SUOMY helmets? Good or Crap?

[ttc]

helmets after a certain point become like a luxury car, ie arai and shoei's are hand made and have 5 year warranties, you don't get that with cheaper helmets, and you'll find they use better quality materials, which means they usually hold their fit and feel for a longer time.

Also arai's are fully customisable with the cheeckpads and liners, the sales assistant can customise them to fit the customers head perfectly, i think there's about 100 different ways the lining sizing can be set up.

[FrogZ]

Gee and here I was thinking ppl only bought Arai's cause it was the only way you could get a Micky D helmet...
I have stacked in a an awful lot of helmets off road and on
I have a good collection of "busted" ones and unless it was an OLD fibreglass helmet they dont split of crack (BIG cracks) anymore.
They do split and crack but not in half anymore (like an old Bell I had) more the "layer" cracks. My last AGV (steralth) got a puncture hole through it and I was shocked as to what could have done it (still am).
as long as it is full face I am going to make a bold statement and say they are all about as good as each other in an off and will all be rooted if they have hit the deck.
What makes the diff is fit and comfort (thanks Tanya), both while wearing and if you DO hit your head.
You can go for the helmet you WANT (graphics, hero identification, history, whatever) and get it fitted (Arai, Shoei) and pay $800-1000 OR get one that fits off the rack. It may not be as "good" at $400 but that nearly pays for a Superbike School....
Accident avoidence instead of "after the event protection" as it were.
I REALLY like my KBC's, I thought they were cheap but DAMN they are a nice helmet (it fits my head perfectly).

[ttc]

the price difference in helmets won't pay for a trumpy though froggie

[FrogZ]

Maybe i can get a job as a crash test dummy... certainly qualify on all counts

[aardvark]

on the aus motorcycle law it statesthat-
"the helmet must comply with AS**** or be made by Arai"

You are joking i hope

Why would he be joking? The act clearly states: (I've removed all the crap you don't need to know)

ROAD TRAFFIC (MISCELLANEOUS) REGULATIONS 1999 - REG 38
38—Safety helmets


(1) Helmets are approved for motor bike riders if—
(a) manufactured, tested and marked in accordance with the requirements of the Standards Association of Australia contained in—

and, if manufactured on or after 1 January 1972, bearing the certification mark of the Standards Association of Australia; or

(b) manufactured, tested and marked in accordance with the requirements of the British Standards Institution contained in—

and bearing the certification mark of the British Standards Institution; or

(c) manufactured by Arai Hirotake Limited and marked as model SP-21, SP-22, TX-7, X-7, S-70, R-6m, or XR.



So, whilst it doesn't cover ALL Arai helmets, there is a specific provision for this make of helmet. A lot of people aren't aware that they can also use helmets with British Standards certification.

[Neka79]

So, whilst it doesn't cover ALL Arai helmets, there is a specific provision for this make of helmet. A lot of people aren't aware that they can also use helmets with British Standards certification.

i wasnt....does that mean those cool looking ROOF's that come out from UK CAN be worn??
i thought when u looked up this info before we decided it wasnt worth the headache(pun) to import one??


hmmm maybe iu get a roof next..

[slojo]

The side clip-on covers fell off...(probably cause I ride so fast )..because they have this plastic thing that secures them on the helmet, which simply broke..(dunno why really).

The Visor is a pain to change...you have use a narrow ruler of something similar to get the side clip-ons off (but now they fell off so I don't have to anymore ).

have you seen the latest suomys? they seem to have a revised visor design that looks similar to the mechanism found on shark helmets.

[Tack]

have you seen the latest suomys? they seem to have a revised visor design that looks similar to the mechanism found on shark helmets.

No I haven't!...

Having experienced buying my first helmet I now will ask alot more questions when buying another one...however I dunno whether you can believe any sales person...who knows...you dunno whether their just crappin on or not because they sell that brand or whether it's a biased personal opinion.

I reckon each helmet place should be equipped with a wind tunnel so you can test for wind noise and cold air entry (for winter), visor fit etc...

With regard to price vs safety though...this is a bit of a contentious issue I reckon.....basically all helmets have to met a minim standard however some brands like to tell you that they exceed the standard or have a superior standard, like the Snell standard for example.

