I agree with Iain.

I too have an Arai Tour X. It's the most comfortable lid I've ever owned. The vents are great for hot weather and if required you can wear goggles with it.

For our trip this year I had a Shoei VFX R2, MX helmet, another great lid, but too much noise on fast roads. I still use it for trail riding.

At work I use a BMW System 4. It feels very cheaply made and is not especially comfortable. I wouldn't recommend riding with any 'Fliptop' in the open position, they're not designed to be used in this way.

I had the same problem, but i have some cool friends that chipped in and got me the tour-x, and now on the road and testing it I agree with iswoolley, this is the best helmet i have ever owned, the visor is great on the road and the peak is awesome when riding into the sun, something to seriously consider when you are on the road for extended time..., i have goggles with tinted lenses for the dirt and my sunnys and visor for the road.... to know what i do now and had my mates not chipped in i would still go for it, it is alot of money but you will be so happy you bought it... i am presently in south morocco going from london to cape town and already chuffed to bits, but just my opinion and obviously everyones budget doesnt allow for it, i ubderstand that, hence why my mates surprised me with it, thanks again to them...

safe travels guys...

I know I'm going out on a limb here but I almost always wear my Arai SX open face helmet with deep visor. Last year I rode across the US, which included Death Valley when the daytime temperature reached 118f. I much prefer the freedom, excellent vision and fresh air (OK, drafts) with an open face helmet. I also think it's important to have a white or silver helmet to reflect away some of the heat. Quite why black is such a popular colour baffles me. Last summer I rode down to the Pyrenees with the thermometer touching 100f, so I'm convinced the Arai SX is the best helmet for me.

heya guys,

open face depends on your travels ie amount of offroad, i am currently in merzouga dunes in morocco, and bit the dirt coming off the top of one of the dunes, i have my arai tour x and had a mouthful of sand, open face well i wouldnt want to think about especially if i was on the rocky terrain ) i agree about the colours, i have white and its great..

safe travels all

Was there not a recent thread about a woman (Amelia?) crashing in South America whilst wearing an open face? I believe a broken jaw was one of her injuries.....

I crashed (one of many, steep,learning curve etc..) in the 80's, fortunately wearing a full face. I hit a rock in the grass with my chin bar. I only realised this afterwards when I saw the 50mm long & 3mm deep groove on my chinbar. This alone convinced me of the need to wear a full face. I also wore nearly 2mm of the bottom of my chinbar whilst "surfing" on my chest down the road after being flung over the handlebars on another occasion.

It's one thing having such an accident in the UK etc, with quality medical aid, family & friends nearby to help, another thing to have this happen in the middle of nowhere with limited assistance etc.

Steve

Yes, Amalia (UK) crashed in Bolivia with an open face - broken jaw and more. Lois Pryce, who was with her and also wearing an open face, went looking for a full face the next day. (I had tried to convince her when she was here in Vancouver on her way south, but failed.) Too bad it takes a serious accident to convince people.

See Amalia's story in the Travellers Stories section. She could use a little cheering up too!

FWIW, I think ANY kind of full face is good - the differences are minor in the protection area, but they are all vastly superior to an open face.

Of course going by my experience an open face is fine. Despite numberous crashes racing, including an over 110mph over-the-bars roadracing crash, I have yet to scrape up a helmet. In fact in the 110mph one, I never even marked the helmet at all, despite the bike bouncing end over end right beside me as I slid and tumbled. Totalled the bike, my leathers, gloves, knees... but I didn't need the helmet at all!

I wear a full face always anyway...

------------------
Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

I thought my response to the open helmet idea would provoke a response. If I might come back though. One of the main reasons I almost always wear an open face helmet is that on long rides, especially if it's hot, I often get drowsy, and dangerously so. I do stop often and I do these days, drink far more cool water, but I think I'm one of those people, a 'wilter'. This even happens with the open face helmet but much less so owing to the far better ventilation.
I've been riding for over 35yrs and have used open, full and flip-up helmets, and still come back to the open face. To me it FAR, FAR better that I have good ventilation and stay alert and concentrated, rather than have to fight a daily battle in hot weather to stay alive.

Both my wife and I have the Arai RX-7's.
we have found it has the best venting of any of the helmets we have had, full face and flip-up's. We also have found that in the heat it is cooler with the visor down.
John

Am on the moment of looking for a new helmet after 7 years riding with the BMW System 3. I use the flip quite a lot, so thought of buying the ROOF helmet because you can put the chin part completly to the back. Had a few falls (no major)in OZ and NZ. Also one in Belgium but never one where my helmet touched the ground. But after reading this it makes me doubt again. Maybe keeping my System 3 for travelling and buying the ROOF helmet for home-work. Somebody any experience with the ROOF helmet?

I have been using ROOF Boxer for 4-5 years. The helmet has some strong and weak points.

Strong :
Its solid. My friend got hit by a soccer-mom (Oh gee officer, I didnt see him comming, my sidemirrors where kind of blocked)) 80 km/h and got pretty badly injured. The doctors said that if it wasent for the quality of the helmet, he wouldnt have made it. The helmet took a serious beating, but the front-piece (nor anything else) disintegrated.

Weak
It becomes a lot bigger after 1 years use.
It takes in the wind in such a way that my cheak gets pushed upwards, resulting in a very stiff neck when I try to work against it. Above 125 km/h is a real pain.
Its kind of hard to get the visor locked in such a way that it keeps the rain out.

Im, looking for something new....
Maybe Arai Tour-X

Hi all
can prescription glasses be worn with goggles?

thanks

safe and pleasant journey safe and pleasant return

paddy

Yes, you should be able to wear your prescription glasses with your goggles, I used to do this all the time when I was skiing. If its cold and rainy, you will most likely have a big problem with your glasses fogging up under the goggles. I could never deal with that...

Dave

Several of the goggle companies make goggles specifically for riders who wear glasses. These goggles are slightly larger in diameter over the surface which fits against the face, allowing more clearance for the glasses. The lens sizes are the same as those in the regular goggles (at least they have been for the Oakley goggles I've used).

There are also goggle makers who make goggles with prescription lenses built in - they cost a lot more, of course. I don't recall any brand names, but I've seen these advertised in dirt bike magazines. These would avoid the fogging of the lenses of the glasses (since the rider isn't wearing glasses), which can indeed be a problem.

Mike

If you know your size, save some pennies on Arai x tour;

http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...sPageName=WD2V

Matt