- This topic has 35 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 11 months ago by Jeff in Kentucky.
New Rider + Other stuff.
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April 8, 2010 at 4:21 am #25525DinugePampleParticipant
Oh yes. I’m getting mine Friday when I get paid. I found a SUPER deal. I’m getting the Icon Airframe Siren. $330.00 for $156.00! It’s hella fine too. Teal and hot pink with an manga girl riding. Ahhh..makes my heart happy.
April 8, 2010 at 4:32 am #25527ShamRock229ParticipantThat looks like a good helmet. It’s got a bunch of good qualities at a good price. I’m assuming youre going to get it online, are you sure about your sizing? It can vary slightly between brands. If possible, try different ones on at your local shops to get a feel for what brands and sizes fit you best (look for an icon in your case). Even if you don’t buy it there, you still know what you get online will fit properly. This goes with all gear as well.
April 8, 2010 at 4:38 am #25529DinugePampleParticipantWell I was planning on doing that, but I don’t think they sell Icon where I’m going. But I just got sized for my cap and gown for graduation, so I know my head measurements. And I’m not going to buy my jacket and everything online. I’d have to keep returning it to make sure I liked the size.
April 8, 2010 at 5:26 am #25533eonParticipantI recommend you go read the section on helmet shapes and sizes over at webbikeworld.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-faq.htmNot everyone’s head has the same shape, some are round, some are oval. It is strongly recommended to try on helmets before buying as it is hard to know how it will fit until you do. If you cannot try on an Icon locally I would look through the reviews on webbikeword to see what shape they classify it as. Then find another brand that has the same approximate shape that you can try on and see if it fits. Or go try on what you can and see what is comfortable, come back home and see what shape it is. That should give you an idea what brands to consider. Or at the very least make sure the site you buy from has a good return policy.
Best of luck (who said getting started was easy?)
April 8, 2010 at 5:31 am #25534ShamRock229ParticipantIt takes some people longer to find the right gear than the right bike… just remember that you’re protecting your brain( and ultimately your life) here, so you want to make sure it’s properly and comfortably protected.
I know motorcycle superstore will let you return a helmet if it’s the wrong size, no questions ask. Of course, I’m not sure what site you will be buying from, but eon is right, definitely read up on the return/exchange policy (especially in your case since you are getting it on sale and they may not have a return policy for items on sale).
April 8, 2010 at 1:47 pm #25538briderdtParticipantGreat articles and reviews. And also, your head shape may not be constant, especially if you have a lot of hair that you cut off (as I found out in December).
Funny thing is that the helmet I settled on after trying on a bunch (after getting my hair cut) was one that was like a torture device just over a year ago… And it was a size smaller.
April 8, 2010 at 2:28 pm #25541IBA270ParticipantAsking how to crash is NOT a stupid question…it’s a beginners question borne out of motorcycle knowledge and myth learned from non-riders. You ARE NOT neccesarily going to crash. That’s the WRONG way to view it. I know MANY people with MANY, MANY miles without ever having an accident. If you prepare properly, have a proper mind set and ride with a strategy, there is no reason to believe that you will crash. Don’t let yourself think you will. If you do, you probably will.
FWIW…I have somewhere approaching 500K miles in 15 short years of riding. I have never had an accident. I have never had a crash at the track either. I’m not Joe Cool motorcycle rider…but I do think I approached it properly; took a safety course, rode the right bikes and became a real student of sound motorcycle operation. You too have the opportunity to start like this: you are brand new. Get the right training, have the right mind set and you’ll be fine.
April 8, 2010 at 2:32 pm #25543IBA270ParticipantVery good advice. You MUST try it on in the store and wear it for a while to see if you have any pressure points. You really need to find a shop that has a competent person who knows how to fit you properly. More often than not unfortunately, there isn’t anyone there who knows much more than you do about how they should fit.
Go for fit first. I’ve been lucky to own some pretty expensive helmets; Arai’s, Shoei’s and the like. One of THE best fitting helmets I’ve ever owned was an HJC helmet that cost like $150 (still not hyper cheap) It felt great, worked well and was rated just like every high end helmet out there.
And it looked cool, but that was just a bonus…
April 8, 2010 at 2:43 pm #25540Sean_DParticipant… and not just for a few minutes in the store. The first helmet I purchased felt really good in the store. A little too good it turned out. As it packed out it became far to loose. Now I can grab it and twist it a bit sideways while it is on my head. Further than it should be able to go.
When I went shopping for a new helmet I did things a little differently. Most places have a return on helmets as long as they aren’t worn out on the street. I picked a helmet and wore it around the store for awhile. Looked at the stuff they had in the store, made a couple of phone calls (yeah you can do that with the visor up), and made sure it felt pretty good in the store.
