Quiet helmets? - this might come as a surprise

[MacDoc]

Full face are often noisier than 3/4 - you may think your full face is quiet enough - your audiologist would disagree.

Full face helmets provided average noise levels of 88.3 dB(A) at 50 km/h up to 103.6 dB(A) at 120 km/h. While the open face helmets provided average noise levels of 87.2 dB(A) at 50 km/h up to 98.5 dB(A) at 120 km/h.

this is in agreement with my own experience.

The levels are damaging over time. DB is logarithmic so 103 is a lot louder than 98...

It's your hearing.

all you wanted to know about it is here

Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Occupational Motorcyclist

http://www.cieh.org/JEHR/hearing_los...rcyclists.html

A number of reviewers have noted the same thing in their reviews that the open face generally tend to be quieter.

Both my open face Bells ....Classic and the Mag 8 are quieter than the full face Shoei TZ-R I snagged for colder weather and heavy bugs.

That 5 DB advantage will stay in place even with ear plugs or headphones. Over long touring trips that quieter sound adds up to more relaxed and less tired.

Now I know it's not my imagination. Just one more reason I prefer open face.

[bww77]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing. Personally my choice is the full face, regardless of what they say. Cheers

[SunnY S]

Enjoy your resconstructed jaw and mangled face.

But hey, at least your hearing will be fine!





.

[MrBruce]

It says they tested with Bieffe helmets. The box my Shoei came in would be quieter than the Bieffe.

[MacDoc]

43 years riding - still have all body parts intact including skin.....and my hearing.
It's not the only time the open face have been noted as quieter.

Of course if you expect to face plant by all means cover yourself with plastic ...course then maybe a cage would be more appropriate.

Nine motorcycle helmets were chosen which varied in quality and styles to give a broad range of typical helmets worn by occupational motorcyclists, some of the more unusual styles sourced directly from occupational motorcyclists. A number of modifications were made to identical helmets. One helmet was left unmodified as a control, another had the visor/air vents sealed and the final had the addition of a fin, fixed to the rear of the helmet. All helmets were tested with the addition of a neck seal to the base of the helmet.

I don't find the Shoei as quiet as either Bell tho is quieter than the Shark RS-2 I sold. The Shoei is decently quiet with the shield up and thats the way I would use it except on cold days or high bug bombardment.

I think there is this assumption that FF are quieter, they are not and it's significant especially on long rides.

[Rob MacLennan]

Funny thing; ALL helmets are more quiet, when earplugs are used.

[Recidivist]

Try a Nexx. Most quiet helmet on the market.

[RockerGuy]

I prefer my full face. I don't like eating bugs, gravel, nuts & bolts thrown at me.

[Flywheel]

FTA: "The dominant noise source was the base of helmet between the chin bar and the neck of the rider. The use of a proprietary neck seal reduced inner helmet noise levels by around 4dB(A) at 120km/h. The neck seal was difficult to fit and on a number of occasions the wind pulled it from the helmet. These disadvantages may make this means of noise reduction unlikely to be used consistently in practice."

If I need to wear earplugs anyway, I'd rather have that extra bit of insurance. I always assumed FFs to be a bit noisier due to all the edges they have (visor opening, chin bar, vents).

[jay-d]

Funny thing; ALL helmets are more quiet, when earplugs are used.

This man knows what he's talking about!

[Myztyk]

had wondered about this. Felt my Shoei was louder...Interesting read.

[SunnY S]

43 years riding - still have all body parts intact including skin.....and my hearing.

Of course if you expect to face plant by all means cover yourself with plastic ...course then maybe a cage would be more appropriate.

Plucked from another recent thread......

Had a bit of a startle coming out of the gas station at Flesherton - there is an abrupt little dip just east on 4 and I was accelerating and came over the crest and a little old compact was sitting there waiting to turn left at the bottom of the dip.
Luckily little car was hugging the centre line waiting to go left.....still going over it in my head whether I actually could have hauled down 800 lb of me and bike even with the ABS full on.
As it was, I sneaked by the right with a bit of adrenalin rush.

This was a case of I was looking further down an apparently empty road I was accelerating on, and got completely caught by a stopped vehicle that was hidden in a dip

.

