Shoei RF-1200 full face helmet.

 

I wear this most of the time:

If it rains when I'm out or if I am going at speed, I take this out of my bag and snap it on:

In the winter I wear my Shoei XR1100 full face if it's really cold or I'm travelling at speed but usually make do with the visor and a face mask. Full face just looks wrong on a custom, to me. No option to go without in the UK but I doubt I would anyway. I was riding before the law came in in the early 70's but still wore a lid then on my Honda 50! Open face and shades seems pretty cool head gear to me!

 

Debadged Shoei QWEST. Generally with the dark smoke visor.

 

I liked how that one fit, but I think I read somewhere that the interior is not removable. What are your experiences with it?

 

That's correct. The interior is not designed for removal. I've only had it a few months and around 1000 miles.

I figure if the interior gets skunky, I'll figure out how to clean it one way or another. Its all plastic anyway so I don't see any issue with scrubbing by hand hosing it out. Failing that, I'll tear it out and build a new liner.

The cheek pads are removable so that's a non-issue. There are at least five thicknesses available.

The chin strap is really soft and doesn't pull on my beard stubble like some can. It just uses basic D rings, but I'm happy with them.

I like it a lot. It breathes pretty good. It's got great visor options from photochromic to pinlock with racing tearoffs. It's light. It cuts thru the air at 80 MPH and doesn't turn into a parachute when you do a shoulder check. I use the visor lock/lift lever pretty much every day. The controls are easy enough to use with leather gloves. Haven't ridden in rain yet but it doesn't whistle at all so I expect it to be effectively water tight. All the parts are available to service it.

I always wear ear plugs or buds and they don't pull when putting it on or rub when wearing.

It fit my melon...which is a huge chore.

Arai interiors are a bit nicer but I've got no issues with this one. It's better than pretty much everything else I've tried.

I would buy another one in a second.

 

Bell Custom 500, which is a 3/4 helm often mistakenly called the "cafe racer" helmet. Out here in So Cal, there's an ugly trend for cruiser bikers to wear full-face helmets... looks hella-retarded. And please, no "safety" lectures, wore a full-face racing sport bikes for years. But on a cruiser, it's just looks lame.

 

It's so hard to keep up with regional style trends. Next time I'm out in SoCal (Christmas) I'll be sure to leave my FF at home so I don't look hella-retarded. I hate it when that happens. Would an Akoury be OK or do I need to start shopping?

Somebody in another thread mentioned that I should ditch my engineer boots out there too. I guess sneakers are the thing to wear? Are Etnies OK? Oh, I have Vans too if that's better.

My sister is always on me about how Midwestern I look when I head over to visit her, but she's not in the bike scene and can't really help with getting that look right.

She's more Rockabilly.

 

There's nothing cool about dentist bills, and missing teeth. I couldn't care less about what anyone thinks of my full face helmet. Up here in northern ca, everyone except for people on baggers usually have a full face on. I originally wanted a 3/4 helmet, but then I read the statistics on helmet impact, and after seeing that over 1/3 of all impacts occur in the jaw area, I'm good with a full face. Cvaria's most recent thread is just extra reinforcement on why I roll with the full face.

Maybe I'm out of line here for assuming, but I doubt the pack of club members that burned past me doing nearly 90mph yesterday were "hella retarded".

 

I run a Biltwell Gringo full face as well. Wish I had known that there would be a flip-up shield version come out just a few months later I would have held out. Oh well.

 

I currently use a Shark Raw. It fits my head perfectly, no pressure points. It is extremely light. The goggles never fog. It has a very open feel, even with the goggles and facepiece installed.