Full face or other?

[8trackmind]

I could also add that I have a responsibility to be around for my family, show my wife I'm being as safe as possible to aswage her fears, and set a good example for my children and others that are new to riding.

Oh, now you're just trying to make us all look bad. :-s :lol:

 

[shadowfist]

whenever talking to my friends about whether to use 3/4 or full face. I point them to this page.
http://www.obairlann.net/reaper/motorcycle/beginner/helmets.html

specifically this image. which is a graphic of where damage was on post crash helmets.
http://www.obairlann.net/reaper/motorcycle/beginner/images/impacts.gif


as you can see the "chinstrap" took more crashes on each side of the head by a fairly large margin.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

Hello All,

I am looking to purchase a new helmet. I currently have a half helmet (no shield just the top part of the head is protected) and I was wondering if you would care to share your thoughts about the helmet you are wearing.
I am not a lover of full face helmet. I understand the better protection they offer. I am just wondering what you thing and maybe you can tell me what you are currently using or what is your favorite helmet.

Thanks much.

The choices are 1/2 helmet, 3/4 helmet or full face helmet. I recommend getting a helmet that protects what you would prefer to have left of your head and face in the event of a crash. For me, there is no choice at all - full face is the only way to ride.

 

[rphillips]

If safety is your ONLY concern, may want to think about giving up the bikes. No matter what you wear, or how good of a rider you are, bikes are very dangerous. We ride bikes because the pleasure of riding outweighs the danger. To me, the pleasure of jeans, leather work shoes, & an open face helment gives me enough pleasure to over ride the danger. Unlike many others, if I had to wear full faced helment, leather suit, riding boots & gloves, in the summer, there wouldn't be enough pleasure left to over ride the danger & I would probably not ride. Everyone is different, I've seen many people riding with shorts, no shirt, & tennis shoes, to me that is very stupid, but to them it was just fine. On the other hand having to dress up with all the rididg gear others wear doesn't make sense to me either, but to them it's just great. Everyone has got to do what satisfies themself, then laugh at others who aren't doing like you are. And remember, they are looking at you & laughing, because you aren't doing like they are.

 

[reddirtrider]

If safety is your ONLY concern, may want to think about giving up the bikes.

Or driving, or walking acoss the street , or....

In everything you do there is a certain amount of risk. The idea is to mitigate the risk as much as possible. When crossing the street, we were taught to look both ways. When riding a motorcycle, one way to mitigate the risk is to wear a full face helmet.

It's quite simple.

 

[marvinsc]

Or driving, or walking acoss the street , or....

In everything you do there is a certain amount of risk. The idea is to mitigate the risk as much as possible. When crossing the street, we were taught to look both ways. When riding a motorcycle, one way to mitigate the risk is to wear a full face helmet.

It's quite simple.

Have to agree, I have been down without proper gear (1982) and with proper gear (2008). With is much better. As for those claiming "I've been riding XX years and never been down which must mean I'm highly skilled" I say this: Brian (bwringer) is one of the most skilled riders I have had the pleasure of sharing a road with but He will tell You, No amount of skill or experience can prepare You for a cooking grease spill in a curve. Same applies to oil, diesel, sand etc..... Proper gear is the best defense You have.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Have to agree, I have been down without proper gear (1982) and with proper gear (2008). With is much better. As for those claiming "I've been riding XX years and never been down which must mean I'm highly skilled" I say this: Brian (bwringer) is one of the most skilled riders I have had the pleasure of sharing a road with but He will tell You, No amount of skill or experience can prepare You for a cooking grease spill in a curve. Same applies to oil, diesel, sand etc..... Proper gear is the best defense You have.

Good post. Saying you've been riding for xx years with no incidents is pretty silly.

It's kind of like saying this:
"I've been living for 30 years without dying."
It only takes one instant to make that statment completely false.

 

[Billyboy]

Good post. Saying you've been riding for xx years with no incidents is pretty silly.

It's kind of like saying this:
"I've been living for 30 years without dying."
It only takes one instant to make that statment completely false.

The word "yet" is a great qualifier.
I've been riding for 3 years and I haven't been down, yet.

 

[bwringer]

A couple of others touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating: good gear is far more comfortable.

We've covered the safety factors pretty well, but the fact remains that a properly fitting full-face helmet is by far the most comfortable thing to have on your head for a day of riding.

Same for a good armored jacket appropriate for the weather (I have three or four to choose from depending on weather, from waterproof touring jacket to mesh), gloves (25+ pairs... ), pants (waterproof armored overpants for winter commuting, armored mesh overpants for hot weather, etc.), and even boots.

Work boots protect pretty well and function fine, but if you try riding with real motorcycle boots, you'll understand how they enhance control and comfort, and make riding that much more pleasurable.

