Topic: Helmets?

[Terry in Australia]

One man's opinion...

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/most-common-motorcycle-myths-debunked-part-4-47496.html

Thanks Cal, it was interesting that his opinion didn't differentiate between full face and open helmets regarding the "myth" of neck injuries? I noticed that while he mentioned "statistics" and "case studies" to perhaps lend some credence to his article, he didn't actually quote any published studies either, so as well intentioned as I'm sure his article was, it carries no weight, in my opinion...............

Like most threads in these forums, we've all got opinions about what's safe and what's not, so I did some research when I was goofing off at work today, and this case study done by Monash University in the 1990's caught my eye. Monash University is an actual university, located in Melbourne, Australia.

As opposed to opinions, the hard data here dispels a few myths, which will probably disappoint those who kneel at the full face helmet altar, some of which I already knew from previous research, but one thing I found surprising was that there were no big differences in external injuries between folks who were suited up with the best protective clothing, and those who weren't wearing any? Even the amount of abrasions sustained were similar.

All in all, a good, informative read, quite fascinating, if not a little bit scary..............

http://monash.edu/miri/research/reports/atsb174.html

 

[scrapvalue]

Just a quick observation.
All riders who were injured with or without a helmet were injured while riding a motorcycle,(or had just parted company with said motorcycle).
What's dangerous is motorcycles.
I am 58 and have ridden since I was 12.
Raced Motocross since the early 70's.
Have crashed many times, in the dirt and on the road.

More in the dirt, but that is to be expected. But one thing I can tell you is, most if not all of them could have been prevented by me.
Had a car pull in front of me in 1979 and I hit him broadside. totaled the bike. My full face helmet and riding jacket took most all of the abuse. I walked away with a broken wrist.
He was ticketed.
I was going about 50 in a 35 zone. If I would have been doing the speed limit, it wouldn't have happened.

1n 1982 I hit gravel in a corner and went off the road and into the woods. Hit a stump and cart wheeled. Scuffed up but able to walk out. The bike didn't fair so well. I was wearing a helmet.
If I would have been riding at a speed that would have let me correct for the unexpected, I wouldn't have went down.

My point is, ride within your limitations. Leave some room for error and bad road conditions. Don't expect anyone to give you the right of way just because you legally have it.

The dirt is where you really learn the fundamentals of motorcycle handling.
You can't think fast enough to over come problems when they happen at speed. Ride in the dirt until your reflexes take over.

Gear is great, but knowledge will keep you alive longer.

Hopefully my grammar and spelling is good enough for the grammar Nazis.  If not, go screw yourself.

[chewbacca5000]

When ever I am riding in alot of traffic I try best to make myself visible by moving as close to the center lane as possible.  I want cars to see me and they can't see me if the car ahead of me blocks their vision.  Also, if I see some dummy playing with their phone I give the horn a little toot.  The stock horn is not that loud, but will usually get them to focus. 

The worst is when your going up a hill and car wants to make a left turn, and is anxious to do it.  They can't see the car on the other side of the hill and are not paying attention to me.  In that situation I just lay the horn on.  No way am I going to let someone's carelessness cost me life or limb.  Other times I wave if I feel like they are not watching.

I am lucky as I have option where I live to avoid cars for the most part.  Many riders get killed in busy shopping areas where cars are pulling out into the road.  Friday rush after work is a war zone so I avoid that mess all together.

I am so glad my friends and family convinced to go to motorcycle safety school.

[scrapvalue]

I always pull to the outside of my lane when I am stopped in traffic. Then I watch my mirrors. Always give yourself an escape route.
I think what scares me the most is setting at a stop light with 3 or 4 cars behind you and some idiot on a cell phone hits them and I am sandwiched in the middle.
And I don't scare easy. I get concerned but not scared! 

[DaveBarbier]

Alright thanks for the feeback gents.  And I'm not looking for a cheap helmet, just something affordable in the 200-300 range which looking around seems very possible.  I like the look of that bell revolver, and the fact chin part lifts up as well.  My dad always kept me in the nicest helmets possible, and if it hadn't been for him working at a yamaha dealer, they would have been quite expensive.

