What crash helmet?
Discussion
Hi there,
I have just passed my DAS (chuffed) - what a cracking course!
I am now loose in the equipment-tastic world of motorbiking ... have pretty much narrowed down the bike (hornet 600, fazer 600 or SV650) to learn on, leathers/outerwear (frank thomas?), boots (sidi) etc, but just found an interesting report on crashhelmet design (in the link below).
It is a long report on the pros and cons of different helmet design, but basically what i understand it as saying is that spending lots of money on the best composite / fiberglass helmet (designed to protect against high speed impacts) may not be the best option for more real world "off" scenarios ...
Before reading this, i figured i would spend as much as i could afford on a helmet, but now i am not so sure ... What do you guys wear?
www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/
I have just passed my DAS (chuffed) - what a cracking course!
I am now loose in the equipment-tastic world of motorbiking ... have pretty much narrowed down the bike (hornet 600, fazer 600 or SV650) to learn on, leathers/outerwear (frank thomas?), boots (sidi) etc, but just found an interesting report on crashhelmet design (in the link below).
It is a long report on the pros and cons of different helmet design, but basically what i understand it as saying is that spending lots of money on the best composite / fiberglass helmet (designed to protect against high speed impacts) may not be the best option for more real world "off" scenarios ...
Before reading this, i figured i would spend as much as i could afford on a helmet, but now i am not so sure ... What do you guys wear?
www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/
Arai RX-7 is lightweight with good ventilation, but is noisy. Good long trips in hot weather. Being lightweight, it doesn't give you neckache too early on long journeys (heavier helmets can). They are v expesnive though. A 2006 model can be found for £350 I think. I had the Arai Quantums before the RX-7's & prefer the latter. Tinted/mirroroed visors are freely available & the pinlock antifog inserts work well.
Haven't bothererd with other makes as the Arai suits me.
My advice, go to a decent store with a lot of stock & try a load on & off. It should feel quite snug when new, as the padding will give & if it's on the easy/loose side new, will be too loose after a few months of regular use.
Good luck.
Haven't bothererd with other makes as the Arai suits me.
My advice, go to a decent store with a lot of stock & try a load on & off. It should feel quite snug when new, as the padding will give & if it's on the easy/loose side new, will be too loose after a few months of regular use.
Good luck.
Umm, I had rather a lot of questions to ask here and to be honest haven't found any good answers since then. I'm still not convinced that a decent £100-ish lid really provides any less protection than a more expensive one, provided it fits okay. There are a couple of links at the end which may give you some more info if you want.
I have recently purchased a new helmet anyway, something which I kinda knew I would anyway and to be honest I'm slightly miffed with myself as I've ended up buying the lid I first eyed up when I first started looking at them, the AGV Titech. However, as I got £100 off I guess I got the Caberg for nowt overall.
Main reasons I bought the new lid are:
I felt the lining on the Caberg had sagged a bit too much and was unsure that it was fitting me well enough to provide optimum protection anymore. On reflection, it's probably ok.
The noise is pretty horrid, fine around town but on the motorway or A roads it quickly becomes intolerable. Fair enough, use ear plugs, but I can't hear the engine over 60. I can still hear the engine clearly at 90 with the AGV.
Vents are fairly naff on the Caberg too, with the chin vent making little difference whether it is open or closed. The head vents on the Titech are really good.
I knew it was going to happen I guess, I felt i was in no position to judge a good helmet when I purchased the Caberg and purchased something I thought would do the job and it does: I want a bit more from a lid now though.
I have recently purchased a new helmet anyway, something which I kinda knew I would anyway and to be honest I'm slightly miffed with myself as I've ended up buying the lid I first eyed up when I first started looking at them, the AGV Titech. However, as I got £100 off I guess I got the Caberg for nowt overall.
Main reasons I bought the new lid are:
I felt the lining on the Caberg had sagged a bit too much and was unsure that it was fitting me well enough to provide optimum protection anymore. On reflection, it's probably ok.
The noise is pretty horrid, fine around town but on the motorway or A roads it quickly becomes intolerable. Fair enough, use ear plugs, but I can't hear the engine over 60. I can still hear the engine clearly at 90 with the AGV.
Vents are fairly naff on the Caberg too, with the chin vent making little difference whether it is open or closed. The head vents on the Titech are really good.
I knew it was going to happen I guess, I felt i was in no position to judge a good helmet when I purchased the Caberg and purchased something I thought would do the job and it does: I want a bit more from a lid now though.
