Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Wind Noise Discovery

I hate the noise generated by half helmets. After trying a few styles, a few ear plugs, little clip-on muffs, and a sundry of other gimics, I thought about ways to keep the straps from flapping in the breeze. My first semi-success was using goggles with the strap over the helmet straps. It was a marked improvement but still deafening after long periods. I got the idea to find a way to stiffen the strap itself without lessening the integrety of the lid. Tonight I bought some of those $2 vinyl clips that some folks put on their car doors (door edge guards I suppose). I cut one approximately in 1/2 and put it over the leading edge of the front strap - 1/2 on each side. Gave the helmet a test ride and found this to have the most effective result yet. If the wind noise bothers you, give it a try. It may or may not work with your helmet, but a a 2 buck gamble is pretty hard to pass up.

Wow !!! I posted about this about a year ago soon after i got my bike but no one gave it a thought. I'm suprised someone else found the same thing. I never got qaround to implimenting it. But i found this by holding my nhands up to the edges of my helmet sorta like fish gills but pointing forward instead of back at an angle. I was shocked it literally reduced noise about 80-90% while cruising at freeway speeds. but i never got around to implimenting something because i only had one helmet at the time and it was a 1/2 helmet so there really wasn't anything i could attach these "gills" to. Then i forgot about it till now, but i now have a 3/4 too.Might have to see if i can fab something, tho i really don't want to drill or make permanent mods to the helmet.

It's funny.......when i saw this topic the first thing i thought was i wonder if he found the same thing i did ! I was suprised to find thats what it was.

No drilling no clamping no sewing no mods to the helmet - just put the vinyl door edge guard over the strap. It holds it firm so that the strap isn't flapping. Its completely plyable. I DO NOT reccommend drilling 'gills' to your helmet straps - But I have considered attaching a gill like appendage to the frames of my glasses. The gills I made didn't work and they stood out like a sore thumb.

I won't say this latest try is noise free. I just say its the most bearable solution I've found. I will next try the door guard and goggle strap over top of the strap. That may help even more. These vinyl gizzmos aren't big or readily noticable. They're about 3/16 thick and slotted. The ones I found tonight are clear. I assume if I could find black they would be virtually imposible to see.

Good tip. I'll try that on my half helmet

With cold weather around the corner here in New England, I'm a few hundred miles into a newly acquired Vega Summit II flip top full face helmet. I may look like Darth Vader, but the lack of noise & wind as compared to my half helmet is pretty sweet. I ride around our small town with the lid down and no one knows my identity. That's not the worst thing that has ever happened to me.

Troot be told, I drilled the rear fender & moved those X large LEDS to either side of the rear brake light. They operate as running & brake lights now. I had to de-JC Whitneyize & tone it down a bit. The original plan didn't quite look as I had hoped it might - a little too bling.

Next project - a 3 gallon tourtank onto the luggage rack.

come on, I want to see a pic of someone doing "the gills"!

I immediately trashed my 'gills' - er, the one that didn't blow off anyway... So ugly and so ineffective that I wanted no remaining evidence.

You'll have to get a 'gill' shot from Dazco.