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Here's my annual story of falling from the Roadster:

First of all, don't attempt a U-turn on a steep hill, regardless of how skilled you think you are. Sooooo I'm doing this U-turn on a steep hill, and the bike starts to list. The bike and I are falling the long way down, plenty of time for me to think about the judo roll I'm gonna do, and how the bike is gonna be shattered into a pile of parts is parts.

I have my Nolan flip-up, flipped down...... thank GOD!

It wasn't a judo roll that I executed, it was a classic face plant. Given that the hill was steeeep, I proceeded to sliiiiiiide down the hill belly first on the face shield of my Nolan. The face shield that woulda been nose, lips, chin and cheek, had it not been for my flipping the chin piece down and the Nolan standing up to the minor impact.

The bike survived the fall unscathed(???) And yet another incident of how a helmet prevented me from getting messed up! Wear 'em if you got 'em (and don't forget to flip the chin piece down!)

(On the other hand, I also have a story of arriving on the scene of a GS accident. The guys flip-up Nolan was half way down the hill and waaay off to the right of the bike, and his head was banged up. You can speculate what happened; he was in shock, so I didn't ask him.)

I have a Nolan N100e that I love. It is in flat black which matches my Rock. I put some of that black reflective tape on it for nighttime vis. I love the look and convineience of it. I just don't like the noise that much, but that is okay cause now I have a Sirius player installed.
Enough of the sales pitch. I have a question. My helmet tends to chaff on my forehead. Has anyone had any luck trimming the foam under the padding to adjust the fit? Or is this something that shouldn't be done due to safety reasons? Please help, I am tired of the stares from strangers looking at my red forehead.
Thanks all,
Tommy

As stated above, flip-up helmets are noisy. I tried my friend's Nolan last summer during a road trip. After about 30 miles I was anxious to get back into my one-piece Shoei.

Flip-ups don't meet Snell, but this really doesn't matter. Motorcyclist magazine published a controversial, multi-part article on helmets earlier this year. Through independent testing they proved that Snell is no better than DOT. Motorcyclist's article debunks the notion that you have to spend lots of money to get a quality helmet.

I read the MC's articles too. I had an Arai helmet & was pretty disturbed by the artilces. Then on this board read some pretty informative posts by "Bones", a trauma surgeon (& pretty hardcore ride) who has seen a number of bike head injuries. He's also seen a number of flip face failures. Bones, unfortunately, I don't think is around hete any more.

He wears a top of the line DOT/SNELL helmet (I think an Arai, but can't remember for sure). He won't wear a flip up. Not only can the hinges fail, but the latch can catch & open during the crash. Also, structuraly, the solid bridge chin area of a solid full face will give the entire helmet more strength & better disapate forces (think coupe over convertible car for structural stiffness). Of course I also have vissions of sliding face first on the pavement. I just replaced my Arai with another (& this time white for visibility) Arai. If Arai didn't fit my head, Shoei would be my next try.


The problem I see with the DOT helmets is that its just not enforced. Snell seems commited to me. Arai also seems commited to me.

Can helmets get safer? Sure. But for right now its a full face non flip top line Arai for me, glasses & all.

SoCal Rob,
I hear ya, after my accident with my Symax, I did the research and purchased an Arai Astral X, I paid about 450.00 for it. When considering color, I recalled a study result that from Australia that indicated that white was the safest color. I believe our friend down under DJ. posted the results of that study.
The Astral X fits my oblong head like a glove, it is luxouriously comfortable. I wear glasses as well and I have to deal with the inconvenience when putting on and taking off glasses.
Also forgot to mention that when inspecting my helmet after my accident, the styraphoam (sp) in the chin had broken in two.

thanks,

Gene

Geoff, I read the same article also, and I agree. I think the higher price helmets are probably more comfortable and quieter in general with higher quality flip-up gear mechanisms etc. but as far as protective ability, they proved the $60 helmet did as good a job as a $500 helmet.

I've had my Nolan N100E for three years now and am almost ready to buy another one. It won't be another Nolan. I had a bad experience getting a broken latch repaired on mine and it came back as a black chin bar which had been "badly" spray painted silver to match my helmet. The paint peeled off in a matter of weeks and I eventually just took it all off the chin bar with my fingernail and now have a 2-tone helmet. But that's okay, I plan to paint some skeleton teeth on the chin bar anyway before it wears out totally.

It's also very noisy! And even though I wear glasses, I think my next one will be some kind of fullface, non-flip-up style...Just so it'll be quieter. Maybe I can get some of those little round glasses that I can hold on with my cheek and eyebrow!

Guys, I will respectfully disagree that the MC's article proved anything, except that cheaper helmets passed their tests. And that controversial articles will bump circulation numbers!

We had a long discussion on this previously, and I noted I attempted to buy a cheaper helmet but in the end went back with the Arai because it fit the best and was the best quality helmet in many ways I could find.

I still think flipups can not be as strong as regular full face helmets. But they beat the heat out of skid lids!

because it fit the best and was the best quality helmet in many ways I could find.

Exactly! That's why I would still opt for a more expensive helmet also. I don't simply want protection. I want comfort, quiet, and as you stated Vann, other qualities that are hard to describe precisely...Just better all around. But I still think the tests were legit as to the protective abilities only.

I have been wearing a Shoei Syncrotec II flip up for about 6 months now. I have found it to be extremely quiet and comfortable (I have a round Charlie Brown head and it fits like a glove). Since I wear eyeglasses I like the ease of dealing with those and the visibility is much increased over my other full face helmet (HJC).

The negatives: a tad heavy and pricey. For general riding the flip up convenience can't be beat.

I hope I never find out it's abiltities in a crash.

I am on my 4th year in the Nolan N100, and have been happy with it. It is a little noisy, and black is not the best color for the summer, but I will probably buy another one.

I would like to buy a BMW System 4(or 5) helmet, but they do not ship them to the US. I have worn one for a short trip and it was quieter than my Nolan. I think that Keith Haynes had some pictures of his BMW helmet from when he hit the kangaroo last year, and the BMW helmet worked as good as a full face helmet would have.

Anobody try one of the new Reevu helmets with a rear view system?

http://www.reevu.com/

I'm a full-face kinda guy without the flip-up. I had a nasty crash this summer on my GS. Took it into a ditch at about 120km. When I kicked the bike away from me, the side of my head hit the ground. I took a lot of bruising on the bottom of my chin and the impact tore away the face shield. I think with a flip-up that it wouldn't have taken the impact and my jaw would have been broken. I think those hinges on the sides would have torn away on impact and my chin with them. For my money, I'll suffer the inconvience of having to take it off for the sake of saving my ugly mug.

Just my 2 pennies worth.

Geoff: One of my crotch-rocket buddies had a Reevu a couple of weeks ago to demo, put it on, works neat if your head fits it the right way. I think it would take some getting used to. Didn't get to ride with it . . . we's got a little snow on the ground. Buddy went around the block a few times where the pavement was dry and said it was pretty cool. Don't know about the safety rating on it though. I talked to one of their reps a while ago and they said they don't have SNELL cert. yet. Has that changed anyone?