| Author | Message | ||
     Jamie |
I'm looking at the Buell Bold Helmets at the dealer. Are they any good? Anyone like or dislike them? | ||
| Swordsman |
Nah, don't buy Buell branded helmets... they're all just rebadged with a higher pricetag. Last time I looked, the Buell helmets were actualy KBC. ~SM | ||
| Court |
Hogwash. Buell has never, nor will they ever, invest the millions of dollars to become a helmet manufacturer. Guess what, Porsche is next never to knit those nifty comforters the dealers give away as gifts either. Buell helmets are excellent helmets. They all meet, as a condition of Buell licensing, all the applicable safety standards. You can bet your butt that they'll likely cost a few more bucks than you'd buy the same helmet, unbadged for. If you want to get a sense of value, go buy the helmet, send it to a quality painter and add the two costs together. I'm confident you'll find the Buell helmet is reasonably priced. Helmets are a largely subjective thing. You'll be looking for safety first, comfort next and finally style and hopefully elements #1 and #2 go hand in hand. Try different ones and decide for yourself. Court | ||
| Fez |
Court, the real problem is that the helmet vendors they choose tend to be lower quality manufacturers. KBC is one of the worst for fit and finish and noise and weight and just about anything else besides price. it might be safe, but if it isnt also comfortable, well made, relatively quiet, i wont wear it. after my wreck, i was in the market for a new helmet and looked at the Buells. i would love to get one, but i wont pay any sort of premium for a KBC helmet. maybe if i was flat broke and could find one in the closeout bin, then i might consider a KBC helmet. now if they re-painted (and even co-branded) a shoei, or arai or suomy, i would have been all over a buell helmet. and yes, i realize that this would have doubled or tripled the cost of the buell helmets, but i would rather pay more money for a good helmet than less for crap. you can put a pretty dress on a pig, but in the end, its still a pig. (Message edited by fez on July 02, 2007) | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Nope, they should re-brand a Scorpion helmet IMHO. GREAT quality. Good fit(just like an arai quantum), etc.. For the same $$ as KBC. | ||
| Court |
Talk to me. Tell me:
Humans make these decisions and one of the amazing things that we, as Buell owners, ge to do, is TALK to the folks who decide. You have my e-mail. Send me the information and although the guy will be gone Thursday, I'll write the entire background up and leave it on his desk with a summary. JUST DO IT. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Court, way ahead of ya... I've already spoken to Bruce about them using Scorpions in the future  | ||
| Interex2050 |
Adding scorpion to the Buell line of helmets would be a fantastic idea! I personally do not use them, but a friend of mine does. He likes it, fit/noise levels etc... But it has one of the cheapest paint jobs that I have ever seen (I could do better with water colors) He dropped his key on his helmet and well the impact took out a nice dime sized chip out of the paint, revealing the white helmet shell... So I have faith that Buell would resolve that problem. Also Buell carries/carried an AGV helmet too, although it was the GP1 (still a great helmet, for the price its really hard to beat). | ||
| Ikeman |
I've got one of the H-D branded helmets and yes, it's an AGV. Pretty comfortable, fits me well, not too heavy but a bit on the noisy side. Best $100 helmet I ever bought. YMMV | ||
| Blake |
My Buell helmet, the one that saved my noggin when I crashed, was a very nice Shoei model. | ||
| Terribletim |
I have one of them H-D ones for when I ride the H-D. It is really noisy! Could be because it's a half-helmet, I'm really not sure, just a guess.  | ||
| Rex |
I have several buell helmets. all good quality...r.ex | ||
| Fez |
Oh sure Court, i guess you didnt know, i dont solve problems, i just point them out! well, here goes. what i would like to see is an inexpensive helmet with very little wind noise at highway speeds on a bike without a wind screen, very stable in the wind (i.e. does not whip your head around when you go to look over your shoulder), a good optically correct, easily replaceable visor, lightweight, and vents like it has AC. yeah, i know... as i see it, buell has quite a bit of helmet overlap. two helmets at the $225 price point (looks like the same shell with different graphics) and one at $165. i can see the purpose of a cheaper helmet to fill that niche, and trying to keep one in the sub $250 range would be a good idea. I dont know anything about the scorpions, but HJC is known to make some better quality mid price helmets so maybe an HJC or Bell in this range. whoever is responsible could ask for samples of a few helmets that would work and test them to find the best compromise of cost, noise, weight and venting. or just read reviews on webbikeworld.com they have bought and reviewed many helmets there. but i also think they should then cover a different price point, like the $400 - $500. at this point a group of helmets from the bigger manufacturers should be tested to see what offers the best combination. or they could try and import some of the helmets that arent sold in the states, like the Schuberth or Roof Boxer V. of course a lack of DOT or Snell testing would make it more troublesome to use a euro helmet. personally for my new helmet i chose a shoei TZ-R in matte black. they retail for $320 or so, probably could be re-badged and sold for less than $400. | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
I bought one of H/D's FXRG helmets when I started riding. It's really a Carbon Fiber HJC they did a little badging and striping on and tacked on an extra $150. I've since then covered all the H/D badging with stickers. Live and learn. Good helmet though. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I believe Carlos skidded his noggin in a Buell helmet and replaced it with another Buell helmet. I have an Arai and won't buy another. For nearly $500 the quality should be much better. For the price Arai and Shoei would require, I would never buy a Buell marketed model. I plan to replace helmets about every 5 years. $500 bucks every five years isn't very much, but it ain't cheap. Helmets are insurance policies. Sometimes you never use them and end up exchanging one unused "policy" for another (with better styling and features  ). I will be looking at the Scorpion EXO-1000 when it comes out. I've got some time. There might be something else out there even better down the road. I would just like to see Buell helmets and equipment mirror the parts and accessories for the bikes: great value for a great price. I don't see spending extra for nothing more than a name. | ||
