[-Z-]

Originally Posted by Carolina_954

I am usually one of those buy what you can afford kinda guys, but in this case, I have to say spend the extra money. Most motorcycle fatalities are the result of head injury. Plus, even if you don't die, you could end up worse, like having someone else wipe your butt for the rest of your life and clean the drool off your chin. I have a good friend who was hit by an uninsured drunk driver. He lost his left arm at the shoulder and his left leg at the knee. He was back at work a little over a year later though because he had his helmet on. A good helmet is worth its weight in gold as far as I'm concerned.... of course anything is better than nothing.

to answer your question I prefer my suomy. I got a Bostrom Tattoo and I love it. Not many other companies throw the kinds of graphics on thier lids that suomy does. plus, they are BSI and DOT approved. good lids

Yeah, I think I'd rather be dead than disabled...that's just me though.

As far as the helmets go, Suomy does have some of the wildest graphics out there. I give them mad props for that. I just haven't seen any that appealed to me personally. Then again, I love my Shark helmet, but I wish they had some better graphics too.

[FB1000inPA]

Not to be of target here but I saw on two occasions where heads were still in helmets but a distance away from the body.

My point, a good helmet gives a piece of mind but is not a guarantee for survival.

[Carolina_954]

Originally Posted by FB1000inPA

Not to be of target here but I saw on two occasions where heads were still in helmets but a distance away from the body.

My point, a good helmet gives a piece of mind but is not a guarantee for survival.

oh nothing in this life is guaranteed except death, but you always want to give yourself every possible chance. Like I said though a lesser lid may allow you to live, but in vegetative state. I know I wouldn't like that. I'd rather be gone than have to depend on others just to "live".

[need4speedrr]

My theory is the helmet that fits your head is the helmet of your choice.Ive tried on most helmets. If a helmet doesnt fit your head chances are it will not protect you correctly . Make sure before you decide on which one to get that you try on a ARAI RX-7 Corsair. To me this is the best one on the market today. The fit and comfort is phenominal. Once you try one on you will buy one. The quantum isnt the same. Do not buy a used helmet unless you see it in person. There could be only a chip on the outside ,but inside a crack in the shell which would not protect you if needed.Its you head you only have one brain. do the math.Spend the extra. look on ebay I bought (fire n Ice )mine for 540 deliverd with a tinted shield. riders discount. now is a good time to buy.last years stock.

[TroubledWine]

Originally Posted by need4speedrr

My theory is the helmet that fits your head is the helmet of your choice.Ive tried on most helmets. If a helmet doesnt fit your head chances are it will not protect you correctly . Make sure before you decide on which one to get that you try on a ARAI RX-7 Corsair. To me this is the best one on the market today. The fit and comfort is phenominal. Once you try one on you will buy one. The quantum isnt the same. Do not buy a used helmet unless you see it in person. There could be only a chip on the outside ,but inside a crack in the shell which would not protect you if needed.Its you head you only have one brain. do the math.Spend the extra. look on ebay I bought (fire n Ice )mine for 540 deliverd with a tinted shield. riders discount. now is a good time to buy.last years stock.

That makes no sense and is one big paradox. First you say your theory is the best helmet is the one that fits an individual's head. Then you say the Arai RX-7 Corsair is the best and the Quantum 2 is not. The flaw in your "opinion" is the RX-7 Corsair and Quantum 2 have two different head shapes. So yeah, if the RX7 fits you the best, the Quantum will not. But not everybody has the same headshape, like you first stated.

[navyshooter]

One of the m/c mags did a big piece on helmets of all quality's a couple years ago. What was interesting was that while the cheaper helmets that met DOT and Snell were completely useless and shattered after 1 crash, they transfered A LOT less impact energy to the head than the Shoei/Arai/Suomy types. They all exceed the standards, but that's not necessarily a good thing. I have personally crash tested (not on purpose) a $200 Icon pretty damn hard, adn it diddididn't effact em all at....Really though, I walked away from a hard crash (100+mph) w/ zero head injurys. A buddy of mine died in a 45mph crash on his Harley, wearing a full face Shoei that was less than 2 months old. He died from head trauma. So, I guess, when it's your time,..... However, the lighter the helmet, as long as it's of high quality, the less chance of neck injury you will have also. Think full c/f like the latest from HJC or the one available from Joe Rocket? It's like old school Indy cars that were heavy and crash survivable, built durable, versus latest and greatest F1 and Indy cars that basically explode during a crash, but driver injury/death is 100x less. Just my 2c. Not to detract from all the other well thought out posts in this thread, I certainly don't know it all. Hope this helps
Jim

[nedro]

Originally Posted by need4speedrr

My theory is the helmet that fits your head is the helmet of your choice.Ive tried on most helmets. If a helmet doesnt fit your head chances are it will not protect you correctly . Make sure before you decide on which one to get that you try on a ARAI RX-7 Corsair. To me this is the best one on the market today. The fit and comfort is phenominal. Once you try one on you will buy one. The quantum isnt the same. Do not buy a used helmet unless you see it in person. There could be only a chip on the outside ,but inside a crack in the shell which would not protect you if needed.Its you head you only have one brain. do the math.Spend the extra. look on ebay I bought (fire n Ice )mine for 540 deliverd with a tinted shield. riders discount. now is a good time to buy.last years stock.

