There are a lot of reasons to wear a full-face helmet. Winged creatures, road debris, and errant rocks from poorly-covered dump trucks are just a few.
The sound of a locust or stone cracking against the visor or chin bar? Just think about what this would have done to your face.
And ladies, its not like we can grow strategically placed sideburns or a goatee to camouflage the damage. If we get smacked in the face, all we have is a thread of hope and crossed fingers that the encounter doesn't leave a scar.
But a small scar is nothing to a broken jaw, missing teeth, or the almighty road rash. Picking multitudes of pebbles out of your cheek? Just one is bad enough. There ain't nothing sexy about road rash.
And it turns out, road rash from a highside-inspired face plant, as well as a future of bank account-crushing dental bills, is the most likely end to a motorcycle crash.
Want proof? Here's the visual, provided by Dietmar Otte, of Hannover University's Accident Research Unit, via the guys at Hell for Leather:
The top of the head has only a .4-percent chance of connecting with the pavement. The crown of the head around the very top, when divided into four segments, has a less than 2-percent chance per segment of impact.
The back of the head doesn't fare quite as well. Although the numbers still come in at the 5- to -8-percent range. Not great chances, but not that high, either.
The top and back of the noggin' are protected by a 2/3s helmet, and (sort of) a skid lid. But the big numbers are up front. Your jawbone is particularly at-risk. Followed by your forehead and nose.
Pretty nasty stuff. But no one ever said motorcycle riders were nasty stuff-adverse. We all know bad things happen. The trick is to ensure we can ride again afterward.
One way to do this is the full-face helmet. A good one. Less than five years old, never in a crash, and fairly dropped-off-the-bike free.
And while safety is the most important thing, you need to like it well enough that you are going to wear it. I'm a fan of glitter and flowers, found on certain Suomy's Spec1r helmets:
Not your thing? There's also Drudi Performance graphics:
Sadly, not all of us are so lucky to have a custom designed Aldo Drudi helmet, but you can see George Mayer's exclusive Arai Corsair V Mayer edition at Ducati Forza:
There's also solid colors - electric and stealth:
Replicas:
And Brit-flagged and Italian Tri-coloured:
Thinking what I'm thinking? Time for a new helmet? Its a great way to kick off the new year.
You could even make it a retroactive resolution. Tell the significant other its a safety issue, which it is. (No rules saying that safety can't be Rossi cool)
Luckily for you, I know where the best (and hottest) helmets are.
I spent my holiday break down in sunny south Florida, hanging with the crew at Ducati Forza Racing and their partners at Pure-Ducati.com. I walked into the shop and lo and behold, an entire wall of helmets:
Arai, Suomy, Shark (on clearance!), AGV, and more. Every sort of design, color, and Rossi replica.
Ducati-branded. British-flagged. Italian-striped All sizes. All shapes.
A rainbow extreme of full-face helmets!
Check out Pure-Ducati.com and peruse the AGV and Rossi replicas. Order to your heart's content.
See a style you like in the Helmet Wall photo above but not online? Want something else altogether? Have a question?
Give Megan of DFR a shout (megan@atlcmotorcycles.com or 954-788-9550) and she'll have you set up with that perfect full-face helmet before your next ride.
Cheers!
The sound of a locust or stone cracking against the visor or chin bar? Just think about what this would have done to your face.
And ladies, its not like we can grow strategically placed sideburns or a goatee to camouflage the damage. If we get smacked in the face, all we have is a thread of hope and crossed fingers that the encounter doesn't leave a scar.
But a small scar is nothing to a broken jaw, missing teeth, or the almighty road rash. Picking multitudes of pebbles out of your cheek? Just one is bad enough. There ain't nothing sexy about road rash.
And it turns out, road rash from a highside-inspired face plant, as well as a future of bank account-crushing dental bills, is the most likely end to a motorcycle crash.
Want proof? Here's the visual, provided by Dietmar Otte, of Hannover University's Accident Research Unit, via the guys at Hell for Leather:
The top of the head has only a .4-percent chance of connecting with the pavement. The crown of the head around the very top, when divided into four segments, has a less than 2-percent chance per segment of impact.
The back of the head doesn't fare quite as well. Although the numbers still come in at the 5- to -8-percent range. Not great chances, but not that high, either.
The top and back of the noggin' are protected by a 2/3s helmet, and (sort of) a skid lid. But the big numbers are up front. Your jawbone is particularly at-risk. Followed by your forehead and nose.
Pretty nasty stuff. But no one ever said motorcycle riders were nasty stuff-adverse. We all know bad things happen. The trick is to ensure we can ride again afterward.
One way to do this is the full-face helmet. A good one. Less than five years old, never in a crash, and fairly dropped-off-the-bike free.
And while safety is the most important thing, you need to like it well enough that you are going to wear it. I'm a fan of glitter and flowers, found on certain Suomy's Spec1r helmets:
Not your thing? There's also Drudi Performance graphics:
 |
| Aldo Drudi brings back retro-cool graphics on this very modern Arai helmet |
Sadly, not all of us are so lucky to have a custom designed Aldo Drudi helmet, but you can see George Mayer's exclusive Arai Corsair V Mayer edition at Ducati Forza:
 |
| George claims the helmet dropped two seconds off his race lap times. With Drudi Performance, I believe it! |
 |
| So cool! And I am so jealous! |
There's also solid colors - electric and stealth:
 |
| Feeling Arai Blue? |
 |
| AGV's Ducati-Branded Dark Helmet |
 |
| A solid-colored AGV T-2 for the less flamboyant rider |
Replicas:
 |
| AGV's Rossi Faces Limited Edition Replica |
 |
| Suomy's Vandal Troy Bayliss replica |
 |
| Arai Corsair V Nicky Hayden Replica Helmet |
And Brit-flagged and Italian Tri-coloured:
 |
| Arai Quantum UK Flag Helmet |
 |
| Arai RX-Q Italian Flag Helmet |
Thinking what I'm thinking? Time for a new helmet? Its a great way to kick off the new year.
You could even make it a retroactive resolution. Tell the significant other its a safety issue, which it is. (No rules saying that safety can't be Rossi cool)
 |
| Warning: Rossi replica helmets may not result in Rossi replica racing skills |
Luckily for you, I know where the best (and hottest) helmets are.
I spent my holiday break down in sunny south Florida, hanging with the crew at Ducati Forza Racing and their partners at Pure-Ducati.com. I walked into the shop and lo and behold, an entire wall of helmets:
 |
| A wonderwall of helmets |
 |
| That Arai Vector 2, middle row, second from the left, has my name on it... |
Arai, Suomy, Shark (on clearance!), AGV, and more. Every sort of design, color, and Rossi replica.
Ducati-branded. British-flagged. Italian-striped All sizes. All shapes.
A rainbow extreme of full-face helmets!
Check out Pure-Ducati.com and peruse the AGV and Rossi replicas. Order to your heart's content.
See a style you like in the Helmet Wall photo above but not online? Want something else altogether? Have a question?
Give Megan of DFR a shout (megan@atlcmotorcycles.com or 954-788-9550) and she'll have you set up with that perfect full-face helmet before your next ride.
Cheers!