Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Ride Safe (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/)

-   -   Which Helmet? Tips on buying a good helmet (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/19699-helmet-tips-buying-good-helmet-137.html)

I was never too strict about helmets and safety before - I had a 10 year old helmet which I got during the initial days of my engineering and I was still using the same. It was a fastrack helmet for which I had paid about 2.5k rupees back in the day- quite a huge sum. There was no ISI mark or any other certification on it, the only reason I picked that helmet up was because of the cool blue-green visor. But I shouldn't be too harsh on it I guess, it held up well over the last decade. Except for the scratches on the outer surface due to regular use, there is no visible signs of damage. The cushions are still well padded and buckle still clasps on as tightly as it did on the first day.

Í had left my helmet on top of my bike in my office parking and someone dropped it - breaking the visor assembly. It didn't make sense to pay a bomb to fix it and I felt it was time for a new helmet anyway. Being witness to a recent spate of accidents among family and friends, I was a bit more conscious about safety this time around and wanted a good helmet - with at least DOT and ECE certifications. I had set my eyes on Kranos but when I did try it out, it wasn't a comfortable fit. I am a hefty guy and I needed a XXL helmet.

I finally picked up a MT Blade SV for 5.9k.





After a ride to office today morning - a distance of about 30kms I have the following observations to make.

1. It's a little heavy compared to my old helmet, weighs in at 1.5kg but doesn't really feel uncomfortable to wear.
2. The cushions are very snug across my face, will take some time to break in I guess. This means no way of trying to shove my mobile phone inside the helmet to take a call or put a finger inside to adjust the earphones anymore.
3. The internal sun visor proved to be a boon. Helped reduce the morning glare by a huge amount.
4. The locking mechanism on the chin strap is quite a handful, I reckon I need to get used to it. Definitely need to remove the gloves before working on the lock.
5. It has 3 air vents but I really don't know how effective they are. One early morning ride in Bangalore on empty roads today and my head was still covered in a layer of sweat.

I do have a question for the other members of this forum - the inner side of the visor gets misted up every time I exhale. It's very mild and doesn't really hamper visibility in any way but it is annoying for me. If I pull the internal visor down, there is absolutely no misting. During day time this should be okay but I'm concerned about night-time riding. Any suggestions?

Firstly, check to see that your breath deflector is fitted properly and open up the chin vents and exhaust venturis if possible that ought to solve it. If the problem persists, then leave a crack open (don't shut the visor completely). Hope this helps :)

PS: I see that your visor comes with pinlock posts. Investing in a pinlock insert would be a huge boon during cold night-time and rainy riding sessions. Make sure you buy a pinlock insert that is specific to your visor though :thumbs up

The pin lock visor for MT helmets costs Rs 800, well worth the investment.

Totally worth it if you have option to insert pin lock. This is physics at the core and it does work. Love my pin locks even on a misty night or early morning.

If you can those yellow tinted ones, it does help.

I strongly recommend not to use earphones while riding as it severely reduces hearing and perception around the rider, especially in traffic. A rear engined Volvo bus might be just a foot away behind without the rider noticing.

Also, since the MT Blade has Double D Ring type fastening, I suggest all the new users to youtube the right way of fastening the helmet for maximum safety

Happy and Safe Riding :)

Any ideas where I can buy this in bangalore?
Much appreciated, thanks!

Orion Motors, opposite Forum Mall, Koramangala.

I checked my breath deflector. No matter in what way I adjust it, there remains about 1.5cm gap between my nose and the deflector, this is what is causing the misting I suppose. I currently ride with a small crack open.

I checked for the pinlock at Orion, they were out of stock. I was informed that they should get new stock in about 10 days.

Is there any place where I can buy a bigger size breath deflector by any chance? Pardon my ignorance, I am totally ignorant about any of this stuff. I actually had to google what a pinlock was lol stupid:

I myself am new to biking (been about 6 months since I learnt) so I dont know about whether you can buy a better breath deflector perhaps other members can comment on that. Although, that may not at all be worth the investment if you buy a pinlock insert that is all you will ever need for fog prevention. Just doesn't get any better than that regardless of design optimization, it is inherently, scientifically, the best solution out there. :thumbs up

Guys where in Bangalore can I get a pin lock insert for the hjc cl 17 series? Tried let's gear up here and performance racing in Bombay and they say no stock. How can they not stock this with the monsoons here? Ridiculous that they sell the lid without these safety accessories in place.

Am prepared to buy online too. Please help.

Try shooting an e-mail to the guys at www.bikegear.in. I had sent a mail inquiring about a tinted visor for my X-Lite and they responded pretty fast. Still not able to muster up the courage to blow 6k on a visor so I have put that on hold. Here is their email id: support@bikegear.in

Try facebook pages of superbike classifieds or superbike parts classifieds.

Had a slightly sad experience at Let's Gear Up yesterday and thought of sharing it here - please move if it is not appropriate for this thread.

I went to LGU on Saturday to pick up a Rynox Advento riding pants for me. While I was trying my pants, a chap with next to no knowledge on helmets came there to buy a helmet. Swapna gently told him that the helmets they have is all good quality and costs more than 4K, and the guy was ok with that. Apparently, some of his friends brought helmets from LGU earlier and they advised him to pick up a MT helmet. So far, everything was good - I was mentally appreciating his friends who asked him to invest in a good helmet.

Then Swapna told him that they no more stock MT (apparent reason is, they got complaints from their clients about MT liners and they stopped stocking it), and pushed him towards NXR, saying it si better than MT. The guy was very apprehensive and when Swapna told him the other option is SOL at 6K, he was ready to expand his budget and buy it. Then Swapna asked him about his riding patterns and advised him that he do not need SOL and NXR is enough for his use. Now, it may be perfectly sensible from her side (after all, she is running a business), but I find it in very bad taste to discourage him from buying something better and advising him to pick up AXR which, from my limited knowledge, is not even a patch on MT - I would rate it worse than LS2.

From the AXR website:
While the AXR helmets have DOT and ECE displayed prominently on the lids, in the product page, they say the helmets have "ECE & DOT LEVEL SPECIFICATIONS".
Earlier I did ask one of my friend to pick up a MT helmet from LGU but I have now asked him to steer clear of LGU and buy an MT from any other place. It is sad to see a place like LGU going the way of other shops - I always had a soft spot for LGU since it was founded by riders and had a trust that they will offer only the best for the riders, but I think now they are more interested in making money (which is all perfect from a business point of view).

--Anoop

I second that. Similar sort of treatment was faced by me. Those guys were not even ready to assist me for a riding jacket. Finally walked out of the shop never to visit that shop again.

Off this topic but what time were you there? I was there through the afternoon of last Saturday trying on the advento pants and got one. Took a good three hours I think.

Also saw a few folks come in for lids and one guy even dropped a helmet on the floor! Christ!

It's not easy running a store like this. I can tell you that after looking at the kind of customers who walked in Saturday.