Looking for motorcycle helmet

[MelloJeep]

I dont understand why people dont look at a quality helmet as a necessary piece of protective gear, Mellojeep.

How come you dont care about the helmet? They make a big different in outcomes if you drop your bike.

If I drop the bike chances are I would be dead anyway, we rode pretty hard when we did , I had a rigid back then and as soon as we got to a state where it was legal the bucket was on the headlight. Ape hangers and no motorcycle license was the recipe, we attended a funeral a year on average for folks we knew , most of them were full face helmet wearers, after a point your a projectile and a helmet doesn't do much but make you easier to identify.

[skelco]

I dont understand why people dont look at a quality helmet as a necessary piece of protective gear, Mellojeep.

How come you dont care about the helmet? They make a big different in outcomes if you drop your bike.

If I drop the bike chances are I would be dead anyway, we rode pretty hard when we did , I had a rigid back then and as soon as we got to a state where it was legal the bucket was on the headlight. Ape hangers and no motorcycle license was the recipe, we attended a funeral a year on average for folks we knew , most of them were full face helmet wearers, after a point your a projectile and a helmet doesn't do much but make you easier to identify.

good riding gear has saved me more than one trip to the hospital

[KentsOkay]

I dont understand why people dont look at a quality helmet as a necessary piece of protective gear, Mellojeep.

How come you dont care about the helmet? They make a big different in outcomes if you drop your bike.

If I drop the bike chances are I would be dead anyway, we rode pretty hard when we did , I had a rigid back then and as soon as we got to a state where it was legal the bucket was on the headlight. Ape hangers and no motorcycle license was the recipe, we attended a funeral a year on average for folks we knew , most of them were full face helmet wearers, after a point your a projectile and a helmet doesn't do much but make you easier to identify.

The one time I've crashed something that has wheels and a motor, I was wearing a heavy Bell cycling helmet. Gravel made me slip, shoulder clipped curb, head hit sidewalk, body in street. Cracked shoulder, cracked helmet, raggified tshirt, but my Wrangler jeans and face are still pretty

[Kutter_0311]

Unfortunately, I'm a bad example of good luck...

My HJC saved me by being on the left helmet hanger. I dove into a hard left going too fast, and decided to downshift in the turn. Maybe I woulda been OK if I'da let the clutch out slowwer, but that curb was getting close! Anyway, I clutched too fast in a corner, rear tire skipped and slid, and my HJC held the bike up off my leg as the big CB1100f slid away from me. My jacket was lightly rashed, and my only injury was where my knee touched down and the pavement ate through my jeans and bit me as I went down. I did most of my short slide rolling from my left side to my back, holding my head up to see where my bike went.

I got stupid lucky that time, and remain highly lucky, as little more than luck and situational awareness have kept me upright since then. I haven't been on my bike in the last 2 years, so when I get my Z-Rex out again, I'll need a good new helm for battle...

[MelloJeep]

no doubt I have had my moments and Im not trying to play to my ego I am stating the facts as they were when me and my buds rode.

[bucho]

I dont understand why people dont look at a quality helmet as a necessary piece of protective gear, Mellojeep.

How come you dont care about the helmet? They make a big different in outcomes if you drop your bike.

I agree w/ you, I'm a full face or MX helmet wearing guy. Along w/ head to toe space suit riding gear. (Aerostich Roadcrafter when I'm riding on the road)

That said, if people are just gonna wear brain buckets I think they might as well wear nothing. Motorcycles are dangerous either way. I think people should be able to kill themselves if they want.
Though I feel they should be organ donars if they don't wear helmets.

[MelloJeep]

I always have been a donar and I would rather not have worn one but its the lame law here, so bucket it up.

[crypto]

I agree w/ you, I'm a full face or MX helmet wearing guy. Along w/ head to toe space suit riding gear. (Aerostich Roadcrafter when I'm riding on the road)

That said, if people are just gonna wear brain buckets I think they might as well wear nothing. Motorcycles are dangerous either way. I think people should be able to kill themselves if they want.
Though I feel they should be organ donars if they don't wear helmets.

At my MSF class before I got my license, I remember seeing a statistical diagram of where damage was likely to occur on a human head in a motorcycle wreck. I distinctly remember seeing 20% on either cheek and like almost% on the chin.

That was enough to make me a believer in a full-face helmet.


I dont have a power ranger suit, partially because I dont want to drop the coin, but I do always wear sturdy pants, a jacket with inserts, boots and gloves.

