Helmets!

[Squisher]

What you got? What you want? What do you like, hate or otherwise note about it? Price?

Im stuck in a cheapie ckx helmet right now. Loud as f-ck over 100-110. And some whistling here and there to boot. Fogs easily and the visor doesn't seal well. Besides that it seems decent, comfy enough, drop down visor, quick release strap, recesses for comm speakers in the complete wrong spot for my head. It was just over a hundred bucks if memory serves at a local shop.

Anyways I'm looking/thinking about upgrading and of course driving myself mental with all the options out there. I know some on here spare no expense for their motorcycle passion and im envious of that. For myself a shoei rf1200 would be the upper limit of my budget and I'd much prefer something less expensive, I'm always drawn towards a sale. Lol. And I'd very much prefer a drop down visor. I really like that feature myself. And pinlock or equivalent(if there is any?)

Cheapish lids ive been looking at:

Scorpion Exo t510, t1200, and st1400 carbon

bell rs2 and star mips torsion

ls2 ff327, ff397

anyone have any experience with any of those? I like some of the hjc lineup. But haven't been able to suss out what models to consider from them too.

As some here may have noticed. I like to really overthink things.

[oldgixxer]

It's all about fit. You're best bet is hitting the shops and trying everything on. Oh ...and good luck finding quiet.

I scored a hjc rpha a couple years ago for half price. Was ordered for a customer who didn't want it. It's a weird color hence the good deal. I don't like the visor lock, and its noisy as hell. The fit is good although I wished it rested further back on my head. O ya ...at high speeds(track only) the friggen visor flexes inward to touch nose and I ain't Jimmy Durante.

If you find the perfect hat let me know. O ya ...I've had a couple cheaper modular hats. They are REALLY noisy and drafty. They are not safe enough either - the swivel piece blows right off on impact.

Ls2, voss, mts, are pretty well the same helmets.

[CoolDaddyGroove]

I've had like 10 helmets. Current is RF1200, prior to that GT-Air. Both exceptional helmets. RF1200 is the quitest I've owned. I went spendy and go the photochromatic lense (super awesome, except when you come out of a tunnel and get blinded), paired with a pinlock and it never fogs.

If you want a deal, look for plain colors. I bought white....

Tried (yes, bought, testrode, and returned) a few helmets and basically anything that is polycarbonate is loud as fuck. I have heard first hand that Carbon has the same issue.

[bacchus40]

i've had shoei (rf 1k?), arai (cant remember didnt fit right), agv (gp-tech, and now on Schuberth C4

the arai is not very memorable, i bought it b4 i understood head shapes and didnt fit right so i switched to Shoei.

The shoei was very comfortable and quiet from what i remember but it was a while back.

the AGV GP-tech i purchased because it was one of the 1st carbon fiber shells out there, i wanted an ultra lite
helmet to help on longer rides. it was not very quiet but it wasnt loud either, great comfort, great aero-dynamics
and weighed absolutely nothing.

the SCHUBERTH C4 i have now is the absolute most comfortable helmet i've owned.. its quiet and fits like a glove.

I purchased it as there is a built in comm system which SENA worked on. i will likely still need ear plugs with a
small channel thru e'm to allow me to listen to music as well, and hear friends on comm unit.

while it is quiet, once you open up air vents in hot summer days i can see things getting pretty 'pink-noisy' at highway speeds.

Rode the Coquihalla in windy overcast weather yesterday afternoon.. yep, kinda noisy

[Squisher]

Well I appreciate everyone's input. I was really wanting a drop down visor, positive locking main visor, and pinlock. So I've taken a gamble on the LS2 challenger (ff327) through f9. DOT and ece rated. Reasonably priced middish? level helmet. I measured my bean and every helmet I've ever had has been a large and I measured exactly a 59-60cm which is ls2's large. Not as good as trying on in person. But I'll try it out. If it's a no go I'll have to suck up the shipping I suppose. Time to kick this snowmobile helmet to the curb. Lol.*

Hoping it'll be a upgrade from my ckx. Fibreglass composite vs plastic shell and positive locking visor I'm hoping will make for a slightly quieter helmet. Also hoping I'll notice a better field of view. *The drop down visor which I'm a big fan of even in my ckx is supposed to be a nice dark tint and nearly full coverage. Also it and the visor are supposed to be optically correct.

