Helmets Looking for New Helmet

Bmacleod said:
Yeah, that is an issue with overseas helmets. My Canadian HJC doesnt have the DOT sticker either. I researched whether it would be an issue and most American riders said they have never had a cop even look, but a few claimed that they were harrased, so , who knows. I decided to not go european for my helmet purchase and stick to a Canadian retailer, as the price was the same and I figured that at least it would have a DOT sticker and when it showed up, it did not have one. I was never able to find a source for real stickers so I'm not going to worry about it.
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Interesting. Maybe the legal dynamic and rider demographics are different north of the border, but the only time I've ever seen law enforcement care about that DOT sticker is when it's on an obviously novelty helmet and they're looking to enforce the law. I see this often with riders from a state without a helmet law travelling into a state with one and this is what they bring to look legal while still 'putting it to the man'. Which makes no sense to me. I mean, if I'm going to accede to your rules, I might as well select a device that will actually protect my head vs. defiantly showing how I got my way from the head trauma ward.

In my earlier riding days, I recall some friends that would peel off the DOT sticker because it looked ugly.

But I'm pretty confident my Italian Neotec3 meets all US reg's for crash test compliance which the domestic market versions do.
 
I think one of the things we miss on buying helmets is the way the whole helmet works together to make you forget you're wearing a helmet.

That lady who had the neck issue (and balance issue as well) tried on my helmet and was totally amazed. She found the helmet to be both light weight...and balanced. Shoei does a good job at designing a helmet that feels balanced, but their helmets are still heavy. This RPHA91 is so well balanced, I don't even notice I'm wearing it. The ventilation like @Bmacleod said is superb. And the eyeport is so large, I don't notice the edges of the visor.

Chris
 
STRider said:
In my earlier riding days, I recall some friends that would peel off the DOT sticker because it looked ugly.
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I did that years back on a couple helmets because they were ugly. I'd never been stopped for that. I had given it up because it was just too much work to get it off cleanly and deal with the residual adhesive. Several helmets later got to keep the thing.

I'd been here a year or so when I found out the sticker was a requirement and not a do not remove tag under penalty of law tag.
 
I really wonder if it is a "requirement"...or if it is, that it is enforced. I had my accident in June 2024 and the insurance company only wanted a picture of the old helmet to prove it was damaged, and the LEO only wanted to know how fast I was going. No one looked for a DOT sticker.

Chris
 
Definitely not enforced in Michigan... you can ride without a helmet, anyways, so I don't see the point in anyone caring.

I'm not sure I've even ever heard of anyone getting a ticket for not riding without a helmet properly, as there's some insurance requirements the state wants. None of the police around here have cared.

I consider it like the "UL" sticker on electrical components, etc. Required for many items to be sold here, but you can buy plenty of stuff without it on Amazon and other e-tailers. Doesn't seem to be a big deal for anybody and that stuff can burn your house down.
 
Bmacleod said:
My Canadian HJC doesnt have the DOT sticker either.
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In Canada a motorcycle helmet must be certified but that certification doesn't have to be DOT. In Canada a helmet must have certification from DOT, Snell, or ECE. Whatever certification it has it must have a label affixed to it indicating that it meets that approved safety standard. It varies by province as to which of the above certifications are accepted so you'll have to check to see which ones are accepted in P.E.I.. Check your helmet, it must have a label of at least one of the above to be legal.
 
Andrew Shadow said:
In Canada a motorcycle helmet must be certified but that certification doesn't have to be DOT. In Canada a helmet must have certification from DOT, Snell, or ECE. Whatever certification it has it must have a label affixed to it indicating that it meets that approved safety standard. It varies by province as to which of the above certifications are accepted so you'll have to check to see which ones are accepted in P.E.I.. Check your helmet, it must have a label of at least one of the above to be legal.
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Actually, I am not concerned with Canada at all. I am thinking about travel in the U.S. I can only go by what I read on the web and apparently, the general consensus is that the U.S. only recognizes DOT certification, even though ECE is a much more stringent cert. I was merely surprised that a helmet sold in Canada didnt have the certification that is recognized by the U.S., seeing as how we easily travel back and forth between the 2 nations. Again, I am not going to lose sleep over it.
 
Bmacleod said:
Actually, I am not concerned with Canada at all. I am thinking about travel in the U.S. I can only go by what I read on the web and apparently, the general consensus is that the U.S. only recognizes DOT certification, even though ECE is a much more stringent cert. I was merely surprised that a helmet sold in Canada didnt have the certification that is recognized by the U.S., seeing as how we easily travel back and forth between the 2 nations. Again, I am not going to lose sleep over it.
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I have wondered if the DOT requirement is intended for point of sale and is not intended to apply to someone who brings their own helmet in to the country for personal use.

The US DOT regulation states that The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has mandated the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218 for all motorcycle helmets marketed in the nation to safeguard motorcycle riders’ lives. This, without question in my mind, applies to all helmets imported in to and sold in the US. I have wondered if it is also meant to apply to all helmets in use in the US as well, as opposed to sold in the US.
i.e. Does it apply to helmets brought in to the US by foreigners like yourself for your personal use while in the US? One of those pesky details for lawyers to sort out.
 
