Helmets Open face helmet Harley style on St?

ST Gui said:
I make the same compromise by going modular. Every choice we make is about making informed compromises based on risks we're willing to accept. Let's face it: If we really wanted to be as safe as humanly possible we wouldn't be riding motorcycles in the first place. We might not even leave the house. But we compromise.

About riding with the chin bar up. I've done this from a stop light or driveway after talking to someone and then immediately drop it as I'm underway. (Yes something bad could happen in those few seconds.) I've seen references about cruising with it up BMW style. I've never noticed anybody doing this but maybe I don't get out enough. Is this a BMW thing or just hater trash talk? I can see how a quick blast of fresh air might be welcome but do riders actually use a modular as/like a 3/4 helmet?
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I do ride with the chin bar up sometimes when not in traffic and hot weather but I always have it down in city and congestion.
 
Ruckus said:
Full-face for me.

With no fairings or windscreen for protection, everything kicked up from the road or flying along hits me.

A large beetle at 70mph is akin to being shot. Even with an armored jacket on, that hurt. The strangest had to be when I nailed a firefly. I was blinded by the light—literally. I coludn't see through all the green light splattered over my visor. Took me 10 minutes to clean it.
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Okay, you win, better than the dragonfly that splattered yellow goop all over my glasses.
 
Ruckus said:
A large beetle at 70mph is akin to being shot. Even with an armored jacket on, that hurt.
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I spent a year in Dallas during a cicada cycle. At freeway speeds I could feel those through a thick leather jacket.
 
Wussies! :D You haven't lived until you've had a bee fly inside the corner of your 3/4 helmet at 60 mph! :cool: Oh wait, most of you wussies are wearing full face lids anyway.:razz:
 
Bush said:
Oh wait, most of you wussies are wearing full face lids anyway.
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Yeah... cause scars are so sexy and tan beautifully...
Two get-offs for me and still have all my skin intact. A few scars from a car accident, but nothing from the bikes.
I'm a wuss and the ladies seem to like it.

My brother once told me that Harley guys don't wear all that gear so they can recognize each other... I added 'By the scars?'

Each to their own, but I prefer the heat of a helmet to the heat of alcohol cleaning gravel out of a wound. And when the temperatures start pushing 90+ it's cooler under the lid then in the jet-stream.
 
Bush said:
Wussies! :D You haven't lived until you've had a bee fly inside the corner of your 3/4 helmet at 60 mph! :cool: Oh wait, most of you wussies are wearing full face lids anyway.:razz:
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I have had one get inside my full face helmet with the shield up, but fortunately for me the deceleration upon entry between my temple and the helmet liner seemed to stun it enough that it didn't sting me. I pulled over and took the helmet off before getting stung. I have had a few of them fly right into my neck area and sting me, on bikes with smaller windshields than the ST, and that's always painful. Also noticed when I had a bright yellow Triumph Daytona that the bees seemed attracted to that color.
 
Got a cheap head? Then where a cheap helmet. Never have seen a Goldwinger wearing a brain catcher.
Try on lots of helmets. Nothing makes up for mass but HJC does make some nice light-weight modulars that still meet impact standards.
Bones break but smashed pumpkins are irreversible.
Plus people won't assume you're a DB.
 
SteveST1300 said:
there are many inexpensive helmets that meet EC and DOT standards.
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I'm more interested in the ones that exceed EC and DOT standards. What do they call a medical student who graduates last in his class? Doctor! Yeah I know. Cheap shot. Last in school can be first in another.
 
If I wore a 3/4 open face helmet, I wouldn't have a right eye, right cheek and maybe a nose. All open face helmet face wearers just haven't hit the road face first, yet.
 
BuddingGeezer said:
If I wore a 3/4 open face helmet, I wouldn't have a right eye, right cheek and maybe a nose.
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The guy who sold me my first helmet (which was full-face, and I knew that's what I wanted going in) had some wise words about that: "There are very few facial injuries that are life-threatening, but there's a whole lot of them that will make life awfully uncomfortable."

--Mark
 
SteveST1300 said:
The price of a helmet has nothingto do with the protection it provides. there are many inexpensive helmets that meet EC and DOT standards.
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That is what I said. I was obviously speaking metaphorically.
The HJC helmets I'm referring to are fairly inexpensive.
If you don't value your head then buy I crappy helmet. ( or one that doesn't protect your valuable assets )
 
SteveST1300 said:
Meet or exceed I am ok with that but price alone doesn't mean they do.
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The UK government's SHARP project bears that out.

Helmets that got one- and two-star ratings range in price from ?50 to ?200 with one notable exception, the Schuberth S1 Pro at an eye-watering ?450. I'd expect a lot more than two stars for that kind of money. Those getting four or five stars ranged about the same, from ?40 to ?550, with most of them under ?250.

--Mark
 
Its a choice. I am more relaxed and have a wider field of vision and better hearing with my half helmet, so that's what I wear. I am not a road racer or speed demon and have learned thru 40 years of riding that situational awareness is more important for me then all the safety gear in the world.
 
zenindian said:
have a wider field of vision and better hearing with my half helmet,
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Okay.. can't question you on the hearing as I don't know if you ride with ear plugs in.

But my brother made the same comment on the field of vision thing, said full face block too much of his sight... I'm not sure what full-face helmet he last wore, but the modern ones will give you an unrestircted field of view with maybe losing a 5-10? loss straight down, but side to side I can't roll my eyes far enough to see the edges of the faceshield.

But it's all personal choice and being happy and comfy with your decisions. Risk management, compromise and mitigation is what it's all about.
 
kiltman said:
I ride with the open face half helmet. Mostly for convenience. I wear glasses and it's by far the easiest style to put on when one wears glasses. I also own a modular full face and wear that when the weather is bad.
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Might be OK for short, urban hops (police stile open face with some cool sunglasses...;-)).
I've the flip front for both features: open for getting air, scents of the nature, etc... and enabling putting sunglasses on/off... and when the weather turns beyond the next ridge, I simple close the face shield (+ the top vent on helmet) and plow on...
 
ST, HD, dirtbike, or scooter, I'm ugly enough naturally. I don't need to rub my mug into the pavement to make it any more stylish. I'll stick with FF. What's the saying that comes to mind? "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
 
What do we fully geared up ATGATT riders fresh out of our latest safety refresher course look like to the soccer mom in the minivan? To someone like that we are riding a donor cycle and taking an unacceptable risk by giving up 3,000 lbs of safety enclosure. The type of helmet probably doesn't even register.

There are many levels of risk just living besides those we choose when we saddle up and ride out into traffic.
 
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