Modern Vespa

I have a 50cc ET2, which I will upgrade to 70cc this spring.

I am having a hard time deciding between full face or open face with flip up shield. I know full face is safer, and I know there are lots of hardliners here with full body armor and full face helmets, but I'm riding a 50cc, not a 250, and in reality, I rarely see a full face on a scoot.

So - which would you buy for a 50cc bike?

(By the way - the full face I would buy would be the HJC CL-SP.)

Although I dont always listen to myself, I voted full face.

Just do a web search for motorcycle accident pics and video and you will see why anything other than a DOT full face is really foolish.

But cruising to the beach, I gotta get the full experience and look cool

I would buy the one that you like. After all , it is for your own head.

We were talking about this in the "helmet on ebay" thread a few days ago. It is without a doubt that a full face provides the best protection. However, for me it came down to my glasses and comfort. I figured if I wasn't comfortable wearing the helmet, I might skip it - once, twice and ultimate not wear one and thus loose any protection. So, I decided to go with the helmet that fit me and my needs the best - but that still provided a good deal of protection.

Above all else - do the research and pick the helmet that works for you.

Dustin

I voted full face, which in my case is a modular.

I also have a Nolan jet helmet with a flip up visor too. Great helmet. But I just don't wear it anymore in favor of my full face.

By the way, a crash at 40mph on a 50cc is no different than a 40mpg crash on a 250cc.

I made the switch to full face just about a year ago and can't even begin to tell you the benefits I've found using the full face vs the 3/4 one I replaced. Wind noise is cut dramatically; I can hear traffic around me much better. Road grit and debris doesn't hit you in the face.

The only downside is a bigger blind spot (easily fixed by turning your head and looking).

Go into your local bike shop and try on, try on and try on and find one that fits you comfortably.

I haven't read all the posts yet but crashing at 25mph on hard pavement will still break your face. Full face all the time...you can open vents and open up the face shield but you still have lower jaw protection. I have ridden in 100 degrees in Tulsa Humidity Oklahoma and still only full face for me.

Yeah, we call this the "lifesaver" in England. A good habit to get into before you undertake any manoveure, IMO.

I've been wearing a FF helmet for so long I would feel unprotected without it so I voted FF.

I purchased a 3/4 helmet with shield when I bought my first Vespa LX 150 last spring. I feel safe with it, although wind noise can get quite loud and you do get hit by the occasional piece of debris or dirt. I do a fair bit of commuting on country roads (1-2hr). I am considering a second FF helmet for safety reasons, bad weather riding and to increase overall comfort on longer rides - especially in colder weather. I'm not sure I'd want to be wearing a FF while scooting around town during the summer.

I like to be able to kiss my wife and talk so I wear (and voted for) full-face.

Your head, your choice. I wore a 3/4 helmet when I started on a 50cc. I wear fullface on motorcycles and all kinds of scooters now. Finding one that fits is a pain, making yourself wear it all the time until you get used to it is a pain. Now, I would never ride without it. It is not less comfortable than a smaller helmet, just different. Many people that don't "like" FF have not worn one for long periods. (Meaning more than one or two rides to 7-11.) It is cool in the summer with the vents and visor open, it has saved me from bees and rocks in the face, I am "safer" feeling, so I pay more attention to my ride and less to how I look. I live in California, we have all kinds of weather here, I have always been comfortable in my FF.

Fullface flip-up... an HJC, if I remember correctly (I peeled all the stickers off and put my own on).

Don't skimp on this... the asphalt doesn't care what you fall off of.

If you can make another button that chooses all three, I'd vote. I tend to mix it up depending on the weather and my general mood.

Now folks,you know the rules applying to helmet debates....
Please observe them..

Thanks,
Da Management.

As a person with the same questions, I appreciate the conversation. I had been pretty ready to go for a 3/4, but now I'm thinking about the full face, or maybe even both, for different riding situations, Von Dizzle said.

