Your safety and comfort comes with a cost. I will not have to overemphasize the importance of wearing a well-designed protective helmet to you as a motorcycle rider.
‘How much does a motorcycle helmet cost?’ is a question we will answer in this guide and we will give mostly the range or average costs in dollars. Of course, the costs change slightly with time.
The cost of your motorcycle helmet depends on the quality of the design, the brand, and the materials used in manufacturing the helmet.
The Importance of Having a Motorcycle Helmet
Why wear a motorcycle helmet while riding? Many motorcyclists could have still been living today if they were wearing a motorcycle helmet while riding.
Brain injuries and concussions are common diseases resulting from affects or collisions during bike accidents. The importance of your helmet in protecting the health of your head will give you the genuine answer to the question, ‘how much does a motorcycle helmet cost?
The Considerations to make Before Buying a Motor Cycle Helmet:
With all the discussion on having a motorcycle helmet before going for a ride, it is a daunting task to try to choose the type of helmet for yourself or your child.
There is no guarantee that helmets stop concussion but the helmets reduce the severity of your injuries in case of an impact. The buyer of a helmet should consider:
- The number one thing to consider is whether a helmet meets the safety standards and requirements set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other certification authorities. This is how you verify the safety of your motorcycle helmet.
- Many motorcycle accidents occur not because the helmet was not safe but because it was so loose. The helmet then comes off in a crash. A good fitting helmet will do a good job. A loose fitting helmet can reduce protection up to 30%. It increases noise level, disturbing your concentration on the road. If the paddings of your helmet move against the skin instead of only your skin moving, the helmet has not fitted snugly. When testing the helmet for a good fit, fit your head or the child’s head and not the face. Do not buy a used or second hand helmet. The inner impact shells have molded to the shape of another person’s head and will not fit you or your child well.
- For easy visibility while on the road, go for a color that will get you noticed in traffic. This will help to avoid accidents from drivers pulling out from road sides because they didn’t view the bike rider.
- Good airflow is important to keep you cold when the weather becomes hot, but you also have to ensure that the helmet vents can close off when places become too cold or rainy.
- The face visor shields your face from the sun and rain. Your helmet visor fog in cold weather. So you need a PinLock anti-fog system for your helmet.
- Removable foam liners. With sweat and dirt, your helmet can become really dirty and smelly. An outstanding feature for your motorcycle helmet is therefore removable liners and pads. You can remove them whenever they are dirty and clean them in a washing machine.
Kinds of Motorcycle Helmets
Motorcycle Helmets are in different categories, brands and models. In this article, we have done extensive research and come out with some of the common categories and models.
We will briefly present some kinds of motorcycle helmets, so you have knowledge of what you want to buy.
1.Full faced motorcycle helmet.
Full face helmets provide maximum safety and protection by covering the complete face and head. Half faced motorcycle helmets do not leave any part of the head exposed. They cost from as low as $80 to as high as $1700, with an average cost of $260.
2.Half Helmet or half Shell Helmet
They offer you good ventilation when riding, though, at the expense of safety. They cover just the top of the head, protecting the brain while the face and ears are all exposed. Half helmets are the small Department of Transport (DOT) approved helmets. At walmart.com, there are half helmets that cost as low as $31.5 and as high as $314.95.
3. Open Faced Helmet or Half Faced Helmet.
It protects the head well but offers less protection around the jaw-line compared to the full-face helmet.
4.3/4 Motorcycle Helmet.
A three quarter helmet covers the entire head except the face, unlike the full-face helmet, which covers the entire head. Motorcycle riders widely used both kinds of helmets.
5.Modular Motorcycle Helmet or flip-up helmets.
This is a hybrid of open faced and full faced helmets. Flip-up helmets have a flip up front visor that allows the rider to raise it up to take in fresh air. The cost of a modular helmet ranges from $110 to about $900, with an average at $361.
6.Motocross Helmet or Dirt Bike helmet.
The engineers build dirt bike helmets for sport and are there designed to perform and protect in off-road riding conditions like on rocks and mud. Motocross helmets or off-road helmets are more bulky than motorcycle helmets and provide air flow. The visor on the dirt bike helmet helps to shield the rider from dust, mud, debris and tree branches.
7.Dual Sport Helmet.
A dual sport helmet combines all the features of dirt bike helmet and a full faced helmet and put them into a helmet designed for street riding. It offers excellent performance both in the street and off-road. The lightest dual sport helmet called The Klim Krios has a weight of 1,500 grams.
8.Youth Motorcycle Helmet.
These are motorcycle helmets for youths and kids.
9.Shoei Helmets
are a brand of helmets made in Japan and distributed
Worldwide. Shoei is a company of japan that produces helmets since 1958.
They made Shoei helmet shells of quality materials such as polycarbonate, which is less expensive and flexes during impact to reduce the force.
Fiberglass composite, when hit hard, also crushes during a collision, reducing the force of impact. Another material is carbon fiber, the most expensive and most effective in distributing impact energy during a collision.
