For all of you who want both a full face and 3/4, I love my Shark. It's the only helmet that sends the jaw component far to the rear so riding in the flipped up position doesn't create drag. I love mine. Also fits optional Bluetooth well.

These are on sale now at Revzilla for 225 dollars (I paid 450 dollars 2 years ago). This is the closeout of Evo 2 since the Evo 3 is out, but the Evo 2 is a great helmet that I strongly recommend.

 

Been riding since '81 and never wore a helmet until my wife's brother was in a car wreck in 2010 and received a traumatic brain injury. He lived the last two years of his life in a nursing home as a vegetable. Wife was the biggest opponent to wearing a helmet until the wreck. Now we ride with half helmets. I know it's not as safe as a FF, but better than nothing.

 

I remember back in the day when California decided that ALL riders must wear a helmet, we fought like hell against it mainly because most were use to not wearing one, Gary Busey was the actor that sided with the riders and was a front man for the cause until he was riding down the street and loss control of his Harley, he went down and his head hit a curb and caused extensive head trauma.. Nevertheless he recovered (some say not fully) but the Law still stands today.

 

There was a little more behind CA's helmet law than just the state , the big import manufactures saw a huge cash cow in cali and had paid lobbyists working the government halls for a few years before they shoved it down our throats . That's also why there was such a huge stink when the bulk of the riders out here went out and bought american made half helmets instead of the big import brands , they didn't hit anywhere near the revenues that were expected so they pressured the state government some more hinch all the bullshit & harassment we went through for several years with nobody knowing what was legal and what wasn't from one town to the next .

Busey was an idiot from day one he just made the perfect poster child on the cheap .

 

I'm not in favor of helmet laws and our dysfunctional Congress making laws that are just as useless as they are. That said, I wear a helmet. NY metropolitan area is just insane with the amount of really bad drivers and way to over populated roads.

 

I have no problem with people that choose not to wear a helmet...as long as they recognize the risk and don't try to play it down or bury their head in the sand.

For me, after 35 years of riding and racing offroad, wearing a full face helmet feels perfectly natural and I'd never consider riding without one so I'd echo the poster that said you need to give it a chance and get used to it....which isn't going to happen in a day, a week or even a month...

Dave

 

I rarely ride without a helmet. Like Tracerbullitt, I work in healthcare and have seen too many brains after wrecks. Not pretty. I agree, they do take some time to get used to, but all in all, they are worth it. 3/4 with a dark smoke visor. Still get a lot of wind if I angle it just right.

 

After surviving an accident with an errant teen driver, I always wear a helmet. In my case, the wind in the hair, image and other reasons for not wearing a helmet do not outweigh the benefits of safety.

 

[...but you owe it to yourself to give it a real shot IMVHO.[/quote]
You owe it to your family before anything especially if you are the major provider.If you can afford a Harley you should be able to afford life insurance to take care of them for at least a few years so they can figure out what to do if something was to happen to you God forbid. Just my thought you asked for.
As far as a helmet I don't leave the garage without one by personal choice.I've been down twice and would hate to think if I even could after looking at both helmets. They saved my life I believe.I hate the fact of the government telling me to do anything.

 

responsibility breeds guilt!!