I voted FF. Got mine last spring, aftrer wearing ¾ w/ shield, although, twenty years ago I had a FF when I had motorcycles. Convinced my wife to wear FF, too. She was adamantly against it, claiming she'd get clausterphobic. She wore it around the house for several nights to get used to it, before going out riding. Now she won't leave home without it.

As far as 50cc vs 250cc... your head is about the same distance from the ground on either one. Gravity doesn't care how big your motor is.

Just get a modular full-face helmet... The same chin and face protection as a full face, with the added on ability to flip up the face guard if you need to eat or drink or talk into a speakerphone on your ride (after pulling over of course) without unstrapping your helmet.

On the downside, they're heavier, generally a bit noisier and depending on the model, may be susceptible to "rolling off" your head more than a standard full-facer.

All the same I've been perfectly happy with my HJC CL-MAX modular helmet (it is a noisy at highway speeds but most of my riding is local).

PS -- I love the handle and the avatar, Mr. Met! What're you doing all the way out west in Colorado, the Mets don't get there until July 2nd this year!

I agree; the "50cc" part of this query shouldn't even be a consideration. Anyone who thinks they're somehow less at risk on a smaller scoot is in denial or just trying to justify their decisions and behaviors.

Regardless of which helmet you choose, that choice should be based on an honest assessment of the risks. You can have a fatal (or even just face-breakingly injurious) crash at under 40mph.

Just today at lunchtime, I saw a bike messenger in Manhattan wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet. I thought that was a bit odd, usually they're wearing just the "beanie" style of bicycle helmet if they're wearing any helmet at all.

Then I saw him reach his destination building, lock up his bike and take his helmet off. He had a pretty big scar -- you guessed it -- running along his jaw and up to the middle of his cheek on the right side.

Long story, robardin, but let it be known I'm true to my roots!

I have tickets for July 4 already - can't wait!

I fell off wearing an open face. I slid down the road on my chin. Unbelievably, the peak from my helmet unclipped from the lid as I hit the ground and slid under my chin. Instead of wearing my chin away I slid down the road on the peak! I'll never be tha lucky again. I bought an open face lid the week after! Having said this, I still wear the open face lid when pootling around the shops

It's weird. If I wear anything other than a full face I look like I am about to be launched out of a cannon.

MY feelings exactly......

Jim, you want to be able to kiss IrishTim's wife?



Ha, sorry, couldn't resist.

I prefer a good full face helmet, since you are going much faster then, lets just say, a bicycle.... 35-40mph is pretty fast, and you dont want to have your brains all over the road. Ive heard plenty of horror stories, like how this one guy that wasnt wearing a full face helm and he flew off his bike when he hit a curb... hes now in the hospital and the doctor says that he is probrably going to have a mental state of a three year old... so no matter what kind of helmet you get, get a good one, you dont want to become a vegitable... a 50cc wont go all that fast but it still can kill you if you dont have a helmet on

Thanks all - I ordered a FF HCJ helmet today... AND a lightly armored jacket and gloves.

When I first bought my vespa, I thought anything other than a dorky 'scooter helmet' would look like overkill. After experiencing flying debris one too many times, I bought a Nolan modular. At first it felt really claustrophobic, but now I wouldn't go anywhere without it.

BENEFIT OF 3/4 AND HALF-HELMETS

I wear a full-face on the highway and a 3/4 or half in the city. We all know the benefis of the full-face for protection but there are benefits to the 3/4 and half helmets. Specifically, when I am wearing an open-face helmet I find that cars often defer to me as if I were a bicyclist. Pedestrians and automobile drivers tend to look directly at the face, consider me a person, and acknowledge my presence. Whereas with a full-face you are percieved as a 'vehicle' rather than a person (call it the Star Wars Storm Trooper effect).

