Wear lid or not?

[R1 Indy]

Just a quick question. Do you guys with no windscreens wear a lid or not?

I've only had my MK on the road for a couple of months and have always worn a lid.

But I went out today without (it was slightly warmer). And I quite liked it. It feels a lot faster, and get to hear the R1 beast properly.

But my only problem I found was after about 60/70 mph I found it hard to breath??

So what do you guys do.

Cheers.

[mirach]

more to the point is getting hit in the face by stones etc thrown up by other road users, i would advise you stick to wearing the lid

[Mr MXT]

Usually I don't wear a lid, I have some Dixon Tac 3's for eye protection.

ETA Noticed you have a cage, I'd wear a lid.

[van cleef]

Definitely lid as even low speeds i find it hard to breath.. Plus there is always a chance on getting an angry bee off the nose. I've had a few stones off the lid and it doesn't half hit hard sometimes.

[Furyblade_Lee]

You obviously have not been hit in the face by anything substantial yet... If you had you would not ask the question!!! :-)

If it is warm and I am pootling round I wear a beanie hat and some protective eyewear type specs, clear or tinted. Decent sunnies will get chipped and scratched within days, tell me about it.

But on the motorway I always wear a lid if I can ( cruising along the toll roads around Monte Carlo I make an exception and pop the Ray-Bans on...) but one fitted with a motorcycle intercom system to talk to passenger, take phone calls, listen to music or use the links we have via walkie talkie to communicate with those we tour with.

Bottom line is, hat or not, make sure 100% nobody EVER drives in an aeroscreen without protective eyewear. Your head may bleed and heal up, but one of your eyes if hit with a stone at 90mph will be irreversible.

[asn163]

Always were a lid, had one or two strikes from large insects etc. in the middle of the visor which would have been nasty without.

[Aeroscreens]

I've clocked over 50k miles in 10 years of aeroscreening with Brooklands screens in the UK and all round Europe. Decent sunglasses/goggles (high impact resistant) and earplugs. Never been a problem, yes you get shot blasted by very fine grit if following another car on sticky tyres and you stay well back from lorries etc.....

But then again, according to some, I'm driving a death-trap anyway; no ABS, PAS, traction control, ESP, airbags, side impact protection etc....

[jeffw]

I pretty much always where a lid in the Phoenix, comes of being a biker I suppose. Apart from everything else mentioned I wear prescription specs which come off my face at more than 20 mph and I have a very expensive Arai GP6 to keep them in place.

[Huff]

Dixon TEPs always, and an open-face helmet often - it's warmer that way!

I also use earplugs a lot - amazing how cutting down the wind roar helps concentration and makes for a better drive, esp. on longer days out.

[mikeveal]

In the winter I wear a lid, to avoid my face being frozen into a grimace.

In the summer, I'll wear a lid for extended motorway work - which I tend to try to avoid. I won't bother if it's just one junction.

On a warm summers day, I wear a baseball cap and some perscription Wiley X motorcycle goggles. They look like sunnies, but have a goggle band to stop them flying off and a foam pad to form a seal to my face. They weren't cheap, but they are effective. I don't worry about chips and scratches. Every chip is justification for the money spent!

I always wear earplugs.

Finally, I have an invention that I use to stop my baseball cap from disappearing into the slip stream. I call it "Hat on a string." I can't share more technical details, as there is always the option of pursuing a patent. If anyone would like to talk about royalty based marketing though - you know where to find me.

[Huff]

Hat on a string - good idea. That's partly why I got the lid, actually..

(Reminds me to stock up on cheap thinsulate beanies anyway at the inevitable Millet's Jan sale. They just seem to pop off even my rotund head at about 65mph; not so bad at 3 for a tenner or whatever it'll be this year.)

[leemarkadams]

I try to get away without using a helmet if possible, as the peripheral vision and sense of awareness of other drivers is so much better. As has been said I will will, and you must, always wear decent eye protection!

I will only wear a helmet if I a, travelling a long way on motorways etc.

[Huff]

It wasn't until I tried a few on a perv around Fowlers in Bristol I realised the peripheral-vision concern with helmets is a mostly a myth, esp. if you try open-face variants. Really.

