What helmet do you DS riders use? I use my street helmet for mostly street rides and my dirt helmet for everything else. The street helmet is almost useless off-road and the dirt model is a noisy pain on the highway. The Arai and Shoei DS models look nice but pricey, does anyone have experience with either of those?
Inexpensive model here: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/6/6/19001/ITEM/AFX-FX-37-DS-Helmet.aspx A couple guys in my local club got them and like them. also have them in colors. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/6/6/24806/ITEM/AFX-FX-37-DS-Multi-Helmet.aspx
the issue with those IMHO is if you do a lot of off road the shield gets trashed quickly and are expensive to replace.
I run a Shoei Hornet w/o the face shield in the warmer weather, just a pair of goggles. The helmet is nice, fits good and vents pretty well. To be honest there is little difference between this and a full MX bucket if your NOT using the face shield,except when slab speeds are above 55mph. At highway speed the Shoei is better as the bill is smaller and well vented. I ride a bit of slab to get to trails and then ride home, 50/50 use. As far as noise? Any helmet is gonna be a bit noisy, I sometimes put in earplugs if I'm going more than 50mi on the road, quiet's things down nicely. IMO it's a decent compromise.
I've been using a MX helmet with goggles but have been wanting a true DS helmet. Sometimes having the MX helmet with goggles doesn't give as much protection from wind and such when you have longer slab rides. If my trails were all close or I didn't plan any long rides, I'd stick with the MX helmet.
If you ride in wet and off road you can ruin it in one ride. Ask me how i know. If you ride in dense forest like i do limbs will also scare the shield quickly. Don;t get me wrong, i like the idea and for many it is great, just throwing it out there.
agreed, but you'll do the same to a pair of goggles and lenses for goggles aren't a whole lot cheaper either (if at all)
Is it quieter on the road with the shield on? And can you run goggles under the shield and flip the shield up when you get off road or is that just too much?
A face shield comes in handy on those 200-mile dualsport days I've worn my Arai XD on pure singletrack dirt rides, but I don't like to do it. My first dirt ride with it I face-planted and kinda messed up the ungodly expensive faceshield, even though it was in the "up" position at the time. Luckily I don't fall off so much when dualsporting. On the other hand, I've been wearing the XD every day on my commute now (ever since someone stole my Arai Quantum II Haga Replica last month) and I love having the visor! It makes a huge difference when riding into the sun. I don't notice it when on the freeway unless I'm doing +80 or so. I need to get a real street helmet pretty soon, though, as it's getting kinda cold in the early mornings and the XD lets in way too much air. WoodsChick
Yes, it is quieter with the shield on as it seals the face opening, I've run it with the shield and goggles before but in the warm weather I didn't think it was much of an advantage using both. Your needs might be different as I ride too the trails and spend the day thrashing about, then ride home. For that stuff I much prefer goggles. If I'm going to scoot around on old roads and gravel for the day I may put the shield back on. The one thing that I like is the Shoei vent's pretty well and I stay pretty cool if I'm moving. Like I said, the helmet is a compromise, not as "quiet" as a road helmet but a little better than a full MX on the road and having a face shield when the weather is below 35 degrees is really nice. If you buy one I suggest taking the helmet to a shop and finding a pair of goggles that fit the opening as it's a bit smaller than an MX style bucket. cheers, Mike
I just picked uo the AFX DS37 but, 41 degrees in the AM is freeking to cold for me. I am opting for the little Corolla XRS these days.
I've got a shoei for off road, or at least I did till recently but that's another story, a HJC for doing the road work and it's OK but their helmets are designed for people with more rounded heads which I don't have so the fit isn't that great. For dual sport I found that the Zeus 2100b is hard to beat, it's easily convertible with a removeable shield and visor. The fit and comfort on the Zeus is as good as the Shoei and the noise level is comparable to the HJC metric helmet. I find myself using this helmet for pretty much everything anymore. Oh yeah and it was pretty reasonably priced which is always a plus with me. http://www.zeus-helmets.co.uk/zeus-2100b.html
