Helmet Suggestion

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I swear by my Shoei RF-1000. Its a 600 dollar helmet - comfortable as hell. You can go cheap on everything but your helmet. My brother pushed his Arai but I don't have $1200.

IF you can get a used helmet with not even a blemish on it, you might take a chance. Any marks, even a minor scuff, could mean it was dropped.

I have a KBC VR1 large (7 3/8 - 7 1/2) Snell rated helmet that I've never used - put it on once and bought the Shoei before I got around to using it. I kept it as a passenger helmet, but I never take a passenger. Its high gloss chrome/gray. My wife wants rid of it - my kids are taking too much interest in it, and she doesn't want them near the bike.
 
I have bought and sold helmets. Nothing wrong with used. Just make sure you know when they were made as most helmets have a shelf life of 5 years. As for being dropped, I have seen people drop brand new helmets at the store and put it back on the shelf.
 
I am a new rider (M1 and M2 last summer, and bought my first bike this past March), and I wear glasses.

Just to add my two pennies:

I bought an HJC CL-16 at the spring motorcycle show. It fits my head very well, does not fog up terribly (and when it does, it clears quickly), and is not noisy so long as the visor is down (I don't ride with it up anyway, and you're not going to notice it at slow speeds on the course).

I was looking at the flip-up helmets (modular) for my glasses, but everyone I talked to and everything that I have read says that because the helmet opens up like that there are built-in weak points in the helmet which make is inherently less safe than a proper full-face. It wasn't so horrible taking my glasses on and off on the course, and I've gotten quite used to it riding this season.

For a first timer, especially if money is tight, you can find an inexpensive, well-fitting helmet that will keep you just as safe as all of the others. ALL helmets are DOT approved (at least the legal ones), and SNELL does not guarantee better protection (I've read a few articles comparing the two, none of which, of course, I can find at the moment).

Please do not buy used. Do you trust your head's safety to someone you don't know?

You have to replace a helmet every so often anyway (5 years or so? Someone will correct me on this one, I know) - so if you want to blow big bucks on one, you can celebrate 5 years of riding with a swanky new helmet.
 
Charles Darwin said:
For a first timer, especially if money is tight, you can find an inexpensive, well-fitting helmet that will keep you just as safe as all of the others. ALL helmets are DOT approved (at least the legal ones), and SNELL does not guarantee better protection (I've read a few articles comparing the two, none of which, of course, I can find at the moment).
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Hey thanks for the input! I was considering the HJC CL-16 as well, the price looks reasonable.
 
daisoman said:
I have bought and sold helmets. Nothing wrong with used. Just make sure you know when they were made as most helmets have a shelf life of 5 years. As for being dropped, I have seen people drop brand new helmets at the store and put it back on the shelf.
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Well for hygienic reason as well, I wouldn't be comfortable wearing something someone had sweat on :confused:

But I didn't know about helmets having a shelf life...good to know! That really helps with my decision-making, thanks!
 
I'm a new rider...M1 in August, M2 last week. I went with a HJC IS-16. It has a full feature set that really set it apart for me. The big draw was the built in retractable sun visor. It vents well, rarely fogs and has chin curtain that cuts wind and noise, plus the liner is anti-bacterial and removable/washable. I went to the stores and tried on all sorts of helmets to test fit, and when I made my decision ordered from http://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca/

No regrets.

Happy shopping.
 
daisoman said:
I have bought and sold helmets. Nothing wrong with used. Just make sure you know when they were made as most helmets have a shelf life of 5 years. As for being dropped, I have seen people drop brand new helmets at the store and put it back on the shelf.
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Display models in the stores are rarely the ones that actually get sold for that very reason.

