Suggest me a motorcycle helmet

[Amused]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: sward666

Motorcycle helmets are stupid. If you wreck you're dead, helmet or not helmet. If you somehow happen to survive, you'd wish you were dead.

I'm sorry, but you don't know wtf you're talking about.

2 of my helmets

Left was a highside at about 60 mph, right was highside at about 115. Obviously, if you do a faceplant into a brick wall, you're f-d, but that's fairly rare.

What's a highside?

When the rear tire slides, then abruptly regains traction while still not in line with the front tire and catapults you over the bike. Since you are in a turn, that side of the bike is facing up and is called the "highside."

It's about as close to a full bodyslam as you can get from a machine. It hurts like hell. Bones WILL be broken.

A lowside would be simply sliding out and landing on the low side of the bike while in a turn. Unless you hit something, all this gives you is a bit of road rash.

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: lozina
What's a highside?

When you fly off the bike while riding. Seems like the worst kind of accident you can have without hitting something.

I bought an Icon Alliance helmet the other day, got a really good deal and it will be fine for the MSF course. I have no problem dropping the money on a great helmet, but I didn't really want to spend it right now since I don't have a bike yet and it will just sit around until I get one (probably 12-18 months). The helmet is pretty nice and will make a good passanger helmet once I get comfortable enough to ride two up.

Edit: Holy crap sward666 - a highside at 113mph? Were you seriously hurt?

 

[Amused]

Video of a highside with a slight twist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCkhAq9rztQ

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: sward666

Motorcycle helmets are stupid. If you wreck you're dead, helmet or not helmet. If you somehow happen to survive, you'd wish you were dead.

I'm sorry, but you don't know wtf you're talking about.

2 of my helmets

Left was a highside at about 60 mph, right was highside at about 115. Obviously, if you do a faceplant into a brick wall, you're f-d, but that's fairly rare.

What's a highside?

When the rear tire slides, then abruptly regains traction while still not in line with the front tire and catapults you over the bike. Since you are in a turn, that side of the bike is facing up and is called the "highside."

It's about as close to a full bodyslam as you can get from a machine. It hurts like hell.

So you get sent for a dive into the pavement?

Sounds a little hard to believe you can survive such a situation at 115 mph, if I'm picturing this right. In the best case scenario I imagine at 115 mph the road would have ample opportunity to strip away singificant portion of your flesh, even clad in leather, by the time you slow down from the friction (this is assuming you are unbelievable lucky enough not ot hit the guard rail or center median, other vhiecles, a tree or rock on the side of the road, or even the debris of your own bike

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: sward666

Motorcycle helmets are stupid. If you wreck you're dead, helmet or not helmet. If you somehow happen to survive, you'd wish you were dead.

I'm sorry, but you don't know wtf you're talking about.

2 of my helmets

Left was a highside at about 60 mph, right was highside at about 115. Obviously, if you do a faceplant into a brick wall, you're f-d, but that's fairly rare.

What's a highside?

When the rear tire slides, then abruptly regains traction while still not in line with the front tire and catapults you over the bike. Since you are in a turn, that side of the bike is facing up and is called the "highside."

It's about as close to a full bodyslam as you can get from a machine. It hurts like hell.

So you get sent for a dive into the pavement?

Sounds a little hard to believe you can survive such a situation at 115 mph, if I'm picturing this right. In the best case scenario I imagine at 115 mph the road would have ample opportunity to strip away singificant portion of your flesh, even clad in leather, by the time you slow down from the friction

It all depends on how hard he was thrown into the pavement. Full quality leathers can save much of your skin from the road rash, but nothing can protect your bones from the slam. Lots of guys survive 115+ mph crashes if they don't hit anything.

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Amused
Video of a highside with a slight twist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCkhAq9rztQ

I see, didn't look so bad afterall in the video. It doesn't look like he's going all that fast but I'm sure that's very deceiving from the video... and he stopped sliding/rolling alot sooner than I'd imagine

 

[Kirby]

Originally posted by: sward666

Motorcycle helmets are stupid. If you wreck you're dead, helmet or not helmet. If you somehow happen to survive, you'd wish you were dead.

I'm sorry, but you don't know wtf you're talking about.

2 of my helmets

Left was a highside at about 60 mph, right was highside at about 115. Obviously, if you do a faceplant into a brick wall, you're f-d, but that's fairly rare.

i don't ride, but it seems that most wrecks would involve another vehicle, which one could reasonable assume would kill you. especially at 115. but i don't ride, so my opinion is moot

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: Amused
Video of a highside with a slight twist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCkhAq9rztQ

I see, didn't look so bad afterall in the video. It doesn't look like he's going all that fast but I'm sure that's very deceiving from the video... and he stopped sliding/rolling alot sooner than I'd imagine

It's not the sliding that hurts the worst. It's the body slam after being thrown over the bike.

