Ducati Monster Forum

Summer time is finally here! For Seattle that is... Time to break out the open face helmet and when I did today my sun glasses I'm wearing aren't doing to much in the way of keeping shit out of my eyes. Does anyone have any suggestions before I go buck nuts and just buy some random shitty sunglasses?

Well, firstly, I enjoy my jaw. It's not perfect, but I like it where it is. This is why I wear a full-face at all times.

Not getting shit in my eyes in a nice bonus.

Secondly, you should be able to find some of the glasses around that have padding around the edges and are reasonably sealed from the wind, and what it carries with it. In Days of Olde, when I didn't religiously wear a helmet, I wore those a lot of the time. I think I found them at a kiosk in the mall.

http://www.oakley.com/products/6685/24971 (http://www.oakley.com/products/6685/24971)

its your decision but just my 2 cents. We were riding the tail of the dragon some weeks ago and my brother crashed on the last curve(he is ok) It was not an extreme speed crash but i was behind him in my bike. If it was not for the full face helmet he would have literally destroyed his face. He hit face front on the floor and the helmet saved his face, After i saw that i will definitely always recommend a full face. Again sorry to post that. I know its your decision buy just had to mention it.

Maybe he means an open face Motard style helmet.

No I just have a standard Bell open face helmet. Thank you for the warning thought it is greatly appreciated. I am always extremely cautious when I ride and I know that even that is not enough to stay 100 percent safe. I always wear my leather jacket and some sort of riding pants with boots. The open face helmet is for extremely short commutes for example to my girlfriends house about a mile away. Anything on the highway or extensive trips I use one of my two full face helmets. I am also so thankful your brother is ok after that.

Another question though regarding full face helmets while were on the topic... I have a very high body temperature.. aka sweat like none other and my helmets always fog up on my no matter what I do (can't hold my breath forever) does anyone know of a legit defogger or anything on the market? Thank you all again.

Crack the visor open a notch, or you could try Cat Crap.

http://www.amazon.com/EK-Crap-Anti-fog-Treatment-Paste/dp/B003RLJ6UE (http://www.amazon.com/EK-Crap-Anti-fog-Treatment-Paste/dp/B003RLJ6UE)

+1 on the "crack open the visor," but just enough to get some air flow. Otherwise you're just gonna wind up with more shit in your eyes. 

Several companies also make "breath deflectors" that mount to the chin bar. They're sort of a nose cup and they direct your breath down and out the bottom of the helmet, rather than letting it blow all over the inside of the visor. If there's a powersports store near you that specializes in 4 wheelers or snowmobiles, they'd probably have em in stock.

Does your helmet have a chin curtain? That can exacerbate the problem.

Also, food for thought:

Helmet impact areas by likelyhood of impact.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/Ggerg1186/MSF/helmet-impact-zone.jpg)

When I was very young I was at a family wedding.  A distant cousin was at a table across the room, and older man (compared to me being 10 or 11).  I couldn't see too well, but something was 'different', my dad told me not to stare.

Later during the reception I saw he was missing his jaw.  His entire jaw.  I found out later he was in a cycle accident and hit the side of a car.  I still can't get that image out of my mind and it was over 35 years ago.

I'll always have a full face helmet regardless of the heat or elements.

YMMV.

(http://cdn.okcimg.com/php/load_okc_image.php/images/0x0/0x0/0/16471580457097999094.gif___1_500_1_500_cb94de6a_.png)

Surgery methods have improved over the last 35 years.

I have seen jaws reconstructed using fibulas. Just saying.   [coffee]

Since there's enough comments about you wearing a full face helmet, I'm just going to say that even with a full face, you might wanna keep the visor open.

I've had good luck with WileyX glasses. They market to Mil and Moto riders. ANSI safety rated and you can get ones that have a foam seal to help keep dust out of them. They are avail in Rx and transition lenses (but, it's not the quickest transition - think 3-5 seconds). If you insist on an open face helmet, they have elastic bands to go around your head.

http://www.wileyx.com/index.aspx (http://www.wileyx.com/index.aspx)

these are the coolest, Davida Aviator Retro Pilot
(http://i413.photobucket.com/albums/pp211/doofwop/davida1.jpg)

However +100 on the full-face helmet recommendation. I saw a photo years ago (rotten.com?) that showed a guy after a moto crash took out the lower half of his face. It was really gross.

TMI... I just got a bad case of the hibee jibee's.

I got a removeable chinbar on my helmet. I just decided to never to remove it again.

Okay.  Without starting something um, opinionated.  His lower jaw contacted the top of the side window/roof.  Took that jaw clean off was what I heard.  On.  The.  Spot.

Maybe it could have been attached.  But having a jaw shaved off with the roof of a car. . . well there are things modern medicine can't do.  How do those complete facial transplants look despite modern medicine being able to do it?  They don't look all that attractive to me.

http://leatherup.com/p/Motorcycle-Goggles-Safety-Sunglasses/Airfoil-Black-Silver-Foldable-Silver-Goggles-With-Silver-Mirror-Lens-and-UV-400-Protection/53928.html (http://leatherup.com/p/Motorcycle-Goggles-Safety-Sunglasses/Airfoil-Black-Silver-Foldable-Silver-Goggles-With-Silver-Mirror-Lens-and-UV-400-Protection/53928.html)

those removable chinbars actually arent really rated for a crash.  they're rated as open face helms... it'll be better than nothing, but will probably cave in a accident

Could have sworn that this was a thread about seeing willard scott naked at the y.

http://davida.co.uk/type.php?id=halcyon (http://davida.co.uk/type.php?id=halcyon)  [thumbsup]

http://www.wileyx.com/EcommSuite/ProductListing.aspx?ActivityCode=MOTORCYCLE&SeriesCode=GOGGLES (http://www.wileyx.com/EcommSuite/ProductListing.aspx?ActivityCode=MOTORCYCLE&SeriesCode=GOGGLES)

An off road setup won't fog easily. 

