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Oddly, I won't step into a car without buckling up. Riding the bike however, the norm is a half-lid (I live in a commie state), and no lid riding through states that don't have the requirement. I also have a 3/4 lid that has had minimal use...it's good when the weather starts turning.
As stated above, when your number is up, it's up. The world is trying to kill us 24/7 and when the Reaper taps your shoulder, it's time to go. Nothing will ever stop that.
I have a modular, open face and half.. Half helmet is great when its really hot out and I cant take the heat of having a FF or even open face on my head. Bell Pit Boss is what I own for the half helmet. The open face is the one I rarely wear anymore because the modular can be quickly converted to an open face with a press of a button. Unlike the full face I used to own, its not a matter of swapping one for the other.
Actually, with the right choice of helmet and getting one that fits your head shape and not just size, a FF or modular can have extremely good visibility. And if visibility is the main issue, a Torc T2 or Bell Bullit is like having an open face on. As far as coverage with FF or modular, at first I also thought it was too obtrusive and bulky. Then I got one that actually fit well and fit my head shape and then my opinion changed dramatically. It grows on you. At first it can feel strange but after a while it just feels natural and its easy to forget about it. At times I feel odd if I am not wearing it.
Just went back to a full face after many years with a half (actually novelty). I used it mostly to keep the sun off my head. Got tired ot it wanting to fly off at 70mph and my goggles rattling around blurring my vision. I finally broke my $300 goggles wearing them too tightly to keep them in place. Now I just wear my regular glasses and put the sunvisor down.
No more sunburn, sand or bugs in the face. It has worked out very well. Heat doesn't bother me, I bought a white helmet and it ventilates very well. I just open up the visor in traffic.
Also, it might just be my perception or where I live but I am seeing more cruiser riders wearing FF the past few years..I have noticed that dark FF helmets with blacked-out or transition visors are becoming somewhat cool. I dont know if others have seen the same but I think they are becoming somewhat more acceptable with HD riders. Just five years ago, seeing someone on a Harley cruiser riding around town with a FF was a very rare sighting, like seeing a bigfoot. Now its not that uncommon, at least in my neck of the woods.
Also, it might just be my perception or where I live but I am seeing more cruiser riders wearing FF the past few years..I have noticed that dark FF helmets with blacked-out or transition visors are becoming somewhat cool. I dont know if others have seen the same but I think they are becoming somewhat more acceptable with HD riders. Just five years ago, seeing someone on a Harley cruiser riding around town with a FF was a very rare sighting, like seeing a bigfoot. Now its not that uncommon, at least in my neck of the woods.
Some years back, seeing a Harley meant you were looking at a grizzled, toothless, slob with no teeth and a beer belly....and those were the women....the good looking ones even.
Some years back, seeing a Harley meant you were looking at a grizzled, toothless, slob with no teeth and a beer belly....and those were the women....the good looking ones even.
Glad to see the culture is changing.
But even some grizzled are starting to be seen with a FF helmet.
I do think the Full Face Helmet is going from being a total outcast in the HD cruiser community to something that is becoming a little more acceptable or sometimes even desirable in terms of the blacked-out look.You even see some of the hardcore club members riding around with them in non-helmet law states.
I just recently got a Scorpion Belfast 3/4 helmet. It looks 100% ridiculous on my head, like Gazoo from The Flintstones, but it is so freakin' comfortable I almost want to wear it around the house in case I fall down the stairs or slip in the shower...
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