helmet???

mtbspeedfreak wrote: You should not buy a helmet without trying it on. I cannot stress this enough. If you ask nicely, you might be able to wear it for a ride around the block.

A few years ago, right out of college, I did not have hardly any money. I bought a cheaper DOT/Snell helmet. That f*cker was so loud from the wind at highway speeds it permanently damaged my hearing. After a year and a half, I finally manned up and started looking at proper helmets. I wound up buying an Arai. It wasn't cheap, but it fit better than I ever imagined a helmet to fit. I tried on virtually every make of helmet before making this decision.

I was not able to take it out for a test ride unfortunately, so I did my window noise/ventilation research online. I can't remember the website now, but I'll follow up tomorrow.

The Arai that fits me perfectly may not fit you. The Bell might not fit you. The Shoei/AGV/Scorpion/etc may not fit you. The only, repeat, only way to know for sure is to try them on.

Let us know what you choose!

Here's the helmet review site: www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmets.htm

Pretty good stuff, these guys know how to test a helmet!

Also, once I found the helmet I wanted, I bought it online. You get a 10% discount at Bike Bandit if you're an AMA member. The helmet will cost enough that you'll likely won't have to pay for shipping. No tax too, if you live outside of CA.

turboguzzi wrote: even a top of the line helmet is going to create irreversible hearing damage at highway speeds.

regretfully, damage to hearing is cumulative, so every time you are exposed you damage your hearing a bit more and hearing deosn't heal itself with time.

always, always, always use ear plugs. I do so even for relatively short rides....unless you think that bad hearing is sexy somehow.

Helmets are interesting. 99% of the top of the line helmets are created for racers/track days and don't care about noise, just ventilation. The more vents a helmet has, the louder it'll be.

I have an Arai Vector 2 and have been extremely happy with it. Yeah, there is noise at highway speeds - not nearly as much as my previous Icon Alliance helmet. That being said, you definitely want to use ear plugs for more than around-town riding. I use a nice set of earbuds and music while on longer rides. They knock the dbs from the wind down and it's nice being able to pause and play the music when I want to.

Ear buds are nice for music while you're riding unfortunately here in Florida it's a ticket if you have them in while riding. A few years ago a buddy of mine got a $91 ticket for wearing them while riding. This state does some really screwy stuff towards bikes. Like stopping bikes coming into the state for safety inspections during bike week.

Do they allow Bluetooth headsets or earbuds while driving a car?

As far as I know ear buds are illegal when operating any motor vehicle. Bluetooth is legal I think because it's only in one ear. This state has stupid laws. I know another guy that got a ticket because he was hanging out of the window of a moving vehicle and was endangering himself yet you see people riding motorcycles with nothing on but shorts and flip flops and that is perfectly legal.

Another thing to think about is a quiet helmet may be like having a sack pulled down over your head. In other words you cook in hot weather. I had a Shoei helmet years ago and it was that way, quiet, and quiet because no air circulation. Before that I pretty much wore low line helmets, but they were all Snell approved for their day. Some things I figured out was basically you get what you pay for in a helmet. You buy a $100 helmet, you got a $100 helmet, and despite some web reviews that rate a certain type $100 helmet good as a $700 are full of balony. After my Shoei I got an Arai and will never go back. Not the quietest helmet, but I don't want a bag pulled over my head. I did my last big ride a month ago that was 1733 miles in 24 hours according to the GL1800 odometer, 1664 GPS certified miles and had my Arai on for 22.5 hours straight other than gas stops. I would challenge any less costly helmet be comfortable for this ride. Some of the reviews I think they ride 2 miles to rate these helmets.

I don't know about other places but Cycle Gear will do an exchange on helmets within 7 days as long as you have your sales receipt if you don't like it. Which I think is pretty cool since you really can't tell a whole lot about a helmet by wearing it for a couple of minutes in the store.

We begin with the all new LS2 FF-358. This product offers inflatable cheek padding to re-size and tailor-fit the Helmet perfectly to each user. This product also carries a dual ECE:22-05ISI certification (European Safety Certification) and the Indian ISI Certification.

Thanks a lot
Anthony

RonKZ650 wrote: I did my last big ride a month ago that was 1733 miles in 24 hours according to the GL1800 odometer, 1664 GPS certified miles and had my Arai on for 22.5 hours straight other than gas stops. I would challenge any less costly helmet be comfortable for this ride. Some of the reviews I think they ride 2 miles to rate these helmets.

Kudos on the big ride but comfort in a helmet is a very personal thing, tried Arai and it never felt good on my head while Shoei's always fit mine like a glove.

a friend that works in a gear shop used to say: there are the Arai heads, and the Shoei heads

Here in Michigan they just repealed the helmet law, and now if you just buy $20,000 in extra medical coverage on your bike insurance you can drive without one, along with having your license so long etc...
I guess i'm too cheap.... i'll wear my helmet for the 75.00 per bike it cost to buy the additional coverage. besides I'm way to accident prone to risk it!

Yeah cause $20,000 will cover all the extra expenses that would come from not wearing a helmet.

That has to be one of the dumbest motorcycle laws I've ever heard.