My main reason for not wearing one earlier was simply the potential negatives of looking like someone trying too hard, or, worse, being taken as someone who 'races' everywhere. The consternation of Mr & Mrs Meriva etc. So far, not one comment on that front, only the positive - I am pleasantly surprised.

Edited by Huff on Wednesday 19th December 00:18

[greengreenwood7]

OP....the 'hard to breath' bit i assume relates to whether you have a reasonable/decent aeroscreen......that makes all the difference in terms of feeling teh full force of the wind in your face. i've bene in a few cars that have a variety from a simple short piece of vertical see thru, to double bubble of different makes -- ie/ with/without a 'lip' at the top and also a couple of cars with nothing.
my own aero is sited close to perfect for my height, althought another degree of so would mean that all the wind is deflected, as it is i feel teh wind most on my forehad.

as for helmet/goggles.....when i bought the car i decided i'd always wear a helmet on the m/way, and goggles/glasses elsewhere. reality is that often i'm out and decide to take teh quick route home and haven't got the lid in the car.
the glasses of choice for me are the ballistic rated TAC3 Dixons and i wont drive anywhere without them on - having been hit by a stone down my lanes at about 15mph!

as for 'real nasties' maybe i'be been lucky, have had a few stones thrown up, none have drawn blood - but in reality i think that its a question of sense + luck. ie/ not driving close behind someone in a similar car that has ultra sticky tyres etc......i know a guy that has a screen on his caterham and a stone looped over te top and into his eye shattering the contact lens.....so where to draw the line between fun + sense + safety. for me - good glasses all the way, and a helmet for known 'iffy' journeys.

[R1 Indy]

Thanks all, lots of usefull advice.

I think I will continue to wear a lid during the winter, as it offers good protection, and keeps the face warmish, plus it always seems to start raining once I'm out in the 7!

Once the weather gets better I will probably invest in some proper strong eye protection.

As for roll cage, i can't see my head coming into contact during a small shunt, anything bigger and I'm probably dead anyway!?



One other thing is, after a reasonable length drive. Im almost deaf after for a while. The helmet silences it a bit, but I tried some earplugs (the orange squidgy push in type). But they turned out quite painfull as the helmet is a quite tight fit and was pushing the plugs right in.

Are there any recommended plugs for using with a helmet?

Cheers

[Aeroscreens]

I'd recommend ER-20 (musicians earplugs), but I'm gonna guess that if you have a problem with yours already (assuming they're the foam ones) then mine will possibly by too long s they are the 'Christmas Tree' type together with a noise filter. Initially I hated wearing earplugs as I felt I couldn't hear anything and felt compromised, but after a few 'ringing' ears many years ago I won't even travel the smallest distances without plugs anymore.

I think they are excellent plugs and it might be worth a punt just to try them out?

[mikeveal]

R1 Indy said:

I tried some earplugs (the orange squidgy push in type). But they turned out quite painfull as the helmet is a quite tight fit and was pushing the plugs right in.

Are there any recommended plugs for using with a helmet?

Cheers

If the helmet is pushing the plus in, you're not wearing them properly. Roll them between finger and thumb and insert them into your ear canal. Placing them in the outer ear like an ipod headphone won't block the noise.

I think I'm starting to suffer from surfers ear. My ear canals are very small and I find normal earplugs painful to wear.
These are superb though, specifically designed for those of us with undersize ear 'oles:
http://www.howardleight.com/earplugs/max-lite
Must order another box...

[Furyblade_Lee]

I'd be pretty worried if I was in a car where you cannot breath when going fast if not wearing a lid? You really need to get a proper aeroscreen sorted out if you do , and I dare say wind pressure in your cockpit must slow it down a bit on the aero front? I am assuming this problem only occurs in 7 types?? Never heard of anything like that in a Fury/ Phoenix thats for sure. You can breath quite normally in those at 130, however I do bizzarrely find my bum cheeks slightly clenched at those speeds.

[Furyblade_Lee]

R1 Indy, do you have no aeroscreen at all on your car or is that an old pic?

If you havent got anything, that is your problem!! Fitting one will transform you car.

[Mr MXT]

Agreed. I drove mine with no Aeroscreen, just to see what it was like and it literally took my breath away.