Smiler. said:
Arai RX-7 is lightweight with good ventilation, but is noisy. Good long trips in hot weather. Being lightweight, it doesn't give you neckache too early on long journeys (heavier helmets can). They are v expesnive though. A 2006 model can be found for £350 I think. I had the Arai Quantums before the RX-7's & prefer the latter. Tinted/mirroroed visors are freely available & the pinlock antifog inserts work well.
Haven't bothererd with other makes as the Arai suits me.
My advice, go to a decent store with a lot of stock & try a load on & off. It should feel quite snug when new, as the padding will give & if it's on the easy/loose side new, will be too loose after a few months of regular use.
Good luck.
Haven't bothererd with other makes as the Arai suits me.
My advice, go to a decent store with a lot of stock & try a load on & off. It should feel quite snug when new, as the padding will give & if it's on the easy/loose side new, will be too loose after a few months of regular use.
Good luck.
Good advice.
Now a short tale from an old fart.
October 2004 me and my bike made two seperate holes in a rather thick dry stone wall (in the middle of nowhere) the helmet I was wearing, was an Arai RX7, which had puncture mark's and two splits around 3" long.
Injuries I received were concussion, chip of bone out of my neck, broken shoulder & collerbone, broken foot.
I personally would'nt buy a cheap helmet, never have or will.
If anyone visits "Ken's" on Westgate Road, they have said helmet on display.
Shoei XR-1000
A Shoei XR8 saved my life in 1993 and I now swear by them. If they ramped the price up to £1k I would still pay the money.
Comfortable, easy to change the visor, minimal wind noise, excellent fit, supreme quality all add up to the finest lid money can buy. It is only let down by some of the designs available IMO.
A Shoei XR8 saved my life in 1993 and I now swear by them. If they ramped the price up to £1k I would still pay the money.
Comfortable, easy to change the visor, minimal wind noise, excellent fit, supreme quality all add up to the finest lid money can buy. It is only let down by some of the designs available IMO.
i currently have an agv ti- tech previously i had an agv q3 ,fm james whitham rep .the ti tech is the best lid ive owned but i have friends with all shapes n sizes of diffrent lids none of them sub 200 pounds. if u can, get your self a top shoei or arai , i was allways told your head will fit one and not the other one of these comfortably .Also dont forget get a good quality back protector as well..
I can understand how people feel about helmets that they were wearing when they had an accident and how the helmet 'saved their lives', but that is hardly a scientific test of a helmet in a controlled environment. Many years ago I twice parted company with my bike and gave the tarmac a ‘Glaswegian kiss' hard enough to crack the helmet shell. On both occasions I walked away (albeit slightly dizzy!) so I do know how important a helmet is.
Try lots of different helmets on and get the helmet that fits you. It is VERY DEBATABLE if a more expensive helmet offers more protection rather than just more features but a badly fitting helmet of any price will be much worse than a good fitting cheap helmet.
Expect the helmet lining to give slightly and generally, the cheaper helmets will give more than the expensive helmets, so judging size becomes a little more difficult on the cheaper helmets.
From a comfort factor, lighter is generally better and ask as to which helmets are quite (although you should always wear ear plugs).
Buy from a reputable dealer and you won’t buy a bad helmet at any price.
Try lots of different helmets on and get the helmet that fits you. It is VERY DEBATABLE if a more expensive helmet offers more protection rather than just more features but a badly fitting helmet of any price will be much worse than a good fitting cheap helmet.
Expect the helmet lining to give slightly and generally, the cheaper helmets will give more than the expensive helmets, so judging size becomes a little more difficult on the cheaper helmets.
From a comfort factor, lighter is generally better and ask as to which helmets are quite (although you should always wear ear plugs).
Buy from a reputable dealer and you won’t buy a bad helmet at any price.
veetwin said:
Shoei XR-1000
A Shoei XR8 saved my life in 1993 and I now swear by them. If they ramped the price up to £1k I would still pay the money.
Comfortable, easy to change the visor, minimal wind noise, excellent fit, supreme quality all add up to the finest lid money can buy. It is only let down by some of the designs available IMO.
A Shoei XR8 saved my life in 1993 and I now swear by them. If they ramped the price up to £1k I would still pay the money.
Comfortable, easy to change the visor, minimal wind noise, excellent fit, supreme quality all add up to the finest lid money can buy. It is only let down by some of the designs available IMO.
Seconded.....It's the best helmet I've ever owned......Ok it's only my second, but still a great helmet!!
black-k1 said:
I can understand how people feel about helmets that they were wearing when they had an accident and how the helmet 'saved their lives', but that is hardly a scientific test of a helmet in a controlled environment. Many years ago I twice parted company with my bike and gave the tarmac a ‘Glaswegian kiss' hard enough to crack the helmet shell. On both occasions I walked away (albeit slightly dizzy!) so I do know how important a helmet is.