Also, I find a huge difference in street lids for airflow and fogging.  The Bell Star flows a ton of air and doesn't easily fog.  I flip the visor up when stopped and leave it cracked for <20mph riding and after that its cool and fog free, even in very high temps (hot and humid around DC these days, I've also ridden across the south-west US in august a few times in one - 120 degree temps there).

I think I may be one of the few 3/4 helmet wearers in the group :)  I found an old Arthur Fulmer (looks like the Honda "wings" on the side of it) at a Flea Market for $20 and couldn't pass it up.  It's funny.  People think my '05 is a '75 just because I'm wearing that helmet :)

As an avid cyclist for years and a guy with a generally funny shaped head (think Beeker from the Muppets) I've had to go through a fair amount of sunglasses in my days.  Consensus:  try on as many as you can.  Buying glasses (at least for someone like me who has trouble finding glasses that fit well) is veeeeery specific to the individual, not to mention I have glasses that I don't like wearing on a regular basis, but work VERY well on the bike.  I do like the goggles with foam surround, but they do get a bit hot, no matter how much air you have moving past them.  Getting a set of glasses with a kind of rubber surround generally work well enough keeping the air out of your eye balls, but still keep the bugs and gusts out of them. 

Also, don't leave your foam surround glasses on the couch where the puppy can get at them.  Destruction.

"The open face helmet is for extremely short commutes for example to my girlfriends house about a mile away."

Per the hurt study:

12.Most motorcycle accidents involve a short trip associated with shopping, errands, friends, entertainment or recreation, and the accident is likely to happen in very short time close to the trip origin.

I think about this one, every time im tempted to "under gear" because im running to the store. I dont want to be a statistic.. especially when Im familiar with it.. that would just add insult to injury.

So... I think the whole "you should wear a full face helmet" issue has been covered, no? Didn't he ask about glasses/goggles?

The EXO900 was rated both as open face and full face... but I know that not all convertible helmets are. But the main reason why I purchased this helmet is because of not being able to put on the helmet with glasses or not being able to slide on the glasses (and get them to sit right) once the helmet is on. It seems that my ears and nosebridge (of Asian descent) are not where the helmet manufacturers say they should be.

 [thumbsup] [drink]

+1
He's a grown man who can make his own choices.  [thumbsup]

To each his own.

I can go flying down a hill on my Orbea at 45mph and not think twice with my little Giro helmet, but the few times I've ridden a motor with an open face helmet it was freeky.   Go figure.

oh and...MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFZh92MUOY#normal)

Pinlock.

Best product on the market for this.

A couple of months ago I pulled the trigger on a new Schuberth C3 modular helmet that comes with the pinlock all ready installed. I loved the pinlock right up to the first time I used the helmet at night. The lights from oncoming traffic distorted my vision. Granted it was a very minor distortion but I didn't like it at all. With the pin lock removed the Schuberth lense is crystal clear. I've tried cleaning the pinlock with microfiber towels, special lexan cleaners ect. with no real improvemnt.  I'll  try it again when the weather is colder and fogging is more of an issue.

BTW the C3 is an awesome helmet. [thumbsup]

cheers
Mike

I too like the wind, but what I do is wear a full face with sunglasses and if I'm in heavy heat or need more airflow I leave the shield up (only in the city, I don't like wearing bugs). Best of both worlds, if you see a bunch of dust blow up you just pop the shield down. The trick I've found is wearing sunglasses that sit close enough to my face to seal the air from flowing behind them, so sport sunglasses work well - as do sport-y style safety glasses. Just remember, if you want shatter protection you should probably go with safety glasses. I almost always wear glasses or sunglasses in helmets and have found the shape/style of the glasses has a huge impact on how we'll they'll "sit" in the helmet (tenancy to popup and such) so when you're getting new sun/glasses, just take your helmet and check how they fit.

I also use a foggy mask in my helmet all the time, it's not perfect for fog and you have to place it well to get a good seal but I'm a fan. It also works well for controlling airflow in the helmet.

Ain't that the truth.  No problems at all flying down a hill on my bicycle loaded with blind corners at 50+ mph with nothing more than nylon shorts and shirt and a leather "hairnet" helmet.  But hop on the motorcycle to go to the store and it's like I'm gearing up for battle.

Oh, regarding the subject:  Harley shops carry tons of cheap and effective sunglasses with interchangeable lenses

Amen...  Last week in Aspen I hit 62mph on the Serotta. Didn't bother me a bit. Giro helmet, Lycra kit, no gloves. Why is that? Should've been a nervous wreck.

62!  :o Holy cow.  

My top speed on a bike was 52 mph riding my Mtb. going down Big Cottonwood Canyon in SLC.  I was passing cars.  [laugh]

Of course there was one time I was flying down W. Burnside in PDX, again on a Mtb, caught the front tire on the edge of a man hole cover causing a bit of a "tank slapper."  Scared the heck out of me and that was one of the only times I thought how inadequate spandex bike shorts and a Styrofoam helmet would be at protecting my body.