Once I get it and decide to keep it and put a few miles on it I'll update this thread.

In case anyone was wondering, it'll be coming in plain white. Cool in the okanagan sun. I'm not a huge fan of matte finishes. Give me some glossiness. *

[CoolDaddyGroove]

Cool. I have actually never looked at LS2

[sAdam]

That ls2 metro sure looks funky with the hard angles on the visor. *Never seen that b4.

[Squisher]

The new helmet arrived. I wore it for a good bit in the house and it was very comfy so swapped in my packtalk. I road for about an HR in it last night. Definetly a massive improvement over my old helmet.

Noise wise, there's still some noise but definetly quieter, everything is much more 'muffled' than my ckx. Visibility is way better too. The visor(s) are clearly more optically correct than my old helmet. I commented to my wife while riding(and before to many bug splatters) that the visor was so clear it was as if it wasn't even there. With a sport design to the helmet tucked visibility and shoulder checks are much better than my old helmet. I like the drop down visor in the LS2 more as well, drops down real far. Positive lock main visor and included pinlock make this helmet a great value IMO. Emergency check pad pulls and a cam lock chin strap too. Some people don't like the cammed chin straps, but I do myself. Once adjusted up properly like I've already done I find them comfy and convenient.

The finish is real nice, pearl white on mine which I like too. I went white for coolness, visibility, and a non matte finish. Ventilation is fantastic and plentiful too. It was muggy last night but I could feel positive ventilation while riding. This helmet was one of the only ones I saw with a drop down visor and brow vents still too. It comes with a carry bag, helmet bag and a inflatable hemmroid pillow, errr I mean helmet pillow. Which was actually very handy for swapping the comms over and will be for pulling out the liner to clean too.

LS2 ff327 challenger

*

[the bartender]

After 2 years of searching, and humming & hawing, i finally bought a new helmet this past weekend.
It was down to the Schuberth C4 pro and Neo Tec 2, and went with the Neo tec 2 in Splicer TC-8 graphic.
There were plus and minus for both, but i made the final decision based on the Shoei fitting me slightly better, and I greatly preferred where the tilted screen slider is located.

[CoolDaddyGroove]

I came close to buying the Neo Tec 2, just couldnt get past the way my face looked all squished when I flipped it up. No one would talk to me haha

[Squisher]

How do you find the noise levels on it? *I've heard modular helmets can be quite quiet due to being able to have a tighter fitting neck. Do you wear plugs with it still? *Just curious if there is any way away from that if actually hitting some speeds.*

My setup now is with earbuds for the radar and packtalk stock speakers in the helmet for music/comms. With this setup on my new helmet I find it very quiet and good for higher speeds. Radar alerts are never missed and wind road and bike noise are very muted. I just wish the music could,be slightlier louder.*

[KatRider]

Love the cam lock chin strap. I had a Vemar helmet a few years ago that had one and I thought it was brilliant. Adjust it once and it made getting my helmet off and on so much easier. No more fiddling with D-rings every time I removed or put on my lid. I only wish more helmet manufacturers would use them.

I picked up a AGV K5S at GP Bikes last summer. I was back east passing through Oshawa and stopped in. I was originally looking at a Bell helmet (pretty much all of them were 25% off) but none of them fit my head. Bugger. AGV were only 15% off but it was one of the few that fit my head and was in the budget. I was not necessarily looking for a helmet with an internal sun visor but I thought I'd give one a go. (I also got a tinted visor. What can I say, I like it dark when riding in sunny conditions.) One thing I did not like is that the colour selection (solids) is pretty limited. I would prefer something fluorescent/bright but it was only available in black, grey or white.

I have not worn it that much but at higher speeds it seems that the 'pointy' chin bar catches the wind a bit more when turning my head to the side. I'll have to ride more with it to confirm. I have not used it that much because I have yet to swap my Sena unit over to it from my current Shoei.

[CoolDaddyGroove]

You are showing your age Dave when Hi-Vis is yoru "go-to" haha

[the bartender]

I came close to buying the Neo Tec 2, just couldnt get past the way my face looked all squished when I flipped it up. No one would talk to me haha

I'm looking forward to showing my squished face at the border, and not having to pull my helmet. I wonder if i should update my passport photo to match....

[CoolDaddyGroove]

Ha, I actually forgot about that benefit.