵 Worth stating twice because it is unusual: most helmets at this price are at least intercom-ready. The Le Mans 2 SV S is explicitly not, and MT says so in its own specification.

You can fit a universal system to almost any helmet, but without recesses the speakers sit against the padding — and on a shell this compact there is little room for them.

The MT-Micrometric+ closure

🔵 A loose strap is the most common way a helmet fails to do its job, and on an open-face it matters more than usual — there are no full cheek pads gripping the jaw to help hold the helmet in place.

Correct tension: one finger under the strap with the helmet on, and no more.

Interior, comfort and washing

Comfort on an open-face is decided at the edge rather than in the padding. The rim runs across your cheekbones and around your jaw, in full view and in constant contact — a hard or badly finished one is unbearable within twenty minutes.

🔵 Being able to remove and wash the parts that touch your face is what keeps that bearable over years.

Choosing the right size

🔵 Fit is the specification that matters most and the one no description can settle for you. On a jet a badly fitting helmet shows itself faster than on a full-face, because there is no chin bar spreading the load across your head.

Try it on and keep it on for ten minutes. Pay attention to where it presses.

Where it sits in MT's range

🔵 If you want the same period styling with a chin bar, MT's Jarama SV is the retro full-face — 38 € more, 350 g heavier, and it covers your jaw. That is the single largest protective difference available in this part of the range.

Both hold ECE 22.06 and DOT approval.

When something wears out

🔵 Replacement cheek pads are the most useful spare part on any helmet and the least often bought. They correct a fit that has loosened with wear and solve a hot spot that would otherwise mean a different helmet entirely.

Genuine MT pads and complete linings for the Le Mans 2 SV S are available.

In the box

• MT Le Mans 2 SV S helmet — Brushed A2 (HIRP shell)
• Visor, fitted
• Integrated drop-down sun visor, fitted
• 🔵 No intercom provision — MT states this helmet is not intercom-compatible

Size guide

Specification

• Model — MT-Helmets Le Mans 2 SV S (OF507SV)
• Part number — 1339D01A2203
• Colour — Brushed A2 — Matt grey, brushed effect
• Homologation — ECE 22.06 and DOT
• 🔴 Generation note — the previous Le Mans 2 SV held ECE 22.05. This is the current „S" model on the 22.06 standard — a different helmet, and older reviews do not describe it
• 🔴 Chin protection — none — this is an open-face jet and has no chin bar
• 🔴 Safety rating — none — SHARP does not lab-rate open-face jets; no ADAC or Snell entry, and no published test of the current model
• Helmet type — Jet / open-face, café-racer styling for urban and scooter use
• Shell — HIRP (High Impact Resistant Polymer)
• Weight — 1125 g — one of the lightest helmets in MT's range
• Sizes — XS to XXL (six sizes)
• Sun visor — integrated drop-down shield
• Retention — MT-Micrometric+ closure
• Interior — fully removable and washable
• 🔴 Communication — not intercom-compatible. MT states this explicitly — there is no designed-in provision, no speaker recesses and no cable routing
• Other — MT lists the model under its EcoConscious programme — a materials and production commitment rather than a performance claim
• Impact liner — expanded polystyrene — crushes once and does not recover; replace the helmet after any real impact
• Serviceability — visor, sun shield, cheek pads and complete lining available separately
• Manufacturer — MT-Helmets (MT Helmets, Spain)
• Replacement guidance — after around five years of use regardless of condition, and immediately after any impact

• 1x MT Le Mans 2 SV S helmet
• 1x protective bag
• User manual and MT Helmets stickers