The problem with the Snell standard, as I read in a bike article, is that it sets it's standard so high to protect your head in quite extreme accidents that you would be dead for other reasons (neck, internal injuries, internal brain injuries etc) and because the Snell helmet is built to take these very high impacts, that in relatively minor accidents it's absorbing ability is too hard and can cause internal brain injury whereas the helmets meeting the lower standards have much better low impact Resistance in a range where you want the helmet to cushion and absorb the impact.

The problem is that, I believe, the high standard helmets are more expensive. So when I go to look at a helmet I really dunno what I'm paying for...a better helmet or a safer helmet or a better helmet which is less safe or....etc..who knows.

This is a little off the point but I was talking to a friend the other day who was telling me about a race seat which is supposed to be made in Italy. Turns out that the seat is actually made in China however the seat is tested in Italy and because the cost of testing the seat is 3 times the cost from China it is considered that more dollar value is added in Italy and therefore it can be stamped as Italian made.

Just though it was interesting how the world works...lol.

[hoffy]

Biaggi wears Suomy,

[Stereo]

helmets after a certain point become like a luxury car, ie arai and shoei's are hand made and have 5 year warranties, you don't get that with cheaper helmets, and you'll find they use better quality materials, which means they usually hold their fit and feel for a longer time.

Also arai's are fully customisable with the cheeckpads and liners, the sales assistant can customise them to fit the customers head perfectly, i think there's about 100 different ways the lining sizing can be set up.

Sure, but....

1. Why would you ever have a helmet for more than 5 years unless you never wear it.... I am a commutor, I use my helmet every day.... 2 years is an acceptable lifespan for me.... The KBC has lasted very well, and doesnt really need replacing except I have heard that the interiors compress over use and it is recommeded that you dont keep them just because there is nothing apparent wrong with them...

2. IF I COULD afford an Arai, I wouldnt buy it because I would have to afford one again in 2 years time.

3. What is so great about handmade helmets? Is some workfloor drone going to be better than a robot? I dont think so... With Robots you can test every 20th helmet and expect the same quality from each one.... Handmade helments would very, so tests are not accurate....

4. Adjustable is good. But if I get a helmet that first fine straight away, I dont have to adjust it really....

That said, if I had the money, and I didnt commute, i would buy an Arai....

[ttc]

my commuting helmet is a kbc stereo A cheapie at that, it's 2.5 years old and I'm still happy with it

I save the arai for long trips and fun days

[Barrabob]

Compared to a 200 dollar cheapie my shoei has held up well and hasnt fallen to bits at all but i ride all day for a living and its just about time to shove the shoei aside and get a second helmet because my heads starting to rattle around in it.

Tanyas place of employ doesnt seem to stock a lot of helmets and i have seen some really great suomy paterns out there...just not into the ususal dragons and skulls themes myself.

Anyone from brisbane know where there are good stocks of decent brands out there, i supose its all the same from all the team moto stores.

[Tiggs.]

In the UK one of the best mags that give advice on all parts of biking is "RiDE Magazine. The link will let you browse through the mag, it has bits about helmets in it among other things

I like Arai, but at the end of the day it is personnal choice. When i need a new helmet i save through the winter months (money i would normally use for fuel) and then buy another Arai.

http://www.ridetriangles.com/nav?page=ridetriangles

[ttc]

Compared to a 200 dollar cheapie my shoei has held up well and hasnt fallen to bits at all but i ride all day for a living and its just about time to shove the shoei aside and get a second helmet because my heads starting to rattle around in it.

Tanyas place of employ doesnt seem to stock a lot of helmets and i have seen some really great suomy paterns out there...just not into the ususal dragons and skulls themes myself.

Anyone from brisbane know where there are good stocks of decent brands out there, i supose its all the same from all the team moto stores.

I don't know what you've been smoking bob, I'd say we have close to 200 road helmets and about 100 (probably more) dirt bike helmets. We get people everyday telling me that we have the best range, and from what I saw in Sydney and Melbourne we have a better selection than them too.

There is a reason ppl don't stock suomy anymore, but if you spend your money on one that aint my problem.

[mitch179]

i should have my suomy spec 1 R this week .. so ill let you guys know how it is.

i dont really care what range team moto have after seeing so many of there shonky antics i wouldnt buy there out of principal, ebay has a better range anyways