Getting the Ninja had me going all in on the sport bike look. The full helmet and ballistic nylon riding gear makes me look like I came out of the future. When I’m all out on the Ninja it suits. But a sport bike was never the goal. I like the vintage look and as the bike evolves so will the gear.
I’ve watched It’s Better in the Wind a couple of times now and dig the vibe. Cafe racers, old Triumphs, all customized.
A couple of other things are making me rethink the gear. At the training course they talked about how the helmet doesn’t seriously mitigate the chance of injury. If you think that a helmet will make riding safe you’re not understanding the physics. Helmets help to minimize one kind of injury. If you can’t handle this truth then you shouldn’t be riding, helmets don’t make riding safe.
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| The fighter style open face helmet is a modern take on the old open faced helmet |
They also said, during the same training session, that you should wear a full face helmet and full armored everything all the time. I get being as safe as you can be, but if the safety equipment gets in the way of the experience, or worse, makes you uncomfortable, it prevents you from doing the deed in the first place.
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| The Bell is a classic, though it made me head look HUGE! It’d be nice to get my Mondo Enduro on though |
In Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Persig says he doesn’t like to wear a full face helmet because he finds it claustrophobic. If the point of riding is to experience that expansive sense of speed and openness then I think I want to try out an open faced helmet. This isn’t an expensive proposition, though the helmet might lead to a classic bike, which might be.
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| A variation on the classic by Bell, the Pit Boss is a bit less bulbous |
Open faced helmets are popular and tend to focus on a specific style. The fighter jet style half helmet is a modern take on the classic open faced helmet, but you can still get vintage styled helmets. I’m partial to the Bell classic but it did make my head look huge.
The Bell pitboss had a nice look to it, but they didn’t have one in my size to try on, though I think I’d go with the over the ears cover for protection and wind reduction.
I’m helmet inspired by a couple of things. The family history sure plays a part in it, but so do movies. Picking up something that I can plaster a rebel alliance sticker on would be cool.
Here are a couple of other eye catching open face helmets I’ve been thinking about:
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| Bell Hurricane ~$100 |
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| ZR1 Royale Air Ace ~$127 |
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| Nolan Outlaw N20 ~$205 |
Thanks to http://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca and http://www.motorcycle-superstore.ca for letting me window shop.
The other day someone parked their original Thruxton next to the Ninja and I got the itch for that old bike once again.
What a lovely old machine, beautifully cared for…