In a bad highside, the rider holds onto the bike for dear life and the momentum of the highside throws him over the bike and back down to the ground at a very high speed. It flings them over like a ragdoll.

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: Amused
Video of a highside with a slight twist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCkhAq9rztQ

I see, didn't look so bad afterall in the video. It doesn't look like he's going all that fast but I'm sure that's very deceiving from the video... and he stopped sliding/rolling alot sooner than I'd imagine

It's not the sliding that hurts the worst. It's the body slam after being thrown over the bike.

In a bad highside, the rider holds onto the bike for dear life and the momentum of the highside throws him over the bike and back down to the ground at a very high speed. It flings them over like a ragdoll.

Yeah I see what you mean... that's gotta be alot of force hitting that pavement initially

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: nkgreen

Originally posted by: sward666

Motorcycle helmets are stupid. If you wreck you're dead, helmet or not helmet. If you somehow happen to survive, you'd wish you were dead.

I'm sorry, but you don't know wtf you're talking about.

2 of my helmets

Left was a highside at about 60 mph, right was highside at about 115. Obviously, if you do a faceplant into a brick wall, you're f-d, but that's fairly rare.

i don't ride, but it seems that most wrecks would involve another vehicle, which one could reasonable assume would kill you. especially at 115. but i don't ride, so my opinion is moot

Let me put it this way:

Your body can withstand 15-20 mph blunt force hits and live. Your head cannot. And that's about the VERTICAL speed at which you hit the ground when you fall off a bike.

How fast you're going forward isn't as important as how fast you're going down and hitting the ground in this case.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: sward666

Motorcycle helmets are stupid. If you wreck you're dead, helmet or not helmet. If you somehow happen to survive, you'd wish you were dead.

I'm sorry, but you don't know wtf you're talking about.

2 of my helmets

Left was a highside at about 60 mph, right was highside at about 115. Obviously, if you do a faceplant into a brick wall, you're f-d, but that's fairly rare.

What's a highside?

When the rear tire slides, then abruptly regains traction while still not in line with the front tire and catapults you over the bike. Since you are in a turn, that side of the bike is facing up and is called the "highside."

It's about as close to a full bodyslam as you can get from a machine. It hurts like hell.

So you get sent for a dive into the pavement?

Sounds a little hard to believe you can survive such a situation at 115 mph, if I'm picturing this right. In the best case scenario I imagine at 115 mph the road would have ample opportunity to strip away singificant portion of your flesh, even clad in leather, by the time you slow down from the friction (this is assuming you are unbelievable lucky enough not ot hit the guard rail or center median, other vhiecles, a tree or rock on the side of the road, or even the debris of your own bike

not true at all... I race CMRA/CCS 600 and 1000 class...
and ever single race weekend we have wrecks in excess of 130-170 mph...
and guess what.... we havent had a fatality in years... the last one was a freak accident that broke the kids neck... leather.. and modern helmets save lives... ive seen horrendous wrecks that shoulda killed thier riders that the riders walked away with broken colarbones and maybe a broken limb... at worst... most riders arnt hurt at all and if they have another bike and another helmet/leather set go right back out again...

ive seen riders go down at 170 mph hit a wall and other bikes and walk away...

race leathers do stand up.. most will slide several hundred feet and not break through to skin..


ive seen my fair share of street crashes as well that gear saved the riders...
ive seen guys go down on the highway doing 100MPH rocknrolls (wheelie to stoppie to wheelie again...) that thier bike was so wadded you cant even identify what it was... but they walked away...

ive seen bikes get railed by cars.. and the rider thrown and his gear save him...

and then ive seen harley riders that dont beleive in helmets.. die from a 10 MPH tipover casue they banged thier head the wrong way...

it happens.. and it happens alot..
a good (Arai/Shoei) will protect your head from most impacts... but they are only good for 1 wreck.. they use a kevlar/fiberglass foam shell that eggshells and crushes to prevent the users head from being impacted...
and it works very very well.. but they are 1 use items..even if you drop it it can be toasted..
so dont buy used helmets... always buy new and always get them fitted properly..

 

[Bulk Beef]

That left helmet was at Road Atlanta, and the right was coming on to the front straight at Roebling, one of the worst places to crash there. You're wide open in fourth. Most people that crash there will go to the hospital with at least something broken. I tumbled on my head and knees and walked away. Well... crawled away, at first. Most violent thing I've ever experienced.

Like Amused said, the vertical drop is what a helmet is protecting you from, and the vertical force is the same at 10 mph as it is at 60, 100, whatever.

i don't ride, but it seems that most wrecks would involve another vehicle

They don't usually involve head on collisions, however. Generally, the pavement is the first thing a rider hits.

 

[CombatChuk]

Here's a good article to read about motorcycle helmets...


