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Cruiser
Posts: 88
Nova Scotia , Canada | Has any one purchased and is using a Victory carbon fibre full face helmet? What are your thoughts on them? Are they worth the money? My wife and I are looking at the full face helmets to try and extend our riding season a bit in the spring and fall. The local dealer has a couple that fit and is willing to let them go at a reasonable price compared to other carbon fibre helmets similar in appearance, the problem is that similar in appearance does not mean similar in comfort and protection. So I was interested in receiving any feedback before investing.
Don
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1158
Richmond, Virginia | I saw them at my dealership. In all honesty, the only thing that makes them unique is the carbon fiber finish. Take that away and its just another
plain full helmet. I think the price was somewhere 300.00 give or take. There are IMHO better more unique helmets out there on the market that have better features, fit, comfort etc. If they only reason it appeals to you is that its a carbon fiber exterior then you would be happy, other then that zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Check out the Shark Evoline full flip helmet. Several of us on here own them. Now THAT is a unique helmet
that is not only multi functional, but its style looks like it was designed specifically for the Vision. Good Luck | |
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Cruiser
Posts: 88
Nova Scotia , Canada | Thanks for the input, I have never used a full face helmet and was a little concerned about the weight, and thus the reason to move towards the carbon fibre. I will have a look on line for the shark Evoline. It has been a while sense we have seen some updated pictures of your bike, any to share?
Thanks Don | |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 785
Mt. Vernon, WASH. | I sort of covered this subject in another post, I used to teach CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reenforced Plastic) to new hires @ Boeing who were headed for the new 787 program. CFRP is incredibly tough and strong while much lighter, a 6 inch square of the stuff around 1/4 inch thick is half the weight of aluminum (Correl plate vs. clay based plate is a good 'heft' test) and twice as strong as steel. It's very tough and resiliant (it would have to be if they're building an airliner out of it that's guaranteed for 30 years against failure). I've got a CFRP half bucket and it is around half the weight of conventional 'glass helmets. It's very resiliant and will deform quite a bit without cracking or fracturing (there's YOUTUBE video of the wing flex tests on the 787 where the wing tips go up around 30 feet without failure). It's biggest enemy is UV A and UV B on bare CFRP because the UV will degrade the matrix that binds the fibres together, so ask about a 'touch up' clearcoat bottle like you'd get if you bought a CFRP bicycle (or swing by the local bike shop). Your biggest issue could be loose fibre strands which are very, very small in diameter and hurt like you can't believe if you get one in your finger, so get in the practice of using a cloth to wipe off the helmet rather than your bare hand. To get a strand out, (and get it out immediately as the strand will work into your finger and rate you a trip to the Doctor to have it removed after a couple of days) use an XACTO type blade and scrape the surface of your finger. And DONOT pull a loose strand on the helmet!! it'll go all the way across the helmet like the loose thread that used to hold the sleeve on your shirt before you pulled it, cut(gently!) a loose strand and clearcoat the area.
This isn't meant to scare anyone, the stuff is incredible, and when handled properly, is indestructable. But, like any helmet, if you do have a 'get off' and clobber the helmet, retire it as like every other helmet it's not worth the risk of a compromised helmet.
Once they figure out how to unravel NANOTUBES of carbon, CFRP will become 'that old heavy stuff' but that's a few years away right now. I'd say buy the helmet, you'll notice the weight difference at the end of a long day.
Edited by SYNSTR 2011-02-26 9:55 AM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1158
Richmond, Virginia | After I crashed my bike end of October last fall, its been at the dealership all winter waiting for Victory to get up off their "lack of good customer service" and get me all the parts my tech needs to replace. Not to mention after having my lower leg plated and screwed ive been in physical therapy 2x weekly for the last 3.5 months to teach my leg how to work. Its been a rough road with more pain then I have ever felt in my life. I got mixed responses from friends and family from "you know you gotta get back on it" to " well, people who drive motorcycles get what they deserve" etc etc.
The bike sustained only cosmetic damage nothing structural or engine related which was good, but because I have custom painted skins, that took the winter to get ordered, painted and finally shipped this week. I should have the bike back in a couple more weeks. I'd be lying if i said I wasnt
a combination of nervous/fearful and excited and anxious. In all my motorcycle years, I have never dropped or wrecked a bike before much less
broke a bone or have surgery etc. So this was a big deal for me. I think if I didnt love my bike and the mental freedom it brings me as well as the
great personal group of friends I have who all share this with me, I would have walked away from it, but no one grows or experiences life and its rewards by playing it safe and living within their own box of fear. | |
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Cruiser
Posts: 88
Nova Scotia , Canada | VP, I didn?t realize you hadn?t received your bike back after the crash, I knew it was a while ago, and that is why I was asking about seeing some pictures. SYNSTR thanks for the information on the carbon fibre helmets, I think we will head in that direction, I just don?t know what make as yet
Don
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Cruiser
Posts: 228
| VaParadox - 2011-02-26 6:05 PM
After I crashed my bike end of October last fall, its been at the dealership all winter waiting for Victory to get up off their "lack of good customer service" and get me all the parts my tech needs to replace. Not to mention after having my lower leg plated and screwed ive been in physical therapy 2x weekly for the last 3.5 months to teach my leg how to work. Its been a rough road with more pain then I have ever felt in my life. I got mixed responses from friends and family from "you know you gotta get back on it" to " well, people who drive motorcycles get what they deserve" etc etc.
The bike sustained only cosmetic damage nothing structural or engine related which was good, but because I have custom painted skins, that took the winter to get ordered, painted and finally shipped this week. I should have the bike back in a couple more weeks. I'd be lying if i said I wasnt
a combination of nervous/fearful and excited and anxious. In all my motorcycle years, I have never dropped or wrecked a bike before much less
broke a bone or have surgery etc. So this was a big deal for me. I think if I didnt love my bike and the mental freedom it brings me as well as the
great personal group of friends I have who all share this with me, I would have walked away from it, but no one grows or experiences life and its rewards by playing it safe and living within their own box of fear.
After reading your post and the part about you felling fearful /anxious about getting back on your bike please know these feelings are normal.
In 1995 I hit an eight point whitetail deer (headlight to the ribcage) at 60 mph. Killed the deer, totaled the bike, broke some of my ribs and bruised me up pretty good. Thank God that Kawasaki Voyager XII was built like an Abrams tank and took all the impact.
It was almost six months before I got back on another bike. My getoff happened in October so I didn't look for a bike untill the next spring. On that first ride the crash kept playing back in my mind but after about 10 minutes I realized it was all good. That feeling actually brought tears to my eyes. People that don't ride truly don't understand the emotions and good feelings that being a biker brings to the table. I will be a biker untill the day I die!!
So to you, VaParadox, go ride! After a while it will all be good!! | |
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Carbon Fibre Helmets