Trying to buy a new helmet

  • Thread starter Thread starter John lord
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I bought an Arai after having what I thought was an excellent lightweight helmet. The Arai is heavy and noisy and the best helmet I ever had. It's heavy because it's so well made. It's noisy because there are so many wind vents. If you want a quiet helmet buy one without vents but the Arai has front vents, 2 vents above the visor to run cool air through through hair and a top/rear vent to cool the back of of your head. I love it. Yes, it's expensive but I stopped worrying about that after a week.
 
Ditto for my Shoei NEOTEC II, my first flip front. Easly the most comfy helmet I have owned. Also expensive and yes you do soon forget the pain to the pocket, especially on multiday rides. The pro sellers say try them all and buy what is the most comfy. I guess some kind of thin Balacarver might help if allowed in the shop. Not trying is EXTREMELY risky, I have stuffed this up even when trying them on, too tight and it never got looser so I had to buy bigger 6 months later. What a piss off that was.
 
At the time you could get 3 different thickness cheek pads only for that model Shoei, these days they make 3 different major internal pads and also 3 different cheek pads. All available for the main Shoei website. Apparently there are sites in the USA that do custom fitting of these pads at the time of purchase. As the helmet wears over time you can buy these thicker pads to compensate. Head shrinking can be damaging so avoid if possible.
 
When I was looking at fixes for my to tight helmet, I always bought really snug fitting and they loosened over a couple of months. Not that time. Anyway, some bloke was saying he went at the major internal bit made out of Coolidge,polystyrene, white foam, with 80 grit sandpaper. That component is where all the crash impact gets absorbed, didnt sound smart to me. Don't know Legs,top-end Ski boots use injected expanding foam so maybe one day. I did have a set of boots that used an air bladder you finger pumped to get a firm fit, sounded like a great idea but you could get them so tight your toes went numb so not too good in the long run. I went back to the usual type, and still got black big toenails and had the nails fall off ever year. Both feet.
 
Bought a pair of Strolz boots years ago from that mob on the North Shore, cost me seven hundred bucks but jeeze they were good.
Old skiing saying: a good skier can ski in good boots and crap skis but not on good skis and crap boots.
 
Richard 180.S2 said:
I bought an Arai after having what I thought was an excellent lightweight helmet. The Arai is heavy and noisy and the best helmet I ever had. It's heavy because it's so well made. It's noisy because there are so many wind vents. If you want a quiet helmet buy one without vents but the Arai has front vents, 2 vents above the visor to run cool air through through hair and a top/rear vent to cool the back of of your head. I love it. Yes, it's expensive but I stopped worrying about that after a week.
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I understood that the rear vents were to allow the air to vent out. I found that most of the wind noise comes in from under the helmet, around the neck opening. Early in the season I need to use a fairly thick windproof neck warmer thing, when I downsize to just a buff that I can pull up over my chin, the increase in wind noise is huge. Always use earplugs regardless. A helmet rep once told me that if you get a tight spot (which is often on the forehead), you can use the back of a spoon and compress the foam just a bit, exactly opposite to the tight spot, not removing anything and just a mm or so. On polycarbonate helmets that have copped a whack, the foam can be compressed in to just a couple of mm thick with no visible damage outside, fg helmets usually show any impact very clearly.
 
Decided I needed a new helmet so looked at various options. Good that our standard laws were relaxed some time ago so we have more models to choose from.
I ended up buying a Shark Evo ES, which is their newest model of the flip up version. On these the chin bar flips right over so it can be ridden as an open face or full face and is homologated to meet the standards as either. Very clever design and after looking at various reviews noted earlier ones seemed to have the odd issue but have received mine and it fees a pretty good fit and the design works well. The functionality suits me.
(Had looked at an Airoh with similar design but there was some issues with lack of EPS in some areas near the chin bar so went with the proven)
 
I had a bell star donkeys years ago when there was only a tiny shop in Bromley, Kent (well Shortlands) importing them, they were taking the piss and getting away with it, mine came straight in from USA via the back door, next I had a Shoei when again they were extremely expensive and very, very good to use, in about 1984 (?) they were around ?600, ( I had bought a brand new Laverda eleven years earlier for ?1000!) but I had to have one, next came a succession of AGV helmets, very reasonably priced as Slaters were the (back door) UK importer, I had several of them, then  a daft Daff Vader lookalike thing which was crap, then another AGV, this time Slaters not selling them any more, I kept that helmet far too long for safety and two years ago bought my first flip front and its back to Shoei, 

what a revelation!

so good to wear and use, lovely and quiet, sun visor built in (Nick) and (unusual now) it has the seat belt type ratchet buckle, which I really like, double D rings are a pain for me as I can only get one hand to my face due to injury, it is just so luuuuuverly to use, I should have ditched AGV years earlier, I was stupidly loyal to them for some 35 years, but very glad to be back in a Shoei.

but it as a cheapo Everoak full facer that undoubtedly saved my life in 1973, when I ploughed into the front of a stalled tippertruck in a local country lane
CLEM
 
I'm still of the opinion that the odds of the viroid getting me are greater than me binning it wearing a pudding pot ....... but I do appreciate a helmet that is quiet.

When death is ineveitable the only thing left is style!

Jim
 
From my experience with helmets, I always bought a helmet one size smaller then used 80 grit sand paper to shape the Styrofoam padding to FIT My Head.

My favorite Helmet was the Italian Caberg Justissimo.

The Snoopy Helmet ;o)

Caberg no longer make the Justissimo but have more modern versions of the model (Possibly the DUKE - I don't know - Look into it).

I highly recommend Caberg.

They are light, very breathable, Dual Visor and Modular flip up and can be warn open face utilizing the internal flip down visor. NICE!

CLEM: Can't say an old heavy bowling ball open face BELL helmet if it did not save my life one time in April. Got hit from behind by a 1968 Plymouth Belvedere 440 doing 120mph and I was doing 50. I did spend the whole summer on crutches and lost my motorcycle season but I was back in the mountains skiing come November.

Believe me the old Bell helmet was shattered but my head wasn't, I did have to repair some broken bones and endure the pain of physical therapy before skiing season. I was 20 - My Body can no longer endure that stress at 72 ;o)

I never sued the young driver or the family of that car as they were residences with in my domain - SHIT Happens.

I survived and recuperated but can't say I don't feel the pain today in my old age and the over all consequences of that accident.

Particular the memories, that's providing I have any memories left. I was born in 48. In 1970 I was 22 and not either a Ducati, MV Agustia nor a Kawaski 900 could best my 70 a Breganzie 750SF. Gotta say the Duke 750S Desmo, owned by a friend, came close ; but a HORRID to tune.

I Paid $85 for my Caberg Justissimo way back when (What a deal). A Caberg is probably worth around $400 today.

Still got that Helmet in perfect condition. Anybody interested = Size 6 3/4", can be enlarged with a little 80 grit sand paper to size large.

I've no use for the helmet anymore as I just don't trust myself on two wheels at my age.

If you want a PIC, I can arrange it. Its still in its original bag.

You paint the ears to match the colour of your bike ;o)

Here's an example: https://www.ebay.com/i/302950015178?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=302950015178&targetid=883441960689&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9058761&poi=&campaignid=9426387573&mkgroupid=96480184500&rlsatarget=pla-883441960689&abcId=1140476&merchantid=6296724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3-uaiIX26QIVrYFaBR1fWQWrEAQYASABEgJZ0_D_BwE

Mines in a hell of better condition then that ;o)
 
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