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My Helmet page |
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I like the idea of wearing a helmet all the time when riding, law or no law. Once in a while when I move the bike I might not bother to put it on but it's a rarity. I used to have two helmets, one full face for inclement weather and an open face for sunnier days. When Shoei came out with their Duotec I was thrilled! I didn't have to buy two separate helmets and haul them around on long trips all the time. One of the things I found with the Duotec was that the nose piece had latches that slid OVER the cheek part and if the front received an impact I figured the two latches would pop outwards which would defeat some of the protection it offered. So when other makers started coming out with modular helmets I looked into them. I noticed the Nolan N100 was slightly different than the others in that the hinge didn't just swivel the nose piece up but it retracted it back as well and that made it less top heavy in the front and a bit more aerodynamic. (At least it looks like it does).
About 10 months after having the Nolan I was in England and saw a really neat helmet made by Lazer called the Revolution. It had a nose mask and tinted inner sun shield like jet pilots have. The nose mask prevented the face shield from fogging and it was very convenient to slide the tinted shield down if I needed to. I just had to have one. The problem was it wasn't sold in the US as a Lazer but as a Ski-Doo Modular and I had to find a snowmobile shop to get one. Well I found one and enjoyed it for over three years.
According to SNELL if you ride like I do which is 95% of the time then 3 years is about it for the life of a helmet, and 5-7 years if you ride like on weekends and not every day. The material used to make most helmets eventually gets old to where it can become brittle or just not flexible enough to take the impact required. So according to SNELL it's a good idea to replace it more often than one would think. So I replace my helmet about every 3 years or so. I've noticed that the sun and weather can have an affect on the stuff helmets are made out of as well as widening it when putting it on or taking it off, it also sounds like a good excuse to get a new one. :-)
Below is Nolan's Safety Standards, so far no modular helmet is SNELL approved and I think it's because they might not pass and that would probably put many riders off buying them at all so no news is good news?
Check out this link to D.O.T. standards and how they compare to SNELL. Very interesting. California Racer
The Nolan has the European ECE 22.04 -& D.O.T. Approvals
The ECE`s label shows:
My current helmet is a Nolan N100 Classic. The one thing I found different from the others is when the nose flips up it also moves back and therefore it doesn't stick up. I found with the Revolution I noticed my neck hurt a bit more when I rode with it up.
Below shows how I installed the headset and what foam liner I had to cut out to allow the speaker to sit back in as far as possible. I have found that this headset is the only one with padded speakers and that padding adds to the thickness and therefore the whole unit has to be in as far as it can go so it won't give me a headache after riding a few hours. The helmet has a nice flat area to place the speakers. I found the cheek pad to have a thick plastic piece that slides into the back part of the rest of the helmet's padding and I was able to clamp the mike to that and make a slit to allow the mike to stick out nicely. I had to insert the wire end of the boom mike through the slit so I wouldn't have to make a big slit, I plan to sew it up so it looks clean.
Here is a link to a reference about MCN's (Motorcycle Consumer News) Modular helmet review with Will England:: motorcycle notes and tips
It sports the conclusion that the Nolan is the best choice.
Here is the SNELL web site with quite a bit of info about helmets of all shapes and requirements. http://www.smf.org/
Here is the DOT site with the standards for helmets. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/DESKBK.html#MSH
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard is also a helpful bit of information about how and why.
This is the European Standard explained European Standard Explanation
The ECE 22.04 information ECE 22.04 I tried to read some of the PDF's and found them to be pretty lengthy and descriptive so if you want to read it all go for it.
Some links below that I found interesting about helmets and their usage plus some reviews.
How about how long a helmet lasts and when should it be replaced?
From Motor Cycle News (England?)
Here are some pictures of my last helmet. It's an interesting story. The manufacturer of the helmet is Lazer but due to contractual agreements with Ski-Doo they don't sell it in the US or Canada. Lazer calls it the "Revolution" and Ski-Doo calls it their Modular Helmet. AKA The Bombardier. (I think, I'm still learning about this neat helmet) I have a J&M open face headset installed and the boom mike is one of their longest so it can reach up and under the front piece. I can talk with the front up or down and in the winter I have the mike going through the mask and it makes me sound like I'm talking into a box. If you find you are interested in getting one you will have to look in a snowmobile shop. They come in Ski-Doo Yellow, Silver, Black, Metalic Black and Black with a racing checker pattern. I've also not found a single modular helmet that is SNELL Approved, yet.
notice the nose mask. it really helps prevent fogging the face shield.`The neat thing about this helmet is the second tinted pilot like shield that when needed can be slid down, it's like what you would see on a fighter pilot's helmet. Below is the yellow helmet showing the phases the helmet has. The first one shows the tinted shield sliding down. The third one shows the one handed pinch required to open the front as well as the nose mask. I use the mask in the winter and remove it when it gets warm.
