So, im on the fence about full face helmets and open face ones.

I love the feel of riding with an open face, but hate the bugs and pebbles. The full face is nice and quiet, and keeps the other stuff out of my nose and teeth, haha.

What do you guys prefer?

I prefer the full face helmet for the same reasons you state. Although I also don't usually wear the helmet if I'm riding around town and at speeds of ~45-55mph. I may pick up a half helmet next spring though. But I always wear it when I'm at highway speeds and touring.

Dude... 55mph is highway speeds... lol. But to each there own.

Where about do you live?

The mountains of western Colorado. There's a couple of spots here where the only way to travel very far east or west is to use I-70. That means 75 to 85 mph. That can be rather uncomfortable. But traveling north along a state highway the speed limit is only 50 - 55 mph. That's usually pretty pleasant. So that's why the difference.

Either way... Highway + Bugs = the Suck!

when I had my turtle shell I would only wear it if I was sticking to back roads in town and never above 35mph. If I was going on the highway for any length of time I always wear my leather and full face. I would rather sweat than bleed.

Yeah, I think i prefer more to the full face helmet and as you have stated before... it is more preferable to me...

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I love my full face helmet. If I want a breeze, I just open the visor.

May I suggest a Modular Full Face also known as flip up helmet. This provides full face protection with the convience of an open face helmet. Of course that is just my opinion I could be wrong!

i've got a skid lid and can't understand why any cruiser owners would want a full face unless you're doing long road trips and/or refuse to put on a windshield. to me, the full face is like driving around in a convertable and not putting the top down. you're on a bike so why wouldn't you want the wind in your face? concerned about bugs and crap? put on a windshield and wear eye protection/sunglasses. i just can't stand the thought of wearing a full face and closing myself out from the whole riding experience.

bevo1981- I originally wanted a skid lid but after trying a few on, I found they don't look right on me! I look funny and decided against it! I wanted a skid lid I had found that had cross hairs and bullets on it but after seeing a skid lid on me I decided to go with a modular style helmet. Skid lids just aren't for everyone!

I'm with bevo. I have a 24" Memphis Shades windshield on my bike and that keeps the majority of bugs and such off me. I wear foam backed glasses and, if I am wearing a helmet, it's a skid lid. I do have a full face helmet that I only wear when riding in colder weather. Just my 2 cents!

I have a 24" Memphis Shades windshield on my bike and that keeps the majority of bugs and such off me.

i just have a 16" factory windshield and that keeps all the crap off me. i still get quite a bit of wind, but no bugs and stuff.

HI folks,

Just last week I lost two of my friends that I have known for many years, a married couple that my wife introduced me to.

They died because they did not like to wear helmets.

They were cruising at 45 to 50 mph according to the accident investigators and witnesses, when a cager ran a stop sign, this caused him to swerve violently in order to avoid the crash but with his wife on the back adding the extra weight, he lost control, they did not hit any vehicles they were just thrown off the bike and they both suffered major head injuries just from the pavement, and both died in route to the hospital.

IMHO, a full face helmet, although uncomfortable in the hot summer, can mean the difference between life and death, an open face helmet will not protect your face, and a simple fall off the bike at 35mph or even slower can result in death from a severe trauma to you face nose or jaw, The nose can explode and send fragments into your brain, resulting in death, or at the very least, a very ugly appearance and a lot of plastic surgery.

Dennis