I own a Bell Revolver EVO Warp.  I wanted to try a modular helmet.  My only complaints are that it is a somewhat noisy helmet (wind noise) and that it is VERY difficult to slide glasses on when wearing the helmet.

I have the same helmet. I like it but it IS noisy. I'm going to be getting a new helmet next season. Something built better. Also, the internal tinted visor is so light that it pretty much does nothing. I had to get a darker one off eBay. Even that isn't that dark. I honesty like my old Gmax modular better. http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/gmax-gm54s-modular-helmet
Quieter and feels like it's made better than the Bell. Still a cheap helmet though.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I still have a Scorpion EXO-1000 RPM that fits well and is quiet -- much better than my Bell Revolver EVO Warp. 

My favorite is still my Arai.

[Killer Canary]

These are wildly popular here in the colonies:
/www.google.ca/search?q=german+motorcycle+helmet&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&imgil=JBSvClnxFcvGJM%253A%253BgaV-ArAoBf9LcM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.familygokarts.com%25252Fshop
The Sepp Dietrich Panzerfaust.
Available with the upgraded scorch marks and bullet holes at a slight extra expense.
Thousands of sunny Sunday bad-asses won't steer you wrong.

[ofreen]

Thousands of sunny Sunday bad-asses won't steer you wrong.

What's not to like about this?

[Killer Canary]

Common decency?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Sheer lunacy . . . .

[chewbacca5000]

Sheer lunacy . . . .

It is a great picture though.  The passenger will be known as one ear if he does not get a helmet.

[Retro Rocket]

Sheer lunacy . . . .

It is a great picture though.  The passenger will be known as one ear if he does not get a helmet.

Not to mention the chip on his shoulder....

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

They could have enlisted Quasimodo as the monkey.  He had a built-in shoulder slider.

[Bob Wessner]

Sheer lunacy . . . .

Right up there with cordless bungee jumping. 

[Retro Rocket]

Sheer lunacy . . . .

Right up there with cordless bungee jumping. 

Seek and ye shall find....

[PeWe]

I beg to differ Scott, the problem with full face helmets is that if you land on your face with an open face helmet, your face takes the impact, whereas with a full face helmet the rigid chin guard transfers the impact forces to your neck.

When we went from open face helmets to full face helmets in the 1970's, the incidence of paralysis or death from broken necks went up exponentially, to the point where Bell helmets couldn't get public liability insurance, and almost stopped manufacturing full face helmets.

It's still a problem now, but once again, it's a risk most riders would probably take, as opposed to sliding down the road on their faces. I actually like wearing my open face helmet, but I'm not pretty..... 

A guy at my job crashed on a bicycle a month ago when bicycling. Face in tarmac, most of the front teeth lost, jaw(s) broken and tongue bitten off with 1" or so...
I do not know if he has returned to Sweden yet since this happened on Gran Canaria (Canarian Islands). His family had to go back home without hime when he stayed in Hospital.

My current motorcycle helmet is the best one I have ever had tried and owned, Schuberth C3 Pro (flip-up). It cost a lot but worth the money.
Schuberth has open helmets too, that model look as safe as an open helmet can.
http://www.schuberth.com/en/products/motorbikes/helmets.html

[Terry in Australia]

That must have been one hell of a bicycle crash! I fell off a racing bicycle (no helmets back then) and took the skin off my chin and the tip of my nose, not to mention my knees, elbows and the palms of my hands, I was picking little stones out of my skin for years. Luckily I didn't break anything, except my desire to ride bicycles, they really are horrible dangerous things.....

[70CB750]

My dad was 62  years old and got a piece of steel in his front wheel riding to work on his bicycle.  Landed on his chin, broke it, lost some teeth, it was pretty massive.  Anyway he got up, and took his bicycle to work by tramway, walks in and says I think I need help - in that time he could see only little bit from one eye because he swollen so bad.  Tough old bird

I told him other old farts get run over by a car and he almost kills himself on a bicycle, in his age.  They put him back together and he still rides bicycle, 82 years old now.

That must have been one hell of a bicycle crash! I fell off a racing bicycle (no helmets back then) and took the skin off my chin and the tip of my nose, not to mention my knees, elbows and the palms of my hands, I was picking little stones out of my skin for years. Luckily I didn't break anything, except my desire to ride bicycles, they really are horrible dangerous things.....