Thinner helmet

[jiggatron]

I know this goes aggainst safety precautions but I hate the way my helmet looks. I feel like I have a bobble head, I've seen people with thin half helmets. I never had the nads to ask them in person so I'm giving this a shot. If any know anything it would be very appreciated.

I am a safe rider I'm just hoping for a better looks, I've tried different brands but they all look horrible. It's bad enough that I wear a XXL helmet.

Thanks

[MikeK77]

most of the thinner helmets you're probably seeing are people wearing non-dot helmets....there are a lot out there who do that.

[markk53]

I know this goes aggainst safety precautions but I hate the way my helmet looks. I feel like I have a bobble head, I've seen people with thin half helmets. I never had the nads to ask them in person so I'm giving this a shot. If any know anything it would be very appreciated.

I am a safe rider I'm just hoping for a better looks, I've tried different brands but they all look horrible. It's bad enough that I wear a XXL helmet.

Thanks

You won't be if you go to a thin halfshell.

You can be safe or you can look good. Those thin helmets have virtually no shock absorbtion value. It is that EPS in the helmet that makes them actually absorb shock, not the hard shell. Have some guts, realize the value of the helmet regardless of look and do what is right. In other words, don't be a stinking poser. That's all it is - vanity for some look. I'll trade vanity for safety when it comes to my head and my eyes regardless.

Be a motorcyclist, not a poser. So you have a lot of brains - use 'em!

[CharlesW]

Just wear a good helmet.
No one even notices the helmet you are wearing but you.

[AikinutNY]

Move to a state where you don't have to wear any helmet! Then you can "look" cool.:71baldboy:

[Jeff10236]

Move to a 3/4 helmet. It will provide more coverage (and thus more safety), still give you the wind in the face of the 1/2 helmet, and since it has more coverage the thickness won't look out of place and give you the mushroom head look, rather it will look proportional.

[MikeK77]

http://www.helmetcityinternational.com/Real-Carbon-DOT-Motorcycle-Helmet-100CR_33_prd.htm

This is what I use. It's DOT, comfortable, not a "mushroom" look

[Biker Dash]

I ride a cruiser, I also now wear a full face helmet. This full face helmet looks HUGE on me (I am a small guy)

Am I worried? No. Do I care that it looks large on me? No. Do I care that this helmet offers a much better level of protection than those 1/2 helmets.

YES!!!

Dont worry about what the helmet looks like. Worry about whether it will protect you in the event the worst happens.

[hijacker90]

I was in a shop last thursday while my wife was trying on jackets and I was looking at the thin half helmets. No padding whatsoever, just some material on the inside so your head didn't touch the plastic, and I could actually bend the helmet with my hands. Obviously not DOT rated, you'd get the same protection wearing a ball cap.

[KMWilliams]

Obviously not DOT rated, you'd get the same protection wearing a ball cap.

Now to be fair, the ball cap will not break into shards, so it would be safer.



Just one dorks opinion.

[Biker Dash]

Now to be fair, the ball cap will not break into shards, so it would be safer.



Just one dorks opinion.

Considering that your head is gonna splash like a watermelon... I think its a moot point.

[Brentr.]

I live in Mississippi where every semi truck on the road flings gravel into the windshield. I wouldn't even consider anything less than a full face.

To answer the original question, I've never seen anything significantly "thinner" than what Anime is wearing in his pic. Nothing that's DOT anyway. The only thinner helmets I've seen are similar to what my kids wear riding fourwheelers. That's pretty much just to keep limbs and sticks out of their face. NOT DOT approved.

[OTD]

I live in Mississippi where every semi truck on the road flings gravel into the windshield. I wouldn't even consider anything less than a full face.

To answer the original question, I've never seen anything significantly "thinner" than what Anime is wearing in his pic. Nothing that's DOT anyway. The only thinner helmets I've seen are similar to what my kids wear riding fourwheelers. That's pretty much just to keep limbs and sticks out of their face. NOT DOT approved.

Dude!!!!! My kid has broken half a dozen DOT MX helmets. Get those kids in a decent helmet.

[Brentr.]