Try lots of different helmets on and get the helmet that fits you. It is VERY DEBATABLE if a more expensive helmet offers more protection rather than just more features but a badly fitting helmet of any price will be much worse than a good fitting cheap helmet.
Expect the helmet lining to give slightly and generally, the cheaper helmets will give more than the expensive helmets, so judging size becomes a little more difficult on the cheaper helmets.
From a comfort factor, lighter is generally better and ask as to which helmets are quite (although you should always wear ear plugs).
Buy from a reputable dealer and you won’t buy a bad helmet at any price.
Try lots of different helmets on and get the helmet that fits you. It is VERY DEBATABLE if a more expensive helmet offers more protection rather than just more features but a badly fitting helmet of any price will be much worse than a good fitting cheap helmet.
Expect the helmet lining to give slightly and generally, the cheaper helmets will give more than the expensive helmets, so judging size becomes a little more difficult on the cheaper helmets.
From a comfort factor, lighter is generally better and ask as to which helmets are quite (although you should always wear ear plugs).
Buy from a reputable dealer and you won’t buy a bad helmet at any price.
wot he said
verysideways said:
Arai or Shoei. Any Arai or any Shoei, depending on what fits you best.
Sorry to pick up on this but are you suggesting to someone new to motorcycling that there are only two choices of helmet manufacturer. Do you really think that Schubert, Nolan, Roof, AGV, BMW (to name a few of the more ‘up market’ manufacturers) should all be ignored even if they fit better than an Arai or a Shoei?
chilli said:
veetwin said:
Shoei XR-1000
A Shoei XR8 saved my life in 1993 and I now swear by them. If they ramped the price up to £1k I would still pay the money.
Comfortable, easy to change the visor, minimal wind noise, excellent fit, supreme quality all add up to the finest lid money can buy. It is only let down by some of the designs available IMO.
A Shoei XR8 saved my life in 1993 and I now swear by them. If they ramped the price up to £1k I would still pay the money.
Comfortable, easy to change the visor, minimal wind noise, excellent fit, supreme quality all add up to the finest lid money can buy. It is only let down by some of the designs available IMO.
Seconded.....It's the best helmet I've ever owned......Ok it's only my second, but still a great helmet!!
Thirded!
black-k1 said:
verysideways said:
Arai or Shoei. Any Arai or any Shoei, depending on what fits you best.
Sorry to pick up on this but are you suggesting to someone new to motorcycling that there are only two choices of helmet manufacturer. Do you really think that Schubert, Nolan, Roof, AGV, BMW (to name a few of the more ‘up market’ manufacturers) should all be ignored even if they fit better than an Arai or a Shoei?
If one of the others fits your head better (or your purposes - flip up chin for example) then yeah go ahead, but my head will only ever be in an Arai.
Newbie: Go to a few of your local bike shops and find out how many of the staff ride with Arai lids.
I have used Arai lids since the age of 14 and won't use anything else. Obviously this is my choice and ther are many different manufacturers out there but I would only ever wear an Arai.
As has been said in previous replies go to a good / reputable dealer and try on as many different brands as possible and ask the assisstants advice, that's what they are there for.
Good luck.
As has been said in previous replies go to a good / reputable dealer and try on as many different brands as possible and ask the assisstants advice, that's what they are there for.
Good luck.
Buy what fits you best. A £100 helmet correctly fitted will protect you better than a £500 one that doesn't.
Having said that, just because there is 1 test and they all "pass" doesn't necessarily mean that any helmet will protect you the same. I'm sure the more upmarket brands will have more exacting internal standards than just the legal requirement.
Personally, I used two other brands before my first Arai, and I'm now on my third Arai. The first two lesser helmets were both dead after about a year to 18 months - knackered worn out smelly padding was the main reason for changing. However my first Arai lasted for 3 years and 60000 miles and was still fine more or less when I replaced it. The quality and customer service just shine through. They will custom fit for you for nothing at the bike shows and the free xray inspection service after a bump is superb.
Having said that, just because there is 1 test and they all "pass" doesn't necessarily mean that any helmet will protect you the same. I'm sure the more upmarket brands will have more exacting internal standards than just the legal requirement.
Personally, I used two other brands before my first Arai, and I'm now on my third Arai. The first two lesser helmets were both dead after about a year to 18 months - knackered worn out smelly padding was the main reason for changing. However my first Arai lasted for 3 years and 60000 miles and was still fine more or less when I replaced it. The quality and customer service just shine through. They will custom fit for you for nothing at the bike shows and the free xray inspection service after a bump is superb.
Edited by 6x6 on Wednesday 28th February 11:19
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