Helmets question for riders with many different bikes.

[jwalz1]

I am looking at getting another helmet and doing my research.  I have a Scorpion EXO700 right now and am totally fine with it.  The reviews from owners tend to classify it as a noisy helmet, but I do not notice too much, but in all honesty it is the only helmet I have ever owned.  Another helmet I am looking at, a Nolan Modular 104 is also complained about as a noisy helmet. 

So this brings me to the question:  For those of you who have had different helmets and bikes, is the noise problem more of an issue on bikes that do not have a windshield like that on the Downtown?   The noise I notice in my current helmet seems to be no big deal and I'd be fine with a helmet that there are noise complaints about IF the windshield on the Dowtown makes the concern kind of meaningless as opposed to a naked motorcycle.   

I have no experience with a windshield-less bike on the freeway and wonder if that is where the noise complaints come from because behind the Downtown's windshield, my "noisy" helmet does not seem to be a big deal at all and I have had the bike to up to 80 plus.

The Nolan helmet seems to get high marks from the SHARP safety rating system, is not too expensive, and offers lots of features but gets some complaints of a little noise.  My other option is the Shoei  Neo-Tec which gets the same rating, is considered quiet, but twice the price.  Is a windshield a HUGE limiting factor in helmet noise?

[MaryK]

Helmet noise does vary from bike to bike.  My DH has 2 bikes and 2 helmets.
He says that each one is paired to a certain bike and results in less noise.
The bikes are a standard UJM Nighthawk with a moderate windshield and a sports bike with a small windscreen.

On my scooter, I have noticed very little noise with my HJC CL-16.

Scoot safely,

[Vivo]

"Noise" is relative... Some noise is irritating or a big deal to some people and doesnt matter to some... I wish they will come up with a measurement standard for helmet noise...

[houndguy]

My first helmet was a older Fulmer full face helmet.  It seemed very quiet to my newer (and more expensive) Shoei helmet.

The other posters are right, "noise" is in the ear of the beholder.  In my case the commute is the same, the only difference is the bike and the helmet.  I'm not sure what the cause would be, and at times it seems worse than other times.  So I got to figure that out. 

[mnpugdog]

So there's no getting around the fact that motorcycle riding creates high noise levels. There is no such thing as a quiet helmet, period. Noise levels over 85 dB or so can damage hearing, and a motorcycle idles around 80 dB.

So once you're moving and the wind is adding to the sound volume, you're into dangerous noise levels which can permanently damage your hearing. A motorcycle ride just isn't worth losing your hearing; noise levels can reach 115 dB or more, which can permanently damage hearing within 15 minutes.

So always wear hearing protection. I went out and had custom made ear plugs. Unlike the cheap disposable ones you can get, I can wear these for hours on end without discomfort, and have.

There are basically two noises, a whistle and a roar. The whistle is from smooth flow over little features like the vents and the visor edges and the roar is from messy flow over big features like your shoulders and the bottom lip.
You want the wind coming off the windshield to hit well above the bottom of the helmet. This is what causes the roar.
They don't design helmets with windscreens in mind, I think.
Look for a helmet with a "skirt" by your chin. Scorpion sells these as an add-on, I have a HJC Symax3 with one.
Look for a helmet without a lot of doodads on top - especially ones that face forward. These cause the whistle.
Look for a helmet with a "deep" chin. The lower it goes down the better.
Look for a helmet whose visor seals. (Scorpion EXO-400 for example DOES NOT.) Also helpful in the rain! DAMHIK
If none of this works, you can fix it the same way you fix rattles in your car - by turning the radio up

[Vivo]

This o.k.?

[jwalz1]

Thanks for the responses, but I guess I should be more clear on what I am asking.  Since the Downtown is the only bike I have ridden at highway speed my helmet with a reputation for being "noisy" does not seem to be to me. 