When I dropped my last bike, I slid out on my side and wrecked a boot, my pants and the sleeve of my jacket. I broke a rib and my foot, but only had a bit of rash where I ground through the jacket.

All in all, a good outcome. But I was only going about 30 when I laid it down.

[Braticus Caticus]

+ a googleplex on a quality full face helmet, because among other things you want to keep the Le Fort Zombies at bay.

[ShortFieldBreak]

I'm a big fan of the full face helmet. I actually have a spare if you need one. I have a Shoei full face, and an Arai full face dual sport. PM me if you're interested. I'm sure we could figure something out. Fit is crucial though.

-SFB

[Zombland]

I've used a variety of high-end helmets in my riding, once I re-entered the riding scene (I was about 40 years old, then, I guess, after about 20 years off bikes).

Started with a Schuberth C3 (may be wrong on the model), it was a flip-up. Very pricey, and for a long time stopped being imported into the US, but I hear they are available again. It had a seat-belt type chin strap, rather than the more customary D-ring arrangement, and I grew to hate it. Also, I saw a Schuberth that had been recovered from a crash where the rider survived but in which the chin piece had been broken off at the hinges. Ugh. So, time for a switch.

Went through a variety of Arai helmets, including the high-end Corsair. Very, very happy with all of them, very comfortable, relatively light, great ventilation, loved the way the visor could be easily snapped on/off (clear versus tinted visor). Very pricey. Couldn't wear their dual-sport helmet because it was the wrong head shape for me. The Arai's were great, but then I saw Long Way Round and of course I had to get a "real" dual sport helmet.

Got a Shoei Hornet DS, which I still use to this day. Pretty pricey, think I paid $500 or so of it. Weakness as a true DS helmet is that the beak on top isn't really long enough to serve the intended purpose, but otherwise the helmet is perfectly comfortable (for my head). On the more serious down side, the Hornet DS fogs like crazy in cold weather. Just a couple of weeks ago I managed to get a pin lock visor and insert for it (had to order the insert from the UK, by the way, you shouldn't trust the Amazon vendors claiming to sell the Hornet DS insert in the US, they'll send you the wrong insert). With the correct DS insert in place, it's a changed helmet--fogs all around the insert, but the center area of the visor covered by the insert is perfectly clear. Amazing, really.

(I should mention my bike is an R1200GS Adventure, which has a substantial windscreen and protects the rider very well from air flow. A smaller screen arrangement which allowed more airflow over the rider might allow more air into the Hornet DS to limit fogging. Couldn't say, as I've only ever used the Hornet DS on this bike.)

I live in New England, and ride all winter, using electric gear when the temps get below freezing (usually just jacket and gloves, but pants and socks if things get into single digits and I know I'll be on the road for hours or more--I've done numerous rides where I've spent 15+ hours per day on the bike, for several days at a time--Boston-Oregon, Boston-Denver (winter ride), Maastricht-Pizza, Minuteman 1000 24-hour rally, etc.), so the whole fogging visor thing really made things interesting, especially at night. Very, very happy to have clear visibility again.

[bucho]

Hey Zombieland. I'm a dirt and street rider, and have dirt and street helmets. I've never worn one of the "dualsport" type helmets like the Hornet. What benefits does the Hornet have over a regular full face street helmet?

I know when I wear my dirt helmet it feels lighter weight, lets in more air to keep me cooler, and I like wearing goggles to keep dust out of my eyes.

[Zombland]

Hey Zombieland. I'm a dirt and street rider, and have dirt and street helmets. I've never worn one of the "dualsport" type helmets like the Hornet. What benefits does the Hornet have over a regular full face street helmet?

I know when I wear my dirt helmet it feels lighter weight, lets in more air to keep me cooler, and I like wearing goggles to keep dust out of my eyes.

To me the biggest (hoped for) advantages were (1) the visor on top of the helmet, and (2) the "beak" portion of the helmet around the mouth area.

(1) The visor is important to me because I often take very long rides, 12-15 hours + in a day, so by definition I'm on the road around sunrise and sunset, when the sun is low to the horizon. I don't like using a tinted visor or sunglasses, which leaves me very open to glare during those time periods. I had hoped the visor would let me tilt my head a bit and keep the sun out of my eyes. Unfortunately, the visor on the Hornet DS isn't really long enough for this purpose. Other DS helmets have longer visors. The obvious downside of a long visor is that if you're riding the slab at 80+ mph and your visor catches a good chunk of air, it's likely to be uncomfortable--a problem not encountered running at the lower speeds common to the "dirt" part of the dual-sport paradigm. On my GSA the wind protection is so good that I'd be better off with the longer visor.

