Wow !! Full Face Helmet
I was hit off my bike by a car a few years ago. I bounced off a fence and hit the pavement head first. The chin guard of my Shoei full face took the first impact and a big lump was broken off it. I then somersaulted and came dowh with the back of my head hitting the ground hard enough to make a hole in the back of the helmet. I reckon if I'd been wearing a open face I'd have lost my jaw. If I'd been wearing no helmet at all I'd probably be dead.
I've always bought good helmets and I've never had issues with visibility or airflow. I once had one that used to whistle above 80 mph but I cured that by buying a visor that fitted better.
I've been wearing a full face since the 1970s so I guess I'm used to it. At the end of the day it's down to individual choice.
Very simply put-To each his own.
I rode for over 30 years wearing a helmet-1/2, 3/4, anf fullface. While the ff surely protects the most, it also blocks the most. Blocks air, ventilation and visibility. Anyone saying its the same is just kidding themselves. And anyone thinking wearing any plastic
'brain bucket' is going to save you if you go down at 70, or get hit headon, or get T boned riding full throttle through an intersection, well guess again. Of course there are very few absolutes, but odds are your melon is going to split, or your brains will be scrambled inside your skull inside your brain bucket.
A good buddy of mine raced professionally, mostly moto, but also oval. Always wore a ff. After a couple of wrecks, he is now a shell of what he once was. His brain is scrambled. Never broke his plastic lid, but his brains still got scrambled. He was an outstanding rider and super wrench. Now he struggles to remember names and has a tough time in general.
I still wear one on the highway or if I legally have to. but generally I go lidless because I realize they only sometimes make a difference, and I always want to feel the freedom, and if I go down in a serious wreck, rather than be crippled and scrambled, I'd rather be cremated.
My MSF instructors would still be proud of me many years after taking both courses. I really look into turns as well as check all around me when in traffic. With no windshield the 3/4 just wasn't working in that situation.
Still considering a ff but I truly appreciate the input.
After buying my Fat Bob I rode a couple of hundred miles one day without a helmet. The first part of the trip I was on back country roads and probably never went over 60-65 mph and had a strong wind at my back. On the way back I got on I-35 and was doing 70 into a 30 mph wind. I made it back to the office and realized when I got there I could barely hear. I had to watch peoples lips to understand what they were saying. A lot of people and the tv all sounded like they had just sucked on a helium balloon. I did not like that much.
I have been down before. It's been a while but I remember it well. I did not have a helmet on and was able to keep my head off the pavement. I slid for several feet, face first, using my forearms to keep me up a little. Lost all the skin on my palms, and down to my elbows. I was lucky that's all that happened.
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
Next day put some reflective tape on the back of my Shoei FF. I don't care if it looks goofy or not. It's crazy out there !


