[shuter]

Does anyone have a quiet helmet they can recommend?

Giving up on blue tooth and head sets for now. Starting with post 8 I am just looking for a quiet helmet.


Just bought a 1994 Goldwing 1500se and am wondering about what helmet/radio comunications combination to get.

I live in North Dakota and we can ride without a helmet, which I like to do sometimes. Other times I will want to wear a helmet. I find listening to the radio over the loudspeakers unsatisfactory due to the wind noise at highway speeds.

I'm willing to buy a new helmet and speaker/microphone set and am dazzled by all the choices. What helmets provide the most quiet enviroment for listening to the radio and communicating?

I have factory installed plugins for front and rear radio communications that I assume include FM radio, CB, and person to person communications. Is that correct?

How about blue tooth? Can I go wireless and have all the same functions?

I expect to listen to the FM radio more than use the communications but would like to have the capability to do it all.

Some of you, especially those that have been group riding for a while must know exactly what to use and I'm hoping you will share your years of experience so I can make the best choices the first time.

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

I have had Shoei and Arai 3/4 helmets and have liked them both. Some guys are now using Nolan and HJC flipup helmets which provide both full and 3/4 coverage. Find one that fits well. I used a J&M headset with both helmets and it worked fine. I don't know if you can adapt bluetooth to a 1500 audio system. Even so, it will be expensive.

Remember, a cheap lid does your head no good in an accident. Ride safe..

 

[joe in calif]

If you want the most quiet, you will need to get a full face helmet, I have 3 helmets, Arai 3/4 HJC full face and Nolan 102 N-COM flip face. All have J&M headset and do the job. I wear the 3/4 most of the time. Also if you use ear plugs you will be surprised how much road and wind noise they filter out but you can still hear the music and intercom.

 

[shuter]

I've decided not to persue the blue tooth option and I have decided on an open face helmet.

I am interested in a less than full face shield that is shaped a little like coggles. Do those face shields fit all open face helmets?

Which open face helmets are best suited for speakers and Mic?

 

[Promethius]

If you want the most quiet, you will need to get a full face helmet, I have 3 helmets, Arai 3/4 HJC full face and Nolan 102 N-COM flip face. All have J&M headset and do the job. I wear the 3/4 most of the time. Also if you use ear plugs you will be surprised how much road and wind noise they filter out but you can still hear the music and intercom.

Just to follow up a bit... If you don't wear a helmet, wear ear plugs! Even with some helmets, you may need to wear them. I just got the bill on my new hearing aids at $2800 + our lovely state's 6.9% sales tax, and my hearing loss is attributed to a lot of ridng w/o hearing protection. I'm not exposed to loud noises and that is why the wind got the nod as the most likely cause.

 

[billcarr_]

Hi Pro,

None of that works for me. I have a full shoei helmet with J and M earphones built in. At 75mph the only way I can hear the music is to turn the volume up 16 - 17 plus and get a headache from the noise. I quit using it.

 

[budoka]

More worms in the can. I have 3 helmets also, an Arai Vector ff with the Hondaline/J&M headset, an HJC IS-33 3/4 with std J&M headset, and an HJC cruiser style half lid with removeable ear/lower section with no sound equipment. The half lid is best for hearing the tunes with or without the earflaps on. The Arai is incredibly noisy...lots of wind noise and the mic is constantly picking up interference from passing vehicles no matter how I adjust the volumes. Th IS-33 is in the middle, but is quietest with the visor up (lot of good that is for eye protection) and it doesn't suffer from road noise/interference except in the worse possible crosswind gusts being picked up by the mic. My wife has the IS-33 and can barely hear the stereo with just the helmet on unless I turn the volume waaaay up (then she says it's too loud...ah, women) but it is fine with the headset. I like the coverage of the Arai, but it's noisy and fogs real easy on cool mornings (terrible on cold days). The IS-33 is the best of both worlds, but does block the stereo without the headset on. The half lid is old enough that I really shoudn't wear it anymore, but it's the most comfortable and I can hear the tunes perfect, but there's no headset or two way comm for us (she has a half-lid too). I've never tried a modular (flip-up) helmet on a bike, but I don't care for them on snowmobiles. We had matching Hondaline helmets w/headsets on the 1500 and I don't recall having any sound issues with them, but time has a way of burying the poorer quality memories.
So all I've done is probably made things more difficult for you, but that's my bit of info.

 

[shuter]

Well..... I expected this to be an easy one for all the experienced Wing riders out there. Seems that it is not.

Lets try just looking for a quiet helmet. I'll edit the thread title to reflect that.

I have an older Shoei full coverage that I need to replace due to it's age. The wind noise is horrible. It's so loud that I hate wearing it.

Does anyone have a helmet that is comfortable and Quiet?

I see there are a number of helmets now that have built in ventilation vents on top of the helmet. Sounds like a great idea in hot weather but can they be closed in cold weather?

 

[shuter]

Anybody using this Nolan helmet? How quiet is it? If you have the intercom system installed, how does it work for you?

http://wingstuff.com/pgroup_detail/729_Nolan_Helmets/29419_Nolan_N43_N_Com_Open_Face_Helmet_Metal_White_With/?goto=/pgroup_list/helmets/729_Nolan_Helmets/mfg/

 

[Slayer]

Well, this all worries me quite a lot. I've just made a deal on an 05 Wing and was looking on here for suggestions as to what intercom to use. I wear an HJC CL-15 in XXXL. Yeah, I've got a BIG head. It's a full-face helmet. It is kind of noisy but I typically wear earplugs. I wondered if it would be too noisy for a microphone and a speaker. Then I remembered that a lot of Wing riders that I see wear open faced helmets. If you can hear/speak with one of them, I should be great with a full face. After reading all this, I'm worried.

 

[shuter]

Me too Slayer. A lot of differing opinions here and I know my older Shoei full face is very noisy.

 

[shuter]

Some good information on helmet noise levels can be found here:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/helmet-noise.htm