Open or Full Face

Whether to wear an open face or not is totally subjective in the same way as some riders choose to ride flip front hats.

So here is a counter thought. I would rather wear an open faced helmet than a flip front.

I have dealt with more serious injuries, brain injuries and fatalities of riders wearing flip fronts than I ever have with open faced hats, and this is going back nearly 40 years when full face helmets were crap, open faced were the norm and flip fronts had not even been thought of.

A helmet is intended to protect your brain function. Whatever style you wear, by and large they all do that and have to in order to comply with EC22/05 (as well as the old BS6658-85).

A full face will afford a degree of facial protection over an open faced helmet and greater comfort in inclement weather, but that is about it.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you are wearing, but if your impact is hard enough, you are going to die or be left paralysed anyway.

Broken necks are the most common cause of death with riders. A £500 hat or a £30 cheapie is no protection against that.

So, it comes down to personal and individual choice.

Would I wear an open face? Sure I would. When I started, that was all that was available, and when I started on Police bikes that was standard issue.

Would I wear a flip front? You must be joking, No chance. If that all that was available, I would give up riding altogether. (and I was a consultant to one of the big Jap firms to help get their flip front through BSI which is why it was sold as an open face)

I choose to wear a full face and have done since the late 70's on my own bikes, but even they are no guarantee that you are going to walk away from a crash unscathed. Look at my case of Finnis v Cauldfield (2001) which I was the expert on, and the riders head shrunk by about a third on impact allowing the helmet to rotate and come off resulting in serious brain damage to the rider.

So nothing is ever guaranteed.

This is a great response, thank you...Certainly something to think about. Basically, a big enough impact is going to kill you no matter what. I guess if you choose the open face helmet, ride with the attitude that you have an open face helmet on, take it easy, give yourself room, stay alert so that if you do have an impact, its not too big...

Broken necks are the most common cause of death with riders. A £500 hat or a £30 cheapie is no protection against that.

And that's where one of these comes in..

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_cat/1672

Though obviously that won't make you invulnerable.

Broken necks are the most common cause of death with riders. A £500 hat or a £30 cheapie is no protection against that.

 

And that's where one of these comes in..

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_cat/1672

Though obviously that won't make you invulnerable.

My oppo's got one, since he's worn it he's noticed more cagers making effort to get out of his way, he figures the compressed gas pocket on the front is being seen as a CS Gas cannister

I love my open face.

Full Face for me.

[mention]TC1474[/mention] any chance you could point me in the direction of that case you referenced?

The only reference these days is at http://lexisweb.co.uk/cases/2002/october/finnis-v-caulfield-ta-james-car-hire which was in respect of the quantum hearing. Because liability was eventually accepted by the third party, the only document available is my original expert report.

And that's where one of these comes in..

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_cat/1672

Though obviously that won't make you invulnerable.

My oppo's got one, since he's worn it he's noticed more cagers making effort to get out of his way, he figures the compressed gas pocket on the front is being seen as a CS Gas cannister

And the Helite one is excellent and sells itself when you see the demonstration, but it does not prevent a broken neck in a direct impact.

I'm interested too, a flip up actually performs worse than an open face ! Why is that ? Thanks

The chin bar is a natural weak spot and can and does regularly cave in on impact, and the situation I have seen many times is where a rider is choking to death, swallowed their tongue and so on, and the front in has stoved in so much the chin bar cannot be lifted and it cannot be removed.

My old force stopped using them after two friends and former colleagues were killed whilst on duty wearing flip fronts. The issues with them go on, too much to cover here in detail, but because they have EC22/05 self accreditation people will buy them for practical reasons which is understandable.

Where what you feel good in . I wouldnt wear an open lid , cause I'd look fooking stupid on my bike , but if I had a Harley then wearing a full face would look fooking stupid .

And if you were flung from your Harley and landed face first you would look pretty stupid with nothing but a beard and an attitude to stop the road tearing your chin off. As for quad riders the only thing that protects them from brain damage is that the damage has already been done by years of weed smoking. Apologies for this sweeping generalization but where I live this is based on observations.

Where what you feel good in . I wouldnt wear an open lid , cause I'd look fooking stupid on my bike , but if I had a Harley then wearing a full face would look fooking stupid .

 

And if you were flung from your Harley and landed face first you would look pretty stupid with nothing but a beard and an attitude to stop the road tearing your chin off. As for quad riders the only thing that protects them from brain damage is that the damage has already been done by years of weed smoking. Apologies for this sweeping generalization but where I live this is based on observations.

Would never happen cause I would never have a Harley I like washing and my personal hygiene thanks

How many Harley riders do you see with a full face , an open face is part of the Harley ting .

Where what you feel good in . I wouldnt wear an open lid , cause I'd look fooking stupid on my bike , but if I had a Harley then wearing a full face would look fooking stupid .

 

And if you were flung from your Harley and landed face first you would look pretty stupid with nothing but a beard and an attitude to stop the road tearing your chin off. As for quad riders the only thing that protects them from brain damage is that the damage has already been done by years of weed smoking. Apologies for this sweeping generalization but where I live this is based on observations.

 

Would never happen cause I would never have a Harley I like washing and my personal hygiene thanks

How many Harley riders do you see with a full face , an open face is part of the Harley ting .

well seeing as most Harley's spend their time in garages, car parks or on the back of breakdown trucks

And if you were flung from your Harley and landed face first you would look pretty stupid with nothing but a beard and an attitude to stop the road tearing your chin off. As for quad riders the only thing that protects them from brain damage is that the damage has already been done by years of weed smoking. Apologies for this sweeping generalization but where I live this is based on observations.

