Helmet - what should I buy?

Originally Posted by jamessunhill

It looks like my budget is going to be around £150. Are there any other brands I should be looking at other than Arai and Shoei?

I can find Shoei's at about that price (£169 for a Raid 2), buy Arai's at about that price don't seem to exist (I would not buy a second hand helmet).

Stick it out a bit longer and save for an Arai Condor. If you look around you can find a plain coloured one for about £180. You won't buy better for that money anywhere.

Just changed mine from the AGV to a Caberg V2

I'm looking for my first helmet. Have read the above.

Would you all recommend a Caberg V2 or Nolan N62 Classic or HJC CS-12 or perhaps none of those?! How do they compare - yes, sorry for the really baisc question.

plowsie, how is the Caberg V2?

I know it's bought but having read the thread I'm damn if I'm noth throwing my two penneth in.

It's between Arai or Shoei as far as I'm concerned. Whichever one fits. If neither it (and that happens) then I'd consider alternatives (no-one seems to have mentioned AGV?).

MinniMatt - Your post initially angered me, but I think I see the point you're making. However I think you're post whilst valid is a little flawed.

I think "buying the best you can afford is good advice". Sure there are limits, lower ones you shouldn't go beneath and upper ones it's not worth going over, but your head is the most important think to protect. You can live without legs, arms, no so your head. Yes that extreme but it's also true. So yes if you have a budget for all your kit then you need to make sure you do what you can to protect all of you. If that means a £100 helmet instead of a £200 in order to get decent jacket, jeans, gloves & boots I agree. However in isolation, ie only buying a helmet, then I think given that it alone might save your life it is worth stretching your budget as far as you can.

Not much help I know but the BMF really is a good place to get kitted up for the first time. The savings you can make on kit mean your cash goes further. Last year a mate kitted himself in Shoei XR1000, Sidi boots, FT leather gloves & leather jacket & textile trousers for £350. Which I think is pretty damn good.

Good point, and I can see why it was taken to the extreme, as I didn't word it particularly well.

For clarification, like you say "best you can afford" is always the over-riding mantra, tempered only by "if you have a limited budget get all bases covered first".

There's some interesting debates raging about helmet design, with concern that some safety tests are actually making helmets less safe (or rather, aren't making them safer) by forcing design to pass the test rather than provide real world safety. Shell strength is one factor, but of greater importance in real world collisions is actually decelerating the head within the helmet. Of course, there are so many variables, weight and shell size is a big one (having a heavy mass on your head as it's whipped around in a crash - obviously a bad thing) but it's so hard to devise experiments to reliably test for these things.

For the record, when it came to kitting out the missus, I spent £800 getting everything covered, including a £300 Arai. I might be happy with my Shark lid but there was no way I was going to have her in anything less than an Arai or Shoei.

Interesting (very long) article on helmet safety standards - http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ge...iew/index.html - quite obviously not in favour of the Snell standard but very interesting reading nonetheless.

And Ride's may 2005 lid test showing £45 Nitro helmets standing up to, and in cases beating £300 Shoei's in safety tests - http://www.ridetriangles.com/pdf/643/221609.pdf

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by cbch

I'm looking for my first helmet. Have read the above.

Would you all recommend a Caberg V2 or Nolan N62 Classic or HJC CS-12 or perhaps none of those?! How do they compare - yes, sorry for the really baisc question.

plowsie, how is the Caberg V2?

My Girlfriend had a Caberg, after 9 months of everday use it was f*cked, all the lining's were knackered and it was so loose that if I held the chinbar she could turn her head through 90degree's with out the lid moving. She also said the visor leaked and didnt seal properly. Also she said it was very noisy. Personally I wouldnt recommend that to anybody.

Go and try the Nolan or the HJC see on in a shop and buy the one that fits your head best. Dont wear it for a couple of minutes, leave it on your head for 10 minutes or so and walk around the shop with it on, sit on a bike see how it feels.

Dont limit yourself to just two makes of helmet, try on a few more and see what they feel like in comparison.

Remeber fit first, looks 2nd. Remember a £100 HJC that fits your head properly is going to provide much better protection that a £500 Arai that doesnt fit your head shape properly.

Thanks for the replys guys.

Got a Shoei R2 after weighing up the options. I went on fit and on my wife's insistance on having somting safer than average!

Just need an SV now!

Originally Posted by BigBaddad

Hi, too late you bought it. Your Nolan is made from polycarbonate, it will need to be replaced in a couple of years because it becomes weeker over time, UV rays and the like. Not even ACU approved. I think you should have gone for a composite Composite helmets also last 5 years.

Ive got a Nolan N102 flip front. Does the same go for mine? if so why was I not informed of all of this in the Shop? I was informed it was excellent quality and of the best possible standard

Originally Posted by BigBaddad

It also weighs more than most shells, which in the case of an accident can increase the risk of neck injury.

Again does that go for mine? if so - thanks for that...great...just what I wanted to hear, dont think I wanna ride in it anymore

Originally Posted by BigBaddad

Why did you ask for advice then ingore it . And why a flip front - this is an SV site not BMW?

I bought mine specifically for the flip front, what's it got to do with BMWs anyway?

Originally Posted by BigBaddad

I don't mean to come down on you, your money, your choice, your life. Don't become a statistic.

How can you make a choice when you are depending on the expertise of the staff in the shop who are telling you the quality is excellent?

Im not technically minded and am unable to make any sense of poly this carbonate that/etc, therefore so I have always relied on the shop staff to fit and advise me.

I thought that all helmets were made to a high safety spec (BSI or whatever) and therefore we ought we not to be able to rely on the shop staff's advice? I feel completely let down from what Ive read here, the helmet I bought was not cheap or expensive, but it fits well and is comfortable. Although it is a little heavy when I compare it too my old one, (isnt a problem though), the sales staff didnt inform me of this or any other technical spec and I didnt ask
a. because I didnt know there was anything to ask and
b. because I presumed that anything sold must be fit for purpose

If you're looking for a Raid 2 also look for an XR1000. The RRP on the XR is higher but the discounts available on it are greater. RRP £330, seen for £180 which I believe is similar money to the Raid 2 - which I haven't found discounted much.