Talk to me about crash lids

[Manky Monkey]

Shark.

[morrag]

Always a case of personal preferences are helmets, here's two of mine, but over 50 years apart! how times change, ho hum......Morrag

[tbone]

I know which i prefer Morrag.

[BikerGran]

The first time I came off a bike I was 16 - I'll leave it to your imaginations howe long ago that was.

My helmet was mostly made of some kind of cardboard stuff I think, with a brim that was supposed to protect your face, and side pieces made of leather. 

If I press a certain spot on my right cheek I can still feel a tender spot!

[morrag]

Yep, you have a point Mr.T, mind you old 'ats can make you look like this!!!!!

[RODeo]

So today we went to the local Heine Gerick bike clothing store to look at lids.We were made to feel welcome and at ease in the store ,and I explained some of the info I had gained from the posts in this thread, to the guy serving us. I didnt tell him all I knew,but waited to see if he told us some of the facts! He agreed that many types should be tried etc and this is what my daughter and I did.He applied some of the checks mentioned ie he held the lid while telling us to move our head left right etc and he gauged the movement ,and we tried a few before he was happy with the fit ,,and asked lots of Q's about how it felt on our head,pressure etc. He seemed to know his stuff.We were very jokey as we usually are when we go in to a store ,and I think he was a bit surprised at this ,especially when my daughter (19 yrs old) said she didnt think I needed a helmet ,as I am one  ,amongst other quips to each other ,much to his merriment! Anyway..... I ended up choosing a Arai Large size and she an Shoei Small.Both just under £400 each (gulp!) He then said there was an offer on which meant that spending over £400 we got £100 per hemet reduction. This would mean buying something small,eg visor spray to bring the price over 400 sovs. I made it clear at the outset that I wasnt ready to buy for around 2 weeks,and he didnt pressurise us at all. the offer may be available in 2 weeks maybe not ,he didnt know.I tried to suss him out a bit but he seemed genuine about the fact.So my question to you lot is what do you reckon about the deal. I need some of your thoughts please!? I obviously want to spend as little as poss,but I know that they are good quality helmets.He said they are made of some sort of plastic with kevlar reinforcing ,is this OK? They were acu stamped and he was very aware of the age thing. They were well under the 18 months DSLAM spoke of.They were full face flip up visor,not flip front.
          Rod

[Archie]

Shoei and arai are both big name branded stuff and generally good quality. Friends have used them and nothing else. 1 swears by arai and likes that theyre light, well fitting and one ofthe quietest out there. The other has always had shoei's. He flipped his gixxer last year in it and it kept his head in one piece.

Hein gericke are good guys and the staff are always great, never have had an issue with them.

You'll be paying a bit more for those 2 brands, but then the last 2 lids I've had have been shocking and they were sub £200. One was an AGV and this one is a Roof boxer.

[terry t]

Hi Rod. have you looked at these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NITRO-X517-OPEN-FACE-MOTORCYCLE-BIKE-HELMET-SILVER-XL-/120701964735?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Helmets&hash=item1c1a65d1bf

[Tony oily bike]

Personal view my local Hein Gericke (over prob about 5 years plus) -

Staff who seem to know what they're on about, are friendly and not pushy.

Was in there today, just checking out some riding gear, had a long chat with a the sales guy, who as usual, was all the above.

He mentioned the offer you were told about (which was also advertised throughout out the the store).

I've bought a jacket and trousers from them in the past, plus a couple of pairs of gloves, and tend to check prices with other outlets if poss.

My advice, check the prices on line, then decide if you'd like to buy from a) a store that you can visit (so if you have an issue you can go back) and who gave you the level of service you mentioned, or b) mail order/interweb where you won't able to try the actual lid before you buy (bearing in mind the same model of lid, in the same size in the same shop can feel different), or c) from a different vendor.

I've had Shoei lids since the 70's and have no complaints. Also have a Arai which really like. Both very reputable brands.

The materials used nowadays are varied............. think others may be able to give you more info......... but if its got the ACU Gold sticker, in my view that's all you need.

Full face Vs open face  - your decision - only time I've used an open face was competition trials, and about 1 month road riding. Great feeling of 'freedom' (wind on ya face kinda stuff, as well a bee sting in my case!).
Just run through the types of crash sceario than none of us want to happen, and consider which style you'd prefer to be wearing.

[RODeo]

Yeah Terry,,they are OK I suppose,obviously they need to be tried on ,but judging by HG's range ,probably cheapo inside padding etc.

[RODeo]

Just looked generally on line cos I  know the makes but not the models we chose .but  cant see any model in either makes as cheap taking in to account the offer(s). I ALWAYS like to buy personal and local ,especially when theres a fitment issue to take in to account. eg shoes etc.H ealso told us that you can go in to any HG with Shoei or Arai helmets and get them checked /cleaned FOC."So you can end up with a nice clean helmet" (to which there were sniggers from my daughter!)
 FORGOT...........We also get a £20 voucher as well! So will try to get the 2 helmets on seperate purchases/invoices to get 2x £20. Will help toward some gloves..which is another seemingly high cost article for good weather proof ones!
 

[Manky Monkey]

"I ended up choosing an Arai Large size and she a Shoei Small"
-exactly what Taz & I ended up with when we went helmet buying a couple of years ago.
I wear an open face on custom bikes & full face on sports bikes. Used to have a Roof Daytona full face, which matched the green of my Triumph Speed Triple perfectly. Very lightweight, but lots of wind noise -the helmet, not me. The Arai seems a good all round helmet -like me.

[BikerGran]

Will help toward some gloves..which is another seemingly high cost article for good weather proof ones!

True - I always bought my gloves from the 'bargain basket' about £15 and ended up with so many pairs as I was always looking for something better/ waterproof.  Then one day while waiting for a tyre to be fitted I idly tried on a pair of £45 gloves - they felt so good I bought them and have worn them now in all but the hottest weather for a couple of years - making all my cheap gloves a waste of dosh!

[kapri]

What about earplugs when riding ? I've heard mention of hearing loss from many years on bikes? Likewise constant wind on face causing Bells Palsy?

[Manky Monkey]

Pardon? I often ride my trikes lidless & find there's less wind noise than when wearing a helmet. Obviously the lid channels the wind past your ears. I used to wear ear rings but the lining of the helmet pressed them against my ear & made it really uncomfortable -plus every time I took the lid off I ripped them out. Not sure how comfy ear plugs would be, but a lot of sports bike riders seem to use them.
I have a patch of dry red skin on my cheek, which my doctor said used to be common among farm workers & trawlermen. She put it down to 30 years of outdoor jobs & riding motorcycles.