Open face helmet vs full face helmet - whats better for GTA? | Page 4 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Open face helmet vs full face helmet - whats better for GTA?

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I know it's wiki but, it does contain some good information on motorcycle safety and the merits of wearing a full face helmet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety

I encourage every person that is considering riding a motorcycle to obtain good quality gear. Of course, get as much training as possible before even swinging a leg over the seat. Bad habits are hard to break so, start out right.

I have two daughters and a son that will likely grow up to ride soon enough. They already told me they don't like cruisers and prefer motorcycles like Mom's Ninja 500.

Life insurance is paid up, just waiting for the weather to clear up and ride.


Cheers,
 
Just wear the damn gear people... Seriously what's the deal?
I would rather sweat sitting dead stopped on the 401 in august than have my face shattered whenever whatever random accident happens.
So you get a little bit hot, and the ladies walking down the sidewalk don't think you're so bad ***... Big deal.
And at least with full gear you can't get a sunburn, did that enter anyone's mind? lol.

Once you see the results of a few bike wrecks (and most of them are in a populated area involving a cage) you see how the proper gear saves, and how those cool guys don't look so cool with their flesh full of gravel or left on the road.
I feel bad that I don't have riding pants yet.
I'm skipping the mods I wanted to do on my MX bike this year just so I can afford a Leatt brace... Statistically I'm highly unlikely to suffer spinal damage from a race crash since I honestly am only averagely fast and don't over-risk it but I'm taking away the chance of being spoon fed by my mom the rest of my life!

Don't nag about the gear being hot in the summer. Fill a camelback and keep hydrated you'll survive!
 
caboose483 said:
If you ride slower in your full gear your chances of not getting hurt increase even further.

It doesn't matter how much you change your attitude while driving with less gear on, there are certain things that are outside of your control and no amount of attitude adjusment can account for them. You have the freedom to choose to do as you please but saying that you can offset the potential dangers and injuries from riding with less gear by riding slower is ridiculous. You simply can't make that statement because there are idiot drivers out there doing idiotic things that you can't control.

Personally i could never ride with an open face helmet, period. I don't care if i was on a Honda Ruckus farting around town.. I'd still be wearing a full face helmet. I guess i just have different priorities than you.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should re-read my post #37 about helmet choice.

You keep going back to cager argument, they are not the sole reason why bikes crash.
 
I'm not gonna name names here,but I've ridden with a couple people in this thread who are all ATGATT.These guys have no problem riding triple the speed limit yet will come on here and preach about safety.I don't give a **** how anyone else rides but please enough with the ******** already..it's ridiculous really..
 
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Englishj said:
Perhaps you should re-read my post #37 about helmet choice.

You keep going back to cager argument, they are not the sole reason why bikes crash.
Click to expand...

Perhaps I'll re-read nothing. Perhaps I understand perfectly what you've written, and i just find it obnoxiously stupid.
 
GrahamT said:
I'm not gonna name names here,but I've ridden with a couple people in this thread who are all ATGATT.These guys have no problem riding triple the speed limit yet will come on here and preach about safety.I don't give a **** how anyone else rides but please enough with the ******** already..it's ridiculous really..
Click to expand...
It's not about safety with these fools. It's about looking bad-*** with the other fools at Timmies. However with those fools the one-piece or two-piece zippered together leathers do serve a most useful purpose. When they eventually do go down, the leather is very good at containing the jellied flesh and shattered bones for easier clean-up by the meat wagon people.
 
carrotlover said:
Most bikes I see on the road - full face

My Estimated riding is around outskirts of GTA 60-80km / hour I would imagine, no major 400 series driving predicted :)

Open face helmet - too risky for around GTA riding? It just seems so much more free! Or will it get too windy?
Click to expand...

Wear what you want just understand there is more of a risk wearing the open face helmet. I thought I would feel claustrophobic wearing my full face helmet but I got comfortable in a hurry.
 
Many varieties of helmet are legal. One of these varieties will be best for you.
Consider all the ways your helmet might affect you:

It may protect your head from impact, and thereby save your life.
People here may suggest this is the ONLY consideration. It is NOT.
A full-face helmet will do this job best, but there are significant costs.

Your helmet may block your hearing, and thereby kill you.
Your helmet WILL make noise. They all do. This noise may prevent
your hearing a siren or other significant sound, and again kill you.
A full-face helmet is, in this respect, less safe than an open-face helmet.
People here may suggest this hazard is negligible.
If you agree, then probably a full-face helmet is right for you.

