Helmet noise

[Cormanus]

I started at the beginning of this thread and read everything with interest. Yes, I have experienced annoying wind noise ( without ear plugs ) with every modern helmet I have owned. Yes, I do wear ear plugs. Currently I use silicone solid plugs, issued when I worked in a factory years ago. They do give the closed off head feeling, but I can still hear situational awareness sounds around me, granted at much lower volume. I have tried the disposable squash and insert foam plugs, but just dont like them. I have a set of Earpeace plugs arriving today, that I hope will solve both the closed off head feeling and wind noise issues.

From here on are just my speculations about wind noise. It may be more an issue of failing memory ( LOL ), than failing hearing, but I just dont remember wind noise (or engine noise) being a factor back in the day. This made me wonder if, in the quest for better head protection, modern helmets had actually increased wind noise as an unintended by-product.

My first helmet was a plain white Bell 3/4 in 1967, my second, a green metal-flake Buco 3/4 in 1969. I still have the Buco, pictured below. Helmets back then fit much closer to the head, and remind me of the helmets modern down hill ski racers wear today. The Styrofoam shell lining was much thinner, as was the minimal cloth and open cell foam soft lining. There was also no helmet venting. Full face really did not gain popularity and/or availability until the mid 70s if I remember correctly (remember the failing memory part ), and of course modulars much much later.

By comparison, modern helmet outer shells are much bigger, Styrofoam shell liners thicker, and there are thicker soft lining materials. All this would seem to increase the space between the head and the outer shell, consequently creating a larger entrance for wind to enter, than older less protective helmets. The same gap principle could be demonstrated by the wind noise difference between a full face or modular helmet worn with, and without a chin curtain.

I am also reminded of something I learned as an audiophile years ago. Cloth and open cell foam rubber do have some sound muffling properties, but do retain a significant amount of acoustic transparency. Think cloth or open cell foam grills on stereo speakers. Would it be feasible to use closed cell foam for helmet soft linings, and if so, would it make a significant difference in noise reduction to the interior of the helmet?

I have included pictures for physical size comparison between my old 1969 Buco, and a modern Shoei RJ-Platinum-R, but I only wear modular now. I dont know if my speculations have any accuracy or not, but thought it might be interesting to consider. If the lining in my old Buco had not deteriorated so much with time, I would ride test it ( and my memory ) against the RJ-Platinum-R. Even if there is any accuracy to my speculations, protection outweighs noise reduction as far as I am concerned.

Of course. Particularly when it’s easy to have both via ear plugs.