Helmets

Motorcycle helmets

I would never consider getting on a motorcycle without a helmet, it's just not for me.

The photos above show our three helmets. The Arai Quantum /e and the Shoei RF900 are regular full face helmets. The Schuberth Concept has a flip-up front.

Click on the small photos for larger images.

Lauren used to wear the Shoei but now wears a red Concept helmet. I alternate between the Arai and the Schuberth. Because Lauren's helmet is small, it fits Joshua... any other passenger gets whichever helmet I'm not wearing.

You'll notice in the first photo that I've installed Halo reflective bands around the bases of two of the helmets. This is a fabric strip that reflects back light from point light sources. So the picture above shows what it looks like when photographed using a small flash on camera. The bands really light up! This is the same effect that headlights have on the band. I have a couple of reflective patches on the Schuberth helmet too, but it can't accept a Halo band.

The Arai and Shoei helmets are comfortable and quiet, but there's not much to write about.

So, I'll fill out the rest of this page with photos of the way I've got the Schuberth helmet arranged (using Scott as a model).

I've wired in a Chatterbox rider to passenger intercom, and routed the microphone and speaker wires in a way that they don't get tangled or crimped when I lower the chinbar.

As you can see, it is a full face helmet with a chin vent and a top vent. To the right of the red release button, is a black sliding lever. This controls the built in sun visor.

It's very convenient to be able to flip up the chinbar when talking to people. It also allows the rider to put the helmet while wearing glasses.

The built in sunvisor is a nice touch. Although the sunvisor comes down about half way (middle photo), I typically find myself using it in combination with a good pair of sunglasses, and only lowering the visor enough to block out the sky (as shown in the photo on the right, above). I'm not particularly happy using the visor instead of sunglasses, but I'll do it for short periods, if I find myself suddenly riding into a late afternoon sun and don't have my glasses on.

If you look closely at the photos above, you can see how I routed the intercom wires. I used two strips of velcro (the outer one still has the white adhesive cover showing) to "capture" the wire in a small channel near the place where the chinbar clips engage. Because of the skirt on the helmet's underside, the normal Chatterbox mounting clip doesn't fit, so I used some SuperLock fasteners (available at RadioShack) which is sort of a high grip Velcro like material to secure the mounting plate for the electronics..

I used to have a BMW System helmet, so I was already used to a flip-up. The System helmets were actually OEM'ed by Schuberth, and the Concept is an evolved design.

In general, I like this helmet, but I have a few reservations.

The clear visor that originally came with my helmet was not as optically clear as the other helmets, there was some minor distortion. If the visor is open a bit, and it vibrates, the minor distortion is amplified.
Note: When I finally got a replacement visor, it made a tremendous difference, and now there is no distortion at all... very nice.
It's not as quiet as my Arai helmet. Wind buffeting is slightly more pronounced.

However, the convenience factors of this helmet are compelling. So I tend to use it around town, and switch to the Arai if I'm going on a full day ride, particularly if there is a lot of highway riding anticipated.

The Concept helmet is great when I want to make a quick digital photo... just flip up the chinbar, and put the camera to my eye. Oh yes, I almost forgot... it's easy to kiss Lauren goodbye as I leave the house < s >.

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