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Altering inside of helmet vs safety

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Xdriver

Xdriver

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Sean
I just purchased some in helmet speakers, and they make the helmet(Shoei RF1000) super tight in the ear pockets. This is bad to the point that my ear folds over when I place the helmet on my head and no room is left for them to "pop" back to normal. This happens no matter how I move the speakers in the ear area.

I'm considering melting a small amount of foam away to create a recess for the speakers to sit in. Would this small recess damage the integrity of the inner shell structure enough to make the helmet useless?
 
I cut out foam on all my helmets because of my eyeglasses and cheek bone. But I don't race. American helmets are all designed to meet unrealisticly severe conditions in my opinion. So I think cutting a chunk of foam here and there is ok. But lawyer-fearing Americans might say you're exposing yourself to legal attacks in case you have to make a claim.
 
Probably not a major issue, just understand that you're weakening the helmet.

You might also consider a switch to a RF-1100 or (my favorite) Qwest. Both have deeper cutouts for the ears. I had the same problem with speakers in my RF-1000 and my ears not wanting to straighten out. Never had an issue with either a RF-1100 or Qwest.
 
Well, after closer inspection there appears to be some heavy plastic over the foam in that area. Too much hassle to cut through that. I'll think I'll just keep working with it as is. Wish I could get that 1100 but I only bought this helmet a year and a half ago.
 
Good idea. I think they're already pretty bare bones, but I'll have a look. I purchased the Sena SMH10.
 
I say go for it. I did this with a helmet many years ago. As long as a crash doesn't send a projectile through your ear canal I don't see what harm it could do. Besides, even cheap helmets are so over engineered that our necks are likely to snap far before our skull cracks.
 
If it's just a pair of speakers, you could swap for in-ear headphones. Such as the ER6i, a whole load of Shure models, and many others.

I have speakers in my X-Eleven, and I can feel them on my ears. Thankfully it doesn't bother me much, just a minor annoyance. I hear the RF1100 and X-Twelve are much better in the ear region. I won't be upgrading any time soon though, they're crazy expensive! :eek2:
 
You don't need much of a hole for the Sena speakers. i had to make a recess in my Shoei hornet for them to fit. I used a Forstner drill bit, hand held, to shave out room. Like for you, they touched my ears without the recess. I actually went in almost enough to make them flush. My Nolan and Shoei Qwest already had recessed pockets for speakers so I just modeled the Hornet ones after them.
 
Most if not all helmets really only have the energy absorbing polystyrene over the crown of the head. Take an old helmet apart and you will see the limit of foam. A few years ago, I disassembled an older Bell and was surprised to see the expanded polystyrene coverage was not much more than a half-helmet would have except it extended down the back of the skull. The rest is 'comfort padding' so if you need to adjust the fit around your ears, you are probably not affecting the effectiveness of the helmet any.
 
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I'd tried headphones. Multiple types including the ones that molded to the ears. Sound quality was great but the way they ripped out of my ears during helmet removal was no good.

I'd never heard of that Forstner drill bit. I think I'll try that out or a dremel tool. Hate to drill into a perfectly good helmet, but since it won't really compromise the helmet's integrity it can't hurt.
 
A forstner bit is for large diameter, flat bottomed holes. I've got a bunch and just happened to have one the right diameter. Not the sort of bit most people would have. it saved me from free handing it, which I'm terrible at. Anyway, only take out about an 1/8th of an inch at first and try that. I also seem to remember I had to remove some vinyl covering the Styrofoam inside. The reason I say take out less is that the Sena speakers, while some of the loudest headset speakers, are still low powered and I found that I ended up spacing them back closer to my ear because I recessed them too far. Also make sure they are aimed right down your ear canal. I also had one pointed a little off and that side was quieter until I shimmed it to aim the right way.
 
Thanks for all the input.

Mine has some pretty thick vinyl over the foam. Would a bit like that eat through the vinyl? I know it's too thick for an exacto knife or anything like that. Actually, if I could just get to the level where the foam is past that vinyl layer, that may be deep enough.
 
That kind of bit is not the most cost effective way to do it. I would try to find a way to make a cutter. Sharpening the end of a metal tube that is the right diameter, using a small metal cookie cutter, some sheet metal wrapped in a circle. Or a plastic disk that you could use to guide an exacto knife. Just make sure the blade is sharp and it will cut through it.
 
You'll have to have a 90 degree attachment to use a forstner and go slow, those things chew in a hurry. How about those cheap little retractable razor knives? Set it for the depth you want, carve you a circle and dig it out. If you go slow, I'd think it would work just fine.
 
I used an xacto knife to make a hole in my Nolan for speakers. Take out a little at a time cause it doesn't go back in a easy. Getting the pressure off your ears make it much nicer. Should not really effect the overall protection of the helmet. I called J&M Electronics and that's how they install speakers.
 
I ride with a Scorpion 900. They even have dotted lines showing where to cut the foam for speakers. I have found the best way to get a perfect cut and shape it correctly for the back of the speaker is to use a soldering iron. It melts the foam perfectly and you can shape the hole as you need.
 
With a soldering iron and some box cutter blades I managed to get the speakers into the helmet. I made a templet from a piece of paper and then went around that with the soldering iron. This cut through the first vinyl layer which I could then remove entirely with the box cutter. Next I just lightly brushed over the foam with the soldering iron till I got the shape I wanted. Pressed the speakers into the foam with some sticky sided velcro, and all was good. Speakers are nearly flush mounted, and even with earplugs, I still hear the music perfectly at 70-80 mph. On a side note, I'd highly recommend the Sena SMH10 setup.

Thanks for all the tips.
 
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