What Is The Best Motorbike Helmet Around?

Question

I am 21, live in Bromley, Kent (Greater London), have a full drivers licence (with Pass Plus), have passed my CBT and am doing my DAC in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking to get a 500-600cc Honda (CBR preferably but insurance so I'm told is high so probs a Hornet).

Couple of questions...

What motorbike helmet do you reccomend? The two shopkeepers I've spoken too have said top of the range Shoei are the best for safety but £500 seems a lot of money to spend. I want to be safe and of course would be prepared to spend that money but I dont want to spend £500 on a helmet that is no better then a £200 one.

Could someone also shed some light on what I'd expect to pay for insurance. I understand there are many issues involved when it comes to insurance but I'm just looking for a rough estimate. Maybe someone who is / has been in the same position?

Thanks a lot in advance.

Answer 1

The best motorcyle helmet around is one that fits you like a glove.
Arai's Shoeis and the rest are next to useless if the internal shape is wrong for your own head shape. lightness too is a factor and most expensive helmets do tend to be lighter, but comfort is your number 1 concern.

In a crash where shell integrity is a major issue, then your brain would not survive the G forces generated anyway. Having said that I would not buy a £20 full face helmet and feel comfortable with it on a bike capable of over 30mph.

Luckily my head is Arai shaped, but the tight cheek pieces make me look like a chinaman.
Best value for money, hands down was a Shark Tempest I owned back in the 90s. Comfy, Quiet and relatively lightweight kevlar shell.

Answer 2

I tried loads of different helmets, I wanted an AGV but seemingly they are not suited to the majority of people so tried all the top makes and ended up with a HJC carbon fibre which was not too expensive(around £250) and its the best i've ever had ,very light and quiet and looks cool in plain carbon weave, as for the gold acu sticker , this is supposed to mean that its of a higher standard suitable for racing with but in actual fact its rubbish as recently proven in motorcycle press that acu gives these stickers out to almost anybody who asks for them without testing the product, all this is about to change as a result of this being exposed, If I was you go for a middle of the range helmet (not plastic though) around the £200 mark from a reputable manufacturer and make sure it fits proper you could spend £1000 on a top spec lid and if it dont fit its worth nothing, As for insurance, its a bit of a minefield, shop around a lot, you probably wouldnt get insured for a cbr 600 or if you did it would cost you more than the bike, stick with the hornet idea or a bandit 3 or more years old to keep costs down, I would expect to pay in the region of £800-£900 but thats a rough guess Im sure some of the young guys in our club were talking about that figure

Answer 3

Number one: how much is your head worth? All helmets of a perticular type (full face, half helmet, etc) protect to the same minimum standards and will still save your melon in a crash.

What the more expensive helmets give you is better ventilation, lower noise, better and/or removable pads, longer warranties, and lighter weight. You can get a $150 helmet that makes you hot and deaf, stinks, and makes your neck hurt on long trips and get used to it. Or you can spend more for a helmet that will not distract you with the above issues and listen to your bank account whine.

I wear a Shoei and I love it, and am looking into either another Shoei or AGV helmet soon. They're not cheap, but they're less expensive than an Arai. I did not like the fit of Shark helmets, but I was very impressed with Scorpion. For a sub-$200 helmet they look and fit great.

But remember the most inportant quality in a helmet of any price is that it fit your head snugly and comfortably. So whatever helmet makes your head AND wallet happy is the one for you.

Answer 4

Best Value Motorcycle Helmet

Answer 5

The best advice I could give on both counts is to shop around. Spend your time going round the bike shops trying on as many different helmets as you can and read up on them. Ride magazine have test results for a wide variety of makes and costs, in a recent test a £150 HJC helmet came out just as well as a £500 helmet. Price wise if you are willing to wear last years colours on your lid try Hein Gericke they do some excellent deals on helmets and all gear in general. Just remember don't be swayed by a name, I have always worn Arais but simply because my head shape is suited to them and the fit me correctly and not just because they are the best, they just happen to be the best for me.
Insurance wise do the same insurance quotes on my VFR differed by as much as £1500, so shop around for your best deal and stick to the Hornet for a better deal.
Here are a couple of links you may find useful.
Hope this is of some help and good luck with your test.

Answer 6

The best helmet for one person may not be the best for the next , it's important to try on as many as possible because the shell size and lining vary between different makes. One thing i would advise is to go for a well known manufacturer as there are many cheap Chinese helmets appearing for sale. Though out my years of motorcycling i have worn many different types of helmet but have always found AGV to be an excellent compromise between quality and cost. The insurance issue well that would be very hard to guess but after alot of phone calls i found WESTHILL INSURANCE to be very competitive.

Answer 7

when you buy a helmet look on the back of it and there should be a gold sticker on it, this means that it has passed a range of tests set out by on of the main motorcycle bodies in the country, basically if you were to be a racer you would need one of these stickers on your lid. you can get these lids for as little as £150 and less. insurance wise you would probarbly be looking at around £800-£1000 for a CBR maybe a little bit less for the hornet

Answer 8

shop around for insurance sit down with yellow pages and ring LOTS of them up or use Internet to search for insurance the helmet question is the easiest to answer if (its an old saying but i believe it to be true sorry for it being American ) IF YOU GOT A $10 DOLLAR HEAD BUY A $10 DOLLAR HELMET
what price do you value your life at? i always used to wear bell helmets always swore by them make sure what ever helmet you buy has got the "kite mark" on it then you know its been rigour sly tested and meets British health and safety standards
keep those wheel upright and ride safely

Answer 9

All the Mags and shop keepers will tell you Shoei or Arai every poll will tell you that one of these two are top, but like you i find then too expensive and a little bit snobby.
There are many reasonably priced quality helmets out there, my suggestion would be to go to all the shops in you area and try them on till you find one that fits you face type and your budget.
i bought a cheap IXS one for when i went trough my training ( to make sure i wanted to carry on!) then spent the next nine moths trying on all the helmets i could to find one that suited my needs.

I Finally ended up with a KBC VR-2 nice plush helmet, which fitted my head (huge as it is) and didn't stretch mt budget £150.

hope this helps

Ride safe

Answer 10

G'Day, i'm from Australia, and i've riding motocross/road bikes for about 28 years and i've used AGV helmets and here i can pick one up for around $600-$700 AUS Dollars, so ask around and check the prices where you are in UK, or look into ebay because this should give an idea of prices for a particular helmet/s.

I hope this will help you!