Is this because I have a high tolerance or does a bike with a windscreen the size of a Downtown cut the turbulence around the riders head enough where it is not a factor, but on a "naked" bike with no windscreen my same helmet, now subjected to more airflow would be noisy?   In other words, do those who ride or have ridden other bikes find that a helmet you wear on the Downtown seems fine, but when you use the same helmet on a different bike with less of a windscreen it is a problem?

If the answer is that the windscreen provides enough protection in general that all helmets are not going to be that bad, then this Nolan helmet I am looking at with a moderate noise reputation may be a decent pick after all.  If windscreens don't seem to make a difference in noise level, than I may have to shell out for the Shoei.  Both Helmets get a four out of five star rating from SHARP which is very high for a modular.

I suppose I should also add, I am not tall at 5'6" and so my head is probably lower above the windscreen them most and with my current helmet, I have never had noise even approach uncomfortable.  I have seen the skirts for helmets and it is standard on the new Shoei I am looking at, but honestly, I would think the bottom of my helmet sits below the top of the windscreen when I ride so the airflow goes mostly over the top of my head.

[Vivo]

Different riders, different tolerances... also there are different kinds of noise... low, mid, high.... So, I think it really depends on several factors...  even head position can mean a lot... tilt your head a bit up, down, left, or right may create or lessen noise on some helmets... wind direction would be another, speed of bike, etc. etc. etc.... even some windscreens are noisy....  If you  are considering good branded helmets, I think the issue of noise is really not an issue.... good luck on your purchase,,

[Cortez]

I went crazy because of noise on my first bike and my first year of riding, on a 2007 kawasaki 650r (er6f).
Changed the windscreen.

Then went from a $120 IXS to a $500 Schuberth helmet because most reviews say they're the most quiet
helmets on the market.

I've tried a lot of different bikes and scoots since then, have 5 helmets (I think), and Downtown has the
worse noise & turbulence out of them all. I'm 5'11" (180cm). I changed the windscreen on the Downtown
too, just because of that, even with the Schuberth.

A Nolan flip-up (N102) was the noisiest helmet that I tried, and every single generation they say they
improved on the noise vastly (since 101 to 104) and it still gets bashed for the noise.

I also liked the Shoei Multitec (flip-up).

My Schuberth is also a flip up, a now discontinued C2 (can be found cheap).

Wind noise on naked bikes is the most pleasant.
I'd take clean air and no turbulence over a sh**ty windscreen any day (and let's face it, 90%
of bikes are designed to look good, not to be perfectly aerodynamic).

Sharp lines like the ones on the Downtown are rather bad for that.
Look at a Suzuki Hayabusa - that's aerodynamic and quiet (and ugly).

Want silence?
Remove the windscreen or use a HUGE windscreen + schuberth helmet + ear plugs.
You will hear NOTHING.

[duesouth]

Ditto to what Cortez says. I have two bikes (owned lots of others), one with a screen (The DT, both Bondi, and stock screens) and one without, and a few others. And 5 different helmets. If you're pretty well protected behind the windscreen it's quiet. If you have a crappy windscreen, it's worse than a nice clean airstream without a screen, regardless of helmet.

Get the hemet you like. Sound will becomes more of an issue if you do long trips (or are sensitive to sound which it sounds like you are not), and then I'd agree with the above post, get hearing protection. I have an expensive helmet (Full faced) that was rated good on sound protection, and a cheeper (3/4) one that shouldn't be good, but is quieter. 

I have a modular helmet too, weight gets to be more of an issue than sound for me with that, don't use it very much because of it. Most modular helmets are not rated to ride flipped up. Meaning, it really only buys the ability open up the chin when your stopped. Been a year since I looked, there may be more now, but something to be aware of.

[Cortez]

There's been a flood of new flip ups in the past year or two that are homologated as both integrals and 3/4, and
the chin bar usually rotates all the way to the back of the helmet.

Web Bike World . com is a good source for helmet reviews, they address fitting to the type of
head, and noise on all helmets.

[mnpugdog]

,You should wear hearing protection period, no matter what helmet, bike or windscreen you have. I have lost almost half my hearing from working on an ambulance and the noise the siren makes is about the same as the wind going past a helmet at speed.