(2) The increased area around the mouth (relative to street helmets) is important to me because it allows me to get a CamelBak tube or mints or whatever into my mouth while riding. With the 8.5+ gallons of gas on my GSA I can easily ride for 5 or so hours between fill-ups, and I need to be able to stay hydrated while the wheels are spinning. It's possible to get a hose into a street helmet, but the DS helmet makes it a bit easier.

I've done many thousands of miles of long rides with a street helmet (mostly an Arai Corsair, really a track-day helmet), as well as a DS helmet. The Arai is a very high end helmet (read "expensive", "well ventilated", and "light"), and I don't find that much difference in weight or comfort between the Corsair and the Hornet--I can wear both for many hours at a time without concern, indeed on long rides it feels weird to finally set up camp and not be wearing the helmet (if it's raining, I just leave the helmet on while I set my stuff up). I modestly prefer the DS helmet, but I'm not sure I'd recommend spending the money to move form one to the other. If you already have a street helmet you're happy with, not that much reason to switch to a DS helmet. (Unless you like to use goggles while riding, as you've indicated--the visor "cut out" on the DS helmets is much better suited to wearing goggles than is that of a street helmet.)

Given that you already have both street and dirt helmets I'm not sure you need anything else. One aspect of the Hornet I do like is that it is equipped with a visor--are your dirt helmets equipped with any visor?--which I find much more suitable than goggles for long slab rides. But that's a personal preference thing, I would expect.

Oh, of course, one more benefit of the DS helmet is that you can't really "feel" like Charlie and Ewan wearing a street helmet, now can you.

[bucho]

Given that you already have both street and dirt helmets I'm not sure you need anything else. One aspect of the Hornet I do like is that it is equipped with a visor--are your dirt helmets equipped with any visor?--which I find much more suitable than goggles for long slab rides. But that's a personal preference thing, I would expect.

Oh, of course, one more benefit of the DS helmet is that you can't really "feel" like Charlie and Ewan wearing a street helmet, now can you.

I get what you mean w/ the visor. I use that when I'm dirt riding. On my street helmet I keep a clear visor but have a strip of tint at the top which sort of mimics the effect of having a visor.

Be safe out there guys.

[Zombland]

Given that you already have both street and dirt helmets I'm not sure you need anything else. One aspect of the Hornet I do like is that it is equipped with a visor--are your dirt helmets equipped with any visor?--which I find much more suitable than goggles for long slab rides. But that's a personal preference thing, I would expect.

Oh, of course, one more benefit of the DS helmet is that you can't really "feel" like Charlie and Ewan wearing a street helmet, now can you.

I get what you mean w/ the visor. I use that when I'm dirt riding. On my street helmet I keep a clear visor but have a strip of tint at the top which sort of mimics the effect of having a visor.

Be safe out there guys.

Sheesh, I re-read my post and realized I was using "visor" when I meant the "beak" (on a hat, the "brim") on top of the DS helmet, not the visor (the part one looks through).

To correct things, all my visors are clear (I find tinted ones inconvenient when I travel through tunnels and such, and when having to change out visors at dawn/dusk--especially on the Hornet DS, which requires tools to change out--Aira's, in contrast, pop in and out without tools).

I like a beak/brim on the helmet for dawn/dusk riding, but the beak/brim on the Hornet DS is shorter than I would like for this purpose.

[bucho]

I knew what you meant zombieland

[skelco]

just thought I'd bring this thread back to life with a photo of the helmet that saved the life of a good friend this Saturday

[doc66]

Helmets save lives, don't listen to the HD riders. I've had a couple of mine in the same condition at time or two; once in worse shape. Glad your buddy was wearing one.

[Zombland]

just thought I'd bring this thread back to life with a photo of the helmet that saved the life of a good friend this Saturday

Note the scratches on the chin bar. No beanie helmet or 1/2 helmet or 3/4 helmet for me, thanks. I like my lower face the way it is. In place.

[Braxton]

I am looking at this.



http://www.amazon.com/Icon-Variant-Helmet-X-Large-Black/dp/B0034N73PK


Any first hand information about it would help.