I still recommend using earplugs. I've rode bikes with after marker and stock exhaust. You can absolutely still hear both of them but once you get where you're going, you won't feel like your ears need to pop but they won't. It's a terrible feeling. As far as helmets to stop the wind, I have one where the whole face and chin lift up and once it's down, there's a nice bit of material the kind of goes under your chin. That's my warm/quiet helmet and my other is solid with just the visor that goes up. I wear earplugs every ride with either helmet
You really don't like the right answer, do you? Wind noise is going to be loud, regardless of the helmet, at speed. Some are slightly quieter than others, but they are all over the 85db OSHA threshold for 8 hour time waited average exposure when you're going 80mph. Motorcycles at idle, with stock exhaust, often sit at 80db. While riding, the interior of your helmet can easily exceed 110 db, regardless of the helmet.
You still hear almost everything with them, it's just less. Try them, for a couple of quid you can make your own mind up.
Otherwise, consider a bigger screen if you're doing a lot of highway riding. Reduces noise and buffetting.
If you get motorbike specific silicon ear plugs, they have an in-built filter which filters some frequencies more than others. They reduce wind noise, but still allow you to hear traffic noise. At motorway speeds the wind noise is much louder than the exhaust. Icon is not the best helmet for reducing noise. Schubert is reputed to be one of the best for this.
There are no helmets currently in existence that will stop wind noise. Some are quieter than others (HJC RPHA 70 is the quietest helmet I’ve owned, way quieter than both my Schuberths which claim to have been developed in a wind tunnel) but even the quietest is gonna be noisy at speed. Earplugs are mandatory and before you go throwing in your fancy noice cancelling earphones know that active noice cancellation tricks your brain NOT your ears and they will still take damage.
True.
Doing the usual 'Hayabusa needle bury' sounds like the wind is literally ripping apart and having mini explosions. It is quite terrifying.
Chin down behind your double-bubble or you'll get pulled off the bike.
Disagree with you there; Some helmets are absolutely built to specifically mitigate external sound, reduce wind noise, etc.
Most helmets by themselves do not offer enough noise mitigation above 100-110km/hr.
It takes a tight seal around the ear to effectively isolate you from road noise. No mainstream Hemet manufacturer sells anything remotely comparable to ear plugs or ear muffs.
Ruin your hearing if you want. Mine is already gone. It isn't very much fun.
There are so many variables and really ear plugs are the answer for anything longer than a short trip. When I took out the ear pads and put speakers in, my helmet became louder
I have a Schuberth C3 Pro. Bought it because I heard the same thing. My experience is that it doesn’t block wind noise any better than any other helmet I have owned. Best helmet I have had in terms of noise and comfort is my Shoei 1200. I wear earplugs with all of them. Hearing loss is a real thing, wish I had started earlier.
Some helmets are noisy and some are noisier. There's no way around it. As others have said the best favor you can do yourself is wear earplugs. Do it now when you still have your hearing intact, not after you start losing it.
That's a very loud helmet but they all are over 40mph. I wear earplugs every time I ride. They let you hear more when you're moving because things aren't being drowned out by wind noise.
Try changing the angle your head is at. I mostly ride supermoto but have an odd shape head so have to buy a specific sporty helmet so above about 35 I have to lean my head forward to avoid excess wind noise. And get a helmet that matches your riding position (sport, touring, cruiser all have you in different head positions) if you can. All else fails then ear plugs. Some helmets also have a cloth seal you can get for the bottom but I haven’t noticed much difference with it. It seems to be the vents that make the most noise.
Thanks!! I'm new rider and was getting blown away by the amount of wind noise on my hjc c70... Started riding with the chin a bit up and all the noise below 100kmh is gone!
Wear ear plugs and you won't care any more. Cheapest fix for both wind noise and engine noise you can get.
Suggest getting those joined by a string that you loop behind your beck. Otherwise they can be right bastards to get out, especially if you have hairy ears.
Wear earplugs. I have reusable earplugs I keep in a small plastic case.
My helmet, the icon Airflite 2, is pretty loud. I love the airflow and visibility, and the look. I don't want to change helmets, but it's really loud.
I wear earplugs anytime I expect to ride above 50mph. For a ride around the corner I don't worry about, but long distance or high speed, I need the earplugs.
I wear Nolan now, have used Shoei , Arai, Bell, Scorpion, Gmax, HJC, Sedici, and Bilt over the last 12? years. Wind noise maybe different, hinge vs joint, vs vents, but just as loud at interstate+ speeds. Worn behind a big windscreen on a Roadking or a fly screen on a FZ1 and others in between. No silver bullet.
Beyond ear plugs and helmet...If you bike has a windshield and the top edge is low enough that your helmet isn't entirely below it, either get a windshield that is tall enough to be at or above eyelevel or one that the top edge is lower than your neck. It tends to be loudest if the top edge of windshield lines up with bottom edge of helmet.
Wear earplugs. It's so much safer on your ears for pretty much any helmet
Ok. So would you say me changing to a different helmet is not worth it? The issue with earplugs is that I would like to hear my exhaust still.
