So I have a fivehead. Christina Ricci and I hang out on weekends and use the absorbed solar energy from our foreheads to power emergency generators in Japan.

Every five years or so when I buy a new helmet I have at least three months of Lion King style red marks on my noggin as the foam on the front brow area grinds into my palatial dome and eventually collapses in defeat.

So I'm back in that place with a new Airoh TR-2 and could use any tips of how you guys are breaking in helmets that are just a bit tight in the front. Other than looking like a Catholic on Ash Wednesday that has a taste for color, this is the most comfortable, lightest helmet I've ever owned.

tight in the front means you're hitting the inner shell. that's never going to give. the comfort liner will break in about a 1/6th over all when worn....but the inner shell will not. I don't recommend it... but I've had customers tell me that they have shaved down portions of the inner liner in an attempt to eliminate the pain.

In all my old helmets the foam eventually crushes a bit and forms to my skull, didn't know if there was a way to speed up that process to prevent looking like a married Indian woman. It isn't tight enough that it is uncomfortable even, just leaves the mark.

sounds like you are just stuck with the normal break in proceedure.

If it's just red mark and not a comfort issue, I'd just deal with it. I, too, have an abnormally large grape. It's like sputnik: round, and yet pointy in places.

I used to deal with the same thing every fall during the first two weeks of football practice. My forehead and the very back of my skull would be red and sore, occasionally to the point of feeling like they were burning, until the pads absorbed enough sweat to break down just enough to be comfortable. That, or my head gave way just enough to restore blood flow/sensation to those areas. Either way, it was hellish, but it ended.

Again: if it's just a matter of the red mark, I'd say deal with it. It'll go away and you'll keep a maximum crush zone at the front of the helmet, where you're most likely to need it. Your sweat and repeated wearings will break down/crush *just enough* of the inner liner (<1/16th") to fit it to your head, like hot-molding skates, without compromising the integrity of the helmet.

If it's a matter of it being painful, I'd suggest finding a helmet brand/model that fits better. At that point, you're going to have to crush enough of the liner that it could very well make a difference. Is that really something you want to risk?

i'd agree with buckethead... how many other brands have you tried?  btw, i'm also a big head... XXL size on a rf1000.  i tell everyone that if i were a street fighter character, my special move would def be the headbutt of doom.   haha

when i got my first helmet, i was trying to get a hjc or a bell vortex to save money vs the shoei's and arais.  went to stores and tried them all on and kept on getting the same feeling you were getting... till i tried on the shoei which all of a sudden was just perfect.  wound up spending 2x more than i wanted to, but in the end got a comfortable helmet.

i'm sure you're tried a lot of diff helmets by now.. but you might want to think about trying more?  or find a holdout rf1000... i can def say its a great helmet for the round heads out there. haha

Quote from: thought on March 17, 2011, 10:00:09 AM
i'm sure you're tried a lot of diff helmets by now.. but you might want to think about trying more?  or find a holdout rf1000... i can def say its a great helmet for the round heads out there. haha

Round, nothing. My head is MUCH longer front-to-back than it is side-to-side. The best fitting helmet I've found thus far is the Sparx S-07. It only costs $100 and change, but it's DOT and ECE approved and it fits me like it was made for me. Couldn't really ask for much more.

Quote from: Buckethead on March 17, 2011, 10:15:14 AM
Round, nothing. My head is MUCH longer front-to-back than it is side-to-side. The best fitting helmet I've found thus far is the Sparx S-07. It only costs $100 and change, but it's DOT and ECE approved and it fits me like it was made for me. Couldn't really ask for much more.

yah, just goes to show we all have diff size heads... webbikeworld tends to have good reviews with good baselines as to sizing too art if you havent checked them out yet

Is your forehead similar to a Klingon?


Seriously though, I have only worn one brand so far (Scorpion). I've been through 3 of them (don't ask how), and I had a slight pinching feeling at the top of my ears with the latest one.  I forget if it's completely gone away since I haven't been riding much lately.  I've always wondered about proper fit vs. break in period problems myself though.

if the helmet don't really fit you well and you have these red marks, maybe its time to try different helmets because these ain't fitting you.

i know you may "want" to wear such and such a brand but if its not made for you, well... that means you  will have to suck it up and literally break the helmet in rather than it fitting out of the box.

Quote from: sbrguy on March 17, 2011, 02:11:42 PM
if the helmet don't really fit you well and you have these red marks, maybe its time to try different helmets because these ain't fitting you.

i know you may "want" to wear such and such a brand but if its not made for you, well... that means you  will have to suck it up and literally break the helmet in rather than it fitting out of the box.

Preach it. I'm not a brand snob by any means, I don't think I've ever bought the same brand twice. I like the look of the TR2 sure, but it really is SUPER comfortable. Not a ton of cushy padding but with the exception of a bit in the front it fits my head like well... a helmet. I've broken in many a helmet, and all my old ones had the hot spot on the front regardless of brand or model.

Maybe I'm secretly a unicorn.

Check http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-shapes.htm
With Arai Profile, no painful forehead for me, even when new.

Bell helmets typically have a more rounded shell. Icon as well. The Seven Zero Seven Backlash is also more or less round.

I have a similar problem in the cheek area.

It is very tight.

I just go w, it.

Dolph...

That sounds a bit extreme - lids are usually pretty comfortable for me after a few hours.  I'm really picky about buying lids that fit my head well though.  Try on a bunch of helmets and get the one that fits your head the best.  Bell Stars work really well for me.