| Soloyosh |
I love my EX0-700. Way better than my Arai RX7 Corsair. Quiet, no-fog that actually works, easy shield change. The only thing better would be not chaging the shield at all. Enter the EXO-1000. I think Scorpion sells light sensitive shields as well (no anti-fog coating though). | ||
| Bueaddicted |
I also agree with the Scorpion helmets. I have an EXO700 Yellow Rivet and I love it, although I find it a bit louder at around 70mph. 2nd movie shows it... http://home.comcast.net/~prferr/Movies.htm | ||
| Rainman |
Now that you opened the worm can, Court, I don't mind the current Buell line as seen at my local dealer, but I like my helmets to be fairly solid, bright colors (my current is a white Shoei) just because the brighter colors are easier to see. Something that matches the barricade orange or the red (can't remember the official name) of the XB12Ss would work for me. I'm priced out of the Shoei market now. I can't justify $400 to $500 when equal protection can be had for less, at least not until the kids are out of college in 6 years. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
What you'd like to see Good choices of colors, unique designs, color matched to the bikes each year. Full face and modular. Have three price ranges of helmets to choose from. Affordable helmet communication systems. What brands Scorpion, Nolan, Arai/Shoei/Suomy What you feel is a reasonable price range $200 - $600 How often you replace helmets Every two or three years. | ||
| Daves |
I've crashed in 2 Buell helmets I like the Shark Helmet Kandie has, but it wasn't cheap | ||
| Roadsurfr |
Hey gang, does anyone have experience with the Z1r helmets? A couple of years ago one of the moto-mags did some tests finding it to be the safest. It was also less expensive. Butch | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Let me see......The Buell helmet is totally uninspiring. A second rate helmet, with weak features and terrible paint jobs.... Most are UGLY! Now the tourist trophy winner design was nice, so why didn't we ever get a chance to buy that one? Scorpion is a better choice than KBC and Aria, shark, shoei are all better choices with higher prices. I have no problem ponying up $500 every couple of years for a quality helmet. Court makes a fantasic point.....I don't think something as important as a helmet being Buell Branded is even remotely important. I would rather buy a Shoei and not worry about it. | ||
| Court |
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| Ulywife |
I believe Carlos skidded his noggin in a Buell helmet and replaced it with another Buell helmet. Carlos skidded on his Scorpion and we replaced it with a Buell helmet mainly because we were at the dealer and I had already driven 10+ hours and was ready to get back to Suches. He likes the Buell helmet, but his favorite is the Scorpion. Once we got back, we replaced the face shield with the transition lens. Nice having a bit of a tint during the daytime but not risking getting caught at night with a tinted lens. Buell helmet was $225 retail Scorpion helmet was $190 (I think) | ||
| 4cammer |
Take a look at a HJC CL-SP or AC-12. I have a CL-SP right now and will be getting an AC-12 in the next month or so. Great fit, finish, removable insides for cleaning and super easy shield changes. Excellent reviews on the net and in mags. There is NO reason to pay 600.00 for a helmet to get excellent protection. Unless one wants to. A wee-bit noisy though. But nothing like my old Kiwi. Remember those? | ||
| Fez |
nice helmet collection court. but where is your KBC? | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
I too have had a good experience with my carbon fiber HJC. Good fit and finish, removable liner, good vents (but a bit loud), and easily removable shield (though I have yet to find any replacement shields in case I scratch this one). This was my first helmet, so now I know better than to just buy the most expensive thing offered in the dealership and assume it is the best available. Next time I'll find a good retail spot where I can try on several different brands before I make another purchase. I have a tendency to think that more expensive equates more quality, but I'm not entirely convinced this is the norm nor any guarantee of a positive correlation between bang and buck. | ||
| Oldog |
I have an HJC sy-max,[ Flip open ] tooless shield change, nice fit (comfy), a little noisy, water gets behind shield in the rain, its Black and HD branded. I want to see one buell branded. Price is great about 250$ and I replace it every three years or so. | ||
| Djkaplan |
Buell used to market Shoei helmets with Buell graphics and logos. I got a blue and black Shoei (I think it was an RF-700) with Lightning graphics when I bought my bike 7 years ago. It was destroyed in a highside not too long afterward, but it allowed me to go on living with the face I was born with. | ||
| Court |
3 years is a good cycle for a helmet. I get sentimetally attached to some of the "event " helmets and old customs ones (my "Parkway Blue" that was painted along with the custom made bike) and get drawn into wearing the old ones. I'm breaking out a new one for this year and am sticking with the Arai RX7's just cause they fit good, I'm acccustomer to Ad-Sis visors and have accumulated a large supply of spare visors. My riding partner has MANY helmets (over 40) and swears by the HJC's. An the place he gets them (I think competition warehouse or something) give you a free set of gloves with a helmet purchase and they are better gloves than I'd have guessed. I'm going to have a helmet matched up to the new bike and call it good for a while. I'm more concerned about boots and can't bring myself to part with my "rather high mileage" comfies. |
