Topic: Is there a helmet worth 1,000$?

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Yes, there is:

http://www.ateliersruby.com/

[lordmoonpie]

When I started learning in 1990 I went to one class session and a guy asked the instructor "I can buy a helmet in my local bike shop for £29 all the way up to £440, which one should I buy?"

The instructor replied with something that has stuck with me ever since.....

...."Son, if you've got a £29 head, buy a £29 helmet"

Is your head worth $1000?

[jeepster]

Yeah those are pretty luscious...a copy of the classic fulmer, but done well.

Not so sure how well carbon fiber does at distributing force though. Helmet shells should give a little bit to absorb some of the impact. Carbon fiber wouldn't give at all, meaning almost 100% of the force will reach the liner, then your head. There was a pretty good article in Motorcycle world, or motorcycle cruiser or something like that where they tested a few hundred helmets. Cheap plastic shells were actually among the top for this very reason.

[Fuzzy4]

I figure if the helmet on my head is certified DOT and BSI it's going to be quite decent.  Just because a helmet is made out of gold doesn't mean it's great.  The most recent, full face helmet I bought was $180cdn.  The helmet sitting beside the one I bought was 250cdn more.  Exact same helmet other than mine is gloss black and the other was covered in graphics and came with a clear and tinted shield.  200 bucks is a pretty expensive decal....

[andy750]

What they dont tell you in their glossy advertising website is that most head injuries in motorcycle accidents happen to the front of the face - the nose and chin area.

So the $1000 open-face helmet will fair rather badly against the $100 full face helmet 

cheers
Andy

[Toxic]

The new Snell 2010 helmets with be out in the fall.  By all accounts this new standard is better than the Snell 2005.  Let force being transfered to the skull.

I wouldn't rush out and buy one just because, but if you need a helmet I would wait a couple of months and get the latest standard.

... and + 1 on the how much is your head worth comment.

Buy the best you can afford without the gimicy graphics and race replica look.

[Steve F]

Is the helmet WORTH $1K???  I doubt these will perform better than a $400 Shoei.

[Geeto67]

those helmets are beautiful but useless and not worth $1000. I think it is flat insulting for a company to ask $1000 for a helmet that isn't a full face.

Anybody who buys that helmet is a sucker.

[lordmoonpie]

I should add that the same instructor proceeded to show us pictures of real bike crashes that day and one that he had to warn us first about was a head on crash with a guy wearing an open face helmet. He'll be eating his food through a straw....forever!

Having replicated the chin bashing in two of my own race crashes, I will never ever wear an open face helmet.

For the four months I had a Harley even then I wore my Shoei full face race helmet. Thankfully I wasn't wearing it when I received the bash on the head that brought me to my senses, made me sell the harley and get back racing classic Hondas! Woo-hoo!

[KCRSXTypeS]

Yeah those are pretty luscious...a copy of the classic fulmer, but done well.

Not so sure how well carbon fiber does at distributing force though. Helmet shells should give a little bit to absorb some of the impact. Carbon fiber wouldn't give at all, meaning almost 100% of the force will reach the liner, then your head. There was a pretty good article in Motorcycle world, or motorcycle cruiser or something like that where they tested a few hundred helmets. Cheap plastic shells were actually among the top for this very reason.

The carbon fiber doesnt give...it just cracks which is a natural way of energy dissipation.  A lot of newer helmets are kevlar which is a similar composite material and it will act in the same way.

[bistromath]

Incorrect. Kevlar fabric will tend to stay intact even as the epoxy substrate fails, while carbon fiber will flex until it splinters. Kevlar fares far, far better in impact and abrasion testing. Carbon is stronger, that is, its failure pressure is greater. But its mode of failure is far more catastrophic. We made unmanned aircraft out of both and settled on using carbon only for reinforcement where we needed the wing structure to have the least flex, for those reasons.

[Slayer]

Meh... nothing to write home about.

[tomwithtats]

those helmets are beautiful but useless and not worth $1000. I think it is flat insulting for a company to ask $1000 for a helmet that isn't a full face.

Anybody who buys that helmet is a sucker.

