[1BigGuy]

Just looking for some opinions here. While I do ride most of the time with a helmet, it is usually not a DOT rated one (Personal preference), but also a belief that with the amount of technology that is in the market place today there has to be a better product out there than something that meets a standard that has not been updated in years. Helmets for most every other sport have changed significantly in this time. It just seems that the basic formate of Styrofoam and plastic (as most DOT helmets are) cannot be the best product to protect my head. There has to be something out there that is comfortable (relative term) and provides better protection.

 

[JacktheBagger]

Unfortunately I think most of the tech advances in motorsickle helmets have gone to the FF ones ..

I hadda $500 Shoei RF1000 that I got for free , now I have a $500 FF Fulmer modular , again free >

I rarely wear them except in the winter and usually pack them on road trips , they can add hours of riding time when ya hafta burn asphalt ..

Sweetie says a FF on a Harley "jus dont look right" , but older I get , more I think about preservation ..

Only downside to a non DOT , is if you get stopped and aint gotta sticker on it ..

 

[rc74racer]

Bagger is right most of the helmet advances are in the FF helmets. Most people who buy open face helmets do it because of the law and all they are looking for is something that looks decent and is inexpensive. There is just not a big market for a quality OF helmet. You might try Seer they are used by bike cops. I hear they have great quality and comfort. I personally ride with a FF it's all i've ever known. I grew up riding dirt bikes with helmets, then started racing cars and riding sport bikes so I'm use to it anything less doesn't feel right to me.

You might also look at some of the non dot carbon fiber helmets.

 

[1BigGuy]

Bagger is right most of the helmet advances are in the FF helmets. Most people who buy open face helmets do it because of the law and all they are looking for is something that looks decent and is inexpensive. There is just not a big market for a quality OF helmet. You might try Seer they are used by bike cops. I hear they have great quality and comfort. I personally ride with a FF it's all i've ever known. I grew up riding dirt bikes with helmets, then started racing cars and riding sport bikes so I'm use to it anything less doesn't feel right to me.

You might also look at some of the non dot carbon fiber helmets.

Thanks for the feedback, I've ridden with a headtrips Kevlar/carbonfiber non-DOT Polo helment since 2003. I really enjoy it, just don't care for the fact that I've gotten a ticket in the past for wearing it. The main concern here is the material used, it just seems logical that there has to be something better and thinner than styrofoam as a liner and if there is, how will it ever get approved for DOT, since reviews and changes happen so rarely.

 

[Rowdy]

Acc kevlar

Living in Washington State, not only are helmets mandatory, they are cracking down on the non-DOT helmets. I also work on a DoD installation that of course mandates DOT helmets. The added bonus is reflective/bright colored clothing or a safety vest, full finger gloves, etc... I have worn DOT since I bought my 07SG, but changed over to a Kevlar DOT from ACC helmets. I am pretty sure that's where I ordered it. The issue with most if not all helmet mfr's is they use one size shell, and then fill in with styrofoam for sizing and DOT compliance. The company I ordered my helmet from uses four size shells, which allows them to use less fill material, and meets DOT standards. It makes a nice low profile helmet, that believe it or not is really comfortable. When you order from these guys, although they sell through the internet, you have to call them and actually give them a measurement for your head. They provided great customer service, and when I needed to exchange mine, it was a no problem. I hadn't allowed for always wearing a bandana under my helmet, and the first one I got was too small.

 

[rc74racer]

Thanks for the feedback, I've ridden with a headtrips Kevlar/carbonfiber non-DOT Polo helment since 2003. I really enjoy it, just don't care for the fact that I've gotten a ticket in the past for wearing it. The main concern here is the material used, it just seems logical that there has to be something better and thinner than styrofoam as a liner and if there is, how will it ever get approved for DOT, since reviews and changes happen so rarely.

Have you thought about buying a DOT sticker? I hear you can get them online. One of the main problems with the DOT helmet law is penetration this is why the foam is so damn thick it has to meet a minimum penetration requirement which is kind of dumb. Most head trama related deaths are from impact not penetration.

 

[JacktheBagger]

I'm like RC , done my share of motorsickle dirt track racing and motorsickle drag racing , so to me a FF is a no brainer ( or brainer ) for competition , but most all , if not all competition requires a FF anyways ..

I have herd good things about ACC , there is also a European company , that I think no longer imports , but they had the best helmets , period , cant think of the name right off ..

 

[chuskey]

Anybody have one of these or have any thoughts on them? They claim to be the smallest DOT available. The local state troopers have been cracking down on non DOT giving out lots o tickets lately, so I've been considering getting one of these, but from the pic it's still hard to tell how big they are on someones head.

http://www.daytonahelmets.com/home/day/smartlist_69/basiccustom_colors.html

 

[Rowdy]

Mushroom head

They all make ya look like a mushroom head. It sucks, but it gets pretty spendy to keep payin for tickets. Look cool? Pay tickets??? Hell of a choice.