I do NOT agree, so I wear an open face helmet. My current helmet has
been with me for over 100,000 kilometers through all ten provinces
and thirty-nine states. For me, this is the right helmet,
and nobody else's opinion of my helmet means a pickle to me.

Choice of helmet is very personal. If you know what you need,
buy it, giving consideration to comfort, maintenance of visor,
and economy. I find no correlation between price and quality.

When a salesman holds up a $300 helmet and a $70 helmet,
and says, "Well, do you have a $70 head???" you have the wrong
salesman, and very likely the wrong store. Walk out at once.
That salesman is thinking about his commission, not your safety.

Good luck, and try not to heed the strident voices on this site.
Like religious zealots, they KNOW their opinions are the only opinions,
and KNOWKNOWKNOW any dissent is therefore wrong.
 
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I am thinking that becasue I like my hearing to be permanently working, I wear earplugs all of the time I ride.....so the noise created by the helmet itself, and the wind (white noise) becomes alot more bearable and less harmful. Just having earplugs to protect my hearing likely negates any comments you just made about a helmet disrupting my ability to hear a siren etc anyways......and if you wear an open facer andno ear plugs, citing that you do it becasue you value your safety, and that you can hear better than someone who has a full face on, guess what? You won't be hearing those sirens any better than anyone else for long....becasue in all likeliehood you are permanently damaging your hearing every time you rde...I am thinking that helmet probably has had it's day, and for the safety's sake engineered into it, was due for replacement long before ir rolled 100K kms. But WTF do I know?
 
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Sometime wearing gear is a false sense of security, I myself ride completley different on the street depending on my gear choice. Squidding it with jeans and a t-shirt i ride like a grandma, wearing ATGATT i ride like a grandad. :icon_smile:



Remember to tell all the other drivers that this is a non-ATGATT ride so they know not to hit you.
why a full face.JPG
 
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Funny thing. When we did the M2 exit test none of the open face helmet people could hear what was being said on the intercom. I think it had to do with the wind noise. I have no trouble hearing sirens or loud pipes with my full face and earplugs. Its probably good to replace your helmet every once in a while as well.
 
turbodish said:
It's not about safety with these fools. It's about looking bad-*** with the other fools at Timmies. However with those fools the one-piece or two-piece zippered together leathers do serve a most useful purpose. When they eventually do go down, the leather is very good at containing the jellied flesh and shattered bones for easier clean-up by the meat wagon people.
Click to expand...
As opposed to looking like a knob hanging out with the other posers at the shed in Belfountain.
 
Passionate discussion and lots of opinions. Thanks. I guess something to think about. I don't think I would get fully open face, it would be flip if anything.

So what about the weight. I dont have any experience, so does 1LBS make a difference after few hours of riding? Is it something you end up "feeling"? Does it feel "heavy" after a while? Mind you, I already have allot of "heavy" thoughts in my head :p
 
This type of helmet will be the best for city riding in GTA:

bucket-head-biker.jpg
 
Salos Dafee said:
Many varieties of helmet are legal. One of these varieties will be best for you.
Consider all the ways your helmet might affect you:

It may protect your head from impact, and thereby save your life.
People here may suggest this is the ONLY consideration. It is NOT.
A full-face helmet will do this job best, but there are significant costs.

Your helmet may block your hearing, and thereby kill you.
Your helmet WILL make noise. They all do. This noise may prevent
your hearing a siren or other significant sound, and again kill you.
A full-face helmet is, in this respect, less safe than an open-face helmet.
People here may suggest this hazard is negligible.
If you agree, then probably a full-face helmet is right for you.

I do NOT agree, so I wear an open face helmet. My current helmet has
been with me for over 100,000 kilometers through all ten provinces
and thirty-nine states. For me, this is the right helmet,
and nobody else's opinion of my helmet means a pickle to me.

Choice of helmet is very personal. If you know what you need,
buy it, giving consideration to comfort, maintenance of visor,
and economy. I find no correlation between price and quality.

When a salesman holds up a $300 helmet and a $70 helmet,
and says, "Well, do you have a $70 head???" you have the wrong
salesman, and very likely the wrong store. Walk out at once.
That salesman is thinking about his commission, not your safety.

