One of the biggest reasons I bought my Scrambler was the fact that it is unique in an old school kind of way. It took me back to my mid 1970s Honda CLs. I want to keep in line with the old school/retro look while riding without sacrificing too much in the safety department. Anyone ride with retro or vintage helmets?
My every day lid will be a Scorpion EXO 750 but I also like a half lid for a qwik trip.
Davida's are cool but pricey. I've seen some Arai Classics too. There's one on the local CL that is a Triumph Arai with matching colors that came with a 95 Triumph a guy bought. I would buy a Davida in a heartbeat if they didn 't cost so much.
I have that Scorpion exo-100 in the black. It's ok for the money but it's a little bulky looking and wants to lift some. And The flip down sunvisor isn't really useful, I never use it.
Recently I picked up a Bell Classic 500. I tried one on local and confirmed my size. Then I got a great price for one on E-bay on a style the local dealer didn't have. Great quality for the price.
I've tried the Bell 500 but they don't look good on me. They seem to sit up to high. My local dealers don't seem to have a good selection of 3/4 helmets.
I'll second the Biltwell ******. I've had mine for a month and I absolutely love it. Best looking helmet out there for the money. Got a white one and it's a great canvas to have your ideas painted on, that's what I'm doing with mine at least. I'm not sure about the chin bar, but I'm confident that it would protect my jaw if I ever go down.
I usually ride with a shorty helmet,but on occasion I ride with my Grant 3/4 from the early '70s. When the weather is cool I use a new Ikon full face. And yes,I know my 1st two aren't up to the safety standards of a modern helmet,so no lectures. Any of the so-called retro helmets I've tried make me look like I'm wearing a basketball on my XL sized head. The Bell 500 was the worst! You make your own choice,just my 2 cents worth.
I have a biltwell bonanza with a bubble shield on it... love that set up... not very mushroom like at all and super comfortable.... never wore the bell 500 so I can't compare the two... but I can attest to the comfort of the biltwell...
Now that's pretty cool looking. Gonna check those out for sure. They look very similar to a Davida with the rolled leather around the opening like a jet model from Davida. I googled it and there's a great you tube review from revzilla on this helmet. Looks like my next helmet......
My Biltwell Bonanza site lower on my head than my Bell 500 - then again the Biltwell is a Medium while the Bell is a Large. I like both. I read somewhere that Lick's is the lowest-profile DOT-approved 3/4-old-school-style helmet in the market? http://www.lickscycles.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=229_240
I like the way that some of the 3/4's look but cannot bring myself to buy one solely on the lack of protection they offer. I have a fondness to my lower jaw and cannot think of going without it should I crash on the street.
I've been searching for one as well and was finally able to make a side by side comparison the other day.
I found a shop that had the bell 500, biltwell bonanza and biltwell hustler. The bell 500 and the bonanza are more round in shape (as viewed from the top looking down), for me this meant that I had to go up in a size in order to get them to sit down the proper amount on my head. The helmet should sit just above your eyebrows. With an XL bonanza the top fit my head but then the sides were way to wide, had 1/2+ gap by either ear and it felt very floppy. Similar thing with the bell 500 but not quite as oversized.
The biltwell hustler on the other hand was perfect for me. It is more of an oval shaped helmet which fits my head shape correctly. The sides of the helmet curve in towards your jaw more than the others, which adds to the slim look of it.
Downside is they don't make them any more so I was left searching eBay for one.
My advice to you would be to try these 3/4 helmets on before buying them, especially if you have what they call an "intermediate oval" shaped head. They fit different than a full helmet and if you can't get it to sit low enough on your head it won't look or feel right.
My other helmet is an Arai Signet which I love for cold and high speed.
I'll have to try the Hustler. Every builtwell, bell, fulmer, and any other 3/4 helmet I've tried had a definitive round shape. I'm extremely long oval.
This is a great image. The Biltwell fit used to be very similar to the Bell and others. Now, at least to me, the Bonanza helmet is way off. It just looks way bigger than all the rest. The padding is thicker around the opening which pushes the shell farther from your face than a same sized Bell helmet and the shape is more round, i.e. ball shaped. I have no idea why they dropped the Hustler from the lineup, for me it is a way better shaped and sized helmet.
35% of all crashes showed major impact on the chin-bar area.
Snell 2010 and ECE and Star testing seem superior, so my helmets are either Snell 2010 or ECE, hope that helps. Unfortunately head trauma happens a lot in motorcycle wrecks, and that is not the kind of trauma you want to be faced with, long recoveries and none too certain outcomes. I appreciate style but unless the lid has the best safety ratings available and did well in the tests, I will take a pass. Too much to loose.
I agree that a full face is safest in most crashes. To me wearing one kind of defeats some of the reasons I ride. I just prefer more vision and less weight. Also, full faces just feel trapping in a way.
I've been looking into a 3/4. My friends both have Fulmer V2s and they like them a lot. Only thing that bothers me about them is the plastic button. One of my friends also owns the Biltwell ****** which has already been mentioned and he likes it a lot. He says it's very comfortable and it has that retro look. I'm looking into the Biltwell Bonanza and the Lick's NovDOT myself, but I can't decide between the two.
I just recently picked up my Bell Custom 500. I have an intermediate oval 24" crown head, which puts me at the low end of Bell's XL size. The Bell 500 XL helmet is snug in the brow and back of the head, and loose on the sides... not too tight overall though. I find that the helmet is breaking in a little, as I ensure I wear it just above my eyebrows (around the crown), as low on my head as possible. The front to back snug fit is comfortable and keeps the helmet in place, and gets more comfortable every day. It definitely allows more road noise than my Scorpion EXO. All in all, I'm very satisfied with the helmet. It's not a perfect fit, but it's comfortable, looks good, DOT approved, and fits better by the day.
I had a Fulmer V2 previously that kept hurting my forehead over time. The Bell has been better for me.
I really love the look of the classic 3/4 and especially like the wind in my face while riding (but not the bugs, but it's worth it!).
I ordered my ****** on Friday last week. It should be here in a couple of days. I will post some pics and info when it gets here. I didn't want to give up the protection of a full face, but I couldn't stand my scorpion EXO 500. At half the weight and with a larger eye opening, I think the ****** was a good compromise.
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