Favourite helmet?

[Cajun]

we had them smash thru out fence the other day and end up on the road. damn horse saw a mere and thought he race around to see if he could get some action, scared the crap out of the cows, who destoryed a metal fence gate

already got one that use to get ya last year in the frezzer, mmmm fresh home kill steak

[Zed]

here we go.. its the Species 21... looks even better with the iridium visor! $799 for you at the moment sir..
The photo doesn't really show how tall it is (or how light.. 1200gms!) but its definitely wicked

Yeah if you wanna look like an astronaut! "Beam me up CK"

[Marknz]

Hope these images don't take too long to upload or I'll be really embarassed Might have to come back and delete the images

A Mat Mladin replica AGV X-Vent II with full tint visor is my lid of choice. Have used Shoei but found it to be too noisy, even taking into account the tear off posts on the AGV.

Use a lighter HJC lid when racing with the theory that I shouldn't be hitting anything too hard or anything coming from the opposite direction. But that's just me.

Here we go again...

[Slim]

I'm a Shoei girl all the way.

Current helmet is an XR1000 Diabolic. I've now got 2 spare Shoei's in the garage.

[Lou Girardin]

Hey Lou was that helmet a Rossi replica? If so it was my old one that got damaged when we crashed the side car at Paeroa this year, and of cousre not selling AGV helmets they would have to say that woudnt they?.

No, it wasn't damaged that I could see. I was referring to the eggshell thin shell, the rock hard foam inner that offered almost no impact protection. It seems that there are various ways of meeting helmet standards, not all of them are good for your brain.
Lou

[XRNR]

Hmmmm...
Just bought and impact tested an AGV. Had 19yrs service with my old Romer Polycarbonate helmet, but the lining had deteriorated too much to be very comfortable now. The new AGV X-vent was comfortable & I did aprox 15hrs riding with it the first two days I had it. It was the first helmet that I have been able to ride with straight out of the box for more than a couple of hours. I have an AXO for the dirt as well, but I had to reshape some of the foam interior to get a really good fit.
Good fit is probably my strongest decision making factor. Price, I will look at helmets fitting within the 1/3 thru to 3/4 price range. (I wont pay $1500 for a helmet or $200) expecting this range to give me good protection for my money.

... I prefer an AGV and I really like the Rossi replica, I have had 3 now and they fit way better than Arai or shoie with a lot less wind noise.

I went to Dolds last week, they're Arai dealers and they showed us some cut away helmets. I hate to say it, but having seen inside an AGV I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole...After all, you can cope without a limb, but not without a brain....

I would like to see some helmet cutaways

Yup. I've spoken to a guy who managed a Hein Gericke shop in the UK, and he had some *real* horror stories to tell about AGV design and build quality.

Of course, they're Italian and expensive and some people find them comfortable, so they MUST be good, right? Wrong. I'd rather trust my skull to an HJC at a fifth of the price than an AGV...

Interesting comment,
(I got all the blurb about how good the AGV build quality was, & how great they fared when impact tested.) Not that, that was going to sway me when the fit was so good & it was a mid priced helmet.

Hey Lou was that helmet a Rossi replica? If so it was my old one that got damaged when we crashed the side car at Paeroa this year, and of cousre not selling AGV helmets they would have to say that woudnt they?.

No, it wasn't damaged that I could see. I was referring to the eggshell thin shell, the rock hard foam inner that offered almost no impact protection. It seems that there are various ways of meeting helmet standards, not all of them are good for your brain.
Lou

Suffice to say, Having just impact tested my helmet into a immovable steel wall at a speed of between 130-160km\h. It has done what was required of it. Absorbed the impact by cracking the outer shell. My brain on the other hand was not able to withstand the impact on the inside of my skull so well. Therefore it turned my lights out for several minutes & knocked over its in-tray of memories to be filled.

I wonder if having a softer foam interior or a harder outer shell would have allowed me to remain conscious the whole time.

I still feel that choosing a helmet is like frying eggs. Everyonce in a while you crack one into the pan to find it bloody, Most of the time you don't

I posted this helmet post Full Face Road Helmets awhile back trying to get feed back on what to choose.

I am still as confused as ever as to what will really do the job. I guess I shouldn't be as I am still here able to think about what I am going to replace my AGV with. (I bet you didn't read all of this long post ).

[White trash]

Here we go again...

Hey Mark! Some wanker's scribbled all over your flash replica!

Give me his address and we'll go sort the prick out

Seems fitting that you finally ride a Suzuki with a Mladin rep.

[DEATH_INC.]

This is what I use.....

[pete376403]

BMW System III for on the road, a Bell Motostar III (yes it is really old) for trail riding.
There's also an even older Bell Star 120 and a FFM up on the shelf in the shed.
The BMW is ok, I like being able to open it up to get glasses on and off, etc.
Noise isn't really an issue with me (see the earplug thread)

[DEATH_INC.]

a Bell Motostar III

What a classic...
Goes with the old IT I spose......

[magnum]

shoie man.

[MikeL]

I have yet to be convinced of the benefits of paying many hundreds of $$$ for a Shoei or Arai. I was very happy with my HJC: I rode Akl to Palmerston Nth in one day without any strain, headache or discomfort at all, and when I came off the GSX and cartwheeled into a ditch there was no concussion, bruising or anything despite deep gouges on one side of the helmet and a broken visor hinge. I'll buy another one.

[Hitcher]

I upgraded at the weekend to a Shoei XR1000. Colour -- black. Henry Ford choice, surprise surprise! Better ventilation and a bit lighter than the XR900. I suspect it's quieter too.

Mrs H also upgraded to an XR1000 -- a bit step from her Cirus. Nearly 300g lighter for a start, with considerably better aerodynamics. Nice silver graphics as well. *sigh*

[vifferman]

My head's only worth about $10 (defective brain chemistry and all that), so I can't justify spending mucho dineiro on an expensive helmet. I've had a couple of FFMs and a couple of AGVs. The current one is a Vento(?) in black, gold, and silver, which I bought to match my VFR. I should probably replace it now that I've got a red Firestorm, but I've spent so much money on the bike lately, I don't want to spend any more on gear.

I bought the AGV because (a) I liked the look of it, (b) I was allowed to test-ride it for a few hours, (c) I got $100 trade-in on my old (6? 7? years) AGV, (d) I was given a $45 discount, and (d) it's very comfy, quiet, light, pretty, etc. It was $345, but cost me $200. Pretty good deal, if you ask me.

If I was smart, I would've had it replaced when I wrote off the VFR, as the insurance company said they'd pay for it, but I bet by the time they'd depreciated it, haggled over the price, etc., I wouldn't have had enough to buy a decent replacement.

My wife got an even better deal - a BMW System III for $0. Nothing wrong with it - it sat in a cupboard for several years, so only needed a buff up with Plexus. Perfect for occasional rides, even if it does make her look like a spaceman. Err, spacewoman. Errr... astronaut.

[Coldkiwi]

I've got a really interesting technical article on full face helmet accident impacts from a university in britian sitting on my desk that has some excellent info about helmet design. I'll post it when I get back to Auck.

the crux is that the new helmets (say BS6658 standard) are MUCH better than old ones because of the harsher testing done. the second observation made was that helmets are very much a safety design compromise to meet a wide range of potential impacts, all with different design requirements and considerations. So for instance, XRNR's helmet could've been designed to better absorb his crash at pukekohe but may have suffered a roll off problem if he'd crashed in a different way (i.e. glanced off a car's bonnet). Essentially, no helmet can protect in an ideal manner in all situations.