OP - I got a great deal on my Shoei RF-1000 a few years back at GP Bikes. It was near the end of the season, and the prices were drastically lowered in order to move older stock. But in the end, ultimately the helmet has to fit your head and be comfortable for YOU (regardless of brand name and price). As long as the helmet is at least DOT approved, you're golden. As for the better build, & bells and whistles more expensive brands have to offer, at this point you're not necessarily going to know any better. I've owned a few HJC helmets before getting the Shoei and felt they were decent for the price.
 
pnayplayr said:
Also, I'm not going to buy a bike anytime soon so for sure I won't be riding a whole lot...or atleast it's not on my budget for next year to get a bike. Do you think I should just buy a cheaper helmet since I probably won't be using it a lot? But then I'm thinking, why not spend a little bit more so atleast when (or if) I do continue with everything, I won't waste it on the cheap stuff?
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Helmets have a shelf-life of between 3-5 years for manufacturer's guarantees. I don't know why you want to buy a helmet if you're not going to buy a bike. Last I checked, you could rent helmets from Studio Cycle and Parker Bros, maybe other places too.
 
CFunk said:
Helmets have a shelf-life of between 3-5 years for manufacturer's guarantees. I don't know why you want to buy a helmet if you're not going to buy a bike. Last I checked, you could rent helmets from Studio Cycle and Parker Bros, maybe other places too.
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I want to get a bike, but the plan is not anytime this or next year. Who knows, I might end up getting one next year anyway. I mean, I didn't even want to get an M licence to begin with, I just got really bored lately lol. As you have thought, I have considered to just rent, but my friends are getting bikes... I can't keep renting a helmet everytime I want to hang out with them, even ride along as a passenger :) But yes, I considered the one with Parker Bros...plus the fact that they would give me a $25 credit towards a purchase of my helmet after renting with them is a really good deal. Thank you for your input, it would be logical to just rent it I don't really plan on getting one anytime soon.
 
So after searching around online and going to different stores, considering prices, brand, designs and listening to your advice, I ended up buying a Scorpion EX0 - 400. As much as I really wanted to go cheaper like HJC, it just didn't fit me properly. I really wanted the one with the sun visor; it was cheaper, it was the plain black that I wanted...it was practically perfect, but the top part of the helmet is lose on me. I thought it was also interesting how I tried on Scorpion Small and it was a bit lose, compared to a different design and cheaper Scorpion, which was also Small, but it was nice and snug...so I got that. I spent $140, plus tax.

I went to Suzuki dealer in New Market, right off of the 404 hwy since my buddies get their stuff there. The sales lady there was the most helpful one of all, out of all the ones I've been to. The other stores all told me to get a medium, even measured my head and said I'm a medium. The one from Suzuki showed me what exactly is the best fit for me, made me move my head around and what not. She wasn't going by the size marked on the helmet, but the actual fit of each helmet. She even refused to sell me the one that's a bit pricier because it didn't fit me as well...but I thought the design was prettier hehe. Man...I didn't know there are so much to consider when it comes to the "perfect fit".

Thank you everyone for your input! They really helped me out a lot.
 
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short stop said:
But in the end, ultimately the helmet has to fit your head and be comfortable for YOU (regardless of brand name and price).
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You're absolutely right! The brand nor the price didn't help out with giving me the "better fit". It was almost like each design (even within the same brand and same size) still had different sizing.
 
Never get a used helmet! A helmet once worn has taken on the shape of the original user, and therefore, will not fit someone else's head correctly. The helmet needs to fit your head correctly and snugly, especially around the crown of the head for it to funnction properly in the unfortunate event it is called upon to protect your head.

Fit to the crown of the head and the shape of a person's head are the key issues. I have watched at dealerships, Royal Distributing and GPBikes when they are selling a helmet to customers and to date still have never seen them ask the correct questions or fit a helmet properly. So simple but so overlooked. Most people wear a helmet that is 2 times too big! This produces 2 impacts when the helmet hits the ground. Double Grrrr.

Here is the best video I know of demonstrating in plain English how to determine the proper fit of any helmet.

http://www.araiamericas.com/default.aspx?pageid=92
 
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There is a ton of useful info on this site: http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/home
Read through the testing procedures etc and then check out the ratings. Some big surprises. It is a british site and maybe all the helmets listed might not be available in Canada but it should be a good start.
 
^+ good site. Good video (non-audio) under Helmet Fit.
Do not feel uncomfortable wearing the helmet in the showroom for say 15+ minutes to get a true feel for it. Sometimes people feel self-conscious doing this but then others will start doing the same thing I found.
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