Text

 

[ballmode]

Shoei or Arai

 

[dabuddha]

I bought an Arai Quantum 2 helmet. I love the feel of it.

 

[Triumph]

You do not need to buy Shoei or Arai to protect your head. The "what's your brain worth?" argument is a scare tactic, nothing more. If a helmet is DOT and SNELL approved, it will protect you. Actually there is a big debate going on in the motorcycling community recently about the SNELL certification, basically saying that it is TOO stiff and actually transmits more shock to your head under the most common (lower speed) type incidences. I haven't really read too much into it, I still use Snell helmets.

The best helmet I ever owned was an Xpeed 503. It fit my head perfectly, was lighter than most helmets, was quieter than most helmets, and kept my head fairly cool. And it was DOT and SNELL approved. Oh, and it cost me $35 on closeout. I would buy one again if I hadn't found a deal on another helmet. The Xpeed helmet is made by the J-Tech corporation, which also makes helmets for Icon, HJC, and Z1R.

Budget helmets ain't that bad.

 

[Bulk Beef]

^^^^
Correct

When you buy a $5-600 helmet, what you're paying for is a lighter shell, or a more comfortable liner, or a better ventilation system, etc. You are NOT buying an extra margin of safety.

 

[CombatChuk]

Originally posted by: Triumph
You do not need to buy Shoei or Arai to protect your head. The "what's your brain worth?" argument is a scare tactic, nothing more. If a helmet is DOT and SNELL approved, it will protect you. Actually there is a big debate going on in the motorcycling community recently about the SNELL certification, basically saying that it is TOO stiff and actually transmits more shock to your head under the most common (lower speed) type incidences. I haven't really read too much into it, I still use Snell helmets.

The best helmet I ever owned was an Xpeed 503. It fit my head perfectly, was lighter than most helmets, was quieter than most helmets, and kept my head fairly cool. And it was DOT and SNELL approved. Oh, and it cost me $35 on closeout. I would buy one again if I hadn't found a deal on another helmet. The Xpeed helmet is made by the J-Tech corporation, which also makes helmets for Icon, HJC, and Z1R.

Budget helmets ain't that bad.

As an owner of a Z1R strike helmet I definetely agree. The article I posted above actually rated the Z1R one of the best for head protection.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: CombatChuk

Originally posted by: Triumph
You do not need to buy Shoei or Arai to protect your head. The "what's your brain worth?" argument is a scare tactic, nothing more. If a helmet is DOT and SNELL approved, it will protect you. Actually there is a big debate going on in the motorcycling community recently about the SNELL certification, basically saying that it is TOO stiff and actually transmits more shock to your head under the most common (lower speed) type incidences. I haven't really read too much into it, I still use Snell helmets.

The best helmet I ever owned was an Xpeed 503. It fit my head perfectly, was lighter than most helmets, was quieter than most helmets, and kept my head fairly cool. And it was DOT and SNELL approved. Oh, and it cost me $35 on closeout. I would buy one again if I hadn't found a deal on another helmet. The Xpeed helmet is made by the J-Tech corporation, which also makes helmets for Icon, HJC, and Z1R.

Budget helmets ain't that bad.

As an owner of a Z1R strike helmet I definetely agree. The article I posted above actually rated the Z1R one of the best for head protection.

thats pretty funny.. ever seen a budget helmet after a crash? I have.. most split or shatter... leaving the users head to splatter like a watermelon..
ive seen it countless times.. the cheap helmets do not crash well...
My head is sure as hell worth the 700 bucks I pay for a top notch helmet...
and having crashed 3 helmets and walked away with no injurys (even at 149 mph) Ill keep using the best..

 

[Bulk Beef]

leaving the users head to splatter like a watermelon..

Did the user's head splatter? If not, the helmet did its job.

 

[swtethan]

i would not know, dont ask ben roethlesburger about it either

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: CombatChuk

Originally posted by: Triumph
You do not need to buy Shoei or Arai to protect your head. The "what's your brain worth?" argument is a scare tactic, nothing more. If a helmet is DOT and SNELL approved, it will protect you. Actually there is a big debate going on in the motorcycling community recently about the SNELL certification, basically saying that it is TOO stiff and actually transmits more shock to your head under the most common (lower speed) type incidences. I haven't really read too much into it, I still use Snell helmets.

The best helmet I ever owned was an Xpeed 503. It fit my head perfectly, was lighter than most helmets, was quieter than most helmets, and kept my head fairly cool. And it was DOT and SNELL approved. Oh, and it cost me $35 on closeout. I would buy one again if I hadn't found a deal on another helmet. The Xpeed helmet is made by the J-Tech corporation, which also makes helmets for Icon, HJC, and Z1R.

Budget helmets ain't that bad.