This a neat look into the design of the helmet. It's made of I.M.A.C. (Impact Modified Alloy Composite), it has Interior Hypo-allergenic foam pads, detachable and washable, it's MORPHO SYSTEM Face shield & Double lens shield, anti-fog and scratch resistant Integrated sun visor with Ventilation Chin and rear and Exclusive bio-formed mask ensuring no-fog operation in any condition. The Retention System Lazer “quick release” buckle with assisted ejection (one-finger operation). Double straps for neck protection with additional features like a Functional anti-fog mask for basic filtration.
Now for some other modular helmets that I looked at or heard about.
HJC SyMax
You can get a good review here: http://www.webbikeworld.com/Reviewed-motorcycle-products/hjc/symax/index.htm
I tried one on and found it to be a nice fit and an all around really neat helmet but . . . I found that my peripheral vision was not as good as I'm used to with any other helmet I've worn so for me, it didn't work. Also I couldn't see how easy it would be to install a headset. Oh well, nice one though.
The Shoei Syncrotec (spelling?) is the second version of a modular helmet Shoei makes and they really changed it from their first model. Like one hand opening and different latching mechanism but the one thing that put me off is the $400 price tag, I know, if you have a $10 head then buy a $10 helmet but with the majority of the modular helmets in the $200 price range I figured this one and the Schuberth Concept (on the right) were a bit overpriced. The neat thing about the Schuberth is the tinted sun shield that slides down with a one handed slider and it also has a one hand latch for easy opening. It's made in Germany and also has the D.O.T. and European approvals.
Shoei Syncrotec Schuberth Concept
This is a Zeus Modular and I haven't had a chance to look at one up close since no dealer in my area sells them. On the internet there are a few places that have them for around $100. 2 reasons I didn't buy one is one, the nose piece flips up and out - talk about a sail, (but then most of the others have just as high a nose piece when it's flipped open) and two, they are kinda cheap and, from what I could tell, the lining looked to be not as good and I haven't heard much about them to feel confident in them. Zeus mostly makes motocross helmets and this modular is a little off their beaten track, so to speak. I feel if you're going to wear one all day for days riding on a long trip then you want one that is comfortable. But, as I said I've yet to see one so I really don't know much other than what I've seen online.
Then there is the Vaga Summit XPV
Looks like is has some interesting ventilation and the colors are bright. I guess I still want to be able to try one one and I couldn't find one where I live. I've never heard of them before and it was only doing this page that I stumbled on it. They run around $130 and I guess I need to know more about them. They look nice.
Then there is the Gmax for about $135
Just a different color and some vent pieces.
The Arrow is an interesting one in that it can be a full face or an open face. I tend to ride with the nose up a lot and since I'm behind a fairing and I'm short I don't get the drag effect that the wind would give you with it up. J&M offers it with or without a headset installed. The same mike I have in my headset which is a small one and is mounted in the cheek pad which makes for a nice clean look. J&M has really made some new and invative audio equipment for motorcycles. I like the headset that has padded speakers so I get a better bass sound than the others gave me.
Now there is also the Jarrow Mono Convertable Helmet. Looks about the same as the above Arrow but made by an Italian maker. Interesting. I found they are sold in the US but so is the Arrow.
These helmets I found on UK or European web sites and probably not all available in the states.
The most interesting helmet I found was the Roof Boxer. It's quite a different modular helmet. The nose piece rotates all the way to the back, but I couldn't show a picture of that, but the one picture below shows how it can go all the way back. You can get the Boxer in the US but only in Black or Silver and they run about $450 or so. One review I read says the nose piece fits really close to the face and doesn't leave much room for your nose. So if you get one don't sneeze! Plus check out their "Bumper" model, really strange looking.
http://www.designerhelmets.com/
Review http://www.webbikeworld.com/Reviewed-motorcycle-products/user-reports/roof-boxer.htm
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