Originally Posted by TroubledWine

That makes no sense and is one big paradox. First you say your theory is the best helmet is the one that fits an individual's head. Then you say the Arai RX-7 Corsair is the best and the Quantum 2 is not. The flaw in your "opinion" is the RX-7 Corsair and Quantum 2 have two different head shapes. So yeah, if the RX7 fits you the best, the Quantum will not. But not everybody has the same headshape, like you first stated.

Thanks! I was about to poop all over his statement. Glad you did it for me. He probably doesn't even know they are for different head shapes. Helmets aren't pussies, one size (or shape) does not fit all.

[navyshooter]

Shoei's are made more for a rounded head shape, while Arai's are more for the longer, narrower head/face shape. Or maybe it's the other way around, not sure. I do know I've always liked the fit of my Icon's...

[Ramathorn]

i love my helmet. it fits me perfect, nice graphics, decent price. alot of people bash say the icon mainframe's are loud but im yet to experience the "loud" they are talking about. i mean all helmet have noise but mine is deffinatly tolerable.

icon mainframe eternal sinner:

[navyshooter]

Never have heard the complaint about loud. I just picked up the Domain Decay, bad a** graphics, great ventilation. And, right or wrong, I trust my noggin to it.

[Ramathorn]

check out SBN they are always talking about how terrible icon stuff is.

[-Z-]

Originally Posted by navyshooter

Shoei's are made more for a rounded head shape, while Arai's are more for the longer, narrower head/face shape. Or maybe it's the other way around, not sure. I do know I've always liked the fit of my Icon's...

Yeah, you're on the right track. Shoei tends to be a round-oval head shape. As for the Arai helmet line-up, they go as follows:

Quantum-2 Round Oval
RX-7 Corsair Relaxed Round Oval
Vector Intermediate Oval
Profile Long Oval.

And not to say I'm an automatic expert or anything, but I play around with these helmet brands and others as well a lot at work. All Shoei helmets are designed to fit the majority of people fairly well. Arai tends to target each helmet line more towards a certain head shape, so the chances of finding a better fit with one of the Arai models are higher than with a Shoei. Of course, this also means their production costs are higher per helmet relative to Shoei, so that's kinda why they tend to cost more as well.

As for Icon, I've never had all that much of a problem with their fitment, and quite a few of my customers think they fit just fine. The graphics on them tend to be pretty cool too. My biggest issue with the Icon helmets is the weight. Damn those things weigh a lot. Then again, maybe I'm spoiled, seeing as how I wear a Shark RSR2.

[navyshooter]

Z, that makes sense (fit/cost wise). I've heard the Shark helmets are lite, but never had any expierience w/ them. Can't say I've noticed the Icon's being heavy, but maybe that's because of my MASSIVE neck muscles

[CBR929RE]

Originally Posted by bjay51d

I just got a spec1r suomy for $100 brandy new off ebay. A local stealership freehold honda sells their stuff on there from time to time.Last time I picked one up for $230

check the date on it, I bet its probably on its last year of the 5 year cycle. if thats the case doesn't really make it cheaper does it?

I've had 2 Suomys, a Spec1r and an Extreme that I crashed in a couple weeks ago, great helmets. I wanted another one but didn't want to spend another $5-700 so I tried on a Scorpion. Fits great. ordered one from their site and was amazed to find it was made this past Feb. wow talk about fresh.

Originally Posted by navyshooter

Z, that makes sense (fit/cost wise). I've heard the Shark helmets are lite, but never had any expierience w/ them. Can't say I've noticed the Icon's being heavy, but maybe that's because of my MASSIVE neck muscles

wear a light helmet while riding and you'll notice the difference.

also remember the higher end helmets are more aerodynamic so they take the wind much better and further reduce neck strain.

