when i first started riding i was a VERY budget minded rider. i bought an hjc helmet the same day i bought my 2007 FZ6. later when i bought my Arai i used that for a few months before going back and trying on the hjc. i will never buy a budget helmet again. ever.
if you only try them on at the dealership or wherever you are trying them on you simply are not getting the difference. it takes time. think of it like trying on jeans at the store. they are not broken in and the quality may not become apparent for some time. will they do the job at hand? of course, but there is a difference between old navy jeans and Levi's.
Arai and Shoei are not only based on their names. the quality truly is better. most of it is as was mentioned- comfort and fit. the shell material is going to be about the same all around throughout the helmets unless you are going carbon fiber in the higher end ones. but the foam and padding material is VERY different in the lower cost helmets. also there are little things that just have more thought put into them in the more expensive helmets (such as Arai has no molded areas on their visors because they feel that this may lead to distortions when looks through the visor).
what i would recommend is buy a last gen model that is on sale if you are really into saving money. i know that the budget helmets are good enough for many, but i cannot recommend getting an Arai, Shoei, or an AGV enough. skip over getting yet another bike mod for a little while and get something that will truly make a difference in feel on the bike.
if you only try them on at the dealership or wherever you are trying them on you simply are not getting the difference. it takes time. think of it like trying on jeans at the store. they are not broken in and the quality may not become apparent for some time. will they do the job at hand? of course, but there is a difference between old navy jeans and Levi's.
Arai and Shoei are not only based on their names. the quality truly is better. most of it is as was mentioned- comfort and fit. the shell material is going to be about the same all around throughout the helmets unless you are going carbon fiber in the higher end ones. but the foam and padding material is VERY different in the lower cost helmets. also there are little things that just have more thought put into them in the more expensive helmets (such as Arai has no molded areas on their visors because they feel that this may lead to distortions when looks through the visor).
what i would recommend is buy a last gen model that is on sale if you are really into saving money. i know that the budget helmets are good enough for many, but i cannot recommend getting an Arai, Shoei, or an AGV enough. skip over getting yet another bike mod for a little while and get something that will truly make a difference in feel on the bike.
