A whole new world opened up with a helmet change for around town...

[Triple]

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I just wanted to post-up my recent experience with my new Daytona 1/2 shell helmet... wow

For the past 25 years, save the very first year of riding (3/4 red disco helmet), I have exclusively used quality full-face helmets. That is partly to do with the fact that I've always ridden sport/sporty motorcycles. On Friday I decided to pick up a cheap Daytona skull cap that happened to be on final clearance at Sturgess Cycle (discontinued model, $40!). The reason was I couldn't bear the heat around town. I have no intention of using the skull cap on the highway, as I am a safety conscious rider, but wow what a pleasant experience around the city! Aside from the fact that it's very comfortable, cool (as in not steamy hot), and I could use a quality pair of sunglasses (instead of a tinted visor or having my temples permanently indented from wearing sunglasses under my full-face helmet), I could actually hear what was going on around me! Now that is unique! I didn't realize how great my Nighthawk sounded with the Supertrapp exhaust, I can better hear on-coming traffic not in my line of view, I can converse with my 12 year old son on the back without a bloody intercom... It was just nice. Highly recommended for tooting around town, especially if you're not fashion conscious! Now, I don't ride a sport bike these days, so I don't really care about what others say. Just my experience. Flame away.

 

[shootingrubber]

Good for you, but I would never wear anything BUT a full face shield. My Icon Airmada has ample air flow for me, even in extreme heat.

Safety conscious rider? LOL. Seriously a helmet like that will not do anything (it won't do much) if you do crash. And just because you're not on the highway doesn't mean it won't happen.

 

[regder]

Just wait till you ride helmetless. Yes, it's an absolutely stupid thing to do and I certainly don't endorse it. Wow, what a great feeling though.

 

[Redrock]

I've been rockin beanie lids for years now (riding SS). Who the hell cares what people think. I'm comfortable and that's allllllll that matters.

 

[Robp]

Good for you, but I would never wear anything BUT a full face shield. My Icon Airmada has ample air flow for me, even in extreme heat.

Safety conscious rider? LOL. Seriously a helmet like that will not do anything (it won't do much) if you do crash. And just because you're not on the highway doesn't mean it won't happen.

Pretty much.

How many accidents happen on the highway where everyone is traveling the same direction and more or less the same speed, versus off highway where people are slowing down, speeding up, changed direction, turning left right U? The highway would be the ONLY place I would even contemplate a worthless contraption like that.


But it's your face, not mine.

 

[Rnoodles]

Just wait till you ride helmetless. Yes, it's an absolutely stupid thing to do and I certainly don't endorse it. Wow, what a great feeling though.

Yup I recall Florida now. Everyone riding around without helmets

 

[Macs]

Just wait till you ride helmetless. Yes, it's an absolutely stupid thing to do and I certainly don't endorse it. Wow, what a great feeling though.

It's orders of magnitude better. Stupid and unsafe, but so free.

 

[AL3RT]

City streets and especially downtown - a great experience.
Country roads and highways - are not so great after you get hit by flying by rock/bug/bird ****...

 

[BlackBeast]

Glad that you got a bargain; however if you are so safety conscious as you say, you would wear a full face all the time. City riding as others have said is equally as dangerous as hwy riding. It's a free world though.

 

[mimico_polak]

Nice helmet and glad you're enjoying it. Personally I'd love to have a helmet like that, or a 3/4 at least but just too worried about something happening that I stick with full face. This heat is a pain in the ***** though.

 

[dricked]

I'm too pretty to risk not wearing a full face.

 

[kellen]

I will admit I do thoroughly enjoy riding around town in a t shirt, but would never risk my face

 

[Triple]

25 years of riding, two accidents, both in the first year. Both around town, not on the highway, both resulted in a few cuts and scrapes. In those days I was wearing a vintage 70's deep metallic flake red disco helmet, and my head was a-ok, (I think?)

 

[Triple]

Glad that you got a bargain; however if you are so safety conscious as you say, you would wear a full face all the time. City riding as others have said is equally as dangerous as hwy riding. It's a free world though.

Well, it's probably not the safest option, but doing 50 clicks or less, I'll take my chances in this heat. On the highway is where I want maximum protection, not tooting around town (T-shirt, jeans)... and I'm not so pretty.

 

[espro]

Careful or you'll wind up like this guy

 

[Triple]

Careful or you'll wind up like this guy

I suspect that has more to do with the drugs that mofo was taking over the years... and he's a total wack-job now.

 

[mbroyda]

When did motorcycle riders become such pu$$ie$??

 

[Dave L]

When did motorcycle riders become such pu$$ie$??

March 18th 3:14pm 2003 -did you not get the email????

Personally I wear a full face helmet and am happy with that but if you feel "safe" in your skid lid go for it. These are all personal decisions we make. My thinking is that safety is just an illusion - you can wear the best in safety gear have the best safety training and have ABS and traction control and all that jazz but if transport suddenly crosses into your lane it wont matter much. The best you can do is try to minimize risk as much as possible and be comfortable with the amount of risk you are willing to accept.

 

[MacDoc]

I wore a Bell Star for years ( think mail slot opening ) and never fell off on the road. ( still haven't)

Then switched to a Bell 3/4 and that was a big treat - I could talk to people !!! Drink - get it over ear plugs.

Then Bell went away for a while and came back with the Mag8 and Mag9.

I wear a convertible in Australia but miss the light weight of the Mag but like the FF in the deluges down there.
I brought it back with me to wear here but haven't.
Open face or convertible are hellish easier to get on over earplugs.
I have one FF Shoei I bought and wore a few times but too noisy and my ears still hurt from getting bent those few times

••

My thinking is that safety is just an illusion - you can wear the best in safety gear have the best safety training and have ABS and traction control and all that jazz but if transport suddenly crosses into your lane it wont matter much.

An Australian study confirmed that for fatal accidents but they did say head coverage played a role in reducing fatalities but the rest of the gear not so much.

If you are pushing the envelope - then FF makes all sorts of sense. Beyond that personal choice.

 

[Iceman]

I have used both over the years, one thing that always sticks in my mind is the visibility! I love the field of vision I have when I wear an open face helmet. Having said that, I currently ride a bandit 1200s and live in a small town, every ride involves 80km roads, full face for the wind and bugs. My shadow 1100 had a big windscreen, so it was never a problem. Wear what you want, ride what you want, aren't motorcycles supposed to be the ultimate expression of freedom?

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