I just got an e-mail from Bob Zecca at Team DI. Apparently they have open-face Zamp helmets, SA2010, for under $150. (You do NOT want to know what I paid for my Arai!) Click here. This is not a plug of Zamp or Team DI, it is merely a public service in case there's anybody else out there who hates spending big bucks for a helmet I use half a dozen times a year. I'll try to post this elsewhere, too.
Now I see the reason why we don't let you into the BMW MOA. You spend big bucks on the car, then go el-cheapo on the safety equipment. I see a Harley Davidson in your future. Might as well get started on designing your tats
I'm not sure my $400-plus Arai qualifies as el-cheapo, but you do have a point, especially when it comes to two-wheelers. Back when I worked at a motorcycle dealership—long before any laws required helmets—we used to say, "A ten-dollar helmet's fine, if you have a ten-dollar head." Back then, I raced wearing a Bell Star, the first full-face helmet, which had to be special-ordered with a variety of head measurements.I still prefer a closed-face helmet for bikes, an open-face helmet for cars. Over the years, most of my helmets have been Bell Magnums or flip-up Nolans, since I never got around to buying the Schuberth J1 when I was in Europe (you can't get them here, alas). If I were running Targa Tasmania or Targa Newfoundland, my co-driver and I would be wearing Peltors—I already have about $800 in the Peltor intercom system. But for occasional autocross or driving-school use, I would certainly consider any helmet with a Snell Foundation certificate. And once you have a choice of approved helmets, why would you not consider price? After all, I didn't buy the Arai over a Simpson because it was somehow safer at three times the price, I bought it because it was comfortable enough to wear for a dozen driving-school sessions, and I could tell that the on-sale Simpson would not feel as good. I hated my last Bell Magnum because it tried to wear a hole in my forehead after about two minutes. That's not Bell's fault, it's the shape of my head—but I would not wear a hat like that again if it was free. Nor would I wear a letter-of-the-law pudding bowl with a DOT sticker hastily slapped on the back, and before I would ride a Hardly-Davidson, I would eat bugs. And my tattoos are nobody's business!
Peace, Dear Editor, Peace. I can see by your resume of helmets, that you are wise in many ways and old enough to have experienced the fabled Bell Star. Alas, I'm too young to lay claim to ownership of a Bell Star, but I did own a few of that brand before production was transferred to Italy. Mine is not an Arai head, but one that finds happiness in either a Shoei or HJC. Life is too short to live with that red dot on the forehead and the head ache. Is Simpson now cheaper than the Arai and Shoei? In the mid 80's they were a premiere brand but later dropped out of the motorcycle market. Time passes........
I used the Magnum before I had a crash and saw what the pavement did to the flat shield and snaps and how close that rash came to my chin. Then I had an original Star before the Star 120 came out. After the 120 I had the BMW System 1 from Schuberth. Now I'm a fan of Nolan flips as an eye-glass wearer for motorcycling, but Bell M-series Snell version is my track helmet cause I just don't like an open-face anymore, even in a car.
