Man, a buddy of mine and I were talking about helmet technology yesterday. The end was that this is 2005, helmets do darn well at damage control and have advanced leaps in the past few decades, but this is 2005!
He wanted advanced stuff, like Bluetooth built in, and was wondering why a helmet manufacturer didn't do something like buy out Chatterbox and build it into a helmet. I pointed out that Chatterbox was owned by... HJC... that's right, the helmet folks. You'd think they would sell a helmet with the stuff made micro and built in. Wing riders and HD Ultra Classic guys get helmets matched to technology on the bike. But you should be able to get a helmet with basic comm and music built in without having to get an entire bike built to do it, this is 2005!
As for me, I wish helmet manufacturers would put a little more time in the basics. Like a shield that doesn't fog or leak! Not asking for the moon! Just a shield that keeps water out when it's raining and has a functional de-fog system! Heck, if they'd spend as much on enginering shields as what they spend on designing graphics in a year or moving around those stupid vents that don't work, they could scoop the market on something really worthwhile. Guess it comes down to selling a graphic package helmet for hundreds of dollars to the great un-washed sport bike masses, or spending a little on engineering better equipment for the few year round riders that would be willing to drop a few hundred on something that works. I currently use an HJC SyMax and a Nolan N100, both have flip chin bars. The Nolan has a removeable chin curtain and breath shield. Every full or flip should have a built-in flip-down chin curtain contained in the chin area. How hard is that? The SyMax doesn't even offer or accept a chin curtain! And the breath shield! Both have them and neither work! I'd like to see the engineer who designed this piece of crap riding in the cold and actually breathing! And there are shields that darken and lighten depending on light conditions, that's great and I'm going to get one, but again, this is 2005 almost 6! There are welders mask that go from light to dark and back in an instant! How hard would it be to transfer that tech to a motorcycle helmet? Yes, a welders helmet is big and bulky, but come on, micro tech makes anything possible!
Aerostitch makes a riding suit that costs over $700. I've seen guys in this suit that didn't spend that much on what they're riding, why not a helmet that does more than just look good while keeping your grey matter contained in a crash?
OK, I'm finished for a while. Have a happy Thanksgiving, eat a lot and be thankful! A little prayer for those GIs who haven't been home in a long time would be appreciated too.