As an owner of a Z1R strike helmet I definetely agree. The article I posted above actually rated the Z1R one of the best for head protection.

thats pretty funny.. ever seen a budget helmet after a crash? I have.. most split or shatter... leaving the users head to splatter like a watermelon..
ive seen it countless times.. the cheap helmets do not crash well...
My head is sure as hell worth the 700 bucks I pay for a top notch helmet...
and having crashed 3 helmets and walked away with no injurys (even at 149 mph) Ill keep using the best..

That's weird, because most expensive helmets are made out of fiberglass, which DOES shatter, versus polycarbonate, which does not shatter as easily. The EPS liner does most of the energy absorbing, anyway. How about this quote from the above mentioned article?

Remember, these polycarbonate helmets from both Icon and Scorpion are also Snell M2000 rated. So they are tested to some very extreme energy levels. And Ed Becker, executive director of the Snell Foundation, is on record as saying that a low-priced?that is, plastic-shelled?Snell-certified helmet is just as good at protecting your head as a high-priced?that is, fiberglass?Snell-certified helmet. So at the high end of impact energy, we have the Snell Foundation vouching for their performance. And our testing, without the extreme two-hit hemi test, says they're actually superior.

I'm not here to convince you to use a cheap helmet. But rather I'd like to keep the OP from spending more money than he really needs to. Plus remember that he wants a helmet for the MSF, not for crashing at 170 mph at Sepang.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: Triumph

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: CombatChuk

Originally posted by: Triumph
You do not need to buy Shoei or Arai to protect your head. The "what's your brain worth?" argument is a scare tactic, nothing more. If a helmet is DOT and SNELL approved, it will protect you. Actually there is a big debate going on in the motorcycling community recently about the SNELL certification, basically saying that it is TOO stiff and actually transmits more shock to your head under the most common (lower speed) type incidences. I haven't really read too much into it, I still use Snell helmets.

The best helmet I ever owned was an Xpeed 503. It fit my head perfectly, was lighter than most helmets, was quieter than most helmets, and kept my head fairly cool. And it was DOT and SNELL approved. Oh, and it cost me $35 on closeout. I would buy one again if I hadn't found a deal on another helmet. The Xpeed helmet is made by the J-Tech corporation, which also makes helmets for Icon, HJC, and Z1R.

Budget helmets ain't that bad.

As an owner of a Z1R strike helmet I definetely agree. The article I posted above actually rated the Z1R one of the best for head protection.

thats pretty funny.. ever seen a budget helmet after a crash? I have.. most split or shatter... leaving the users head to splatter like a watermelon..
ive seen it countless times.. the cheap helmets do not crash well...
My head is sure as hell worth the 700 bucks I pay for a top notch helmet...
and having crashed 3 helmets and walked away with no injurys (even at 149 mph) Ill keep using the best..

That's weird, because most expensive helmets are made out of fiberglass, which DOES shatter, versus polycarbonate, which does not shatter as easily. The EPS liner does most of the energy absorbing, anyway. How about this quote from the above mentioned article?

Remember, these polycarbonate helmets from both Icon and Scorpion are also Snell M2000 rated. So they are tested to some very extreme energy levels. And Ed Becker, executive director of the Snell Foundation, is on record as saying that a low-priced?that is, plastic-shelled?Snell-certified helmet is just as good at protecting your head as a high-priced?that is, fiberglass?Snell-certified helmet. So at the high end of impact energy, we have the Snell Foundation vouching for their performance. And our testing, without the extreme two-hit hemi test, says they're actually superior.

I'm not here to convince you to use a cheap helmet. But rather I'd like to keep the OP from spending more money than he really needs to. Plus remember that he wants a helmet for the MSF, not for crashing at 170 mph at Sepang.

you really know zippo about helmets.. top nocth helmest are NOT fibreglass... they are a kevlar composite fiberglass mix.. and it doesnt shatter it eggshells like i wrote above..

Scorpion is a nice helmet again read the whole thread and have been recommened by mself and others in the thread.. they are NOT the average cheapy helmet.. and most of us bikers expect them to jump in price very soon..

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Don't buy a helmet with out trying it on. The different manufacturers have different shapes. I have an Icon Halo and it fits perfect for my head shape. The Arai helmet I tried seemed to be made for people with longer heads, as it didn't feel as snug in the back as the Icon.

I've also had a KBC, and it was a $150 and did it's job. A helmet really will only protect you fro mthe initial hard impact. The outer shell is designed to spiderweb crack to disperse the energy and the foam, inner padding helps to keep your squash from coming into contact with the ground.

And remember, if a helmet gets dropped from more then about 3.5-4ft, buy a new one.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: CombatChuk
Here's a good article to read about motorcycle helmets...


Text

Thats a great read... I'm not going to be replacing my Arai Signet anytime soon as a result, but next time I go to buy a Helmet, I'll be looking for the European (ECE) standard AND Snell as well if at all possible.