Nobody "expects" to faceplant. I haven't met a single motorcylist yet that "planned" on crashing. Glad it worked out for you this time and made it through safely. I shudder to imagine what could have happened if you crashed and did a possible face plant into that left turning car.

[omnivore]

Funny thing; ALL helmets are more quiet, when earplugs are used.

DING DING DING!
We have a winner!

[Rob MacLennan]

Nobody "expects" to faceplant. I haven't met a single motorcylist yet that "planned" on crashing. Glad it worked out for you this time and made it through safely. I shudder to imagine what could have happened if you crashed and did a possible face plant into that left turning car.

The rider who took out my rear wheel on Highway 10 near Caledon, years back, slid for maybe a hundred feet on his chest and face. Apparently his helmet looked remarkably like the one in SunnY S's photo. His only injury was to his thumb, where his glove had worn through.

[MacDoc]

Given the ATGATT attitude it seems some riders think they are going to fall off their bikes everytime they go out.
Your imagination is over active.
If you are that nervous - stay home.

You can scald yourself with a pot of spaghetti or hot grease- better put the full face on when cooking.

I much prefer to enjoy my ride, chat and smile instead of caged up in a FF looking like some wannabe astronaut.
You want to live in terror behind plastic.....your call.
I have no interest unless its cold enough or buggy enough to warrant.

and I MUCH prefer the quieter ride the 3/4 gives me.

Everything you do carries risk and examples can be found of gruesome outcomes....so what.
It's the last thing on my mind when riding.
The first thing is enjoying the day while staying alert enough to dodge the occasional cager.
and I did both yesterday.

I'm not track riding, I'm not even riding hard in the twisties - if i do the latter I'll armour up a bit more and it if gets hot and casual riding on back roads I'll go down to shortsleeves and shorts.

One nice thing about great storage.....the choice of gear or not. I just carry some variety - don't have to decide when leaving for the day and don't have to ( and rarely do ) wear the same gear all day. If I'm on gravel as part of yesterday I'll put my gloves and jacket back on.

The 3/4s are proven quieter = more alert after a long day and more enjoyment during it. Try it sometime.

[Rob MacLennan]

And, at present, I prefer my Schuberth flip-up helmet, which has a measured noise level of 84 dBA at 100 Kmh. That's significantly less than the open face helmet rating, yet I still use earplugs.

[Aminal]

2 cents worth....
So by this logic, does not wearing a helmet offer the best sound protection???
ROFLMAO People, make your own choices and live the consequences, posting the results of a study is informative and might make someone think about something they took for granted. We all have opinions on what works for us.
I always find the humor when long time riders ( I'm an old fart myself) get flammed by relative newbies, yes Johnny you're 3,000K season and $8,000 worth of gear really make you an authority
Cheers
Aminal

[Skurj]

I have a couple of Arai Vectors and a Nolan N43. The vector to me is real quiet, but the N43 with the shield removed and chinbar in place (helmet meets full face safety specs in EU) is much quieter. Never tried it without the chinbar.

I actually rode briefly in the black hills without a helmet and was surprised how quite it was.. (i always wear earplugs)

[CFunk]

I agree with Rob, this might be an interesting statistic, but it's irrelevant when you wear ear plugs

[omnivore]

THE MOST AMAZING PART OF THIS THREAD is that the OP is concerned enough to bother posting up this thread that touts a 3/4 helmet is better for your hearing than a full face. Regardless if it's true or not, the simple fact that he posted it is amusing......claiming that he wears the 3/4 helmet partially for the quiet (hearing protection?) and that it keeps him more alert......safety conscious concerns nonetheless...yet exclaims that ATGATTers are paranoid for being safety conscious at all,LOL

Some prefer "open face", while I prefer to have a face.

He did after all say it was an audiologist's report, and it's our hearing that could be damaged over time.....SO glad he is looking out for our hearing.....but it doesn't matter if you disregard all the other wonderful safety gear available to us as riders. I mean, every rider who ever was injured or killed, went out that day and intentionally or knowingly got themselves involved in an crash, right?
Are you for or against safety while riding? Or is it ONLY a rider's hearing that needs protection? I didn't get the memo,LOL