Motorbike Crash helmets on a budget

[chunkolini]

Hi Guys
Chunko is feeling slightly flush, my old crash helmet fits me like a tupperware pot and smells like a dead badger. I have a budget of around £150.00. I dont want some poncy looking thing but within reason I am not vain, so quality above appearance.

I like the idea of a built in flip up sun visor, but do they work? flip front helmets? cant see the point in that. Makes? dont mind, I am going to a local rip off store to try on a few to get an idea of what shape and size I am.

Shark and Caberg seem to a do a few in my price range, I am a medium sized head so I wont find much remaindered stock.

Any body got any reccomendations? or maybe an 20 year old AGV full of cat hairs sat in a box under the stairs.

Cheers, Chunko'.

 

[paul r]

Hi,

I have a caberg with built in sun visor and a flip front. The flip front is quite handy, menas you dont have to take your helmet off when you fill the bike up with fuel. They are good quality, look good (mine is plain matt black) and are supposed to be one of the best,

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[breezer]

Another vote for Caberg from me.

I like the looks, the fit, the quality & the price

 

[breezer]

Oh and I don't remove the helmet to pay for fuel.

Anyone who'se seen me **** about measuring 2 stroke into a poncey little jug should know I'm not gonna rob the place!

 

[Pete.]

Those Caberg sun visors have a habit of breaking people's noses in a crash so I heard. Plus the flip-up Caberg is quite heavy, and bloody noisy at speed. You can't even legally ride with the flip-front up, like you used to see the old couriers when they were having a smoke as they rode along.

I tried a flip-front helmet (not a Caberg) once, and experienced claustrophobia for the first (and hopefully the last) time in my life. It was terrifying.

 

[busastars]

I once got asked "How much do you value your head" If you think you life is worth £40 put a £40 helmet on, if you think your life is worth more spend all you can.

Not that is related to your question but just seemed like a good time to say it.

I have an old Nolan and in its day was expensive, you can feal the quality in it. I have also a Shark s800 I think, while its not a cheap Shark, compaired to lids like Arai, Shoie etc etc you can feal the differance in quality. BUT saying that for a lid in the £150 bracket I carnt fault it.

 

[moggy]

also have a caberg (carbon fibre jobby) with sun visor, lovely helmet, get visor and very light and strong.
Mark.

 

[ajlelectronics]

I have found some Shark helmets quite noisy. Also they seem a bit garish to me!

After much testing, I went for a BMW helmet. There is a range at under £200 which ticked all the boxes for me, including having room for helmet speakers.
Visor prices need watching though before you decide what to go for.

 

[Fazed]

Personally, there are very few lids that I would trust to wrap my bonce in.
I've had Shoei helmets for years and I think I'm on my fifth, but for £150 you'd struggle.
AGV has a massive range in your price bracket, although reviews are mixed even on their high-end lids.
I would trust Shark helmets. My Mrs is on her second Shark, an S800, which cost £150 and is lovely. A lot quieter than older Sharks with vents that work properly and a really plush removable lining.
Another one to watch is Bell. A big name from the past who have been quiet in Europe until now, and are trying to steal some Shoei / Arai thunder. Have a look at the Bell M1's, they're about £150.
HJC helmets also get good feedback. Massive in the US of A, seem comparable to Shoei's and the FG-15 is £150 in plain colours.
Nolan N-62's are around £150, worth a look also.

The rule is 'try before you buy,' then go online and see what deals are out there. I would stay well clear of cheap Chinese lids... there only good for practicing airbrushing on and I would NEVER entertain a £39.99 lid.

Happy hunting

 

[madkayaker]

i have a FM lid full face and a cromwell open face i prefure the cromwell as i get clostrifobic in full face lids

 

[overload]

Shoei multitec flip-up helmets are a favorite among police motorcyclists.
Better in the long run to spend that bit extra for a decent helmet as they would offer better comfort and better quality compared to cheaper make's which just don't seem to last the distance. Most importantly try before you buy!

 

[Chipper]

Definitely try for fit. Shoei's fit me, Arai, Caberg, others never have.
Full face for me. Had a car interface resulting in smashed front of lid, would've been expensive dentists bills and gob reconstruction otherwise. I don't have the claustro thing though so got the choice.

I may be terminally tight but can't spot crucial differences between 100-150 squid lids and 2x the price. The shells must come off the same lines (?), i.e. one Arai shell is going to be similar to another, the padding, furniture and decoration might be different.

Wind noise seems luck of the draw, down to the fit and type of bike, as much as the lid design.

 

[Wedg1e]

Arguably, the brand is irrelevant: fit is king. For example I can't get away with Shoei lids no matter how hard I try, my head's clearly not their shape
I wear an AGV S4, 'er on the back an AGV Air...summat or other. Both were picked with only a vague price limit but both came in under £150 each (Jo's was £100 in a Hein Gericke sale as I recall).
In theory they all pass certain tests so one is as good as another, but all helmets are not created equal (or all profit margins are not, one or the other ).
Incidentally, watch those matt finishes; it's usually a matt lacquer applied over a gloss helmet and tends to peel off in patches, looking unsightly.

 

[R Kraft]

This Bike has a chunko look to it.:http://www.2dayblog.com/2006/10/03/cool-chopper/
But I think you have to wear a top-hat with it, a flip front just wouldn't be the same.
Robert

 

[Pete.]

Judging a helmet's safety by it's price is not the cleverest thing in the world to do if you ask me. There have been plenty of good tests made that prove that some of the budget helmets are far safer than some of the very expensive ones.

I gave my wife a genuine Gucci trouser belt once, had a £120 price tag on it but it fell apart in a matter of weeks. It was no better than cheap market tat.

 

[MrFluffy]

Mostly the different brands come down to one of three things :-

How stable they are at speed (and define speed for yourself)
How quiet they are at speed
Do they fit your head shape

Thats about as far as I comment, since my helmet of choice is a craft rx5. Which is terrible for a and b, but the jury's out on C, in that Im ok with it, but Ive never fell off hard frontal enough to find out if my jaw can hit the chin section, which under heavy impact it could contact Im sure. But at which level of impact a fractured jaw might be the least of my worries...
For a and b, I just ended up developing bigger neck muscles since I also have a naked bike with superbike bars on it. Keeps me in check on a long run

Why? it has the hidden option D enabled, cooler than a polar bears naughy bits when he's got poorly knees

 

[tigler]

Only helmets that ever fit me well are Arai and Dainese.

 

[Robotstar5]

I use a Caberg, got it from J&S in B'ham, massive choice of styles and prices if you fancy a trip up to the Midlands

 

[outofthefire]

Matt black flip up Caberg for me as well.

 

[Arsonista]

I always used an old Caberg J1 when despatching. However, that was mainly slow speed stuff. For faster stuff, always Arai. Having nutted the M25 in an Arai, and feeling the bruising, I don't think I'd fancy an internal sun visor.