Shoei helmets also meet the safety standard set by independent bodies like the consumer product and safety commission in America. They have effective visors and ventilation.
The specification and products line-up of Shoei helmets vary depending on the region or country.
10.Arai Helmets.
Another Japanese company that design and manufactures good helmets is Arai Helmet Limited formed in 1926 by Hirotake Arai. They produce Arai helmets with high-quality materials like polycarbonate, carbon fiber, Fiberglass composite and Expanded Polystyrene(EPS) that offer the best protection during a crash.
The Features of a Good Quality Motorcycle Helmet
The following features make your motorcycle helmet perform better. They will also influence the cost of the helmet. Safety and comfort comes with a cost not only in terms of finances but health and life.
A good and expensive motorcycle helmets have some advantages. A good helmet should be well ventilated, lightweight, fit better, less noisy, have a better design, have good water proofing, have good aerodynamics and is acceptable on track days. The style of the helmet and features like Bluetooth speakers, anti-scratch, anti-fog, quick-release visor and color also determine its cost.
Above all, a good motorcycle helmet must meet the standards for safety set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or approved by the Department of Transport (DOT).
How Much Does A Motorcycle Helmet Cost? The Average Costs of Some Motorcycle Helmets.
When you are shopping for a motorcycle helmet, one of the burning questions you will ask is how much does a motorcycle helmet cost? The answer to this question depends on many factors, like style, size, and color.
Different motorcycle helmets have different prices. Some motorcycle helmets can cost as low as $30 while some with high quality can cost as high as $4,000.
We have put in the table below some motorcycle helmets and their average costs. The brand and quality highly influenced the price of each helmet. The costs slightly change with time as expected, so as a disclaimer, we are not accountable for any changes you may find in the market. You are good. You also read How to Clean a Bike Helmet and How to Paint a Football Helmet
| S/N | Name of helmet | Average(or range)cost |
| 1 | Full Face Helmet | $260 |
| 2 | Open Face Helmet | $271 |
| 3 | Half Helmet | $128 |
| 4 | Modular Helmet | $361 |
| 5 | Bell Rogue Helmet | $260 |
| 6 | Fly Racing Street 9mm helmet | $60 |
| 7 | HJC IS-Cruiser Helmet | $100 |
| 8 | Sedici Viaggio Parlare Sena Bluetooth ADV Helmet | $250 |
| 9 | Arai XD-4 Hi-Viz Neon Helmet | $630 |
| 10 | HJC-IS-33 II Helmet | $150 |
| 11 | Scorpion EXO Covert Helmet | $210 |
| 12 | Bell Custom 500 Helmet | $126 |
| 13 | Biltwell Bonanza Helmet | $100 |
| 14 | Arai XD-4 Helmet | $610+ |
| 15 | Shark Evoline 3 ST Helmet | $290 |
| 16 | LS2 Valiant Helmet | $290 |
| 17 | Schuberth C3 Pro Helmet | $580 |
| 18 | Scorpion EXO-AT950 Helmet | $270 |
| 19 | Shoei Neotec 2 Helmet | $700 |
| 20 | Icon Airmada Helmet | $145 |
| 21 | Bell Qualifier Helmet | $115 |
| 22 | Scorpion EXO-R710 Helmet | $200 |
| 23 | Icon Airflite Synthwave Helmet | $285 |
| 24 | Arai Corsair X Helmet | $850+ |
| 25 | HJC CS-R3 Helmet | $95+ |
| 26 | Scorpion EXO-R420 Helmet | $150 |
| 27 | Arai Corsair X CB Helmet | $1,020 |
| 28 | Icon Airflite DLX Blackout Helmet | $158 |
| 29 | Shoei RF-1200 Helmet | $486+ |
| 30 | Arai Defiant-X Helmet | $660+ |
| 31 | Shoei RF-SR Helmet | $400 |
| 32 | Icon Airflite Helmet | $250 |
| 33 | Youth Motorcycle Helmet | $100 |
What are the extra or additional costs after buying motorcycle helmet?
To give your helmet a long life span, you need to maintain it to be always in good shape and comfortable. For instance, you can clean and polish your helmet, add anti-fog spray to the helmet visor for splendid vision during bad weather, and change the helmet pads.
And if you want to make calls while riding, you can add Bluetooth communication systems to your motorcycle helmet.
Below is a chart of the prices of some helmet accessories and services which adds to the cost of your motorcycle helmet
| S/ | Accessory/service | Cost range |
| 1 | Check pads | $7 to $120 |
| 2 | Face shields | $15 to $200 |
| 3 | Liners | $10 to $120 |
| 4 | Earplugs | $1 to $25 |
| 5 | Helmet sleeves | $10 to $20 |
| 6 | Helmet bags | $10 to $20 |
| 7 | Bluetooth communication | $100 to $260 |
| 8 | Anti-fog sprays | $10 to $18 |
| 9 | Cleaning spray and polish | $5 to $35 |