 

Would never happen cause I would never have a Harley I like washing and my personal hygiene thanks

How many Harley riders do you see with a full face , an open face is part of the Harley ting .

 

well seeing as most Harley's spend their time in garages, car parks or on the back of breakdown trucks

Or in overnight Lorry car parks , suppose the open face helmet is so they can do a quick getaway incase they get caught in the act.

Where what you feel good in . I wouldnt wear an open lid , cause I'd look fooking stupid on my bike , but if I had a Harley then wearing a full face would look fooking stupid .

 

And if you were flung from your Harley and landed face first you would look pretty stupid with nothing but a beard and an attitude to stop the road tearing your chin off. As for quad riders the only thing that protects them from brain damage is that the damage has already been done by years of weed smoking. Apologies for this sweeping generalization but where I live this is based on observations.

What is with that! I can't believe it's legal to ride a quad on the road without a helmet?

The two times I have come off my bike at any sort of speed (20 mph or so), I did the natural thing of putting my arms up to protect my head, so my arms hit the road and my helmet came down on my arms.

My preference is open faced as I find many full faced helmets restrict the view too much. I compromised with a Shark Evoline which I would ride open faced to 30 mph (relying on my experience with using my arms to protect my head) and then the chin bar would come down.

I used it so much it got too grotty to wear any more, so I am mainly using an AGV K3, which had the biggest visor for a full faced helmet of all the ones I tried on at J&S (who have a good range). That is a reasonable compromise.

I also have a Shark Skwal, which I used at night and in the rain as the breath guard and pinlock makes it impossible to steam up. But I only use it occasionally because I have to move my head to see the bikes instruments, the visor is so small.

Some Harley riders did have the good sense to wear a full face. http://i.imgur.com/PrCqwiJ.png

This has peaked my interest, tell me about these quad things...

Do they come with the weed or would I still have to source my own? Combined with no helmet, it all sounds very appealing.

Which, when I had my Electraglide, is something I used to do as I came home across country. I'd take my lid off as I left Daventry and not pop it back on. Again, no kittens died. I never cease to amaze myself by still being alive having not worn all the gear all the time for thirty-seven years.

This has peaked my interest, tell me about these quad things...

Do they come with the weed or would I still have to source my own? Combined with no helmet, it all sounds very appealing.

Which, when I had my Electraglide, is something I used to do as I came home across country. I'd take my lid off as I left Daventry and not pop it back on. Again, no kittens died. I never cease to amaze myself by still being alive having not worn all the gear all the time for thirty-seven years.

You are actually dead Mawsley. This is your idea of heaven; taking part in Internet discussions about motorcycle health and safety.

Which, when I had my Electraglide, is something I used to do as I came home across country. I'd take my lid off as I left Daventry and not pop it back on. Again, no kittens died. I never cease to amaze myself by still being alive having not worn all the gear all the time for thirty-seven years.

Just for you Mawsley

Stuff helmets! Remember the good old days before seatbelts? Almost no-one suffered whiplash! Quite a few more were catapulted through their windscreens though..

You are actually dead Mawsley. This is your idea of heaven; taking part in Internet discussions about motorcycle health and safety.

If that's the case then it's far more likely this is the other place - I'll not be getting in upstairs.

This has been a really interesting insight. Most people who have responded have said a full face helmet, pretty much all the time, and it has certainly swayed me to wearing me on my trip next weekend. Long journey, unfamiliar roads etc, wear all the gear!!!

What is interesting me though is the custom bike scene/hipster scene has really taken off over the last couple of years. I have a genuine interest in it also, thus the reason I wear an open face sometimes on my Guzzi Griso. All the adverts you see in mags like Built and in the Bikeshed, most people seem to be wearing open face helmets. Now is this just propaganda to entice us into the free spirit of motorcycle, or are helmet companies genuinely making enough money out of a product that from this discussion alone, would suggest is substandard and not safe

Back in time, when my father was first going out with my mother and they would ride out on his motorbike, she would wear his sheepskin jacket, but she was happy not to bother with a helmet.

It is quite an interesting one really. Like TC said the helmet is to prevent a major head injury but it's gonna do nothing for a broken neck.

So in that regard I suppose the open face/full face argument comes down to preference and how you view it.

I fear though like you mentioned that the whole hipster scene has had a great bearing on how people want to "look" on a motorcycle. Really although most people like the feeling of being on a bike and just enjoy riding, there is a degree of vanity in it as well. You choose motorcycles that you like the look off first and foremost and then after trying them through test rides or what not you make further informed decisions on which one to take home. Same with just about EVERYTHING that is purchased really I suppose.

So with that in mind I suppose that the look of the open face on something like a Harley, or something more classic looking unlike a sports bike or whatnot, plays a large part in what lid you choose to ride with.

I don't wear this to look cool, that's just one of the hazards of being this goddam sexy, I wear this because I prefer to feel wind hitting my face and not claustrophobic.

Full face all the way. Being smacked in the teeth by a branch is NOT a fun experience.

When the riding is not ferocious, which for me is the most of the times, I prefer to give priority to the visibility with this one: http://www.hjchelmets.eu/open-face/30-fg-jet.html#/models-acadia