Total Motorcycle Community Forums

As a rider who is a 'noob' I would not have even thought about anything less than a full face helmet. The first time I went down in a gravel parking lot (about 2 months after I started riding) I was very glad my full face was protected. I was only going about 15 km/h and I landed on my side and the side and front of my helmet were well scratched up. I put that helmet in a prominant place to remind myself of how important I am to a lot of people (and myself).

A - All
T - The
G - Gear
A - All
T - The
T - Time

I learned that here on Total Motorcycle.

Best of luck with your choice, but choose for safety rather than 'look'.

BikerRev wrote: A - All
T - The
G - Gear
A - All
T - The
T - Time

I learned that here on Total Motorcycle.

Best of luck with your choice, but choose for safety rather than 'look'.

I think this is the winning answer!!

...SAFETY FIRST...

Later.

I'm surprised that no one mentioned a modular helmet as a option.

They offer the chin protection and also offer a flip up front. They use to be expensive but I've seen more than one mfg with a modular for less than $200.

The protection and flexibility (to me) cannot be beat. Remember with any helmet you must try it on as a large from one mfg is not the same size as a large from another. Also wear it around the dealer for 20 to 30 minutes for any tight points that you may not feel at first.

My opinion is DOT or better, at least full face or modular, must fit well or it will get left at home when riding sooner or later.

Good Luck.

flw wrote:I'm surprised that no one mentioned a modular helmet as a option.

They offer the chin protection and also offer a flip up front. They use to be expensive but I've seen more than one mfg with a modular for less than $200.

The protection and flexibility (to me) cannot be beat. Remember with any helmet you must try it on as a large from one mfg is not the same size as a large from another. Also wear it around the dealer for 20 to 30 minutes for any tight points that you may not feel at first.

My opinion is DOT or better, at least full face or modular, must fit well or it will get left at home when riding sooner or later.

Good Luck.

The other benefit to the modular helmet is that the neck openning tends to be tighter due to not having to accomodate your whole head fitting through...which translates to less wind noise in the helmet...

Later.

flw wrote:I'm surprised that no one mentioned a modular helmet as a option.

They offer the chin protection and also offer a flip up front. They use to be expensive but I've seen more than one mfg with a modular for less than $200.

I've seen several examples of catatrosphic failure of the flip up mechanism in an accident. It leaves you with no more protection than a 3/4 helmet. It's left me real cautious about wanting to own a modular...

madjak30 wrote:The other benefit to the modular helmet is that the neck openning tends to be tighter due to not having to accomodate your whole head fitting through...which translates to less wind noise in the helmet...

My wife has a HJC modular and had the opposite experience, it was noisier than full face. She's gone back to a pair of plain old HJC CL-15's.

I bought a modular helmet as my first one. Don't know how it is for noise yet, as I haven't bought a motorcycle yet (went for the gear first). There is no way I'd go with a half-helmet. I think the added protection of a full face is worth it, because I like my face just the way it is. Not to mention the thought of getting smacked in the face by rocks, insects, or other debris while moving at highway speeds isn't very appealing to me.

I bought a modular so if I ever really feel like I *have* to ventilate while navigating the 25mph surface streets, I can just flip the front up. Then, when it's time to get back up to moving at greater speeds I can flip it back down and be better protected from the world around me.