Helmets... Dot or Not?

[MadDog]

After Kyle's wreck on the way to SCR, I got to thinking about helmets. I have helmets that are old, new, relined, novelty, dot, snell... etc.

Yeah, yeah, I know, helmet laws suck. We all know that. But if I am wearing a helmet anyways, it may as well protect me.

So, who here has crashed, or known someone who has crashed, when a helmet had an effect on their injuries, for better or worse?

I am fully aware that motorcycling is dangerous, but is wearing a vintage helmet safer than a novelty helmet? Is wearing a loser or biltwell helmet as good as a fulmer or bell? How about a cheap DOT helmet versus a relined novelty? Am I a fool for not replacing my lid with a new DOT one every three years or every time I drop it. What about the effects of paint?

I am looking for feedback on different helmet choices and their comparative levels of safety.

[calicruiser]

in my opinion anything is bettter than nothing IF your mellon hit the pavement. I wear a biltwell and I have had the chance to wear fulmer V2's which are DOT. They are a LOT more stout than the biltwell obviously. They sit a LITTLE higher on your head but really look pretty decent. I am thinkin of buying one for long rides. I would also not wear anything less than a 3/4 helmet. These are just my thoughts.

Here are a couple of comparison photos of the Blue Fulmer size L and the Rootbeer biltwell lid.

josh

[lvvato]

Choices are good...

[revmike]

Helmets, while they don't make you safer, change the nature of injuries sustained in an accident. Based on my family statistics, helmets will save you about 60 to 70A% of the time and may cause or contribute to serious or fatal injuries about 15% of the time. There are accidents you def want that DOT/Snell compliant lid on. There are others you prob DONT want a helmet on, you want your body to be able to give and absorb and not create a fulcrum to break your neck. Unfortunately, you dont get to choose.

Remember too, that the DOT sticker, unlike some other safety "certifications" is merely the manufacturer's statement that the helmet meets the standards of the highway safety board. It's an honor system. Every year the highway safety board tests a handfull of helmets. They publish the results on their web site.

For instance in 2006, ARAI had a helmet fail the impact tests. http://nhthqnwws111.odi.nhtsa.dot.go...38358-2006.PDF

If you have one of these helmets, do you think ARAI knows to tell you that it really ISN"T DOT compliant? Riders are prob still out there thinking they are all good because it says DOT.

There are other and better standards.

Is anything better than nothing? The Highway Safety Board - NHTSA said in a 2007 study that novelty helmets were about the same as nothing...

I don't think it really matters what you do or wear, that is a personal choice in most places. But you should be informed. Assuming that anything is good or even assuming the DOT sticker means youre good to go, may be a mistake.

Luckily I live in a state that lets me decide how to approach the issue.

~Rev Mike

[jason43]

I heard life has a hundred percent mortality rate. Wear whatever you want.

[wickedblockhead]

i've got 2 fullface, a 3/4 DOT, a turtleDOT, a skidlid and a vintage 3/4. i "feel" safer in my scorpion full face. when its raining or colder the shield fogs up no matter what i do to it. i like the 3/4's they keep my ears warm, but the skidlid feels best. Its also the least protective. I have crashed in a full face and a turtle and my skidlid. I've never had a head injury in any of my crashes. But when i flipped my bike i was wearing a fullface. It's all relative and a matter of choice and possible circumstances. Anything can happen, how "safe" do you want to feel?

[jazzmans]

every crash I've been involved in on streets, I had a full face on. The first impact has always been my chin.

helmets have definitely saved my face and probably my skull.


YMMV, I wear a motocross full face DOT and snell rated.

jaz

[KT]

I'm up and down on helmets ...I think if your going to wear a helmet then a full face is the only way to go ..Example you are adding weight to your neck if you are taking a chance because of this then you might as well get the full safety from the risk if you look at helmets in the way that they are a risk .....

