DOT vs Novelty lids

[chimp1]

The following link is a UK based resource which will give you the saftey rating of most helmets on the market but one very interesting point is not all Arai's or shoei etc hemets have similar ratings & vary model to model & cheaper helmets can have a higher protection rating " in some cases".... so if you are shopping for a new helmet or just new to 2 wheels, find a helmet you like then check its rating on this http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/
cheers pete

 

[Basement rat]

^^ link!

 

[VonYinzer]

As far as full faces, I honestly cant afford a $500 helmet. Not going to happen. That said, I wear an HJC. Cant remember the model, but its light, comfortable, and about $130 new. Its DOT certified obviously.

 

[dannyp87]

thanks for all help guy, after reading your post im convinced on buying a full face dot helmet!!! on that note, i have 2 half helmets for sale, 1 dot and the other not

 

[Basement rat]

Modular anyone?

 

[mindactivated]

I personally feel more comfortable in a full face vs my half helmet, but that's almost because I was only riding with sunglasses (not smart). That will now stop as I have motorcycle goggles for the half.

Ears plugs or in-ear earphones as well, to reduce wind noise.

 

[Tim]

Modular helmets are great - my first helmet was a Nolan n100. Very handy, especially for those of us who wear glasses. Much easier to put on and off.

But when it came time to replace the 8 year old Nolan, I checked out a number of modulars and just didn't fit any of them well enough, and the RF1000 was just perfect. Rode with it 8 hours a day 10 days straight on a trip and it was heaven.

Then I smashed it just as the RF1100 was introduced. $377 at RidersDiscount (great for us Canucks - they ship nice and cheap to Canada and way less expensive than buying local sadly).

What I'd like to get, and might spring for this season, is something like the Nolan N43 Air or Schuberth J1. If the Schuberth was readily available, I'd be all over it. Maybe kinda goofy looking but man, versatility.

 

[Basement rat]

I have a modular now with the tinted visor (I have glasses). Its handy as hell but I was warned that the bottom can brake off on colision...

 

[Rocan]

there is a slight weight penalty to modulars that must be considered, But I like them also... I'm with Tim though... the few ive tried on havent fit very well. they are great for city riders though... open the face and keep the chin bar when your cruising around the city, open it completely when your jammed in traffic and burning hot, and close it all up as soon as you get up to speed on the highway.

 

[Tim]

Just to prove you can look cool (IMHO) in a fullface

 

[boomshakalaka]

That article on SNELL linked on the second page is very interesting. I actually probably won't be buying another snell helmet based on that article.

edit: and ya, full face all the way. When I ride I often consider what a fall would be like at any given moment, but my gear always reassures me and makes me feel comfortable. So, I'm unsure I could ride without a full face, much less with nothing on my head at all.

 

[Spoonz]

"But as helmet technology has improved and accident research has accumulated, many head-injury experts feel the Snell M2000 and M2005 standards are, to quote Dr. Harry Hurt of Hurt Report fame, "a little bit excessive."

The killer—the hardest Snell test for a motorcycle helmet to meet—is a two-strike test onto a hemispherical chunk of stainless steel about the size of an orange. The first hit is at an energy of 150 joules, which translates to dropping a 5-kilo weight about 10 feet—an extremely high-energy impact. The next hit, on the same spot, is set at 110 joules, or about an 8-foot drop. To pass, the helmet is not allowed to transmit more than 300 Gs to the headform in either hit.Read more: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html#ixzz1OAfZyjdk "

I'd rather my helmet be tested exsessively to protect my little brain than just pass simple tests to say it's good enough

 

[Maritime]