Honestly, people who think they're more comfortable in a beanie and t-shirt have simply never tried wearing proper gear. Good gear makes riding more pleasurable, not less -- you can ride further and faster with less fatigue and stress.

(By the way, "good gear" does NOT include assless chaps, unarmored and unvented black leather jackets, leather or denim vests festooned with patches, leather do-rags, slip-on (and slip-off) harness boots, fingerless gloves, and faded blue jeans. These items are costumes, not riding gear.)

People who resist wearing full-face lids have simply never ever tried one that fits properly. There were a lot of really bad, uncomfortable helmets in the '80s and '90s that caused a lot of people to just give up on them, but these days you can get lots of different top-of-the-line extremely high quality full-face helmets for under $100. They're light weight, aerodynamically excellent, and VERY comfy. You're cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

You do have to try several different brands to find one that fits -- they're all a wee bit different -- and you should get advice on fit from someone with a lot of experience and/or helmet fitting training. Just about everyone buys their first helmet too big unless they seek advice.

Once you find a brand that works for you, you can usually order that brand in the future from the internet. For example, I have a pretty standard HJC XL head, so I've purchased my last four or five helmets over the internet. I rotate between two HJC AC-12 helmets at the moment. The second was purchased for just $80 on clearance because the graphics were unpopular. It feels and looks the same from the inside...

Here's a ton of material on helmet fit, dozens of helmet reviews, etc.:
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmets.htm

 

[rphillips]

I've got to admit, I haven't tried all brands & styles, of helments & riding gear, couldn't afford that. I've tried probably 10 different full face helments, BMW being the most comfortable, but it seemed very confineing. Tried my buddy's vented BMW leather jacket, & felt I was melting on an 85 degree day. Tried on another buddy's leather crotch rocket suit, & sweat was running out of my shoes before we took off, after appx 50 mi. things got no better. I've really never tried the leather boots that come nearly to my knees, but I think I can imagine what they would be like. For those of you who say the full face is cooler than the open face, please think of what you are saying, Is your coat warmer when zipped up to your chin, or completely unzipped & open in the front??? Vents or no vents, I've got to say I can't see how the full faced helment will ever be cooler, But is sure safer.

 

[bonanzadave]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=347210

Ouch !! That is one F'ed up lip on page 21. Post #310

 

[argonsagas]

Thanks Bert.
I could also add that I have a responsibility to be around for my family, show my wife I'm being as safe as possible to aswage her fears, and set a good example for my children and others that are new to riding.

The link was just to show the possible flaws in a flipface lid. Every rider makes his/her own gear choices.

From the linked site, which mentions one of my own concerns

Although the helmet shows little sign of a major impact, my friend was in a coma for three days, and required multiple surgeries to repair his eye sockets and get his eyes to stay in his head. He was also mentally confused for a couple of weeks. The helmet is a Nolan flip-open helmet. Normally, one expects a helmet to protect your head in a crash; in this case it seems my friend's head protected the helmet. I believe the hinge mechanism hit his temple, causing the eye socket damage and severe concussion. For this reason, I believe flip-open helmets are dangerous and should be avoided.

 

[Nessism]

The majority of accidents occur at intersections where someone in a car does not see the guy on the bike and blocks the riders right of way. It's not always an option of using rider skill to avoid accidents.

I had somebody turn in front of me in 2006 - I hit them broadside at 40 mph. Full face helmet was scratched up pretty bad in front - shield was deeply gouged and I had a fat lip. I shudder to think what would have happened if I was wearing anything less than full face. It's just not worth it.

 

[hp1000s]

In 1985(when I was 25 and had been riding since I was 8yrs old) a cage pulled bogus lane change, forcing(literally pushing) me across the yellow lines, directly into the front grill of a Ford 350 work van. Fortunately, traffic was only going approx. 20-25mph(40 mph closing speed)...and I was wearing a new, very cool-at-the-time Simpson kevlar full face, that cost a bunch for the times; and that I purchased because it had that neat slotted chin bar. The helmet was cracked through from bottom of chin-bar to almost the crown of the helmet...not one scratch or dent to my mug...my shattered pelvis & two crushed vertebrae took a year and a half to come back. Destroyed my GPz750turbo too. Yea full-face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most new full face helmets have excellent venting systems so heat isn't the pain that it once was. I just bought a Z1R Stance for Bike Bandit closeouts for $75, and I'm amazed at how nice the lid is from every aspect. It's both DOT & Snell rated FWIW. My .02

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

The majority of accidents occur at intersections where someone in a car does not see the guy on the bike and blocks the riders right of way. It's not always an option of using rider skill to avoid accidents.