Dude!!!!! My kid has broken half a dozen DOT MX helmets. Get those kids in a decent helmet.

I'm talking about utility four wheelers. Not MX or anything. Not suggesting that you can't get hurt on a utility four 4 wheeler.

And they're sitting behind me, not operating the wheeler.

[Biker Dash]

I'm talking about utility four wheelers. Not MX or anything. Not suggesting that you can't get hurt on a utility four 4 wheeler.

And they're sitting behind me, not operating the wheeler.

Still, accidents CAN very well happen. Like OTD said, get the kids a decient helmet.

[Flattop67]

I wear a XXXL, I just accept the fact I have a bucket head and will look like a mushroom wearing a helmet. I will only wear DOT approved lids. I have a full face, but only bring it ion long trips in case it rains.

[ElectroMike]

I'm not going to give you the best advice here but I own 5 helmets. 2 - full faced, 1 - 3/4 with a face shield, 1 - 1/2 face w/o a shield all DOT and 1 - skinny non dot thin German helmet look one.

When I owned crotch rockets, due to speed and lean angle I only wore the full faced ones and with anything less, I felt naked, I've also taken a spill where I flew off head first and slid on the chin, helmet was shaved about an 1/8" but saved my face.

When I ride my cruizer on highway speeds, I wear the 3/4 face which covers both lower side of the chin just not the middle but has great air flow, the only downside is that due to the tight fit, it does not allow for use of goggles or sun glasses so when I ride at daylight I use the blacked out face shield and if coming home at night unclip and switch to clear. This is a PITA, since this requiers me to carry a back pack.

When I ride the cruiser on local, not traffic roads, I use the 1/2 helmet, which allows me to use goggles and gives me a better open view and sound, it's not as safe as the others but it's a risk I take.

The not DOT, thin helmet is just scary, the wind actually lifts it up, so I tried it a few times and desided to retire it!

[Lil' Red Rocket]

First thing I did when I bought my skid lid in 1986 was take a die grinder to the inside and shave off a half inch of foam. No more mushroom head, strained neck, and it sits lower on my skull protecting the sides of my cranium.

http://picturehosting.org/u/4536/gifoiw43.kz.jpg

As you can see everything is inside where it belongs, even the original 1986 tag.
I wear this bucket 5 days a week, most of the year.

When I painted my Harley, I bought an 3/4 bucket to match. It goes under the die grinder this winter.

I
I'm just hoping for a better looks,


Looks dont save yer life. Situation awareness does.

[biometrics]

Read this website and see what kind of helmet you decide to wear.

http://bmwdean.com/swisher.htm

From the same website :)

http://bmwdean.com/cell-phone.jpg

[jonschoen]

Hey, lets not give the guy a hard time, we all are free to make our own choices in the USA (at least, for now... or in California :) The guy doesn't want the BobbleHead look. I have to agree, most helmets do give that look. Now, lets says he does wear a helmet with only minimal protection, is that not better than no protection at all? I for one, ride several different ways. When I am on a long trip, or riding on the freeway or interstate, I always wear my full helmet and gear, more to pretect me from other crazy drivers than from myself. When I am on my daily commute to work (10 miles in the city of Albuquerque, NM), I wear a nice half helmet. I find the full helmet to be too restricting when in comes to visibility, and also I have trouble breathing. At a dead stop, there is basically no ventilation. So I am willing to take some added risk, to be able to see what is around me, and to not suffocate. And, OMG, sometimes I even wear no helmet or jacket at all. When I'm driving around the neighborhood, or to the store, 2 miles away, I usually do not wear my helmet. Freedom of the open road feeling, ect. Again, it's my choice to make. I am a tax paying citizen with full health insurance and motorcycle insurance. So if I hurt myself, I have only myself to blaim, and only I will be paying the hospital bills. So lets live and let live. Thanks! Jon

[Allison Wunderland]

First thing I did when I bought my skid lid in 1986 was take a die grinder to the inside and shave off a half inch of foam. No more mushroom head, strained neck, and it sits lower on my skull protecting the sides of my cranium.

http://picturehosting.org/u/4536/gifoiw43.kz.jpg

As you can see everything is inside where it belongs, even the original 1986 tag.
I wear this bucket 5 days a week, most of the year.