I voted full-face. When we first bought our scooters, we bought 3/4 helmets because we thought the full face would look "weird" on a scooter. However, I teach physics and as such, I am aware that the Law of Inertia and the Law of Conservation of Momentum do not have exceptions for scooter riders Should have known better from the beginning, I suppose. Anyway, as soon as I was comfortable enough on two wheels to go on major streets at fairly high speeds (45 - 50 mph), my desire to protect my face overcame my need to avoid the "dorkiness" factor of looking like a storm trooper on a 150 cc bike. I now completely embrace the idea of the visual dichotomy between my scoot and my helmet. My dream is to get a stereo system installed on my scoot so I can play "hells bells" everytime I start her up.

As an added bonus, I find the full face helmet (besides protecting my face from dust and debris) actually musses up my hair less than the 3/4.

I've had a few tumbles in the past.

First tumble was without a helmet in Italy (No helmet laws) where I was
extremely lucky and walked away with just a few scrapes on my hands,
Also I was very lucky to quickly get out of the way of a marble truck that was behind me.

Second tumble was with a 3/4 helmet where I swerved to miss a Jay walker
and I wiped out on streetcar tracks, I managed to slide to a nice stop on the
side of the bike, Walked away without a scratch that time.

Third tumble was with a 3/4 helmet on streetcar tracks in front of a dump truck,
Lucky I was able to get up and out of the way in time.

Fourth tumble was with a full face, I took a corner too fast and managed
to wipe out on some sand, Nice fireworks display as my bike slid out from
under me and then slid across the intersection, Luckily the cars had
stopped for a red light, Walked away unhurt but the fairing was destroyed.

Fifth tumble was with a full face, My throttle got stuck on my BMW 650
and when I put it in neutral and let go of the clutch...The bike slipped into gear,
I flew off the back unhurt and my bike started doing a nice pogo hop up
and down as it was trying to climb a brick wall, I got up and quickly ran
over and flicked the kill switch. ($3500. worth of damage, Turned out it
was the dealers fault, They didn't tune it up before giving it to me and the
insurance company paid for the damages)

After this point...I haven't had anymore spills, I'm now into my third
scooter and knock on wood...No more spills have happened since 1988.

But in anycase...Get a full face, Get a really good one.

Dave

I use 2 helmets depending on the weather and the distance or location of the ride. Both helmets are BMW - a System 4 full face (lift up chin piece) and a cruiser open face with leather trim. I do agree with Dudel regarding the eye contact, cars definately make better eye contact when they can see your face.

I voted FF helmet. I am in the market to replace my flip up/modular helmet. Since I started wearing it, I would feel weird without that extra protection regardless of what I was riding. If a car hits you, it will not make a difference if you're on a 50cc or 500cc scooter. Safety is number one.

Since january this year I nearly always wear a FF Arai, but occasionally wear an open face Davida if I'm just popping down to the shops a mile away. Prior to this I always wore an open face. For me the main thing that's changed is that I have 2 young children and a wife and feel the downsides of Toreador Pants are far outweighed by the safety advantages. On a separate but related note, in the last year a colleague injured his leg in low speed brush with a car when filtering and nearly lost his leg - had it in a sort of external cage for months. And my close friend's neighbour had a low speed tussle with a lorry and has had his leg amputated at the pelvis as a result. 2 weeks ago I bought some armoured trousers and last week bought some short motorcycle boots and now wear all the gear on my 20 mile daily round commute through London. Sorry to go on a bit but I'm having my 40th birthday party tomorrow night so am not drinking tonight and hence a little sactimonious. Be safe.

full face since 1989, but I went that way because of comfort (cold weather) and looks (the open faced at the time were too Evil Kneivel for me).

Oh and yes, I'll openly admit that I miss riding without a helmet on occassion. But heck, here in California the helmet debate is irrelevant as the law is strict.

Finally wear what you like, know the drawbacks and positives to it and go for it.

Sorry, I just thought of a question. I have read that if you drop a helmet (accident or not) you should 1) x-ray it and 2) probably buy a new one. Does anyone really do this?