I had somebody turn in front of me in 2006 - I hit them broadside at 40 mph. Full face helmet was scratched up pretty bad in front - shield was deeply gouged and I had a fat lip. I shudder to think what would have happened if I was wearing anything less than full face. It's just not worth it.

When scouting for my first helmet in back in the day, I came across an article in one of the popular mags (Motorcyclist, maybe?) that referenced a study of accidents in which there was direct impact to the frontal facial area in order to examine the effects of a full face vs 3/4 helmets.

The riders with the full face helmets typically sustained fat lips, maybe a chipped tooth.

The riders with 3/4 or less wound up losing their face from the lower jaw down.

My choice was made in that single study.

Besides, I like the added benefits of a) no bugs in teeth, b) no bugs in ears, c) no sand in eyes, d) wind break in cooler temps, e) no sun on head/face in warmer temps. Plus, a really cool smoked shield just looks silly on a 3/4 lid.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

I've got to admit, I haven't tried all brands & styles, of helments & riding gear, couldn't afford that. I've tried probably 10 different full face helments, BMW being the most comfortable, but it seemed very confineing. Tried my buddy's vented BMW leather jacket, & felt I was melting on an 85 degree day. Tried on another buddy's leather crotch rocket suit, & sweat was running out of my shoes before we took off, after appx 50 mi. things got no better. I've really never tried the leather boots that come nearly to my knees, but I think I can imagine what they would be like. For those of you who say the full face is cooler than the open face, please think of what you are saying, Is your coat warmer when zipped up to your chin, or completely unzipped & open in the front??? Vents or no vents, I've got to say I can't see how the full faced helment will ever be cooler, But is sure safer.

Obviously, ANY gear will hold body heat near the body. However, on a hot, sunny day, that same gear provides insulation from the GREATER heat of the sun and engine while also protecting you from the effects of heat exhaustion. The key is to understand how the body works, the climate your riding in and determining the best gear from there.

I will concede that a helmet can be hot in the warmer months, especially if your bike provides a well aimed flow of engine heat that the helmet collect when stopped. Still, given the choice, a bit of sweating beats any amount of bleeding or losing head parts or losing memory, etc., hands down.

 

[bwringer]

For those of you who say the full face is cooler than the open face, please think of what you are saying, Is your coat warmer when zipped up to your chin, or completely unzipped & open in the front??? Vents or no vents, I've got to say I can't see how the full faced helment will ever be cooler, But is sure safer.

Put on one of your "teeth in the wind" helmets.

Point a hair dryer on "high" at your face. For a couple of hours. Better yet, crank up a garage heater or something and stick your face right up in there -- get a good faceful of hot, high-velocity air.



Now put on a full-face helmet and try the same experiment.



See?

 

[tkent02]

Full face, ever since they were invented.
I get hit with way too much flying debris to use anything less.
Garbage can lids, dog parts, rocks. Occasionally asphalt. Once a car.
Open helmets are too uncomfortable for any serious riding too.
Can't stand the sun on my face.

 

[SgtRauksauff]

Back when I first started riding in 1988 (when I was 15-16) I got a cheap 30 dollar full-face from Farm and Fleet (regional farm supply store). Never crashed. dumped it once in a gravel driveway, but that was an issue with letting the clutch out too fast, lol!

A few years later, same helmet, a teensy tiny sparrow flew out in front of me when I was doing around 60 on a back road. hit the front tire, then bounced up and hit me in the face shield. Cracked the shield, and nearly threw me off of the bike. It literally jerked my head backwards. Scared the living crap out of me, too.

Nowadays, I haven't been riding on the bike in quite some time, but I've got a Bell Snell SA approved helmet, because some of the sanctioning bodies that host the track events I go to require it. Still a full-face. From experience (permanent Ti plates in my chin and jaw hinge-joint), steering wheels are NOT what you want to introduce your face too. This was in a passenger car, with an airbag, on snow/ice, not on a track with a helmet on, btw.

I can see an open helmet if you're on four wheels and behind a rollcage. If you're on two, and there's nothing between your face and the ground but some grains of sand, I think the full-face would be the way to go.

If you use a helmet at all, make sure it's worth using.

--sarge

 

[Ola]

Just another anecdote to the thread. I've gone down once, on my Honda CB 100 which tankslapped me into a ditch at about 40 mph. Landed face first on the asphalt before rolling on the grass, the full face helmet was cracked and scratched but I only had a slightly stiff neck. I would never ever consider anything other than a full face and I probably wouldn't take a pillion without one either.

I have a Caberg Rhyno flip up now. I love it, and I do ride with the face shield open at low speeds in the city etc but outside of stop and go or the narrow streets of Bergen it comes down. That thread on advrider has me concerned, I would probably get along just fine without the flip up.