Once I got it home I figured I often take rides of at least a couple of hours. So when I got home with the helmet I had chosen ( a Scorpion model), I wore it for a couple of hours while doing some work on my computer. Good thing that I did. The helmet, which felt great even for 30 minutes in the store began to become uncomfortable when worn longer. It started developing hotspots. Taking it off revealed it had left impressions of the stitching from a seam in the liner which went through the middle of the forehead. Deep red spot which felt bruised for quite a while afterwards. That will never pack out and become more comfortable. Definitely the wrong shaped helmet for me.
I took that one back. Tried on a couple more in the store (HJC and Shark), which had had that familiar “a little too comfortable” feel of my original helmet.
I eventually tried on a Shoei. It felt very snug, particularly in the cheeks, but not uncomfortably so. Did the same as before, wore it around the store for 30 minutes or so. Took it home and wore it a couple of hours. It never became uncomfortable like the Scorpion. Repeated that the next day for an even longer trial. Still no hotspots. So decided to take it out on the road.
They cheeks were very firm at first, I felt like I could barely swallow without biting a little cheek, but they have packed out very nicely. The helmet has taken on a very snug, yet reassuring comfortable feel to it. Fits like a glove.
There are 5 different basic shaped helmets out there (round, earth, oval, egg, reverse egg), and probably half a dozen variations on those. Helmet companies also use a number of different shell sizes to incorporate the numerous head sizes. So purchasing a helmet is not near as easy as it would sound based solely on your head measurements. It is kind of like shoes. Different brands and style fit differently regardless of size. If you are a skier and have ever tried on ski boots, you will particularly know what I mean. The hard shells only come in so many sizes and are fitted with the foam inserts.
I know that is a bit of a ramble, but the moral of the story is try them on and *keep* them for awhile. Don’t make your purchased based on brand, graphics or price so much as fit. An ill fitting helmet that looks cool will probably just cost you more money a few months down the road as mine did and may not protect you as it should.
Here is a little video guide..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXDes3AQvP4
April 8, 2010 at 7:57 pm #25552DinugePampleParticipantThanks so much everyone! A lot of good stuff. I’ll be sure to wear it around the store for a bit. But sadly, that’s really the only dealership around my parts. So if they don’t have people to know what they are doing I’m screwed. Which I think they would..it’s been around for about 5 years now. But I’ll be sure to be super diligent.
Can you wear glasses in a helmet? Like sun/regular?
What about radios?April 8, 2010 at 9:16 pm #25554IBA270ParticipantGlasses = yup…
Radio = you’d better wait on that one for a while. Trust me, you’ll have a lot going on without worrying about who is playing in your head…
April 8, 2010 at 10:19 pm #25559Sean_DParticipantThe glasses tend to fog up on me quite a bit. Particularly regular or prescription sunglasses. I have tried about 4 or 5 anti-fog products, mostly with mixed results. Clarity Defog it seems to work the best of the products I have tried, but that isn’t saying a whole lot.
I have found the best solution is using one of the air masks. Some helmets come with them made specifically for the helmet, others you can order a 3rd party version. These come up over your nose and keep the warm breath from going underneath the glasses. I have found this to be far more effective than any of the anti-fog sprays/lotions/waxes I have tried. They don’t look bad either, kind of a fighter pilot look.
The Respro Foggy Mask is among the better 3rd party ones.
http://www.respro.com/products/urban-commuting/motorcycling/foggy_mask/As helmet fit goes, there is plenty of info on the net aside from the two videos I posted earlier. You can definitely brush up on proper fit and what to look for on your own, regardless of what the sales folks may or may not know.
April 8, 2010 at 11:07 pm #25561Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI only did one high side on the street- my back tire slid on raised wet railroad tracks. I did several slower high sides in the dirt, and a hundred times more low sides.
Here is John Hopkins showing how he lands butt first- he has done a lot more of these than me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqcUtx1ioCI&feature=related
This high side is in the Faster DVD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkloPA28ugM&NR=1
Fogging- learn to breathe very slowly just through your nose. Opening the visor a little or just turning your head a little will often clear up fogging.
April 8, 2010 at 11:40 pm #25568eonParticipantThat butt first landing looks like a sure fire way to become a paraplegic; and I did not see any attempt on his part to land that way.
April 9, 2010 at 12:12 am #25570Jeff in KentuckyParticipantLanding on your chest and jaw hurts a whole lot more, and putting your hands down to try to catch yourself breaks a collarbone, wrist, or more. I landed the same way on purpose, and it took half a second to do the turn and flip that I had practiced hundreds of times when jumping from a swinging rope into water.
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