Looking for a QUIET helmet - any suggestions?

I'm in the market for a new helmet. What I am after is a regular full face helmet, preferably a solid color, rather than any fancy graphics.

I currently use a HJC which I find very comfortable BUT it is noisy as hell at freeway speeds - after six hours at 75 mph I am practically deaf. I also have an AGV modular helmet which isn't much better in terms of noise - plus the ventilation on that one is seriously lacking.

So I am after a helmet this time that won't render me deaf after a few hours on the freeway. I would like to add a bluetooth comms set at some stage so I guess a reasonable noise level is important to allow for that to work.

Can anyone recommend a helmet that is reasonably quiet at freeway speeds?

I have had the same question, here is what Ive come up with. Fit, fit,fit I cant say it enough the way a helmet fits is going it make a big difference on noise you get. Also venting the more vents that get hit by wind the more noise is going to be made. The right shape for angel of of riding poisson, I had crazy buffeting on the harley with my race helmet.

Sell those helmets and get a Schuberth C3. You can try one at Beachmoto they're close to you. I got mine there.
The guy Dennis there is cool. I just got the SRC and it has been great. I used sony ear buds with mic for a while until I could afford the SRC.

I've got several helmets, all comfy, costs ranging from $200-650 and none are "quiet" when at speed for duration. If quiet is needed, ear plugs seem to be the only real solution.

what about one of the skirts that attaches to the underside of the helmet? i dont k ow if they make universal fit ones or not but it would eliminate a lot of noise.

What bike are you riding? If you have a windscreen, lose it. Most helmets are designed to sit in clean flowing air, not the turbulent mess that a windscreen leaves behind it.

What he said.

No helmet is going to provide adequate hearing protection.

If you don't like the foamies, I certainly don't, get some custom one's made.

The quietest I've used is my Arai Quantum. My favorite helmet is my Suomy. It is light and comfy but really loud. Ear plugs are your best bet for quiet.

If you're going to get BT comms at some point, then you may as well go ahead and get some custom earmold speakers. They'll block a lot of noise and let you hear your BT much better than trying to hear BT speakers through a pair of earplugs.

Riding with no hearing protection - no matter what helmet you have - will eventually give you hearing loss. The low frequency noise from wind is a lot louder than you think, even in the quietest helmet.

And if you try to ride with a BT setup and no hearing protection, you'll go deaf even faster. Turning up BT speakers so you can hear them over wind noise, when you have no earplugs in, might seem like an okay volume level when you're doing it, but in reality, it will be loud enough to really damage your hearing.

I haven't tried these yet, but at $45, I'm getting a set for my g/f for Christmas.

http://www.earfuze.com/

I already have 3 sets of expensive in-ear monitors for myself, or I would definitely be ordering an EarFuze set for myself to try.

I have a Shoei Qwest. It's pretty quiet. I also wear foam ear plugs, or noise-reducing earbuds with music. The downside of a quiet helmet such as the Qwest is that is has poor venting. In the summer, it's hard to cool off your noggin, and in the winter it's hard to get enough air to clear the visor without having a Pinlock. Just my $0.02.

I find the skirt doesn't reduce the noise appreciably, but it does keep the face and neck much warmer!

I have had my Shoei Qwest for about a year and I really like it. Fit and finish is great and it is rated as one of the "quieter" lids out there. I just installed a pin-lock visor for the cold weather and we will have to see how that goes..

Thanks for the feedback so far. A few points in response:

1. I ride a naked 2007 Sportster - no screen.
2. I am obviously aware that no helmet will provide complete silence, particularly at speed, but from some of the helmet reviews I've read there appear to be significant differences between makes and models as far as noise levels are concerned.
3. I hate ear plugs - not the plugs themselves (I have good/comfortable ones from my time in the army) but I can't stand the fact of not being able to hear properly. The helmet already reduces hearing and with ear plugs I feel too isolated. Some may consider this irrational but that's the way it is for me...
4. In my experience there is no consistent relationship between comfort and noise (my HJC is a perfect fit and very comfortable but also very noisy) or vents and noise (it seems that some helmet manufacturers can design effective vents without making the helmets too noisy).
5. I love the Schuberth but it is simply out of my price range.

I did a bit of research last night and found that the Bell RS-1 scores very well, low noise levels included. That helmet would still be in my price range - is anyone using that helmet?

Lots of helmet & helmet noise info at Webbikeworld:

I actually hear better on the bike WITH earplugs.

Yes if I try and chat with another rider at a stop light it can be a problem but
my riding mileage capabilities easily tripled with the noise fatigue from before.

Scorpion EXO 700 or 1000, was a quiet as my Shoei RF-1000, all of last year's models are on sale now for $180 or less. And yes true quiet requires ear plugs.

http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com/...ts/scorpion_exo+700+helmet+-+metallic+&+matte

http://www.helmetcity.com/page/HC/CTGY/mensclearance

What HJC model do you have now?

A Harley with no hearing protection?

Seriously, you need to reconsider this. You are damaging your hearing.

Get some hearing protection and learn the "feel" of your engine, not the sound.

Also, you should be doing constant visual checks before passing, turning, just riding, etc., so you really don't need to "hear" the vehicles around you.

+1 on ear plugs, Shoei Qwest and Arai Signet Q helmets

Riding any length of time without ear plugs will damage your hearing, even though you might not realize it. I won't ride without them. I have a Arai RXQ. Hearo's Blue 33 db.