 

[BaggerFLTR]

Guys.....

...... you need more than just a DOT sticker. There had better be a lable SEWN or PRINTED inside the helmet that states compliance with DOT regulations or your still gonna get hammered.
The old days of slappin' a DOT sticker on a skid lid are fading fast.......
I have a GMAX 55 with the pull down visor and it's really comfortable, light and the visor is nice.
Good Luck.

Oh, yeah....... you only have one brain......

Bag

 

[BaggerFLTR]

Look cool? Pay tickets??? Hell of a choice.

HA ! Rowdy, it'd take a hell of a helmet to make me look cool!!!!!!

Bag

 

[rc74racer]

...... you need more than just a DOT sticker. There had better be a lable SEWN or PRINTED inside the helmet that states compliance with DOT regulations or your still gonna get hammered.
The old days of slappin' a DOT sticker on a skid lid are fading fast.......
I have a GMAX 55 with the pull down visor and it's really comfortable, light and the visor is nice.
Good Luck.

Oh, yeah....... you only have one brain......

Bag

Really? I have 6 helmets all DOT one less than a year old and not one of them have any DOT reference on the inside of the helmet all they have are stickers on the outside. All that is on the inside is a warning label and care instructions and you have to actually look hard to find them as they are under the padding.

I agree you only have one brain and I ride with a FF 99.9% of the time because I'm use to it. Perhaps if I had grown up not wearing a helmet I'd feel differently.

 

[pte359]

Well after wearing a ff for over 20 years I dropped the ball last night and bought a 1/2 shell at the HD dealer, rode a 100 miles to bike night and visor would not stay up so I bout cooked , It was hy 90s when I left. I must say it was a different ride home, but it was alot cooler. I will not ditch the ff but I have the option now.
It is a dot ..

 

[hodgeaaco]

There are plenty of 1/2 and 3/4 helmets out there that are at least DOT if not EU and Snell certified. And, after riding with a "novelty" brain bucket for a year, there ain't much difference. I have an HD 1/2 with a duck-tail, made by HJC, and I actually prefer it over the novelty, because it is actually cooler. The bucket retains too much heat for me. I actually drilled vent holes, which did nothing but compromise the already weak shell. I also have an AGV Blade for longer trips. It's a 3/4 and can either have a full face shield or a visor with no face shield. The reason I bought it was because it covered my ears, which is nice as I am slowly going deaf! Just my 2 cents.

 

[BigDaveOnBass]

Good thing I landed on my head. I might have been hurt.

 

[pte359]

Been catching a lot of greif today from the wife and son about the 1/2 helment, Son races karts and ask if I was nutts and forgot everything I have preached to him for 20 years about what is your head worth... wife said the same thing....

 

[BillyBob]

Some good info on helmets


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/automobiles/27SNELL.html?_r=3


Dexter Ford of The New York Times has written an interesting article on helmet ratings and whether motorcycle riders should choose Snell-rated helmets. 'The certification by Snell, a nonprofit research and testing organization financed by helmet makers, is not mandatory for road use but it is for some racing series, which can lead consumers to assume that a Snell-compliant helmet is safer — an assumption that is not agreed upon by researchers,' says
According to Ford's article, 'Many head-injury scientists, motorcycle-accident researchers and helmet makers say they are concerned that the “premium protection" proffered by current Snell-certified helmets may not be better after all. They argue that current Snell-rated helmets are too rigid and unyielding to properly absorb impact energy in the great majority of motorcycle crashes, subjecting riders to preventable brain injuries.'

'Hugh H. Hurt, a researcher who developed the Head Protection Research Laboratory at the University of Southern California, and author of the Hurt Report, a seminal study of motorcycle crashes, calls the current Snell M2005 standard 'a little bit excessive,' says Ford's article. 'People are wearing these so-called high performance helmets and are getting diffuse brain injuries. Well, they’re screwed up for life. Taking 300 g’s is not a safe thing,' says Hurt.

 

[Frodoe]

G-Max half

I just got a G-max half, Love it sits low with a pull down smoke visor. got caught in a ran storm in the hill country and the pull down helped alot also ridin into the AZ sunset it gives a bit more to cut the rays.
Hay Half or whole GOD knows how, why and when, the DOT is for the insurance man to pay out when it's time. So give them peace of mind, not a piece of it.
Frodoe

 

[Fireguy]

These are the % of impact in a study on helmets

 

[MikeMan]

Stickers

I anybody needs a nice personalized sticker for somebody named Dot, just PM me. I have some extras that I screwed up and used all capital letters. I didn't notice until I laminated them. Yeah, that's it, until after I laminated them...
Mike