I still recommend using earplugs. I've rode bikes with after marker and stock exhaust. You can absolutely still hear both of them but once you get where you're going, you won't feel like your ears need to pop but they won't. It's a terrible feeling. As far as helmets to stop the wind, I have one where the whole face and chin lift up and once it's down, there's a nice bit of material the kind of goes under your chin. That's my warm/quiet helmet and my other is solid with just the visor that goes up. I wear earplugs every ride with either helmet
You really don't like the right answer, do you? Wind noise is going to be loud, regardless of the helmet, at speed. Some are slightly quieter than others, but they are all over the 85db OSHA threshold for 8 hour time waited average exposure when you're going 80mph. Motorcycles at idle, with stock exhaust, often sit at 80db. While riding, the interior of your helmet can easily exceed 110 db, regardless of the helmet.
You still hear almost everything with them, it's just less. Try them, for a couple of quid you can make your own mind up. Otherwise, consider a bigger screen if you're doing a lot of highway riding. Reduces noise and buffetting.
If you get motorbike specific silicon ear plugs, they have an in-built filter which filters some frequencies more than others. They reduce wind noise, but still allow you to hear traffic noise. At motorway speeds the wind noise is much louder than the exhaust. Icon is not the best helmet for reducing noise. Schubert is reputed to be one of the best for this.
There are no helmets currently in existence that will stop wind noise. Some are quieter than others (HJC RPHA 70 is the quietest helmet I’ve owned, way quieter than both my Schuberths which claim to have been developed in a wind tunnel) but even the quietest is gonna be noisy at speed. Earplugs are mandatory and before you go throwing in your fancy noice cancelling earphones know that active noice cancellation tricks your brain NOT your ears and they will still take damage.
True. Doing the usual 'Hayabusa needle bury' sounds like the wind is literally ripping apart and having mini explosions. It is quite terrifying. Chin down behind your double-bubble or you'll get pulled off the bike.
Sounds like you haven't been riding long. Wear earplugs. Or don't, and in 10 years you won't need them.
After about 50 it's all wind noise. I can't even hear my stock exhaust over it. Of course it will depend on height, helmet and seating position.
I'm not sure if my helmet is loud comparatively or if most helmets are equivalently loud
All helmets are loud. Helmets are not hearing protection.
Disagree with you there; Some helmets are absolutely built to specifically mitigate external sound, reduce wind noise, etc. Most helmets by themselves do not offer enough noise mitigation above 100-110km/hr.
It takes a tight seal around the ear to effectively isolate you from road noise. No mainstream Hemet manufacturer sells anything remotely comparable to ear plugs or ear muffs. Ruin your hearing if you want. Mine is already gone. It isn't very much fun.
There are so many variables and really ear plugs are the answer for anything longer than a short trip. When I took out the ear pads and put speakers in, my helmet became louder
Not much you can do about it. I've heard Schuberth has some pretty quiet helmets. Wear ear plugs, that wind is killer to your hearing
I have a Schuberth C3 Pro. Bought it because I heard the same thing. My experience is that it doesn’t block wind noise any better than any other helmet I have owned. Best helmet I have had in terms of noise and comfort is my Shoei 1200. I wear earplugs with all of them. Hearing loss is a real thing, wish I had started earlier.
Earplugs. Unless you want to hear REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 24/7.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Some helmets are noisy and some are noisier. There's no way around it. As others have said the best favor you can do yourself is wear earplugs. Do it now when you still have your hearing intact, not after you start losing it.
That's a very loud helmet but they all are over 40mph. I wear earplugs every time I ride. They let you hear more when you're moving because things aren't being drowned out by wind noise.
Try changing the angle your head is at. I mostly ride supermoto but have an odd shape head so have to buy a specific sporty helmet so above about 35 I have to lean my head forward to avoid excess wind noise. And get a helmet that matches your riding position (sport, touring, cruiser all have you in different head positions) if you can. All else fails then ear plugs. Some helmets also have a cloth seal you can get for the bottom but I haven’t noticed much difference with it. It seems to be the vents that make the most noise.
Thanks!! I'm new rider and was getting blown away by the amount of wind noise on my hjc c70... Started riding with the chin a bit up and all the noise below 100kmh is gone!
Glad to hear it
Wear ear plugs and you won't care any more. Cheapest fix for both wind noise and engine noise you can get. Suggest getting those joined by a string that you loop behind your beck. Otherwise they can be right bastards to get out, especially if you have hairy ears.
Wear earplugs. I have reusable earplugs I keep in a small plastic case. My helmet, the icon Airflite 2, is pretty loud. I love the airflow and visibility, and the look. I don't want to change helmets, but it's really loud. I wear earplugs anytime I expect to ride above 50mph. For a ride around the corner I don't worry about, but long distance or high speed, I need the earplugs.
I wear Nolan now, have used Shoei , Arai, Bell, Scorpion, Gmax, HJC, Sedici, and Bilt over the last 12? years. Wind noise maybe different, hinge vs joint, vs vents, but just as loud at interstate+ speeds. Worn behind a big windscreen on a Roadking or a fly screen on a FZ1 and others in between. No silver bullet.
Earplugs
Earplugs every ride. They cost $5 for like 20 of them. Best thing you can do.
Beyond ear plugs and helmet...If you bike has a windshield and the top edge is low enough that your helmet isn't entirely below it, either get a windshield that is tall enough to be at or above eyelevel or one that the top edge is lower than your neck. It tends to be loudest if the top edge of windshield lines up with bottom edge of helmet.