Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Another question:

Some helmets are $100, some are $1000. Do the more expensive helmets really offer better protection or are you just paying for brand name & paint job? Is there a good comparison somewhere?

thanks,

Eugene

I have three different helmets, a $70.00 Vega full-face, a $100.00 HJC shielded open-face, and a hand-me-down Bieffe full-face. My dad, on the other hand, has a $250.00 full-face flip-up. I have found zero difference between any of these four helmets. They are all equally heavy and annoying to wear. Unless the helmet employs a light-weight material such as carbon fiber or kevlar, you're pretty much just buying designer jeans. Shop the discount rack and save some money for speed parts!

Wear a $500 - $1000 helmet and you will notice the difference. I have found that they are lighter, quieter, cooler (better vents), last longer and look a whole lot better.
Buy the best you can afford and you won't regret it.

All irrellevant name-calling posts deleted, sorry guys - keep it on topic (or at least vaguely, eh??)


As to the original qestion, buy what you are most comfortable with. The 2 best lids i've had were at opposite ends of the price scale. it really is down to what suits you. Some of the more expensive lids have extra features, such as flip-up front or drop-down visor. Just check they are DOT/Snell/BSF rated and the safety rating should be about the same...

ZooTech wrote: They are all equally heavy and annoying to wear.

My helemets on the other hand are a joy to wear, I like the Shark 500 and 800 range and my Arai Astro R with the flow vents, removable and washable pading along with the pull down wind deflector is a pleasure to wear. My goose also wears the Condor and is equally impressed with the comfort and fit.

sapaul wrote:My goose also wears the Condor

Goose?

Motorcyclist (magazine - I think? you can search it in the forums) did a big study. They found no correlation between safety and $$$. In fact their highest rated helmet was a sub $100 model. That doesn't mean there aren't some very safe expensive helmets - there are. If you are into fancy paint jobs you'll have to spend more $$$ and I've heard the name brand helmets are comfortable. But if you just want a really safe helmet and keep some money in your pocket, get a DOT full-face from Fulmer or one of the other discount maufacturers.

cb360 wrote:Motorcyclist (magazine - I think? you can search it in the forums) did a big study. They found no correlation between safety and $$$. In fact their highest rated helmet was a sub $100 model. That doesn't mean there aren't some very safe expensive helmets - there are. If you are into fancy paint jobs you'll have to spend more $$$ and I've heard the name brand helmets are comfortable. But if you just want a really safe helmet and keep some money in your pocket, get a DOT full-face from Fulmer or one of the other discount maufacturers.

Change safety to protection form impact.

A better fitting helemt, regardless of price, is a safer helmet. An ill fitting Snell, ECE, DOT or whatever helmet will not protect you properly.

If you subscribe to Motorcyclist's study, then they feel a DOT only helemt is "better" than a Snell Helmet.

However, a poor fitting DOT helmet will not protect as well as a good fitting Snell and vice a versa. A snug fit is important. While the impact protection of a cheap helemt may pass the MC'st study, a cheap ill fitting helmet will hurt you.

I suggest finding a good fitting helmet, one that fits your head shape and cheeks. If it is Snell, DOT, ECE, I don't care. Just get a model that fits right and you will have the best protection.

The more expensive helemts have better quality liners, tend to fit better and have higher quality rivets and fittings. My HJC AC-11 has replaceable cheek pads. To get the best fit, I have an XL hlemet with XXL cheek pads. The cheaper helemts can't be made to fit this well.

My $0.02