Ducati Monster Forum

Found this on another forum and thought I'd pass it along.
HJC Closeout link (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1043/MNGR/HJC-Helmet-Closeouts-Page.aspx?WT.ac=Closeout_Main_1_HJCCO/)

What a great sale.

I'm going to buy this one --

(http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/ProductImages/300/2007_HJC_Womens_CL-SP_Type_O_Helmet_Pink.jpg)

I hope that you guys all know that HJC and Icon are both made at the same place right?

No offense to anyone but for what it's worth, I recently had a discussion with a friend who attended an Arai product seminar and after hearing what he told me about his expierence dissassembling a helmet very similar to an HJC helmet, I would NEVER wear one. The differences in the quality of contruction from more expensive helmets to lesser ones was very evident from what he showed me. Of course anything is better than nothing but hopefully my point conveyed - believe it or not, you really do get what you pay for - pay the minimum, get the minimum.

Be safe, and ask yourself if your head (and life) is worth more than $60 to you.

And let's say that you recently got laid off but really need a new helmet. A $60 helmet is indeed better than nothing.
FWIW, a friend of mine had a very bad crash while wearing his Icon helmet. It saved his melon.

That said, I've got an Icon as a back-up/spare helmet and find it very uncomfortable. (That's why it's the spare. heh)

I've worn HJC's for motocross for years. They are DOT and Snell approved so I would think they do offer substantial protection as per the standards. The fit and finish and construction details may not be as high quality. However I don't think that the DOT or Snell would put there name on it, if it didn't protect. Plus at the low cost of an HJC, if I do fall I have no problem pitching the helmet and buying a new one. For the street though, the only helmets with a neato Ducati paint job were Sumomy's, Arai and Shoeis. So I spent more on street helmet than 4 motocross helmets would cost.

Bill

Like I said, I didn't mean to offend anyone by sharing what I recently learned. It's just that there are "perceived" levels of protection and there are "actual" levels of protection. DOT and Snell are both seals of approval for a minimum of standards. Did you know (I didn't) that Arai was asked to stop sharing their specific safety impact numbers because they were making a lot of other companies look bad - Snell requires 2 impact rating tests to be performed on a helmet that tests the impact energy dispersion, Aria (amazingly) helmets get 4 impact energy dispersions tests and the efficiency of the energy dispersion is at impact #4 what it is required to be at impact #2 for Snell approval.   

Here are some other interesting facts that I leaned from my friend:

Every Arai helmet is hand made.
Arai is only made up of 300 employees.
Arai USA is only made up of 4.
When you see an F1 racer with an Arai logo on the front of their helmet, it's there because that is unpaid advertising space and how the drivers show their appreciation to the company for building a helmet that regularly saves their lives.


Anyway, I don't want to turn this into a helmet brand bashing thread. But I did want to share what my recent impressions were regarding protection quality. I agree, when you need protection and money is a factor in choosing what to buy, something cheap is certainly better than nothing at all. Just remember that helmets are not all created equally.

Not sure how many times this has been posted, but it's still not unilaterally true.  Not saying that your or your friend are lying, but just maybe the Arai demo was purposefully set up to make Arai sound worth the $700 price tag?  Sure, some low priced helmets may suck, but $ does not equal quality.  This isn't a specific defense of HJC, but a broader statement.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html (http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html)

Doubtful given the companies' reputation.

Only speaking from what I know, what I've learned, and what I've witnessed, I don't just feel that Icon, HCJ or Scorpion make helmets that offer sufficient quality of protection. At any rate, lets not jump overboard - you can get a good helmet from a helmet company with a very strong reputation for far less than $700 including Arai.

Look, all that I'm suggesting is that you know what you're putting your head into and relying on for life saving protection.

On a side note, did you actually read that whole article? That was LONG!

Yeah, it's a long article, but as you said, worth knowing with your gray matter on the line. 

This guy's head has got to be worth something.
(http://www.motorbikecrazy.com/images/hjc-ben-spies.jpg)

And please understand that, having a Shoei X-11, I'm not against expensive lids and I think that Arai makes a great product.

If you are really most concerned about the safest helmet then you really need something with BSI certification and not Snell. The Motorcyclist article really put a dent in the helmet standard world. I really put no faith in Snell any longer.

Having owned helmets from budget to higher end, I would say the main differences were aerodynamics, weight, and features such as removable liners and cheek pads.

I would say $60 for an HJC is a killer deal.

Sorry for continuing the thread jack.

here's a couple of cents worth...Motorcyclist and Cycle World both did some really good research into thier respective articles and blew the lid off of a lot of contemporary thinking. I believe, and my experience has proven, that any helmet that meets any certification process is a must to have. Recognize that price is relative to quality of construction and the materials used rather than it simply being a safer helmet. I've had 5, all of them different, sit on my shelf of shame. The last being my spill at Firebird in a HJC. The worst was wearing a Bell. The middle 3 incidents were an Arai, a Shoei, and an Icon. I'm still here, I don't stumble or drool. I just remind people how important they are and how I pray I never have to test it with the $800 AGV!

While not necesarily the best protection, this is one of my all time favorite helmets....

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/DH-halfshell.jpg)

Exactly.

And on that note... I'll just reiterate for those of you who got distracted...

Just in case you are looking for an inexpensive Snell/DOT approved helmet that the peanut gallery agrees will protect your head better than nothing:
HJC Closeout link (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1043/MNGR/HJC-Helmet-Closeouts-Page.aspx?WT.ac=Closeout_Main_1_HJCCO/)

Subtle as always Dietrich.

For what it's worth I missspoke about the brand (HJC) of helmet that we were discussing in this thread and learned yesterday that it was a Scorpion helmet that was poorly made from the mfg. and only discovered when my friend who when to the Arai seminar took one apart.

Appologies - I was wrong.

You have a dilemma - what will you do with your Icon raffle helmet?  ;D

LOL - we'll since the helmet that I won is equivient to an Arai, ultra light, and uber cool - I think it will make a perfect "backup" helmet!

...the $515 retail price tag at the very least makes it the most expensive helmet I own - it looks great lined up with my other helmets on my wall of helmets!

Though I would never have bought an Icon helmet, winning this one with a $10 raffle ticket makes it pretty freak'n cool!

(http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/147/l_fbb5ad809031467e9bbb8cc6fa7a4871.jpg)



....and from an aesthetic point of view....it matches nicely with my Leo Vince carbon fiber exhaust!