When you ride a motorcycle, it is always important to wear proper motorcycle apparel, both for comfort, as well as for safety. The most common motorcycle apparel and accessories include motorcycle helmets, motorcycle jackets, gloves, and motorcycle boots. We spend lot of time and effort in maintaining our motorcycles in a perfect condition. The same importance should be given to riding comfort and overall well-being, when we ride the motorcycle. High quality motorcycle accessories ensure that the riding is an enjoyable experience, instead of a miserable one.

The main motorcycle accessory is the motorcycle helmet. The helmets could be novelty motorcycle helmets, half-helmets, modular helmets, and full-face helmets. It is absolutely necessary to wear high quality motorcycle helmets, since this could be mean the difference between life and death, in case of any accident. It had been proved by extensive data on safe riding that wearing helmets had been the chief cause in mitigating the damage in accidents and saving the lives of riders. Each type of helmet has its own merits and demerits. Some of the major types of motorcycle helmets and their features are presented here.

Full-face Helmets

The full-face helmets are identified by the extra protection that they give to the area around the chin. The construction of the full-face helmets gives them extra strength. However, wearing them for longer durations could make the rider sweat a lot and feel foggy and warm. Further, the visors of these helmets are not detachable but could be slid upwards, when riding in clean environments.

Open-face Helmets

The open-face helmets are also termed as three-quarter helmets. They protect the head, the sides of the face, and the ears but chin protection is lacking in these types of helmets. The visors of these helmets are detachable. Hence, in dust-free areas, the visors could be removed and the helmets could be worn with riding goggles for more comfortable riding.

Half-helmets or Shorty Helmets

The half-helmets or shorty helmets are very simple in design and the protection offered is very minimal. These half-helmets provide safety to the head but there is no safeguard in case of accidents for the sides of the faces and chin. These helmets are not recommended for normal motorcycle riders. Ladies wearing smaller types of two-wheelers would be more comfortable with these kinds of helmets. However, the quality of such helmets is usually quite poor and the risks are very high in wearing them.

Novelty Motorcycle Helmets

Several types of novelty motorcycle helmets are also available in the market, such as motorcycle cross helmets that have facility for dirt cap and goggle placement.

When we plan to purchase the helmets, we should consider the material of construction, since this is the major aspect in the helmet from the safety point of view. Fiberglass helmets have high impact resistance capacity and they are very stable. They also last for quite a long time. The helmets constructed from polycarbonate mixture materials are also sturdy but their weight is lesser than fiberglass helmets. As such, they are quite comfortable to wear. It is important the helmets should be modular helmets with the shell of the helmet, cast in once single piece.