Loud/quiet helmets

Schneller

Schneller

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For the last 15 years or so I've been wearing a Shoei helmet, bought at a Toronto motorcycle show. The other day I dropped it and broke some face shield mounting plastics. Oh well, it was old and needed replacing anyway.

Easter Monday was a nice day for my first ride of the season. I had to wear the helmet that came with my bike, an hjc or whatever. I was very surprised at how much more wind noise there was with it than with my old lid.

I'm going to check out royal distributing's sale, probably tomorrow after work, and I'm going to be looking for "quiet" or "low wind noise" in their descriptions. Too bad that this isn't something that manufacturers could quantify in db, but I understand that heads come in different shapes, and that this would be an uncontrollable variable in wind noise testing.
 
More wind noise is usually a sign of more ventilation. In our hot Toronto summers, that is never a bad thing. To solve this dilemma, you can use ear plugs. Won't hurt your hearing either. ;)
 
I have two Icon Alliance helmets which flow a ton of air and are really comfortable. Not that quiet though and I wear earplugs when I am going onto the highway.

The new Shoei RF 1200 and GT Air are supposed to be fairly quiet.
 
The noise I heard was wind noise, not ventilation noise. Noise was also created by airflow through gaps where there shouldn't be any.
I'm pretty sure that there is such a thing as quiet good ventilation.
 
I can't stand whistling or wind noise in a helmet. I'm using a Shoei Qwest helmet right now and its the quietest helmet I've used to date. It's a good time to buy since you can find Shoei stuff on clearance everywhere right now.
 
I've heard good things about Nolan helmets and Schubert? helmets.

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Nolan for the win!

Of course not the modular ones. I have the N104 and it's pretty noisy.
 
Look for "street" helmets and not "race" one's.
 
I've worn many different helmets from many manufacturers. The past few years I've been using a Shoei Qwest which was very good. This year I have a new Shoei GT Air which brings the quiet to a whole new level. It seems to be a result of the seal around the neck. While it makes the helmet really quiet, getting the helmet on and off is a literal pain. I still wear earplugs too.
 
I got a helmet today from kijiji ! This model (RF-1100) was on sale at some motorcycle shops for $350 because Shoei has introduced a successor model. (RF-1200) I got this helmet for $250 with an extra tinted face shield. I have to do my retirement trip in a frugal manner in order to afford to do it at all, and I'm very happy to get a really good helmet.
 

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All helmets will be noisy if you buy them too big. When in doubt, buy the smaller size.

I've taped up the side vents on my Bell Vortex, which were responsible for 80% of the noise at highway speeds. It's really quiet now.
 
At the shops, after I found the Shoeis priced out of my range, I was interested in Bell helmets, but every one that I tried on had padding on the sides that interfered with my eyeglasses arms.
 
Schneller said:
At the shops, after I found the Shoeis priced out of my range, I was interested in Bell helmets, but every one that I tried on had padding on the sides that interfered with my eyeglasses arms.
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I found only the Shoei or Arai helmets worked with my glasses. But from reviews, they were also the highest rated. I dunno, but I think $450 is a small price to save my head.....


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Schneller said:
At the shops, after I found the Shoeis priced out of my range, I was interested in Bell helmets, but every one that I tried on had padding on the sides that interfered with my eyeglasses arms.
Click to expand...

Get whatever helmet you can afford and fits you probably, throw in a set of ear plugs to have a nice quiet ride.
 
dricked said:
Get whatever helmet you can afford and fits you probably, throw in a set of ear plugs to have a nice quiet ride.
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In my work commuting and day trip riding with my old Shoei, I never wore earplugs because I felt too disconnected from the world. I enjoy hearing the sound of the engine. But for this trip, I will wear earplugs.
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