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Helmets, lids, skull buckets oh my!

5K views 26 replies 17 participants last post by  MCSmith 
#1 · (Edited)
OK, MI is now a helmet optional state.. Sooooooo Im gonna buy a new helmet! haha

I pretty much have a HJC shaped head (Arai and Shoei feel like someone is squeezing my face into a fish shape) So, I was contemplating picking up an IS-16. Does anyone have this helmet, by chance? If so, do you like it? Have any issues with it?
http://www.motorcyclegear.com/pricing/private/3212
 
#2 ·
Glad to hear you're wearing a lid, even though it's not required there anymore. How long ago did that happen? I grew up in Michigan, and it was always a helmet law state as far as I can remember.

Sorry, don't have an opinion on that helmet since I've never used that particular one.
 
#3 ·
law got signed on Monday. Sorry, but I want to give myself at least a shot and a good recovery!
4 stipulations on the law:
must have passed a MSF course (yah right, tell me all the doofuses zippin around hair in the wind have done even that!)
Must carry 20k additional med insurance on bike policy
must be 21
must have CY endorsement for 2 years
 
#4 ·
When I was living in Texas the law was waaaay dumber than that... helmet free as long as you carry 50K medical on your policy. But no-one ever checked the idiots riding around with no helmets wearing t-shirts and shorts and flip-flops.

I say LET them kill themselves (as long as they don't take out any innocent passengers or pedestrians). It will raise the overall IQ!:D:D
 
#5 ·
50k won't cover one week in the hospital with a catastrophic head injury. Not too mention the more money insurance companies have to shell out for people not smart enough to protect their head only raises everyone else's premiums.
 
#6 ·
But if they DIE it is soooo much cheaper! ;)
 
#9 ·
How did MI manage to pass a law that will mandate stupid drivers will no longer force us to drop our bikes, run off the road, and keep various four legged animals off the road AND not hurt our heads in case something else happens? Wow, can you send that law copy to Mass? We'd like it too.
 
#10 ·
My full face helmet is an HJC. Although it's not that specific model (very similar) it seems to fit my handsome sexy head just fine
 
#11 ·
I should note that I have a Scorpion 700 and love it. I find my other less expensive helmet is quieter on the highway, a brand I don't recall (not a Hawk), but that helmet has a top vent that wants to put a hole in my head after 3 hours unlike the Scorpion.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I had an HJC and it did not feel good to me. So I bought a KBC. This fits great and I still keep it for a backup. My main one now is an AFX modular. I ride mainly with the face wide open. The bar folds all the way behind the helmet for less drag. I like that. But, the thing is noisy when the face is closed. And of course heavier. Probably would recommend buying a non-modular full face in the future.
 
#15 ·
Saw a guy helping a girl in tennis shoes, spandex pants, and a t-shirt put on her pretty pink and purple helmet. At least she'll match it.
 
#16 ·
I tried a scorpion FF and absolutely disliked it. With the visor down the noise inside the helmet hurt my ears bad. I work in the aviation industry and loud noise is a common thing; but the scorpion was not for me. The other issue is budget. I was looking at a Schubert but the $700 price tag has me questioning it. It's very quiet but man the price...
 
#17 ·
Indiana is wear one,or not, your choice (except for newbies). No ins thing or anything. But it is very wise to get yourself a helmet, AND WEAR IT! A guy can get very good protection for one hell of a lot less than the 5-700$ many sell for. A hundred buck(or less) helmet will keep your skull sound bouncin down the pavement:eek:
Wear your helmet and, Ride Safe:cool:
 
#18 ·
My $40 black Fuel 3/4 works and looks fine for me - hot or cold.

I got a nice large full-face with the pony but threw it in on the deal when I sold the '83 Honda.
It didn't fit me well, made me clostrophobic, and I don't care for the look of a full-face.
Even with the vents open, it was too warm at traffic lights at 50*F and above.
I've got a "fighter-pilot" style clear half visor for anything above 45*F and a full-face visor for 45*F and below.