Good luck, and try not to heed the strident voices on this site.
Like religious zealots, they KNOW their opinions are the only opinions,
and KNOWKNOWKNOW any dissent is therefore wrong.
Click to expand...

you will go deaf sooner with a 1/2 or open face helmet compared to a full face due to the wind noise... I prefer to use some sort of ear plugs (usually my passive noise canceling ear phones) and keep my eyes up and looking about to spot danger...
 
carrotlover said:
Passionate discussion and lots of opinions. Thanks. I guess something to think about. I don't think I would get fully open face, it would be flip if anything.

So what about the weight. I dont have any experience, so does 1LBS make a difference after few hours of riding? Is it something you end up "feeling"? Does it feel "heavy" after a while? Mind you, I already have allot of "heavy" thoughts in my head :p
Click to expand...


Excellent question that only you can decide. Some light weight full face helmets may keep fatigue in check but, maybe unbearable unless using earplugs. Some folks simply can't deal with ear plugs. Narrow down your choices, goodle the make and model for some reviews. Wear the helmet around the showroom as you look for other gear.

Skulls come in all shapes and sizes, protection being a major componant, the next is comfort and fit. Remember, what works great for someone doesn't neccessarilly work for another. Get a feel for your budget, shop around, take your time.

BTW, I also have a modular that works well for weather protection but, just because it looks like a full face, doesn't mean it offers the same protection. Good for rain, bugs and wind noise but, it wouldn't stand a chance with pavement in a frontal impact.

Keep looking and good luck. Let us know what you decide.


Cheers.
 
Salos Dafee said:
Good luck, and try not to heed the strident voices on this site.
Like religious zealots, they KNOW their opinions are the only opinions,
and KNOWKNOWKNOW any dissent is therefore wrong.
Click to expand...

I for one support people riding naked.
 
Salos Dafee said:
Many varieties of helmet are legal. One of these varieties will be best for you.
Consider all the ways your helmet might affect you:

It may protect your head from impact, and thereby save your life.
People here may suggest this is the ONLY consideration. It is NOT.
A full-face helmet will do this job best, but there are significant costs.

Your helmet may block your hearing, and thereby kill you.
Your helmet WILL make noise. They all do. This noise may prevent
your hearing a siren or other significant sound, and again kill you.
A full-face helmet is, in this respect, less safe than an open-face helmet.
People here may suggest this hazard is negligible.
If you agree, then probably a full-face helmet is right for you.

I do NOT agree, so I wear an open face helmet. My current helmet has
been with me for over 100,000 kilometers through all ten provinces
and thirty-nine states. For me, this is the right helmet,
and nobody else's opinion of my helmet means a pickle to me.

Choice of helmet is very personal. If you know what you need,
buy it, giving consideration to comfort, maintenance of visor,
and economy. I find no correlation between price and quality.

When a salesman holds up a $300 helmet and a $70 helmet,
and says, "Well, do you have a $70 head???" you have the wrong
salesman, and very likely the wrong store. Walk out at once.
That salesman is thinking about his commission, not your safety.

Good luck, and try not to heed the strident voices on this site.
Like religious zealots, they KNOW their opinions are the only opinions,
and KNOWKNOWKNOW any dissent is therefore wrong.
Click to expand...

1)
Your open face helmet really only lets you hear better while you're stopped or at fairly low speeds. The wind buffeting at higher speeds will actually drown out everything else and inhibit your ability to hear sirens and the like.

2)
Wearing ear plugs (regardless of what style of helmet you wear) helps eliminate the white noise caused by wind buffeting and will help you hear everything else better.

3)
There is a difference between a $1000 helmet, a $300 helmet, and a $70 helmet.. ragardless of your opinions of the salesman.. there's a differnce.

You can wear whatever you like just don't offer bad information.
 
I generally find that the desire to wear an open faced helmet rarely survives the first crash. If wearing a full-face helmet when that crash occurs, the scuffs and scratches on the chin bar are generally good evidence that it was the right choice.

My own desire to do so was erased when I worked with a guy who took a piece of rebar in the chin, from a truck that was ahead of him, while he was wearing an open-faced helmet. The extensive reconstruction couldn't hide the results. I still have a half helmet at home, that only comes out when I'm trying to troubleshoot a noise on the bike, and that's the only time that it does.

But wear whatever you want to. It's not my body that will need rebuilding, from what would otherwise be a minor incident.
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