Anybody who buys that helmet has too much damn money!

[mrblasty]

They appear to be marketed to women.  If I had to pick between my wife blowing a grand on a purse and a pair of shoes or one of these helmets I'd opt for the helmet. 

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Certainly not implying they'll perform any better. I'ma sucker for fancy gear. Play around with the custom helmet page as well, similar to Vans custom shoe thing.

[Beans]

if I was to spend that much it would be a wall piece.  Plus I've talked to loal shops and some guys who race and they say 5 years is all a helments good for. Because ur sweat brakes up the foam inner and the sun hits the fiberglass and weakens it over time.  I mean for my dirtbike I buy one ever 2-3 years since they get bashed and banged more them my streetbike helment.  I also look at it this way spend the money on good gear because its ur life where talking about.   

[bert96]

 As long as the helmet is SNELL and DOT approved,i don't see why  pay $1000!


Bert

[Simpson]

What they dont tell you in their glossy advertising website is that most head injuries in motorcycle accidents happen to the front of the face - the nose and chin area.

So the $1000 open-face helmet will fair rather badly against the $100 full face helmet 

cheers
Andy

Agreed, think how much cooler you will look when your face goes skidding acoss the tarmac with one of those shinny little helmets.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

Come on dudes, it's a conversation piece. I wouldn't volunteer as a crash dummy with it. The finish and detail is what you're paying for. Like a said, sucker for high end gear. That's why I play bass through a Mesa-Boogie 400+, 500 watts! Best bass amp ever made and totally overkill for what I do.

[CaptainAmerica]

Maybe it comes with something..that's why it cost to much...buy this helmet receive a panda..

[rostosky750]

I was hammering along a country lane in the lake district years ago, full face helmet with visor open and flipped up.
OUT OF THE HEDGE, and totally unseen charged a sheep,not in front of me but INTO my front wheel.....full lock happened,I of course went into unorthodox astronaut traning mode, and when i eventually stopped sliding down the road on my face,the ONE most astounding thing about it all that i could not shake from my mind was that my MOUTH was FULL of stones.... gravel...I sat there taking my helmet off, not even looking at my bike, spitting out gravel.....what had happened on examination of helmet, road, and mouth contents, was that the chin protection part of the fullface helmet had scooped up loads of gravel as i slid down the road.....as I was probably wailing F********* OW OW AARGH OH NO, at the time of the accident I obviously had my mouth open, hence the unwarrented input of said gravel.....
BUT, BUT, BUT, on the outside of the fullface helmet,the scars on the chin cover were deep horrible and this made me realise one thing, I had been on the "F*** you" side of the helmet laws becoming compulsory in the uk and on the bikers right to choice...even though many many friends had died without lids.
If I had not had a helmet on, I would not have had so much gravel in my mouth because i would not have had much of a mouth left for the gravel to be in......If I had had an open face helmet on Ditto.
1000 dollars for an open face helmet?
amateur crash test dummy training?
spend the money on your bike/misses/gambling/hookers/substances of mass distraction...ANYTHING, buy a reasonably priced full faced ......or if you really dont know what to spend too much money on take me out on the town, I can show you how to misbehave and mis-appropriate tons of cash.

[fishhead]

When I started learning in 1990 I went to one class session and a guy asked the instructor "I can buy a helmet in my local bike shop for £29 all the way up to £440, which one should I buy?"

The instructor replied with something that has stuck with me ever since.....

...."Son, if you've got a £29 head, buy a £29 helmet"

Is your head worth $1000?

 Yeah, I got the £29 helmet also.

[Tower]

What's your ass worth?  So, why aren't you wearing kevlar undies, ladies? 

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

What's your ass worth?  So, why aren't you wearing kevlar undies, ladies? 

exactly. and I'd wager 3/4 helmets have saved thousands of lives over the years.

I actually checked out Simpson before I bought my Fulmer v2. If someone would repop the old automotive full face style I'd buy one.

[Gordon]

exactly. and I'd wager 3/4 helmets have saved thousands of lives over the years.

I'm sure they've saved plenty of lives, just not faces.