OK, I now all the Canucks have to wear a DOT helmet. Law in all provinces, So we do. I know the USA there are few states that mandate helmets. But I watched a very hot lady riding a Harley die when I was 12. She had the mandated DOT helmet, but didn't bother putting the chin strap on. She was riding by my junior high at noon. we watched her ride by, as she got to the stop sign, she stopped, then started to proceed through when a cage turned in front of her, she slammed into the car, flew off the bike, at maybe 10 mph, hit the ground, and was declared dead at the scene. If she had just bothered to do up her chin strap, she would have walked away with minor bruises and a huge check, instead the paramedics scraped brains off the road. 100% not her fault, was likely an excellent rider, but lack of helmet chin strap ended her life. I have never ridden without a lid and even going from the shed to the driveway without one feels very wrong. I see pics all the time with guys not wearing the lids, they all think I am a good rider I won't crash, I am just cruising the city.....Tell that to the jackass in the car who doesn't see you and makes a left turn as you cross the intersection. You don't wear a DOT helmet because you can't ride......You wear it because they give licenses to idiots who can't drive and are blind or think bikes don't belong on the streets...... or who were licensed in 1942..... Get a DOT helmet, wear gloves pants jacket, etc. Who f''n cares if it looks cool. you will live to ride again if and when dipshit cuts you off, you can get up an punch them in the face.... or ride without a helmet and be a brain dead statistic. Your choice really. Mine is AGATT. An yes biking is dangerous, but so is a lot of things. Riding without gear is like fucking a whore without a rubber, fun until you find out she has aids and you could have prevented it.

anyway, I have a 150.00 Gmax full face cause that was the best helmet I could afford. It fits, it is DOT and Snell Cert. I will replace it when it hits 5 years old. I ride in a Joe Rocket mesh armoured jacket I got for 40.00 off ebay and people think I ride a crotch rocket, not 30 + year old vintage bikes, but if and when I crash, I will still be here to talk about it.

 

[go!]

One of my buddies always wore his novelty lid, and I constantly nagged him to get a real helmet. He ended up learning the hard way, but was lucky to get another chance at all. Despite being a confident rider, there isn't much you can do about an idiot in a car. I wish I had a picture of his face, it would really encourage people to choose safety over looking cool and being stupid

 

[Maritime]

One of my buddies always wore his novelty lid, and I constantly nagged him to get a real helmet. He ended up learning the hard way, but was lucky to get another chance at all. Despite being a confident rider, there isn't much you can do about an idiot in a car. I wish I had a picture of his face, it would really encourage people to choose safety over looking cool and being stupid

+100000

 

[Spoonz]

+100000

Had a Scorpion EXO 400 DOT/SNELL helmet my head hit the ground at 30 mph and it looks like this
first impact

second impact

And I didn't feel a thing on my head now my arm was a whole different story

 

[boomshakalaka]

"But as helmet technology has improved and accident research has accumulated, many head-injury experts feel the Snell M2000 and M2005 standards are, to quote Dr. Harry Hurt of Hurt Report fame, "a little bit excessive."

The killer—the hardest Snell test for a motorcycle helmet to meet—is a two-strike test onto a hemispherical chunk of stainless steel about the size of an orange. The first hit is at an energy of 150 joules, which translates to dropping a 5-kilo weight about 10 feet—an extremely high-energy impact. The next hit, on the same spot, is set at 110 joules, or about an 8-foot drop. To pass, the helmet is not allowed to transmit more than 300 Gs to the headform in either hit.Read more: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html#ixzz1OAfZyjdk "

I'd rather my helmet be tested exsessively to protect my little brain than just pass simple tests to say it's good enough

ugh, did you even read any of the article? Like, you have subpar reading comprehension, or you didn't read it. I don't mean to toss around insults, but thats the only two conclusions I can come to. The test you are talking about is testing something that has been found to happen pretty much never in real world applications, yet to pass such a test the helmet designs need to compromise in other areas, areas that serve to protect you in much more common scenarios when you go down.

 

[Spoonz]

ugh, did you even read any of the article? Like, you have subpar reading comprehension, or you didn't read it. I don't mean to toss around insults, but thats the only two conclusions I can come to. The test you are talking about is testing something that has been found to happen pretty much never in real world applications, yet to pass such a test the helmet designs need to compromise in other areas, areas that serve to protect you in much more common scenarios when you go down.