[navyshooter]

I've been looking at the Scorpion helmets too, but like the Shark's, haven't known anyone who has one to give an opinion. Didn't know that an 80's German hair band could make a decent helmet (ok, that was lame, but I've been up for 40+ hours)

[CBR929RE]

Originally Posted by navyshooter

I've been looking at the Scorpion helmets too, but like the Shark's, haven't known anyone who has one to give an opinion. Didn't know that an 80's German hair band could make a decent helmet (ok, that was lame, but I've been up for 40+ hours)

yeah that was lame but yet kinda funny. I've heard good things about the Scorpions from some track riders who used to be regulars on here. Hey Mat Mladin wears one and its not even a "replica" so that kind of says something. I'll find out next week at Grattan how much I like it.

[alcopaulic]

I just bought a shark RSI acid off ebay new for 166 bucks shipped. It's one of the lighter helmets out there, fits similar to a shoei rf-1000 and is ALOT cheaper. I wanted the RSR but the RSR is about 500 bucks and i just couldn't shell out that type of money when i only get to wear it for 5 months out of the year. Anyways, my review of it would go like this: The noise is typical, alot better than the HJC i busted up recently, but no whistles or anything like that, just typical wind rush unless you get behind the windshield then you get nothing. It's light like i stated before which is excellent. And the paint isn't too bad either, it doesn't have bright colors which i prefer but you can't have it all.

[cmack72]

Good choice cbr929. I'm on my second Scorpion and I can tell you the first one held up in a crash. I read a lot of reviews on helmets, and there is no test that can 100% guaranty you will walk away. No matter how much it cost.

[yeller929]

just my .02

I have used Fulmer, two HJC, Shoei and currently, Scorpion. I would rate them in this order: Fulmer, OK helmet, inexpensive to start out with. DOT and Snell rated. HJC, better helmet DOT and Snell approved, as noisey as the Fulmer with slightly better materials and assembly than the Fulmer. Shoei, the reputation was enough for me to become a dealer. I loved the helmet, Pearl Gray RF1000, very quiet, top quality materials and assembly. Scorpion, EXO-700 Matte silver Rivet. Love the helmet, the company is awesome and the helmet is outstanding. Quality, fit and finish are great. I think that for the $$$ the Scorpion is the way to go. If you want to drop 2x or more of the hard earned $$$, from my expierence, get the Shoei, not 2x the helmet but you sure can brag about how much you spend. I am currently a dealer for all of the above mentioned lines. None of them pay me in any way to promote the product. This is entirely from my personal experience.

*****DISCLAIMER: I CANNOT ADVERTISE, SELL OR PROMOTE THE ONLINE SALE OF ANY OF THE AFORE MENTIONED HELMETS. IT WILL RESULT IN ME LOSING THE ABILITY TO SELL THE PRODUCT.*****

[Dignam]

What type of Scorpion helmet would you recommend for a "earth" shaped head.

[SolPer]

Originally Posted by santanaea5785

I was just wondering what are some good quality helmets around? I've owned and used HJC, Zox, Nitro, Vega, etc. I just ordered a KBC tk-9. I was wondering what helmets are best for quality and safety. Thanks for the help.

1 thing I wanted to add, WHERE can I get those top grade helmets(Shoei, arai, suomy, agv, etc) cheap online? paying 4 to $600 is just rediculous.

Arai, Shoei, and Soumy, if you're willing to spend the money, and if they fit you well. Oh, be sure to check shield change ease. Changing them out on my Arai helmets requires an engineering degree. Shoei is easier.

Here is a link to a recent article I read in superstreetbike. They tested and rated tons of helmets. Very helpful and direct.

[sbs125]

Hi: To paraphrase the old Bell helmets ads from- I think the 70's......If you have nothing to protect, buy a cheap helmet. I have road raced and hit the pavement helmet first at high speed and believe me, you get what you pay for. The expensive helmets cost money because they work. I have worn Bell, Simpson, and Shoei in my career spanning 32 years of riding. Currently have a Eddie Lawson Replica Shoei. Shoei always seems to fit me best. Go for fit and spend as much as you can afford. Hope this helps. Steve.

[sbs125]

Oh and I almost forgot...wear earplugs, your hearing will thank you in your later years.

[SolPer]

Originally Posted by sbs125

Oh and I almost forgot...wear earplugs, your hearing will thank you in your later years.

+1 for both posts.

[blue1000rr]

i only wear suomy. get in good with your local dealer and maybe he will hook you up.

[shakey1378]

my $.02 ive had arai quantum's and now shark rsr2 both are very comfy and light. id say the shark actually fits my shape head a little better and its much quieter than my last quantum im guessing its due to the thicker visor on the shark. i paid about the same for both brands my latest helmet is the rsr2 absolute in black i like everything about the shark better but the visor being infinitely adjustable on the shark is kinda difficult if you want to crack it open just a lil bit. that being said just stick with one of the top brands and dont be cheap its your head!