How to choose quiet helmet? And what are nice features to pay for?

Discussion in 'General Scooter Discussion' started by Omega, Jun 4, 2017.

  1. Omega

    Omega Member

    Messages:
    35
    Hi everyone

    I want to buy myself a new helmet - I usually drive about 120 miles in one go on motorways at speeds around 70 mph. And this is when it is getting noisy. i can tolerate it, but definitely would prefer something quieter, especially in colder times

    Probably, I am quite experienced driver - 12 years motorcycling/scootering, over 100k miles, I bought my last scooter almost 1 year ago and done over 14k on it, - but still worth checking opinions of others

    Any suggestions how to select a good quiet helmet? I went to the shop and sales lady suggested me to buy a sports helmet because it should be more aerodynamic. She also suggested full face helmet. Of course, I will be trying then in shops, but wonder what brands I should have closer look

    And what good features worth paying for? My first helmet was Shoei Raid 2 and only when I replaced it with cheaper helmet I realised how nice it is to have non-misting visors. Now I am thinking about small bluetooth speakers in helmet, are they worth having in helmet?

    Thanks
     
  2. Tamiyacowboy

    Tamiyacowboy Pippa's Owner

    Messages:
    1,850
    Rides:
    Piaggio Skipper
    i have a cheap BT coms set cost me £35 on amazon and its been great. has two small speakers you fit into ear wells in helmets cheek pads , and a mic thats on a flexi boom.

    connects to phone via bluetooth and recieves/makes calls, also has an fm radio. nice thing is you can ride along and not click the button to answer phone, but after 15 rings it will automaticly connect the call for you, at the same time if your listening to your mp3 player on phone or the fm radio it will cut that and adjust volume, when you finish call the fm radio or music player comes back on and it then goes back to the volume level you had it at.

    i had a caberg stunt full face helmet and boy it was noisey even at 40mph on my 50cc scooter. i upgraded to a spada intrepid dual sport helmet and still noisey as hell ( not so bad if you have radio on ) but all the same both are very noisey .... this question comes up alot and 9-10 times we answer with ear plugs , you can block out a lot of the wind chatter but still have enough hearing for the traffic and horns .

    these days most helmets come with a pinlock system so you can add a anti fogging lens , they cost around £30 but do work, i also myself carry around a small bottle of anti fog spray, a quick spray onto a cloth then a wipe of the inside of visor has you mist clear for a day or so , then you need to re-treat the inner visor with the spray wipe again but its a good thing, in my pocket with the anti fog spray i also carry a little bottle of muc off visor cleaner, both have been very handy after rain when your visor is splattered by passing motors and trucks.
     
  3. Stevep

    Stevep Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    5,895
    Soooo difficult to find a quiet helmet
    I have a Caberg, HJC, Shoei and Viper helmets.
    All of them are different when it comes to speeds, so I bought some earplugs from customfitguards.co.uk at last years bike show in Birmingham.

    https://www.customfitguards.co.uk/cf-motor-sport-block

    I use them for shooting as well as on the bike, and I ride every day in all weather, on several different bikes.
    Wish I'd bought them years ago.
    Even with the total block type, you can still talk to your mates face to face without shouting at each other, and hear all the ambient noise around you, so you are not totally deaf with them.
    What they do is dramatically reduce the higher decibel levels of noise, like wind noise in your helmet, to a lot more comfortable level.
    And you barely notice that they are doing it as well.
    Best ever impulse buy I did last year.
     
  4. Buzz

    Buzz Active Member

    Messages:
    446
    Earplugs are the answer. I use a BT Bluetooth set and can hear the music clearly through my plugs but it cuts the wind noise.
    Avoid open face, obviously. Dual sports moto helmets have increased ventilation so are noisy. I found my modular helmet was noisy. I find Full face is quietest and improved even more with a windshield neck piece. These are a cheap elasticated neoprene collar from ebay which stretch over the neck of the helmet. Cut noise dramatically and great in winter for cutting out cold wind. Bit fiddly to fit and look like they might strangle you but they are great.
    The idea that full face helmets have less wind resistance and are therefore quieter is only true if you are on a race style road bike with a lowered position , face down so the wind flows across the top of the helmet. Any upright rider will still get the wind hitting the visor, eddying under the neckline and making noise.
    The other thing about earplugs, I have a mate whose been a bike cop and social rider for decades, his hearing is now terrible because he never used earplugs.
     
  5. MARSH

    MARSH Whooooo!

    Messages:
    3,200
    Rides:
    Piaggio Typhoon
    Premier or Schuberth helmets have good revues for being quiet, I personally avoid music as it is very distracting, concentrate on the idiots trying to get you!
     
  6. Omega

    Omega Member

    Messages:
    35
    I definitely go for full face for long trips. For town rides, I'm still toying with an idea of open face though why have two helmets if I could buy one, but even better???

    I played with helmet neck piece - scarf worked best for me. However, I now installed Givi Airflow windscreen and no longer need the scarf as the screen drastically cut the noise. I can hear that the noise reduces when I hide my head behind the windscreen (don't need to lower my head much, less than 2 inches), sometimes it is a lot (usually cold windy weather), sometimes not much (warm or heat). This suggests me that the noise is coming from the top of helmet as lower part is well shielded

    I wonder about custom earplugs - I read somewhere that they are not much better in reducing the noise than disposable ones. In your opinion, are they much better than disposable ones?

    I also wonder about helmet because a lot of noise can be transferred by scull bones, so good helmet should have good isolation of inside wall from the outside
     
  7. Buzz

    Buzz Active Member

    Messages:
    446
    I use disposable yellow foam plugs, cheap on fleabay, easy and comfortable and hygenic because i use them a few times then get a fresh set. Im not sure what actually causes the noise that you get. Clearly wind hits the helmet and that alone makes noise. Reduce the wind that hits you by using a screen and thats a good start. Next is aerodynamics. The smoother or better designed the helmet then the better the airflow over it , again reducing noise. Hinges on a modular means a change in dynamics as does the top sun shield on motosport helmets. Air vents increase noise, again the motosport venting is better so its louder. Insulation should further reduce the noise that vibrates through the shell to your ear . Doubleglazed windows keep wind noise out more than single, a sleek bmw is quieter than a truck. You will likely find that an expensive, full face, aerodynamically styled helmet and a high bike screen will give the best results?
     
  8. thosoneill

    thosoneill Active Member

    Messages:
    175
    Rides:
    Honda sh300i
    You have to also consider the weight of the helmet before purchasing - if you can afford it may I suggest any of the current Shoei lids
     

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