$500-ish helmet recommendations | GTAMotorcycle.com

$500-ish helmet recommendations

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Vontwowheels

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Hey all,
I've seen quite a few helmet questions lately and figured I'd add one more.

Looking for a new helmet preferably under the $500 mark and IF possible from royal distributing (I've been acquiring gift cards 👍) but can go elsewhere as there's a jacket I like too.
Currently wearing an ICON Airform, im hoping to keep the drop down survivor, and get something a bit quieter (I do normally wear earplugs)

Initial searching brought me to the Icon Airflight, fits similar to my current helmet under $400 for solid colors better cooling for the summer, HJC I7 way under budget, or to jump the price bracket the Shoei RF-SR it fit well, comfortable, but no visor.

Any experience or recommendations?
 
I've got an HJC RPHA 11. I prefer ECE over Snell rated. Super light. Has a bunch of features the Shoei RF 1200 didn't have that the 1400 now does have like a better latch design. For a better price and with a better interior pad. Very light. Additional accessories like an extra pin lock or visor are 1/4-1/3 the price of the equivalent Shoei.

I've had an Icon helmet before. I hated the. archaic peg visor lock mechanism. Do you have a long oval head? Icon helmets tend towards long oval.

I wanted an RF-SR being told it was a replacement for the discontinued Qwest which was on the round oval side of fit. But the RF-SR was too long oval for my round oval head to fit well. It seemed cheaply made to me for the price. The visible overspray looking into open vents and the cheap removable padding liner.

The RPHA line also has a sport touring oriented helmet with a drop down, the RPHA 70.
 
Paulo M. said:
........... Do you have a long oval head? Icon helmets tend towards long oval................
Click to expand...

Whatever helmet you buy make sure it fits properly, has a reasonable good safety rating and, if a modular, that the latch actually stays closed in an accident.

www.revzilla.com

How to size and buy a motorcycle helmet - RevZilla

Six simple steps to getting a helmet that fits both your riding style and your head.
www.revzilla.com www.revzilla.com

SHARP - THE HELMET SAFETY SCHEME

Welcome to SHARP, the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme, a scheme to help motorcyclists make an informed choice when buying a helmet.
sharp.dft.gov.uk sharp.dft.gov.uk
 
As much as I would like to support local dealers, and I do, I just bought a $400 seat from one. The price difference of some helmets between a Canadian dealer and a non-Canadian online store shouldn’t be measured in several hundreds of dollars.

Some of the helmets on Chromeburner and fcmoto are literally half the price of a Canadian store. If the difference was less, even up to a hundred $, it wouldn’t be an issue.

The C4 pro I’m looking at is about $450 CDN online from Europe, shipping is anywhere from free to $30Cdn. Here in Canada that same helmet costs $830. There’s something wrong somewhere. That European store is still making a profit at the $450 price.

Here’s what I won’t do though as for me personally I feel it’s a bit unethical if I’m getting an online helmet. I won’t head into a store and try on helmets unless they have a decent price and I might buy that helmet from the store. I’ll happily buy visors and accessories here if the difference is minimal too. I won’t be fleeced though which is what often happens. If you charge double the price, that’s not covering your overheads, that’s ripping people off or passing on a cost from an outrageous middle man/dealer network which I’m not willing to support.

If you know your head type and fit in a particular helmet it obviously helps but I’ve taken a chance on several helmets from various brands bought online and never had a real issue with any. I may have been very lucky but I also did a lot of reading too.

Years ago SportbikeTrackGear accidentally sent me two helmets rather than one as a warranty replacement after they had me cut off the strap to the broken helmet. I told them about the error and they said thanks for being honest, keep it. So, I had two functional helmets and a spare for parts for the price of one.
 
jc100 said:
The C4 pro I’m looking at is about $450 CDN online from Europe, shipping is anywhere from free to $30Cdn. Here in Canada that same helmet costs $830. There’s something wrong somewhere. That European store is still making a profit at the $450 price.
Click to expand...

FCMoto price is $472, but look at the regular price there "$848" So did they buy some liquidation stock, and that's why they can sell it for 44% off retail? Most wholesale places sell for 30% to 35% off retail to their stores and online places. I guarantee you that the stores in Canada that did get not a liquidation deal on that helmet.
They can't sell it for $472 because they paid more than $472 for it.
I'm sure that you are going to be able to get much better liquidation stock deals in Europe then here in Canada.
I'm buying a new 2022 Arai helmet. I know that there will not be a huge difference in price in Europe or here in Canada. If I wanted to buy and older model, yes I could save $400-$500.
 
Paulo M. said:
I've got an HJC RPHA 11. I prefer ECE over Snell rated. Super light. Has a bunch of features the Shoei RF 1200 didn't have that the 1400 now does have like a better latch design. For a better price and with a better interior pad. Very light. Additional accessories like an extra pin lock or visor are 1/4-1/3 the price of the equivalent Shoei.

I've had an Icon helmet before. I hated the. archaic peg visor lock mechanism. Do you have a long oval head? Icon helmets tend towards long oval.

I wanted an RF-SR being told it was a replacement for the discontinued Qwest which was on the round oval side of fit. But the RF-SR was too long oval for my round oval head to fit well. It seemed cheaply made to me for the price. The visible overspray looking into open vents and the cheap removable padding liner.

The RPHA line also has a sport touring oriented helmet with a drop down, the RPHA 70.
Click to expand...
This +1.
RPHA 70 around $430-450cdn from fc-moto plus $20 to ship. I’ve had one in my cart for a few days just trying to decide on colour.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
This +1.
RPHA 70 around $430-450cdn from fc-moto plus $20 to ship. I’ve had one in my cart for a few days just trying to decide on colour.
Click to expand...

You’re lucky. I’ve narrowed it down to 4 different helmets and I haven’t really thought about colour yet.
 
Klaatu said:

FCMoto price is $472, but look at the regular price there "$848" So did they buy some liquidation stock, and that's why they can sell it for 44% off retail? Most wholesale places sell for 30% to 35% off retail to their stores and online places. I guarantee you that the stores in Canada that did get not a liquidation deal on that helmet.
They can't sell it for $472 because they paid more than $472 for it.
I'm sure that you are going to be able to get much better liquidation stock deals in Europe then here in Canada.
I'm buying a new 2022 Arai helmet. I know that there will not be a huge difference in price in Europe or here in Canada. If I wanted to buy and older model, yes I could save $400-$500.
Click to expand...

That MSRP thing is just to make the deal look better. I don’t think that C4Pro’s are being liquidated quite yet. They have only just released the C5.
 
jc100 said:
That MSRP thing is just to make the deal look better. I don’t think that C4Pro’s are being liquidated quite yet. They have only just released the C5.
Click to expand...
Yes MSRP is just to make the deal look better, LOL


Arai MSRP $1212.63 FCMoto price $1092.34 (helmet is not on liquidation, no deals on this yet). But yes next year or so you will see it for $700 or so.
They released the C5 so maybe they have lots of stock on C4's so they offered places deals.
The C5 at FCMoto is $763 now and has the newer ECE rating. C4 has the older rating.
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