I have a Shoei RF-1000 and love it. It is light and works well for my small head. The vents keep me cool in the Florida heat. I also like the bottom insert it has to help with wind noise, what a difference  I don't get the lift on I-4 when riding without it. I have had it for a year and hope to keep it longer. I also have a gpx that is an open face and I don't like it much it was $40 at Pep Boys and bought it for riding on my friend's Shadow. After about twenty minutes I have severe neck fatigue because it bounces my head around like a bobble head. So, I guess you get what you pay for.

just my 2 cents.

Mary S.

Oh mary ... I'd blame the shadow and go from there for being a pain in the neck. I have had one, and even without a helmet I would rate it as a PITA.
Cool.
Buddha.

 I ride with a CKX Tranz helmet. Modular, which is bloody awesome, and has a secondary tinted visor that flips down inside acting as sunglasses 

It's pretty comfortable and not crazy noisy unless at rather high speeds. Inexpensive too.

I ride with a KBC Stealth VR-2.  I love it.  Its the most comfortable large i could find.  Its light, the vents work great, it fits wonderfully, and the visor removal is sooo easy.  And to top it off, i love the looks.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmets.htm

Good website for detailed reviews of helmets.  Some reviews even have a video explaining their opinions and how the moving parts of the helmets function.  Found it very helpful.   Gmax gm68 won helmet of the year last year and can be had for 120$(as someone has already posted).  I dig mine.  No complaints.

I have a helluva time finding helmets that fit.

I had a XXL Icon but it was tight. As in my chin would stick down below the front of the helmet.

Now I have a XXXL CL-15, and it fits better but my chin is almost aginst the front of the helmet.

I'd prefer a full face, but I think i'm going to try thr Vega NT200 open face.

If you want another HJC look no further...
http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com/sport/motorcycle+helmets/hjc_cl-sp+osiris+helmet+-+snell+approved
Although I just wore mine for the 1st time and have a slight whistling sound - haven't figured out why yet.

edit: found the defect working on having it resolved now - just wanted to make sure no1 avoided it just because of me.

Fit is absolutely critical.  Different manufacturers fit different heads better or worse, and trying various brands on is the only way to make sure you have the right helmet for you.

I had a Scorpion for a while - then I looked at the label. I'm off of Made in China.  Their manufacturing processes have craptastic quality control, and I don't want to support that gummint anyway.  I now have a Shoei.  I found the RF-1000 to be better-featured than the TZ, so went for that one.  The XXS Shoei also fits me far better than any XS I've tried on.

I'm not down with modulars.  The flipup is just another potential failure point, and I don't find them to have convenience to make the tradeoff worth it.

i bought a full face helmet off ebay new buy it now for 30 bucks and paid 15 to ship it. its the one i use now and its great, as comfy as my bros shoi, and anything dot aproved is safe. look around ebay there are all sorts of off brands and stuff. people often times dont trust cheap helmets but if it passes the same dot tests that the high dollar ones do it must be fine.

Quote from: Roadstergal on August 26, 2008, 12:59:11 PM
I'm not down with modulars.  The flipup is just another potential failure point, and I don't find them to have convenience to make the tradeoff worth it.

Yeah - one more place to break, and just not needed - I don't know how many people have claimed they needed one or an open face "because they wear glasses." I wear glasses, and for the longest time wore glasses with cable-ends that have to be hooked around the ear. The only "problem" with using those on a full face is the mental problem of figuring out that the way to hook them on is to put your finger in beside your neck and come up, not in through the eyehole and back. Easy-peasy.

Quote from: Roadstergal on August 26, 2008, 12:59:11 PM
I'm not down with modulars.  The flipup is just another potential failure point, and I don't find them to have convenience to make the tradeoff worth it.

During my ambulance ride last Thursday the EMS guy in the back was telling me about another guy they transported who was in a motorcycle accident. The EMS guy said he was wearing a modular helmet and the flip-up portion was ripped right off and the guy's face ended up not too pretty because of it.

Quote from: Roadstergal on August 26, 2008, 12:59:11 PM
Fit is absolutely critical.  Different manufacturers fit different heads better or worse, and trying various brands on is the only way to make sure you have the right helmet for you.

+1000 on the fit.  Buy one that fits YOUR head.

As a rider over 50, I don't want a Snell certified helmet.   A recent review proved that Snell spec helmets, while more impact resistant, actually transmit more shock to the brain than some DOT helmets.  A person over 50 has less tolerance for shock -- the helmet may survive that impact but my brain would be jumbled.  I wear the DOT helmet that transmitted the least shock in Motorcycle mag's test a couple of years ago -- the Z1R.  Earplugs keep the wind noise down, it fits my head shape, and it's under $100.