Nolan n104 modular helmet  By  triker (Read 1,185 times)

I thought I read on here that since these were just little scooters, that we didn't need helmets. That we never went fast enuf to need a helmet if we got hit. Hmmmm, I think it was prodigit who said that

I just got a candy apple red Vega modular with a red tinted face shield

cool and plenty of protection

Sitting still if a car hits you you would hope you had on a helmet . I have had some ask why I wear a helmet since a scooter is no where as fast as a crotch rocket , but I am waaaaaay to pretty to get mangled up LOL . I have a a FF helmet save me big time in a severe wreck when I was 17 .

I use a GMax Platinum helmet and I enjoy it as I only paid 80 for it and it has alot of vents . I picked up a Fulmer modular at a flea market but to me the hinge seems like the weak link in a hard impact . I looked at a Bilt modular but it felt very cheaply made . If you truly want a modular I would get a Shoei

Its best to buy from a local store so you can test fit as mine feels like it is tailored to fit me .

Amazon has many " scooter helmets " starting at 20 and up and Amazon has an excellent return policy .

A helmet is cheaper than plastic surgery . I was riding without a helmet and woman asked me " what do you call a rider without a helmet ?" The answer is an organ donor

I own one. Very nice helmet, has a very good safety rating for a modular. HUGE field of vision, comfortable, nice drop down sun visor, well constructed and modular. If you live in a hot climate, venting is amazing, you can really feel the cool air flow. Fully removable and washable liner.

I have two problems with it that are nitpicks. The first, the manual shows a way to get the helmet off while closed, no way it is coming off my head. I have to open the flip up and then remove. No big deal. Secondly, one time for the life of me I could not get the flip up to close, until I found the "lock in open position" lever. My fault. Apparently you can lock it open for driving through town so it wont fall closed going over a bump. Not a complaint, just made me feel like an idiot.

Also a tad heavier than my full face. You can get the older N103 for a lot less ($200), but one of the improvements of the N104 was to get the weight down quite a bit as well as increasing the viewport considerably and improving the venting.


I think it is great helmet and as good as the Shoei for $650, but I found mine online for $300. And the "N" in N104 is for Nolans N-com system which fits right into the helmet if you tour with other folks although it is spendy. I bought white for visability. Looks like it is $319 at Revzilla. Worth it IMHO for a full feature, good safety rated, modular helmet.

My full face is a Scorpion EXO 700 which is close to the 900 you mentioned but not modular. I like the Scorpion, very comfortable but the reviews I read of the EXO 900 it was very heavy and got a lower safety rating than the Nolan. The Scorpion will be cheaper but I'd pay the extra for the N104, and if you don't want to spend that much I'd take the Nolan N103 over the Scorpion. You will have to try it on for fit because the shell of the N103 is not the same as the N104. Hope that helps.

I read an article about helmets, and forgive me if I am explaining this incorrectly but it is from memory so here goes.......

The article said that helmets were all designed to protect the head from an impact with a stationary object at about 14 mph. Now some go much farther than that in protection but 14mph was a number used for a reason.

14mph was about the force where the head impacts the ground if the bike were to tip suddenly and slam the rider to the ground. It was not about hitting a barrier at 60 mph, because that will basically rip your organs to shreds anyway. It was about the average impact of a head hitting the ground from the average height of a riders head above the ground.

If you go into a slide and you head slams into the ground, if you are sideswiped by a car and get knocked off the bike and you head hits the ground, it is at roughly the same speed. At least that is how I understood the article explaining it. That if you were going through an intersection at 10 mph and got t-boned and knocked to the ground your head, from the height it sits for the average rider, would hit at about 14mph, if you were going 30 and got t-boned your head would still impact at about 14 mph.

There will be other forces on your body from the speed you get struck and how far you fly etc. But that helmets were designed to protect you from getting whipped to the ground from the standard height of a motorcycle and that impact was generally going to be 14mph in MOST circumstances. And that was easily enough to cause serious injury or death.


I hate to be spreading misinformation, but I believe this is what the article stated. You could be stopped completely on your scooter, get hit from the side and slammed to the ground, and you head can hit the ground with the same force as if you were doing 80 mph.

Picture in your mind doing a u-turn in a culdesac at about 15, hitting some sand and the bike sliding out abruptly and slamming the side of your head into the ground. I bet you can picture a pretty violent one. That is what I am talking about, even on a moped.

Back on the Scootdawg board somebody talked about a low speed slide on a gravel road, he talked about a bad concussion and showed pictures of a messed up helmet. Sorry for the long post, but take helmets seriously.

Yea prodigit justifies not using a helmet,
I think you will find most here don't agree with that, a simple fall without even being moving can cause sever damage to your head even if not moving. Most vehicles weigh 1500 pounds and up, and even the smallest bump on the road can send you down, animals can also cause one to go down. Any number of things can happen on the road... It is really unwise to ride any 2 wheeled motor vehicle on the road without a helmet...

[replyingto=hank]hank[/replyingto]love that helmet Hank, seen that video elsewhere on these boards and fell in love with them...very practical looking helmet