Safety v Style

veloracermike

veloracermike

Coast to Coast
I'm getting back into street riding after a 10 year layoff. Back in the day I had sport bikes (mainly Ducs) and I always wore leathers with body armor and a full face helmet. Now I'm back and I'm riding a Cafe Bike (CB350F) and the poseur in me wants the open faced helmet, goggles and cool retro (vintage) jacket. Of course none of the cool lookin' shit is nearly the protection of the 'safe' shit. So where do you guys draw the line?
 
on all my sport bikes i had full face and armor jacket and boots on. as for when i get my XS done ill do the same full face,jacket,boots ! guess its all up to how you feel
 
Full face helmet always (RF1100 for me), leather jacket (sometimes vintage, sometimes my textile armored beasties), heavy jeans and proper modern boots, gloves. I've been down in this get-up off my BMW at 40 MPH and limped away from it. Helmet was a writeoff but it saved my face big time.
 
DreadRock said:
on all my sport bikes i had full face and armor jacket and boots on. as for when i get my XS done ill do the same full face,jacket,boots ! guess its all up to how you feel
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Yeah I'm leaning that way myself. I've bought some Gasolina boots and I've found few armored jackets that don't look like I should be lining up for a MotoGP race. Xelement makes a rocker style jacket with armor and combined with a back protector I should be decently well protected.
 
Yep Full face ARAI Corsair V for me.
When I got hit by a drunk driver doing 50 km/hr this past summer and landed on my head boy was I happy I had my Arai on my head a leather Jacket and really good gloves. I came away with a broken foot which even if I had my riding boots on I think I couldn't have avoided this time but the key is that I didn't get my head rattled and no road rash at all.

So IMO gear up you never know whats gonna happen. My store sells a ton of really great and cool gear that even looks good on vintage bikes.

Make the wise choice.

Dennis
 
Here's a pic of my lid after getting hit.
 

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Usually ride in a full face, thick vintage leather jacket, modern gloves, jeans, modern riding boots. In the summer I swap the leather for an armored mesh jacket.
 
only thing that scares me about mesh over leather is ( and this might not be true ) is if i go down with a mesh on say at 40mph and slide say 50 feet or more with that mesh melt and then get road rash with mesh burnt into the rash ?
 
I like to wear a gorilla costume, a vintage astronauts helmet, and yellow rain-boots. Nothing underneath for those who are wondering (Swagger...).
 
safety and style. my full face is damn cool and kinda cafe. I'm too pretty to wear anything less, lol. a friend of mine high sided at 12 mph in his basic rider course and wouldve fucked up his mug if he didnt have a full face lid on. my point is that even in a slow speed, single vehicle lay-down you can be permanently disfigured. fate worse than death if you ask me.. life insurance doesnt pay out, and now you're ugly.

new%20helmet.jpg
 
So question for you full face guys, which helmet allows the best peripheral vision? My last AGV wasn't the best in that area.
 
Velo, the only way to really find a helmet that fits YOU is to go out and try as many on as you can. Everyones a little different. For example, I wear HJC full faces. They fit me better than any helmet Ive tried. That includes some high end, $500 lids. A buddy I ride with HATES them and swears by Shoei. They just work for him. The same goes for jackets. Shift coats fit me really well, due to my build. Other people I know cant wear them.
 
And usually a Shoei guy wont like the fit of an Arai, and vice versa. But to attempt to answer his question....it wasn't even about fit necessarily (although it goes hand in hand of course) its about visibility. I know on my Arai, when I'm leaning over on the sportbike I have to tilt my head up and "crink" my neck a bit to see correctly. I tried on some helmets a few weeks ago, but can't really remember which one had "better" visibility than any other. Sorry I'm no help. ::) :p
 
VonYinzer said:
Velo, the only way to really find a helmet that fits YOU is to go out and try as many on as you can. Everyones a little different. For example, I wear HJC full faces. They fit me better than any helmet Ive tried. That includes some high end, $500 lids. A buddy I ride with HATES them and swears by Shoei. They just work for him. The same goes for jackets. Shift coats fit me really well, due to my build. Other people I know cant wear them.
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Yeah I got that, I know what fits well, AGV and Suomy fit me really well (I've owned both) but neither really offer great peripheral vision. I'm pretty up on safety gear for autoracing, I raced Formula cars for over 20 years, so I understand the fit thing. I was more or less asking what brands have wide openings so I could start my search there.
 
Sorry... Should of been more clear. By "fit" I mean, how it physically fits your head as well as how it "fits" you while riding. The difference in visor sizes between makers is usually nominal. Your field of vision is also linked to how the helmet sits on your head and the shape of your skull. Some manufacturers make their lids more oblong, other more round. If you wear a helmet thats not made for your head shape, the visor may be out of place if you will. Again, the only way to correctly determine which helmet (or any other gear) is best for you is to actually put each lid on and see whats what. Most big (non HD) dealerships will carry several different brands and models, so take an afternoon to shop for helmets and make sure you wash your hair. Haha...
 
VonYinzer said:
Sorry... Should of been more clear. By "fit" I mean, how it physically fits your head as well as how it "fits" you while riding. The difference in visor sizes between makers is usually nominal. Your field of vision is also linked to how the helmet sits on your head and the shape of your skull. Some manufacturers make their lids more oblong, other more round. If you wear a helmet thats not made for your head shape, the visor may be out of place if you will. Again, the only way to correctly determine which helmet (or any other gear) is best for you is to actually put each lid on and see whats what. Most big (non HD) dealerships will carry several different brands and models, so take an afternoon to shop for helmets and make sure you wash your hair. Haha...
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This presumes I have hair!

I miss my hair.

I'm probably going to just order me another Suomy. I did what you suggested a few years back and these helmets fit me the best. Although they did not offer the best peripheral vision they did fit my noggin' like it was custom made. I also know that even in a "sportbike" position (and my bike isn't nearly that radical) they were still comfortable.
 
You have to go to a dealership and try them on.
At my shop we are an Arai dealer and I swear by them, but thats not to say another brand wont fit you well.

I know that Arai has 3 diferent head shapes that you can be sized in and the new Signet Q, RX-Q and Corsair V have incleased visor openings now to improve perifiral ( I think thats how its spelt but probably wrong so shoot me.) vision. It takes someone who knows what they are doing about a half hr to properly size and fit you up in an Arai corectly, and I guarantee you that you will never be happier with it, if they put you in the correct one.

Cheers.
D.
 
So Xelement makes a rocker style jacket with armor and its actually pretty cheap. The other jacket I'm looking at is the BMG Montana jacket. Clean retro styling and nothing but very positive reviews. 399 with Knox armor and it has a back protector option.

Mike Woulfe uses Xelement for his custom made jackets and claims there are of good quality...anyone have any first hand experience?
 
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