agree with fraglette on this one,,,its what suits you best for fit and comfort,,,,not price£££,,,,there are good cheap lids out there equally as good as most expensive....
and when you try them on,,,keep them on for as long as possible in shop,,,walk round with lid on while looking at others,,,just to see if it nips anywhere,,,nothing worse than a uncomfortable lid on a long journey....
The best helmet I have had is a shark one, it fitted brill, and most importantly it saved my head when I had my accident. Although I landed on my left side on the road, the right side of my helmet was damaged, my head underneath was completely fine.
I shall be getting a new shark helmet after the last 1 served me so well.
But like others have said, try it on, make sure its comfy.
1 other thing I look for also is a visor that has anti fog on it
kc, I can't believe you're asking about the importance of colour..
Everyone knows a black lid with go-faster stripes is far more streamlined than one with pictures, and will add 3-4 miles onto a gallon of fuel. * stripes Must be between 1/2" and 2" wide to work properly..
On a more serious note (cough), try different lids for 'fit'. Brands will differ.. my head is more 'Shoei-shaped' than 'Arai-shaped' - both lids fit, but the Shoei fits 'better' if that makes sense. It'll show itself through wind noise & turbulence, especially on long motorway journeys.
Polucarbonate (usually cheaper ones) will only last 2 - 3 years as UV light (from the Sun) starts to break down the shell, making it brittle (kind of like a bin liner that has been left outside for weeks and is disintegrating).
However the stuff that does the work of protecting you under the shell is generally the same as in the Glass fibre / Kevlar / Composite lids.
Used to be a bit of hype over the old BSI Type A (Green Sticker) and Type B (Blue sticker) that a type A was better than a Type B - but both types of helmets were tested to the same standard (BSI 6658).
However the Glass fibre/Composite helmet will last alot longer due to not being affected much by UV. They do cost more though - and usually the first thing to go on these is the padding. so maybe 4 -5 years and it won't fit you as good as it once did.
Try a few types on - as Junction47 said as you may find some makes of helmet won't fit you - For some reason I couldn't wear Shark helmets (when Foggy was their frontman) as the chin piece was always pushed up to my jaw. I tended to go with the FM Force 1 (but FM helmets seem to have disappeared now).
Just make sure it fits snugly, and the padding doesn't press too hard on your forehead otherwise it will start to hurt and make you lose concentration,
If you ever want to go on a trackday - then your helmet will usually have to be ACU approved - which means you need to look for a Gold ACU sticker, I don't think any tracks allow the Silver ACU sticker anymore.
One more thing is wind noise - no full face helmet can keep windnoise below 85dB once the speed builds up. The threshold seems to be when speed gets above 50 mph. 2 1/2 minutes at 85dB will give you permanent hearing damage. so good to invest in a set of ear plugs too. The open face helmets don't seem to have as much of a problem as its the turbulence between your shoulders, neck and helmet which causes the noise.
We all have different shaped heads and all helmet maker's use a different shape, with some of them you can put different inserts in them to adjust the shape, it needs to touch your head all the way round and be snug without pinching, it should not wobble around when you shake you head without the strap fastened and check you can fasten it ok there's two type of fasteners so you need one you can do. Once you've found the make that suites you then you can look at the colours and pattens, there some brilliant pattens around especial for women. If you want to check on noise levels try and find a MCN helmet comparison report they tell you what the noise levels are on different helmets. Then get out and enjoy
kc, I can't believe you're asking about the importance of colour..
Everyone
knows a black lid with go-faster stripes is far more streamlined than
one with pictures, and will add 3-4 miles onto a gallon of fuel. * stripes Must be between 1/2" and 2" wide to work properly..
thanks junctin this has just made me rotfloling there are tears in my eyes arsom
Mine was put in washer as a last resort but it worked,,,,reason being left wet in garage for weeks,,,then mould,,,so in the machine it went !!!!wrapped in towels in a wash bag,,,came out mint,,,,but would not recommend it,,,Sarah,,,next time i'll leave it for you to wash,,,along with a few piles of dirty clothes ,,,in my defence it was at 30 degree's slow spin with colour fast detergent,,,,didnt want colour to spoil
think i need a new one then iv had mine for ages it a gold star but it is old (like me) i do have a danger mouse one that i were now and again but i think ill be on the look out for one of thous go faster strip ones
Fraglette has it spot on, get fitted by someone that knows what their doing firstly, as all helmets fit different people differently,
Don't buy it just because its the most expensive, but general rule of thumb is the higher priced ones (Arai, Shoei, etc) do offer a better fit
Shark fit most people pretty well, but a lot of the Shark lids fit very much the dsame no matter what the price,
Try it on, leach it on for 10-15 minutes and if you have any pressure across your forehead its too small, try a different size or brand till you find one that fits you,
Washing the interior can be done but use either a dedicated helmet liner cleaner or baby shampoo as its quite mild, a lot of the more expensive ones have a removable interior which makes life easier, but if not stick it on a towel in the bath and be gentle massaging the shampoo in and then rinse out and leave it to dry overnight, in the airing cupboard.
There simples.....
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