General

[c6quad]

yep, a bunch of bikes on the road. it's that time of year and with gas prices like this a motorcycle is a good thing to have.

a buudy of mine just bought an '08 cbr600rr a couple weeks ago. it's a sweet looking bike for sure. it's the all black graffiti edition. he said he needs to buy a better helmet though. he bought a HJC and it's a POS at highway speeds. he says it gets a lot of wind noise coming in from around the face shield. an Arai is next on his list.

[Christian Nelson]

Buddy of mine, an EMT/fireman responded to a deer/motorcycle accident on Sunday, over the page the dispatcher warned EMT's that there was brains on the road.

Female rider, no helmet..

She lived, but not sure how well she'll turn out.

[c6quad]

ouch!!! i hate to hear that but anyone that doesn't wear a helmet is asking for trouble. i wish the best for her but it's her own fault.

[Christian Nelson]

Coming from several EMT's I have spoken with, a helmet only works for 40mph or slower if your body is forcibly made to come to a complete stop.

Skidding and so forth, much faster, but at the speeds people drive on a highway, it doesn't take much to grind through a helmet, unless it is kevlar or some other wearing material.

But, yeah, in her case, the helmet would have at least not had the brain trauma.

There aren't very many deer/bike wrecks helmet or not that people survive though.

They usually happen around dusk, and the rider rarely even sees it coming because the stupid things just jump practically on top of the rider.

My father in law responded to one last year, Deer hit the riders (husband and wife) with a 10 point rack right through the windsheild. Both had helmets on. Both dead at the scene. Not even one skid mark, just bang, they never saw it.

Deer are the one thing I am really scared of in riding. Not much traffic out here, so the cars are easier to deal with, maybe if I was in a metro area.. But, at night, I make sure to find a car to follow, and I feel like I need a full metal suit of armor. Leather will have to do, and a helmet..

[Azzy]

Ive noticed my HJC lets in a lot of wind noise.. but I dont have the scratch for a new Arai (I know you dont skimp on a hemet, but those prices are HIGH!)

Anyone here try out the new Scorpions?

[c6quad]

Arai helmets are expensive but so is a head injury. i was wearing my Arai when i broke my neck and it did its job protecting my head. of course that was on dirt and i'm sure any decent helmet would have done the same. when it comes to a helmet, $500 is not a bad investment if you think about it. hell... look at what we spend on paintball guns.

[Azzy]

Yeah, but I also look at the returns of a $500 helmet, or the returns of a $250 helmet and a $250 riding jacket....

My last helmet cost $250 and is DOT and Snell rated, What else do you get with that extra (double) price other than a name? Will it last longer, fit better, be quieter? Is it really safer by twice?

Some day when I can afford to buy one, sure, if it fits well and has what I want, I would get one.

(And look what some others spend on paintball gear... usually I think most of you are nuts )

[c6quad]

i hear you on what else you could buy with the money saved by buying a cheaper helmet. if your that strapped for cash, it'll be the smarter thing to do.

i think with the double price tag your getting more than just a name... things like a lighter weight, better ventilation, reduced wind noise, removable liner that can be washed and an option of different sized pads to get the perfect fit. also, look at the actual construction of the shell and the internal part. they are made to absorb impact. on my Arai helmet you can feel and see the indentation on the inside of it from me landing on top of my head when i broke my neck. cheap helmets don't offer that type of construction. if they did, they wouldn't be cheap. those may not be enough to warrant the higher price to a lot of people but they may seal the deal to others.

it's no different than buying a paintball gun. gun A with B price may work for me and gun C with D price will work for you.

all i know is if i were buying a helmet it would be an Arai, no if, ands, or buts about it.

[quick.spyder]

I put her in the shop to make sure everything's okay before I start riding. She'll be out sometime this week.

[Railgun]

A word about helmets....

Yes Arai makes a nice product. But so do Shoei and so are the better models from some of the budget makers like HJC.

More important than the name above the visor is the fit. I'd buy an Arai but they don't fit my head. It happens that I have a Shoei or HJC shaped head.

When you put on the helmet and push down on the top of it you should feel your head down around the "bowl" line that is just above your ears, runs arcross the upper part of your forehead and on the bump at the back of your head fit nicely to the hard foam liner as much as possible. If you find that the helmet is pressing harder on the sides or harder in the front and back with little or no contact pressure on the other parts then this is not the right shape helmet. Price be damned, if it doesn't fit then you need to go to another model or brand.

I'm not saying that a $100 helmet that fits is going to be better than a $500 Arai that isn't a perfect fit but within a reasonable price spread the better fitting lid is going to do a better job than a slightly more expensive one that doesn't fit as well since the construction will typically be comparable within a given price range.

Having said this if you have an Arai head you ain't going to get a much better lid.

One area where you can save is to pass on the fancy graphics. An amazing amount of money goes into those graphics and in 5 to 6 years when the hard foam liner has aged and gotten TOO hard and you run your helmet through a saw then all those graphics were just a waste. Stick to cheap graphics or plain colors and put the money into the things that'll protect your noggin.