If you look at helmets as a must then you should want a full face anyways ....Kinda like the way they took lap belts out of cars say oh almost 30 years ago or more....Some things evolve over time and it is for good reason ...not always but sometimes my opinion is that in helmets these changes are good and make for a better safety gain....would you put your kid in a 30 year old car seat or buy the new one with added safety features ....yea thats right we didnt have car seats 30 years ago lol anyways man be safe ...but remeber if its your time no helmet is gonna help....I know I didnt have a helmet on when that kia hit me in the head going 55 mphs =)

[HWC]

"is wearing a vintage helmet safer than a novelty helmet?"
if it has the styro foam an paddin ,, yes
if its just a shell with lining ,,no

[revmike]

I heard life has a hundred percent mortality rate. Wear whatever you want.

In a nut shell

[oregongeorge]

A full faced helmet saved my life 23 years ago. I still feel the effects of that concussion daily.

You would think because of that I would have regularly worn one since then, but there have been many occasion that I don't.

Since moving from Az to OR I have had to wear one and I have worn all different kinds from DOT to NOT. I will say this, I love my full face Shoei. Getting your head out of the wind and weather is a "bonus side effect"!!

Looks goofy? Probably. Do I give a shit? Nope, way past trying to "look cool" anymore. Nothing could help that.....

[trichardson21]

I had a Daytona, and am very thankful for it. I got T boned by a minivan, and the helmet left me with a concussion, and nothing more. I ended up with a broken leg and big shin gash but no brain problems. Everyone @ the hospital couldnt believe I was only wearing a 1/2 helmet (german style if it makes a safety difference) but it may have just been been luck. It was pretty large though, and I wouldnt say its stylish by any means, I got it for the opposite, it was obnoxious.
For next time Im going to buy a MotoX helmet for the face protection. I hate full faces, but they have a good peripheral.
My 2 cents

[Fredo]

Just last night my wife said i was "soft in the head". I'm now in the market for a new helmet. I'll be going with a new Simpson.

[logi]

Just last night my wife said i was "soft in the head". I'm now in the market for a new helmet. I'll be going with a new Simpson.

Simpson? Try Viagra bro.

[wickedblockhead]

damn. thats cold

[ChoppyGee]

If you live somewhere where you have to wear one why not wear one thats going to do a better job. Where it sits on your head and how you look its a really lame way to pick a helmet. I don't have to wear one but 99 percent of the time I choose to. I have a V2 right now but I think i'm gonna try a daytona.

[kingdeadbeat]

I wear the same shit Evel wore...if its good enough for him....its good enough for me.I also wear a bell moto 3 and slammed the shit outta my head on the concrete.....no new liner, no new brain problems. I was born fucked up anyway so who cares.

Half-Helmet=better visbility/worse protection
Full-Face=Better protection/worse visibilty


Wear what you want, because we wouldn't be on bikes if we weren't risk takers right?

[AngryCracker]

Unfortunately I had to attend a viewing for a guy we used to ride with a couple of months ago. He was an older guy, not in he best of health. He and his son were riding back to Jersey from the York Factory open house or something, they got to a point where they always split up and go their own way home. Soon after they split, a witness reported that he just lost control of the bike out of nowhere and tumbled wildly. He passed away 1 or 2 days later due to severe head trauma. Of course it didn't help that he was on prescription blood thinners too. All he always used to wear was just a beanie type puddin' bowl novelty helmet. A friend said that his son told him that if he would have lived, he would have needed massive facial reconstructive surgery because of how hard his head and face hit the ground. He would have been virtually unrecognizable. I don't know about you, but it makes me think a little bit. I have a son on the way due in January. I don't want to leave my wife or son tragically like that. I'm looking at maybe getting a flat black MX helmet or something that will kinda match the look of my bike and will protect my head and face a little better. Just remember, it's a dog eat dog world out there on a motorcycle and we're all wearing milkbone underwear. BE SAFE!!!!

[kingdeadbeat]

Are moto x helmets even street legal or at least dot approved? I know they have alot of dope styles, but they might be just as useless as a puddin bowl, maybe even clumsier????

[motoguru]

I've got two full face Arais that i wear in the cold season and on longer rides. Best helmets I've ever worn. My fulmer V2 gets most of the "around town" stuff. I went with the V2 for two reasons: 1.Cops in my city ticket for non DOT helmets, and 2. The shop I work at carries Fulmer and I get a nice discount.