I'm going to have to carry some foam earplugs with me for riding in excess of 55 mph though.
The Jardines on the 650 at higher speeds are actually painful.
Hey, the upside is that, unless you're listening to a 1500-watt boom-car system, you can't help but hear me comin'. No big deal.
I didn't try the full-face at those speeds, but I'm not sure it would have cut down on the noise much.

I've started wearing my old pair of Brahma steel-toes.
I'm going to send for a nice Yamaha yellow/black lightly armoured textile jacket and a reflective grey/black armoured mesh jacket.
I'm also going to send for a yellow draggin' shirt.
I'm considering some "draggin'-type" jeans, but I'd like to find some with some cloth between the kevlar and my skin.
And, yeah, eventually I'll get a good, slightly loose, leather.

I agree Bear. You can't have too much protection.
I just don't know what the attraction of $500-$700 full-face helmets are. Especially in the summertime.
Jeesh, for that money, I could damn near give the pony another 20+ horsepower and have fun blowin' off a few stock 1100s through the first four.
 
#20 ·
I just don't know what the attraction of $500-$700 full-face helmets are. Especially in the summertime..
Ive never worn anything but a FF helmet and have no intention of changing. 40F to 90F full face or no ride.

That said, if thats what fit my head the best, Id drop the cash without a thought since it is one of the most vital pieces of equipment we wear. But, I guess I am lucky since the higher end helmets dont fit me as well as the HJC's do. Sure Id love a quieter ride but thats what earplugs are for!
 
#19 ·
Personally I am ALL about safety... even bought a mesh jacket so I would have something to wear on those super hot Texas days when anything more than a t-shirt feels too hot. And at the time I was literally living on the bike... if I couldn't throw it into a saddle bag when I left town I left it behind so touring with two jackets, armored pants and 3 pairs of gloves was a BIG deal. Add a tent, sleeping bag and mat, cooking gear and clothing and that was one LOADED bike:D

Currently wear a full face Shoei but previously had the Arai. Probably need to buy a new one (this one spent 4 years unused on a shelf) but not sure what model I want (debating helmets with walkie talkie so hubby can chat).
 
#21 ·
I have a Fulmer Modular as well as do my kids and wife, the kids wear the full face at all times, for warmer riding I have an Outlaw half helmet, it is a decent helemt for a great price and most of all it fits my melon.
 
#22 ·
I've had an HJC FS-15 for two years. Best helmet I've ever had, very stable to 80mph and HJC helmets usually come rigged for the PIN-Lock insert system. I use their clear anti-fog year round. Works like a charm.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I have been looking for a link all day, unsuccessfully. But it basically used accident data from several years worth of crashes to plot the most common spots of initial impact in a motorcycle accident. The initial impact is the big one, survive that and you will usually make it (the secondary impacts won't do you in). The general idea was that helmets give you about as much protection as you would expect. A full face helmet gives the best protection. A 3/4 helmet gives about 75% protection (face initial impacts being surprisingly common and deadly, something about the skull being thinner behind the face than anywhere else). A 1/2 helmet give slightly less than 50% protection.

What I took from it...if you aren't wearing a full face helmet, don't plan on surviving an accident.

Interestingly enough, the only 'impact free' zone from all here data was a 2 inch spot DIRECTLY on the top of the head...might be a good location for a heat vent.

Edit: More evidence that my memory is suffering...anyway. Here is what I was looking for.
I cannot get the picture to come across. The link to the thread that has the information is

http://forum.motorcycle-usa.com/default.aspx?f=21&m=207419

About three quarters of the way down (long thread).


The diagrams above show the impact areas on crash-involved motorcycle helmets.
(Source: Dietmar Otte, Hannover Medical University, Dept. of Traffic Accident Research, Germany.)

Note that 35% of all crashes showed major impact on the chin-bar area. This means that if you ride with an open-face helmet, you are accepting only 65% of the protection that could be available to your head.
If you ride with a shorty or half helmet, you are accepting only 39% of the protection you could obtain. You are literally throwing away 61% of the protection you would have had had you chosen a full-face helmet.

And, of course, if you ride wearing a “novelty” helmet or no helmet at all then you have none of the protection you could have chosen.
 
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