[Evotion]

There is a LOT of research and articles online about this, so just stick this into Google.

For a quick summary, I will explain.

A full face helmet is one that is one piece with the hole for the visor. Your whole head and chin are protected.

An open face helmet is the ones that you see whereby you can see the whole face of the wearer, typical of retro looks and scooter riders. Comes with just a chin strap.

People will say that you can see and hear more with an open face helmet. This is 100% true and might even help prevent an accident. However, research has shown that the chin, jaw and general front of the face is BY FAR the most commonly hit area on impact. Why risk it? Why risk losing your face? You might think that you are only popping to the local market half a mile away - no difference.

People, as I did, have a concern about visibility and the misting or fogging up of the visor. If you get a Pinlock Visor addition then this will not happen in the slightest. A lot of helmets are pinlock ready or have it already added - keep an eye out for it.

There is a third option, which I chose myself and that is a helmet that looks like a full face helmet but the whole front system lifts up and then looks like an open face helmet with the visor and chin surround on top. You will often see police with these.
Still ride with the system closed so you are full face but when stopped you can lift it up to chat, eat or drink. This saves the hassle of getting those tight fitting helmets on and off! Make sure that it has a decent safety rating - check out reviews first and continually check that the locking system is robust.

I read that most accidents happen at something like 35 - 40MPH apparently, or that is the average/mean. You might like how cool an open face helmet looks and at that sort of speed above you might think it is safe. It is not. 15 MPH may break your draw. 25 loses your teeth and breaks your jaw, 35 will remove it.

I won't put pictures up and I am not trying to scare you but speak to any paramedic that you know, or ask when you next go to a general emergency ward -

Full face and full gear.

 

[Onyx]

On the topic of safety, i'd like to share something i found which is stirring up big news. This little start up company is making big waves for the motorcycle community. Besides designing a cool product the added safety benefits deserves a shameless plug and honest endorsement.

For those of you who ride often; and often at night. Take a few seconds and check these guys out.

http://www.lightmodehelmets.com/

http://instagram.com/lightmodehelmets

 

[Yamahahaha]

Tron!

 

[ekonkjack]

I couldn't agree more. For the past ten years I have been riding a cruiser and wore a trooper style half helmet for the first five years. Five years ago I met a fellow that had a car cut into his lane from the left and took out his front wheel causing him to go face first into the pavement at about 40mph. He said that he was fortunate to be wearing his full face at the time and swore that it taught him how unprotected he would have been with anything less. After seeing the scrapes up the front of his helmet I realized that my half helmet would only offer protection if I hit the road like a dart. Broken bones in the face are skull fractures. Broken jaws and teeth are no picnic either.

 

[Vaughan]

Helmet crash zones, notice the heavy skew for the chin bar. Its simple, if you like to smile, wear a full face...

 

[ekonkjack]

My main bike is an 04 RoadStar and most of my friends ride Harleys. I won't get into why I think my bike is superior to theirs but because they ride Harleys they put great effort into looking "the part". Riding without a helmet or using one of those little pisspots is the norm for them. Wearing a full face helmet has made me into an outsider with the cruiser crowd. Wearing an armored mesh jacket when riding in hot summer weather hasn't helped there either. So you see I am feeling a bit of discrimination for wearing safety gear and riding a different make. And you know what? I really don't mind. I like being different and not part of the herd.

 

[YR3]

@ekonkjack just noticed you're new here, welcome to the forum!

 

[ekonkjack]

Thanks YR3 for the welcome. As thr R3 has not been released yet I figured everyone on here was new. I didn't see the invitation page but if I may take the opportunity, Been riding since the early 70s, had 7 bikes including 4 Yamahas so I am familiar with their reliablity. Have been considering a low investment sport bike as a second ride to the amazing RoadStar. The R3 might be the one for backroad bombing here in eastern Ct.

 

[Yamahahaha]

It really shouldn't be a choice between full face and anything else. The full face helmet protects your whole head. Why wear a helmet if you are going to wear one that leaves a whole bunch of your face exposed?

 

[Torchsport]

Full face for me. A modular (flip-up style) just isn't as strong.

 

[YR3]

I like to play it safe and with that said, full face it is for me, no other way i'll have it.

 

[Yamahahaha]

It bothers me when i see people riding without proper gear. its their life but at the same time I think that if you aren't going to ride safely, you shouldn't ride at all.

 

[OneTwo]

do many people ride sporty open face?

 

[Harley]

You wear what you like, you can put on iron mesh full body suit too and iron divers helmet as well.Then you'l be very very safe. Or don't ride at all so you'll be most safe. Hey don't put **** on other guys and their Harley Davidsons OK?
Your bike is not better than ours, nor are ours better than yours. We don't care how different you are or what you wear. But full face helmet is a good option for sure.

 

[kester]

I wear armor and a full face sometimes and an open face sometimes. I know the full face is safer no question. I wear glasses. My question is, is there a helmet out there that has more view than a standard full face and that will be comfortable with glasses?

 

[slipstream]

I wear glasses too, I use the AGV- K4 Evo. Have no problems with visibility, fit or comfort.

 

[AJ Nin]

Full face helmets keep getting better. The visibility is not quite as good as an open-face design, but you get used to it very quickly. I have anti-fog shield on mine plus a UV blocking visor that flips down, which is very helpful. Many helmets have a setting that allows you to open the face shield just a tad to prevent fogging. There are air flow controls as well on most helmets. The Motorcycle Superstore seems to run pretty good discounts off and on. I have 5 helmets in different colors that are all slightly different in their design, but all are full face. If you ride in the winter, keep an older helmet that is fitting loose and you can wear a hoodie or balaclava under it to make it snug plus keep you warmer.

 

[YR3]

In the end, full-face is your best 'insurance' best to go that route and be as much more safer than with other options.

 

[Vince]

try look into Kabuto's helmet
Japanese brand but thoughtful in design/engeering on helmet
I wear rx glasses(not just sunglasses) and they have a huge slot for sliding glasses in without an issue. I bought a HJC modular helmet for a few weeks and still bought into Kabuto Kamui by spending more
Lightweight even as a full face helmet, the slot to slide in glasses is approximately enough for a pencil to slide through without resistance. I could even slide a pair of silhouette glasses in(whole frame is bendable with just a fingertip), which is impossible for any other helmet I tried so far with modular/ 3/4 or full face on many other brands. Got mine for ~250 still pretty reasonable on pricing