Thinking about getting one. When I got my first bike, I bought a full face Shoei something or other and I wore that for a while until I realized it wasn't cool. Then I bought a DOT half helmet and wore that for a while, until I realized that looking like a mushroom head wasn't cool. For the past several years, I have been wearing a novelty helmet. Not required to wear a helmet anymore, but I've continued to wear it anyway. I like to think it keeps stones and **** off my head. Anyway, I think I'm getting to a point in my life where I'm no longer concerned about being cool, and might actually like to have some protection for the only brain I'll ever have. I thought about going back to the half shell mushroom head, but I figure if I'm gonna go with a functional helmet I might as well opt for better protection. I would think full face is best in that aspect, but cool or not, I still want to have the wind in my face. I don't want to be totally enclosed. So 3/4? Never worn one. How are they? I was thinking something with some sort of retractable/removable shield or visor of some sort might be nice. I wonder if there is a lot of noise inside the helmet. I worry that a poorly made helmet might allow the wind to whistle through it. Don't know. I am also not sure if I want to have my ears covered because I like to be able to hear what's going on around me. Also don't want anything that would cut into my peripheral vision. I would also want it to be reasonably priced. OK, I'm done thinking out loud now. Your turn.

 

I have a half helmet, a fulmer I believe. with full frame sunglasses, a bandana it doesn't look too much like a mushroom. I came from a gsxr 750, wore the full face helmet and hated every minute of it. I work at a trauma center and would never ride without a helmet, but now that i'm rocking the half I'm so much happier. I have seen over a hundred motorcycle wrecks and the only time i seen facial trauma was when a guy had a seizure while riding, went down face first. All the other guys and gals have damage to the top and posterior side of the head. Most don't wear helmets here in OK.

the helmet I have has Y strap that kinda blocks the wind, it's not loud at all and have been up to 90 mph on the pike here. I also have the EG and blocks a lot of the wind with the mini windscreen. I dunno, I see some people wearing full face helmets on cruisers and looks weird. I would NEVER discourage it though, I see a lot of people not wearing helmets, just hope they don't go down!

 

Most of the time I wear a 1/2 helmet but I also wear a 3/4 HJC helmet with flip down sun vizor and flip down face shield if needed. I rarely need the face shield and this is the helmet I go with in winter... as the weather gets warmer, it has 2 adjustable slots for the wind to come through the top. Very comfortable for a 3/4.

 

I wear a 1/2 helmet around town, and sometimes on half-day spins out of town, but for longer trips I wear a 3/4 helmet. It is an Arai helmet, the visor flips up but remains external, but crucially, the visor is an odd convex shape that both sticks like glue to the helmet (doesn't flip up if, at high speed, you look to the side!) and is aerodynamic enough to slip the wind. The Arai cuts noise from my pipes, but way less than a full-face and not so much I can't hear the rumble. Also, air still circulates under your chin, so it is not claustrophobic like a full-face.

Overall, on long trips, it is 3/4 all the way. My FXR is naked, no fairings or windshield, so a 3/4 really helps cut down fatigue from wind buffeting etc. It is also much better in the rain than a 1/2, of course. Only hint that comes to mind is that the visor is clear, so for super sunny days, you will need sunnies that have thin arms to fit between helmet internals and your noggin. I thought I would not like the 3/4, but I test rode half a dozen 3/4 style helmets and the Arai is much much better than others.

PS: I would not ride without a helmet (even when legally able to do so), so my helmet choices might be diferent to those that would/do

 

I prefer a full face helmet for comfort and is what I wear when riding all my motorcycles except the EG. The wind flow coming up from under or around the batwing creates unbearable noise and almost a resonance with a full face. I picked up a 3/4 helmet (Arai) and it is actually quieter on this bike so it's what I use when riding the EG.

 

3/4 is what I wear, no issues at all. Protect my ears from wind noise and asphalt, can still hear what is going on around me.

 

I wear an Arai 3/4 helmet. It is the most comfortable helmet I have ever worn. With the vent and tineted face shield it is cooler to have the helmet on opposed to no helmet when in the hot sun.

 

This is what I do, too. Generally take the 3/4 in the tour pack if there's a chance of rain. Both are HJC. (the half-shell is an HD lid made by HJC).

 

I wear a 3/4 Aria Classic, with a built in J&M elite speaker system. I wear sunglasses. I like the helmet very much and it is a good helmet. I had an HJC that I liked also but wanted the built in speaker syaytem. Good Luck.

 

In 41 years of riding, the only time I put a street bike down (a Sportster in the mid eighties) I was wearing a full face helmet. When it happened the only part of the helmet that was damaged was the chin piece. It was really torn up. With a 3/4 or half helmet I wouldn't be as pretty as I am today (take my work for it, I'm georgeous).

Having said that, I find it almost impossible to strap on my full coverage lid on a hot day. I ride w/o a helmet on rare occasions.

Life is a series of compromises.