Helmets, I didn't know that!

Mailman said:
That should be an excellent helmet. Regarding high viz fade, I don’t know what there is about high viz yellow, but I bought a riding jacket once in that color. ( I was commuting daily in dense city traffic ) and it did the same thing, big time fade the first year I owned it. :shrug:
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Must be the pigments used in the colour are unstable in UV light. I wasn’t going to buy a $1,000 helmet and have the top turn pale yellow in one season. I was actually quite surprised to learn this. Thank goodness the salesperson was up front with me. I think they must get a lot of attempted warranty claims with the fading. Yes I think it’s the right helmet for me. Seemed to fit my noggin’ well. When I get it I’ll wear it a few hours at home. If it becomes uncomfortable, I can still return it.
 
I've got an Arai that's 5 years old. Hi viz yellow. Hasn't faded a bit. Bicycles I see at work fade in 1 year. Best piece of safety gear I've ever bought.
 

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Mailman said:
That should be an excellent helmet. Regarding high viz fade, I don’t know what there is about high viz yellow, but I bought a riding jacket once in that color. ( I was commuting daily in dense city traffic ) and it did the same thing, big time fade the first year I owned it. :shrug:
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I've painted a few things in high viz red/orange, it goes away quick. Back in the 80's when Marlboro was sponsoring Penske Racing, they painted everything high viz red and Indy was a month long. The pit wagons etc. spent the majority of the time outside and by Memorial day most of it was almost pink.
 
There must be many formulations for high viz coatings. I’m really quite surprised company’s like 3M haven’t developed a patented, fade free formula. I suspect different coatings have varying degrees of reflectivity. Perhaps the really bright stuff degrades quicker. Don’t know. All I know is it scared me away from buying one. If one wanted this protection - perhaps replaceable strips of reflective tape would be the best solution.
 
bosco659 said:
perhaps replaceable strips of reflective tape would be the best solution.
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That reminded me of something I did to a helmet, as I mentioned , I used to commute in dense city traffic and I bought white modular helmets for increased visibility. In the winter months it would be dark by the time I got off work, so I ordered a roll of red and white reflective tape,
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And after making a few paper templates I came up with some triangular designs that I used for the white pieces and I fit them along the bottom sides and jawline. And I cut out a Suzuki logo out of the red tape and centered it on the back of my helmet. ( I was riding a Suzuki V Strom at the time ) During the daytime you didn’t even notice the white tape on the white helmet but it really popped at night, and the red decal just looked kinda like it was part of the helmets design.
It really came out slick, I wish I would’ve taken some photos of it. 😉
 
White works well for visibility. No fading worries.

At $125, I’m impressed with my full face (not modular) helmet. It’s noisy, but no other complaints. I love the long oval fit. It has ECE safety rating. I bought it just to get me by until I can fit test “real” helmets. To my surprise, this is a real helmet.
 
jetmechmarty said:
White works well for visibility. No fading worries.

At $125, I’m impressed with my full face (not modular) helmet. It’s noisy, but no other complaints. I love the long oval fit. It has ECE safety rating. I bought it just to get me by until I can fit test “real” helmets. To my surprise, this is a real helmet.
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LS2 is the brand, sorry.
 
bosco659 said:
Got my new lid yesterday (at last). SHOEI Neotec 3 Modular helmet. I haven’t road tested it yet. I’ve just been wearing it indoors to make sure it fits properly. It can’t be returned if stickers and labels have bern removed. So far I’m liking it.

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Great choice Bosco. I bought a pair of them for Mrs C and me to use on The Brat (GS1200). Also installed the custom fit Sena Intercom for them which works really well (May have been a mistake on my part as Mrs C can be a bit Errrr..... Chatty!).
 
I have an old open face helmet that I used when riding my previous XS650SH. I decided to revive it today and went for a ride on my Virago. I forgot it had an internal sun visor so popped on a pair of polaroid sun glasses- never ridden with polaroids before. The combination of polaroids with the helmets clear visor made the asphalt on the roads appear bright blue in the sunshine, especially newly laid asphalt. When I flipped the visor up the color disappeared so clearly I'm not going mad... :umm:

Anyone else seen unusual affects from polaroid glasses and helmet visors?

Edit: Meant to say polarized sun glasses but Polaroid is one such brand.
 
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I get the same effect with some of my sunglasses. My wife calls it "Super Mario Mode." It's just a nice temporary acid trip for me. Things get real purdy.

I'm about ready to slap down my credit card at Cycle Gear and order every one of the biggest helmets they have.
I'd been comfortable in a 5XL HJC Maxx2 helmet for years, but I had to replace it with an I90 a while back since I thrashed my Maxx2 and they're no longer available. The I90 has never been comfortable and I cry myself to sleep on a huge pillow every night wishing I had a normal sized head. Hopefully someone out there somewhere still makes a helmet that fits me comfortably.
 
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