So I bit the bullet... I bought a Scorpion full face helmet at Cycle Gear. I would have preferred a modular helmet, but this one fit the best and most likely I would have left the the chin bar down most of the time anyway.

Ironically/serendipitously/unfortunately - I took the bike out on the highway to get a feel for it and got caught in thunderstorm with very heavy rain. Even cars had slowed to 35 mph due to poor visibility. Right before it got that heavy I was able to ride mostly comfortable at 60-65. That's something I could never have done with an open face.

Of course I got soaked to the skin and gear is being washed and dried right now, but I'm actually glad for the experience because it convinces me that a full face helmet was the way to go. I may still use the open face, but probably only for local errands.
 
Congratulations! Scorpion makes good helmets. I think you'll enjoy it.

Did you get a Pinlock visor with it? If not, you may want to look for one or something similar. It's a visor insert that makes a very thin second layer with air in between the two layers. The result is that the inside won't fog up.

Chris
 
Daboo said:
Congratulations! Scorpion makes good helmets. I think you'll enjoy it.

Did you get a Pinlock visor with it? If not, you may want to look for one or something similar. It's a visor insert that makes a very thin second layer with air in between the two layers. The result is that the inside won't fog up.

Chris
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It did not come with a pinlock visor, but riding in the rain I was able to crack the visor open a little bit . Even my mirrors were fogging up so I know conditions were ripe, but I was OK. That is, other than being soaked and poor visibility due to heavy rain, but at least no fogging up.
 
ST Gui said:
I did that years back on a couple helmets because they were ugly. I'd never been stopped for that. I had given it up because it was just too much work to get it off cleanly and deal with the residual adhesive. Several helmets later got to keep the thing.

I'd been here a year or so when I found out the sticker was a requirement and not a do not remove tag under penalty of law tag.
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CRIMING!

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Having lived sometime in close proximity to a helmet-optional state - Vermont and New Hampshire - I would sometimes encounter law enforcement stopping riders returning to Vermont from the road races/gypsy tour at the event commonly known as Laconia. The races were at the old Bryar Motorsports, later New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH, and the gypsy tour, for the majority of attendees that didn't even know races were happening nearby, was in Laconia/Weir's Beach. Most of the later were Harley riders exercising their freedom from helmets.

Returning to Vermont, sometimes those riders waited until they were on the wrong side of the state line before putting their lids on where the LEOs waited. But they would also check for DOT compliance because that's how the state helmet law was written. To be in compliance your helmet had to be DOT approved, which was a standard established by the US Dept of Transportation. Those novelty lids with a thin, cloth-covered foam padding were not tolerated.

I don't think US Customs cares one bit whether the helmet meets DOT standards to import, given that you can go to any craft fair and find headgear for costume use that's indistinguishable from what some riders will wear.

The tolerance for the presence or absence of a DOT sticker appears to be completely state dependent, IME.
 
STRider said:
To be in compliance your helmet had to be DOT approved, which was a standard established by the US Dept of Transportation. Those novelty lids with a thin, cloth-covered foam padding were not tolerated.
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I suspect the DOT sticker was used by the LEOs to have the grounds to tell those with novelty lids to get a different helmet. Otherwise, if you had a helmet that looked like a real motorcycle helmet, they probably wouldn't do more than smell your breath to see if you were drunk.

Chris
 
Daboo said:
Congratulations! Scorpion makes good helmets. I think you'll enjoy it.

Did you get a Pinlock visor with it? If not, you may want to look for one or something similar. It's a visor insert that makes a very thin second layer with air in between the two layers. The result is that the inside won't fog up.

Chris
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Yes, the Scorpion is a good helmet, but I just couldn't get used to being enclosed. On the road it was OK, but whenever I stopped I wanted to be able to have a conversation and/or take a drink without taking the helmet off.

So I bought an LS2 modular. It's the kind that the chin bar rotates behind the helmet. It also came with a pinlock and a built in sun visor (which the Scorpion didn't have). It's noticeably heavier, but I don't think that will be a problem... we'll see.

I also prefer the buckle. It's probably not as strong as the double D ring, but I'm sure it's strong enough.
 
Daboo said:
I suspect the DOT sticker was used by the LEOs to have the grounds to tell those with novelty lids to get a different helmet. Otherwise, if you had a helmet that looked like a real motorcycle helmet, they probably wouldn't do more than smell your breath to see if you were drunk.

Chris
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I just bought an X-Fifteen Shoei.....and as a detail freak I pulled off all the stickers including the combo DOT/SNELL/ECE, left on the Shoei lable......wonder if I would get hassled for that?
 
I bought an Arai from the UK last year. It was $300 cheaper than the equivalent model sold here in the US. It doesn't have a DOT sticker on it. It has whatever cert sticker that's required in the UK. I'm not too concerned about getting a ticket for it since I've never in my entire riding career had an officer inspect my helmet.
 
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