good helmet suggestion

[Wolverine]

No one mentioned Craigslist? For whatever reasons alot of riders in Michigan buy bikes, never ride them, and sell them to guys like me for a nice discount? These same riders buy nice helmets and rarely wear them. I'm a long time Shoei owner and spent $400 for my last one and forked out $45 for a dark shield. I've never bought a used helmet but a couple of Rf1000s came up on Craigslist for less than $200 with two shields. The owners said they had been worn only a few times and after looking at them I tend to believe them. I bought the one that matched my bike and used the saved cash for some new tires.

[Morgan Buchanan]

I'll ride on a plugged tire but I won't buy a used helmet. LOL You just don't know if it was dropped. 4 feet straight down on a tile floor won't be visible, but it will damage the impact liner.

if you go shopping at a retail place to get fitment and figure out what helmet is best for you, please buy it at that retail shop. They provided you the service of having stock to try on, so don't screw them over and buy it online for 20 bucks less. If they're WAY out of line of the price you have found it online, haggle with them. Most will come down if you show that you can get it online for 50 or 100 less.

A $400 helmet you wear is cheaper than a $100 helmet you don't wear.

Fit fit fit fit fit...it's all about fitment. The more expensive helmets usually have done more wind tunnel testing to get quieter, and often have better ventilation. That's important where it's hot. But it isn't necessarily the case. I'm extremely happy with my Shoei RF1100.

[leekellerking]

Rachel, I would go to Cycle Gear and try on helmets. They will let you walk around the store with a helmet of for however long you can stand it.

And they have a good return policy and are employee owned.

Barring that, I can't say enough good stuff about http://www.motorcyclegear.com/ (formerly www.newenough.com). Great prices and great service (and you probably won't have to pay sales tax as you are in NC).

I wish I had a spare $135 for this EXO 700 helmet from Motorcyclegear.com:

http://www.motorcyclegear.com/street...le_helmet.html

[xl_cheese]

As already stressed, fit should be your first priority. You want a new helmet to be snug, but without hot spots or a headache. New helmets will loosen up overtime. Most people have a tendency to buy a helmet that is comfortable and after a few weeks it becomes too big. The wind will press the helmet into your face or when checking your blind spots it will twist on your head.

Other things to keep in mind when fitting helmet are that most come with removable liners. Sometimes I have customers that are hard to fit in helmets so I'll mix and match cheekpads with different top pads to get the right fit.

My favorite brands are:
HJC
Scorpion
Bell
Shoei

There are many other good brands out there, but for the price and quality these are hard to beat. I'm very picky about the quality of helmets. Some brands have flimsy vents which fall apart.

Generally, the more money you spend the more features you get. Noise, venting, weight, and internal sunshields.