Search SNELL approval testing by itself and read. And NO scenario is ever common

 

[makotosun]

I have mostly DOT Full, 3/4 and 1/2 styles. A couple of vintage Bell's I don't use but collect.

Been riding since I was about 11. On the street since 1974 when I turned 16. Everything from a ct70 to my 1500 Valkyrie. I ride mostly with a helmet, but have gone without in several states where they are not required.

I know the risks, having crashed on blacktop twice in the past 35 years. Both times just me and the bike. No other riders. Caught a semi hidden divider and cartwheeled through an intersection. Rode away with a nasty gash on my full coverage Shoei and a snapped collar bone. The other time I hit something slippery and was on the blacktop before I had any chance to react. Smacked the blacktop with a different full coverage helmet. Both impacts were in the area of my temple. Rodeaway from that one with just a bruised ego.

One other incident was doing about 35 in an industrial area, and a large truck in front of me drove over some gravel and a hardball sized rock shot out from under his rear tire and hit me at the edge of my full coverage face shied, shattering it, but deflecting the rock. Didn't wreck, but got lucky.

The bottom line is that it is a dangerous sport. It doesn't require an idiot in another vehicle talking on a cell phone. I am a very experienced rider. I take few chances. Accidents still happen. Blacktop is really hard. Leathers and fiberglass really do help you keep riding. People get killed in both DOT and non-DOT helmets, but I am guessing the numbers are higher with the latter.

Personally, I like the sound-deadening effects of a helmet when over 35 mph. I also love the feeling of wind in my hair on occasion. It is all a calculated risk, and the choices you make in how you ride and what you wear will determine how much of you skin you leave behind when you eventually do crash. You have to determine you own pain threshhold and how much life insurance to buy. Sometimes I worry that I am worth more dead than alive . . .

 

[boomshakalaka]

Search SNELL approval testing by itself and read. And NO scenario is ever common

again, ugh.. The test requires the designs to be compromised in a way that effects myriad of way more common impacts. You are saying that you would prefer to be protected from something that almost never happens instead of protected from many things that have a higher frequency of happening. I just cannot understand your logic. Ushering the design of helmets in the direction of protecting riders from a scenario that happens virtually never in the real world at the cost of protecting them from more common scenarios is just downright poor reasoning. Supporting this reasoning, as a rider, is even worse.

I have mostly DOT Full, 3/4 and 1/2 styles. A couple of vintage Bell's I don't use but collect.


Been riding since I was about 11. On the street since 1974 when I turned 16. Everything from a ct70 to my 1500 Valkyrie. I ride mostly with a helmet, but have gone without in several states where they are not required.


I know the risks, having crashed on blacktop twice in the past 35 years. Both times just me and the bike. No other riders. Caught a semi hidden divider and cartwheeled through an intersection. Rode away with a nasty gash on my full coverage Shoei and a snapped collar bone. The other time I hit something slippery and was on the blacktop before I had any chance to react. Smacked the blacktop with a different full coverage helmet. Both impacts were in the area of my temple. Rodeaway from that one with just a bruised ego.


One other incident was doing about 35 in an industrial area, and a large truck in front of me drove over some gravel and a hardball sized rock shot out from under his rear tire and hit me at the edge of my full coverage face shied, shattering it, but deflecting the rock. Didn't wreck, but got lucky.


The bottom line is that it is a dangerous sport. It doesn't require an idiot in another vehicle talking on a cell phone. I am a very experienced rider. I take few chances. Accidents still happen. Blacktop is really hard. Leathers and fiberglass really do help you keep riding. People get killed in both DOT and non-DOT helmets, but I am guessing the numbers are higher with the latter.


Personally, I like the sound-deadening effects of a helmet when over 35 mph. I also love the feeling of wind in my hair on occasion. It is all a calculated risk, and the choices you make in how you ride and what you wear will determine how much of you skin you leave behind when you eventually do crash. You have to determine you own pain threshhold and how much life insurance to buy. Sometimes I worry that I am worth more dead than alive . . .

Well said.