What type of helmet?

[fredintoon]

Cool! Do you happen to have a link to a place that explains it in more detail, with cutaway pictures and stuff? - - -

Hi 'Bug,
sorry, no. I just grabbed up my Nolan and had a good look at how the chinpiece snugged into the facebucket.
Do NOT regard me as a helmet authority. I suggest you go to a bike shop, check out their stock of modular helmets
and see how they work then draw your own conclusions.

[Crazcnuk]

"The same Poly and foam that protects the rest of my head. No moving parts to let go of their anchor points anywhere else on the helmet..."

No, they just fracture, crush and tear off, as designed.My assumption is that if the front ripped off as easily as you imagine, they would never have passed the tests. There were no modular helmets for the first 80 years or so, I assume because no one had figured out how to overcome this inherant weakness, but now they obviously have. The poly and foam is for crush protection, not tear away.

"I am assuming that the chin piece CAN be knocked off a modular helmet if hit in the right way)"

And it's a very large assumption. I can imagine giant chickens carrying me away thinking a full-face is one of thier eggs too.


"The only ratings that are available are pass/fail. Just because a turtle shell helmet is DOT-compliant does not tell me that it is equally as protective as a full-face."

Exactly, and since they all are made to minimum requirements, that is your rating. They either pass or they don't. No one said an open face is equally protective, but I would rather be outdoord 99.99999999999999% of the time, than cooped up in a fishbowl just in case that one in a trillion even comes up.

"It says that 34.6% of crashes hit the chin on one side or the other on initial impact"

Which is just over a third, not the majority by any stretch of the imagination. This means that the 'majority' of impacts occur everywhere else but the chin area by nearly a 2:1 margin.

"His face is probably still facing the ground, like superman"

I suppose if your dead or unconcious, but you should still be awake up to this point. If you have no refelxes at all, you definately should not be riding a motorcycle. Most of us have already cringed and begun turning away from an impact before it occurs. It's a reflex. Doesn't always work, but most useful when running into somethig dead ahead, unless your riding your bike backwards and don't see it coming.


"I don't know how fast your reflexes are, but there is no way I would be able to think about turning my body in any "preferred" direction between the time I left my bike and when I hit the road. I will be a rag-doll, tossed by momentum and gravity."

Been there done it. Reflexes farily fast, according to the test link posted elsewhere. I wouldn't own a bike otherwise. If I had to worry about piddly crap like this I wouldn't bother riding. I'd slink around in a cage like the majority of the population.

Yes, we can all sit down, and think of a pet crash type and worry about getting just the right helmet to cover that issue. But me, I've been riding, in the wind, open faced for 35 years and none of the issues brought up have happened (for me or all my freinds who also have, and have had bikes over the last 40 years). I look back and go 'Wow, I could have suffocated myself inside a smelly, sweaty helmet for all that time, but instead I got to smell the roses, breath free

[Spider]

Currently I've got a Bell-made half helmet. Looking for a full face. Problem is that I've got a huge head. When I was in high school I wore the biggest football helmet we had and still had to yank half of the padding for the thing to fit.
Anybody have any idea who makes the largest full faced helmets?(And where I can find one?)

[CatatonicBug]

What size is your head? I have seen helmets up to 3X. However most stores only carry up to 2X. There are several online places that will let you order a helmet then return it for fit reasons, and that, about the only place I've seen 3X sizes available.

[Spider]

Yeah I've tried a few different make/model 3X full faces in a shop. They're a no-go. Around the crown fits okay, but they're too short front to back, side to side, and top to bottom. My jawbone's about an inch lower than the lower edge of the helmet and my lips/nose are mashed up to the front of the mask.

I guess if worst comes to worse, once face-plant in a brain-bucket and I'll be able to fit into a full face with no problem!

[jetmechmarty]

long head

Spider,

I have the same fitment issue as you. ARAI PROFILE SERIES fits your long oval head. Try one on. I was trying to cram my head into a 2X and learned I am actually XL, but long oval fit. I think SHOEI RK1000 fits like that as well, but I'm not positive on the model.

Others may have helmets that fit as well, but only Arai makes it easy to shop by the shape of your head. When you try it on, take the cheek pads out first. Once the helmet fits, the cheek pads can be custom fitted. You need to try one on as these helmets are expensive.

[madmax-im]

Spider,

I have the same fitment issue as you. ARAI PROFILE SERIES fits your long oval head. Try one on. I was trying to cram my head into a 2X and learned I am actually XL, but long oval fit. I think SHOEI RK1000 fits like that as well, but I'm not positive on the model.

Others may have helmets that fit as well, but only Arai makes it easy to shop by the shape of your head. When you try it on, take the cheek pads out first. Once the helmet fits, the cheek pads can be custom fitted. You need to try one on as these helmets are expensive.

I've never seen a store that carried Arai helmets...Wish I knew where I could find a place to just try one on...

[CatatonicBug]

I've never seen a store that carried Arai helmets...Wish I knew where I could find a place to just try one on...

Cycle Gear sells 'em. Not sure if there's one of their stores close to you though. Their 3/4 helmet starts at $354, and the highest full-face is $809.

[jetmechmarty]

It's tough to buy Arai on the web. A lot of bike shops carry them. PROFILE SERIES is what you need to try.

[Brent]

modular helmet

I got a Zeus modular helmet. lowest price. noisy with wind cheap latches...I do not like to use it.

And to think, for a few dollars more, I Could have had a Nolan.





OTE=fredintoon;236519]Hi 'Bug,
I have been so delighted with the ability to put on and remove my modular Nolan without dropping my glasses during the process that I never thought about it's hinges until I read your post.
Then I took a look. The hinges have no part in the chinpiece's resistance to a frontal blow.
The chinpiece fits in a stepped recess all around it's contact line.
It's this peripheral interlock that makes the chinpiece act like an integral part of the helmet for the brief time needed to stop your face being torn off.[/QUOTE]

[Spider]

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely take a look. There's a few shops around here that I can check. It's more than I paid to get hold of the bike, but a helmet is really not the type of thing to skimp on if you can help it.

The whole helmet situation's been a pain for years, but it has had its moments of levity. When I was first looking for one, my dad had one he thought would fit me. I couldn't even get it far enough onto my head to wear it as a hat. I don't know if he thought he could get it to stretch or what, but he took it by the face section and smashed his fist down on the top of it a couple times to try to get it to fit.

[jetmechmarty]

I think the SHOEI is about $350. RF-1000 is available to XXXL. I tried somebodies SHOEI helmet on my head and it fit. It may have been the RF-1000.

These helmets should be available on sale this time of year. I bought my Arai new in the box on eBay for significant savings. The Arai rep fitted me at the International Motorcycle Show, so I was sure of my size.

[Spider]

There's a "Helmet World" place a bit over an hour away from me. I think it would be worth the drive; even if it's just to be sure of sizing.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Scorpion EXO 700

[ManagerMike]

I run with the scorpion exo-100. It's a 5/8 "trooper" style open face with removable ear skirt, retractable eye shield, and removable visor. Easy on/off for the likes of me that wear eyeglasses, and also doesn't make my glasses wobble around like a full face or 3/4 helmet that is in constant contact with the eyeglass' temples.
link:
http://scorpion--helmets.com/exo100.html