Matte helmet questions/opinion

[creg-ny-baa]

Yeah, it's winter. The time we ask for opinions on all things great and small. So...

I wanted to ask opinions on matte helmets, specifically matte black. I'm looking at a new lid. I'd be planning to go relatively sedate on design/graphics wise, as it's for non-sportbike duty. One of the options is a matte black pattern. Matte black looks good...at least when new.

So, to the collective: 1) If you have a matte finish helmet (particularly black), how do you take care of it? 2) What care mistakes have you made? 3) Would you buy a matte helmet again?

TIA!

 

[Niehart]

The, at least the Shoei's, matte helmets show the scratches more that regular helmets.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Had a matte black half-helmet for the Vstar, but that's the style for Harley clones. Because of that, the scratches and scuffs -- which came very easily -- were just more of that style. (Bell Bandito.)

1. How did I take care of it? Avoided crashes.

2. Care mistakes? Well, since there was no "care" program ...

3. Buy one again? No. Bought a chrome one, which prompted my riding partner to say I was 10 times more visible. Never wore the matte black again.

If you were to give me one, I'd put hi-vis reflective diamonds above each ear -- which might actually be a badass look.

 

[900gc]

Had a matte black Vemar Jiano that started to look bad after only a year with normal use. Couldn't really clean it and have it look much better. Soft finish that was easily marred. If you like a 'battle worn' looking helmet then matte black is a good start. Never again for me, I like my helmets to stay looking nice without needing TLC all the time so a nice hard gloss finish works best.

 

[HotRodZilla]

I used to have one. Maybe an KBC with a star on the side?? I don't remember the brand. It was a nice helmet and very easy to take care of. Nothing special, just wear and rub it off every now and then. Just like a glossy one. I really liked that helmet!

It looked like this:

https://m.ebay.com/itm/251462861183

 

[art miller]

I once had an open face flat black helmet That was back in the cruiser days. Flat black was much hotter in the summer than gloss light color helmets.

 

[mcatrophy]

IMHO, you are making yourself even more invisible. Black is least visible, matt black the very least. If that doesn't worry you, fine.

Personally I'm sticking with white, shown to be almost as visible as yellow.

And, no, I don't normally wear a hi-via jacket. Whoever said logic comes in to any of these decisions?

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I don't do graphics on any helmet. Just don't like them. I tend to stay with grays and blacks, both gloss and flat. Bright colors or white are definitely a bit safer. I wear a hi-viz 5.11 duty raincoat when it's raining, and sometimes at night. I've toyed with going to a hi-viz yellow/green helmet, as I really do think they're a good idea risk-management wise. I haven't found flat or gloss helmets to make a big difference. I ride an average of six days a week. All my helmets show wear after a while. All of them take a tumble eventually. Keep them clean. I wax every helmet twice a year. Never use paper towels to clean anything plastic you care about. Always cotton or something similar. Don't scrub bugs off. Put a wet cloth on for 10-15 minutes and they'll wipe right off. I've been using Nolan for quite a while, but like my Shoei too. At some point, I'll probably switch to something less expensive but reputable.

 

[BkerChuck]

While working for a HD dealership we sold quite a few of the matte colored helmets from several manufacturers. When new they looked decent enough but most of them I saw customers wearing didn't seem to hold up as well as gloss finished helmets. I'm referring just to the cosmetics of the helmet. Several of the regular customers I dealt with replaced them with gloss helmets within relatively short periods of time. They tend to show scuffs and scratches more easily and people complained of them being more difficult to clean.

 

[ionbeam]

...most of them I saw customers wearing didn't seem to hold up...They tend to show scuffs and scratches more easily and people complained of them being more difficult to clean.

Rhino Liner. Fixed.

 

[TomInPA]

I had a matt platinum helmet back in my cruiser days. Took a cross country trip with it too, and I looked really badass back then. This is on top of Trail Ridge Hwy RMNP when I was stuck in a construction traffic jam. LOL proof of my pirate days.

 

[lnewlf]

got a Shoei Quest matte black 3 yrs ago...still looks like new...Turtle wax Ice synthetic polish is da shizzle-gets rid of any scuffs. for visibility I stuck on a band of white Scotch reflective checkered flag decals..

 

[Cav47]

I have not had mine for very long, but it has seen its fair share of miles in the sun so far this year. 6800 miles to Cali and back. 1500 miles to EOM and back. 1300 miles to SW Wisconsin and back.

It is a cheap one and has been easy to clean. I like the matte finish from a scratch standpoint because it does not show them much. Kinda like a textured wall.

I just lay a wet microfiber towel on it for 15 min and then wipe the bugs off.

 

[infrared]

Buy one again? No. Bought a chrome one, which prompted my riding partner to say I was 10 times more visible. Never wore the matte black again.

Uncle Hud,

Except for maybe the glint of the sun, I do not believe that chrome is a good choice as high-viz. In woods it will look like woodlands, under clouds it will look like sky-gray. I once made a radio-controlled plane with all-chrome Mylar skin, and that plane just vanished, against almost any backdrop. Talk about visual STEALTH! When I got the RC plane down again, I ripped away most of the "chrome" and used solid, high-viz colors, after that scare.

Maybe if the helmet had "chrome" on top, with a wide color band all around the head, you could get the sun-glint and still have a highly visible color for drivers to see, but I'm not sure if that would work.

All IMHO, of course.

 

[creg-ny-baa]

got a Shoei Quest matte black 3 yrs ago...still looks like new...Turtle wax Ice synthetic polish is da shizzle-gets rid of any scuffs. for visibility I stuck on a band of white Scotch reflective checkered flag decals..

Hey lnewlf: Can you post up a pic of the actual bottle of TW Ice you use? I got another recommendation for that from another thread, but on the TW website, someone was howling that the formula had changed from a clear liquid to a creamy one that left a bunch of residue.

Thanks for all the posts!

 

[Uncle Hud]

^^^^^ I really don't know, since it was on my noggin, just reporting my riding partner's opinion -- but you're right, she said it was all about the sun glint.

Now? Full face Bell Vortex that I love. Hard to find helmet graphics that aren't dragons, aliens, stabbed hearts, or naked women.

TominCA: got a patch on the back of that leather vest?

 

[HotRodZilla]

Creg, they have that stuff at Walmart. Last time I looked, it was clear-ish. Haha...Defnately not a creamy paste.

 

[wheatonFJR]

BADASS!

 

[Cav47]

Shouldn't you be riding with Jax??