Jackhammer wrote on 06/10/08 at 12:10:05:
Since you don't state where you are at, not obvious.  Half the U.S. population live where helmets are purely optional.  NEVER dress or do to please others (except for your spouse.)  If you think a helmet will protect you stop riding now -- well over half the people who died riding motorcyles were wearing DOT approved helmets.  A helmet offers a marginal improvement is collision survivability which is totally negated if you ride faster/more careless.  IMHO, if you wear a helmet to "not die" and/or to "not destroy your face" you should not be riding.  If you have a collision the odds are that you will be hurt.  If you are not willing to accept being hurt then you must avoid collisions at all costs -- which means not riding.

A helmet adds weight to the head in return for protection to the head.  You, and only you, should decide how much weight you are willing to endure for how much protection.  As others state, a FF helmet/shield is rather neat if you ride where flying bugs are a problem.  Striking a flying beetle at 60 mph is painful at best.   Above 30 mph raindrops become solid and try to poke holes in your face.

The straps of a half helmet cause increased wind noise.  IMO, a half helmet is useful for complying with the law and not much else.  IMO a half helmet is the stupidest dorkiest thing you can wear while riding a motorcycle -- if you give a rats' pattouie about what other's think; which you should not.

I have a full face modular.  First week I was riding a large bug hit the face shield.  I was going 55 mph the bug ??? All I know is it hit me hard enough to actually move my head.  If I was not wearing a helmet I would have wrecked.....

I wear full face on my sports bikes and open face on cruisers, mostly because I only ride low-ish speeds round town on the naked framed bikes.
Must admit I enjoy the feel of the wind in the face and round the ears at low/medium speed on a warm day - I have a chromed WWII German helmet which would offer hardly any protection but is really comfortable, let lots of air through, and makes me laugh.  If our laws weren’t so strict, I’d just wear goggles or wraparound shades in good weather for local trips.

I know there’s still risk of accident at low speed, but I balance the risk against the pleasure – if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t throw my leg over a bike in the first place.

Weight and level of protection/crash survivability were mentioned above.

I'm yet to notice the weight of a helmet for comfort.  As for crash protection, yes, a lot of people still die when they get it wrong on a bike, but helmets aren’t designed to prevent you being squished under a truck, they stop you from getting brain damage when you head bang the tarmac coming off - the foam lining is designed to absorb those kind of shocks, and what they prevent is brain damage from low speed tumbled where people go over the bars or high side the bike and plant their head onto the road.  Those sideways knocks cause bleeds which kill or disable, but with shock-absorbent polystyrene helmet inners, a lot of people are laughing and riding today who would be dead or in wheelchairs otherwise.  

I also have had at least 3 helmets deeply scuffed from where I’ve been down the road, in tumbles at 40, 60 and over 100mph from sports bikes, and in each case it’s just been some paint and fibreglass, not flesh, that’s been left on the tarmac.

My preference, so far, is a 3/4 Scorpion with a full face shield.  The shield flips up easily for ventilation when stopped at a light on a hot day, or if going thru a neighborhood at 30 mph.

I'm biased to 3/4 because you have unrestricted peripheral vision.

Also, the full face shield protects from the nasty big bugs - I've hit them.

Saying all of that, I may try a modular.  I would like the chin area protection.

Misterdub -

What brand did you buy?  I have the same problem - big head<g>.

Jerry Eichenberger wrote on 06/11/08 at 08:25:43:


The Scorpion EXO-400 XXL.  They run a size smaller than the other brands I've tried.  When I tried on the Shoei, I was swimming in a XXL but the XL was too tight.  The EXO-400 XXL fits very snugly without feeling like a vice grip.

Also, they have interchangeable cheek pads which was a big selling point for me (since like I said, I have a very round head).  But as yet, I haven't needed to buy them.  I let the helmet break-in like the guy in the shop said and the cheek pads are perfect now.

Without sounding like an ad for them, it's very comfortable and seems to have pretty good ventilation.  I've read they're a little noisier than Shoei or Arai but I have no personal point of comparison (this is my first helmet) so it's perfectly acceptable to me.  And I've been wearing them in the 90-100 degree weather we've been having in the DC area as of late and I sweat but the wicking liner does as advertised and keeps me dry, so I don't really notice the heat at all.  Again, not sure how this "wicking" compares to others but I love the helmet.

Edit: One more thing to note about the noise, I'm also still in "local road" mode.  I haven't ventured out onto highways yet, so I've only hit 45mph.  Not sure if there would be a big difference between that and highway speeds but I thought I'd mention it.  If you look around online, noise is really the only complaint I've found about the Scorpion.

I wear a full-face and I was really glad when one of these http://www.cicado.com/cicada-top.JPG caught me just above the left eye on the way home from work Monday.

dropoutjohn wrote on 06/11/08 at 11:00:40:

You're welcomed to do so, but be warned that I have never fought 'fair'.

I am curious as to what you consider a "tirade" and what part you take such objection to.

The wind going past the straps next to the ears do cause considerable noise.  When I crossed the state line and could remove the beanie I was also able to remove the ear plugs.  Statement of fact.

I would think that it is obvious that the 1/2 helmet AKA DOT Beanie is simply something to comply with the letter of the law while being as small and light as possible.    It might not be obvious to others, so I prefaced that with an IMO (In My Opinion.)   The protection of a beanie is marginal at best.  You drop and slide with a beanie and if your head is sideways you'll grind your ears off, face down slide you can kiss your face goodbye.    A goatskin WWI style aviation helmet would likely provide more protection.   A 3/4 helmet is only marginally heavier and provides a lot more protection -- which is probably why the cops wear them instead of beanies.

As for being dorky looking, again IMO and so stated.  And who CARES what other people think about appearances.  If I had a choice I sure as heck wouldn't be wearing one!