When I painted my Harley, I bought an 3/4 bucket to match. It goes under the die grinder this winter.



Looks dont save yer life. Situation awareness does.

Such modifications --

shave off a half inch of foam.

void the DOT specifications. The helmet with internal modification does not meet DOT requirements, regardless what the exterior tag says.

Oregon law requires a DOT approved helmet -- but it's not enforced. The police do not ticket riders with the "Nazi Buckets."

Somewhere chic rebellion eclipsed concerns about head trauma. If you've ever seen the effects of bike crash head trauma, you'd stop worrying about being chic.

[Lil' Red Rocket]

Such modifications --

void the DOT specifications. The helmet with internal modification does not meet DOT requirements, regardless what the exterior tag says.

Somewhere chic rebellion eclipsed concerns about head trauma. If you've ever seen the effects of bike crash head trauma, you'd stop worrying about being chic.

First off dont care about DOT standards. They are guide lines. The cops dont care, and would not be smart enough to know it has been tampered with.

I really, really dont care about chic, whats in, or how I look.

This helmet is better than when it was sold new.

It is custom fit, and is not a top heavy mushroom neck twister. Unlike so many FF buckets.

I did this mod so the helmet sits low on my ears, covers my entire skull cap, does not choke me if the wind were every to catch it, which it does not.

Did you miss the part where I said I bought this helmet in 1986, I wear it 5 days a week and 150 miles a day?

So one has to figure. If Ive been wearing it that long, and its never hit anything. Then I am either very lucky, very experienced or a little of both.

[OTD]

First off dont care about DOT standards. They are guide lines. The cops dont care, and would not be smart enough to know it has been tampered with.

I really, really dont care about chic, whats in, or how I look.

This helmet is better than when it was sold new.

It is custom fit, and is not a top heavy mushroom neck twister. Unlike so many FF buckets.

I did this mod so the helmet sits low on my ears, covers my entire skull cap, does not choke me if the wind were every to catch it, which it does not.

Did you miss the part where I said I bought this helmet in 1986, I wear it 5 days a week and 150 miles a day?

So one has to figure. If Ive been wearing it that long, and its never hit anything. Then I am either very lucky, very experienced or a little of both.

It's idiotic to buy a helmet and then modify it to kill the effectiveness. Yeah I know fits better Blah, Blah, blah...... The most important part of a helmet is the inside which you destroyed, or as you say modified. But it's your noggin, maybe your luck will hold out.

[curtis41]

I wear a 3//4 helmet with the extended region over the jaw. It is much more comfortable to me on the road and has channels for my glasses or prescription goggles. Full face helmet likely provides the best protection overall, especially of the jaw region, 3/4 helmet next. I bought two early on that the liner did not come out. Kind of fun putting antibacterial soap to soak inside the helmet, but about the only solution to keep the liner bugs at bay. Then, try to dry that sucker. Works fine at 90-104 degrees F, but probably not so well in winter. Now have very sturdy, slightly expensive 3/4 helmets with removable liners. Works for me.

[ketsploder]

here's my point of view. the bike itself gives you enough cool points that even if you lose some from your helmet you still come out in the positive. i used to think my helmet looked goofy on me too, but then i get the bike cruising at highway speeds and i'm just happy i have one.

[distantThunder]

If you do wear a helmet for safety - pick one you like (with a good rating0 and don't worry too much if its bulky. The only time i ever cared about that was when i was doing really long rides, and my neck was hurting at the end of the day. if you on a cruiser, makin; 80 mph regular speed, then the air drag on a bulky helmet will cause you head and neck fatigue. But i think it all depends on the helmet.

Those problems went away when i installed a good windshield.
No problems with helmet drag.

I've ridden with all types of helmets, incl a lid (shorty), a 3/4, and a full-face. Send me a PM if you want thoughts.

Have a good day and stay safe.

distantThunder

[VanCam]

A good freind told me along time ago: "A ten dollar helmet for a 10 dollar head".