Gah! choosing a helmet is tough!

[C1xRider]

Awaz,

I purchased 2 helmets from Motorcycle Super Store a couple of years ago, after going to a local dealer and determining the correct model and size.  What I received from that order was much smaller, and did not fit, even though it was labeled as the same size, same brand, same model.  I had to pay to return them, and they would not honor their sale price to replace them with one size larger (the sale had ended).

I was very unhappy with them for not simply exchanging the helmets.  After some serious complaining to them about the issue, they had another "sale" a couple days later, putting the helmets back to the price I originally paid.  Not sure if they did this just for me, or if they had planned it all along, but I did finally get the replacements at the original purchase price.

I don't know why the size from them was smaller than what I tried on at the local dealer, but I suspect they had models from prior years, possibly old stock from the manufacture they were selling off cheap.

I've used HJC helmets, including modulars (Symax), for years, and although they worked well, they had issues (broken gears in the jaw mechanisms, broken release cables).  I could not find all the replacement parts needed to fix them, so I moved on.  I actually repaired the broken release cable with dental floss, and it's still working!

I'm now using the Scorpion EXO-900.  I'm very happy with it, and will probably buy another to use as my snowmobile helmet.  First, I will be buying a Scorpion EXO-100 for the upcoming hot summer rides though. 

Even though funds are the primary issue for you, don't ignore your comfort factor.  Wearing an uncomfortable helmet, just because it was cheap, will completely ruin a great motorcycle riding experience.  If you get one that fits well, but has a couple of 'pressure points', you can always sand down the Styrofoam behind the padding to give a little more clearance.  It doesn't take much to make a dramatic difference.

Hope this helps.

[gflint]

Back to Scorpion service.  I had my Scorpion over a year when the face opening latch snapped off.  I called Scorpion and they had a new jaw peice to me in two days.  No purchase date request or questions of any kind.  That is service.

[Bob]

 I personally will not go into a dealer, try on the helmets or other gear to find out what fits. Then leave and order it somewhere else to save a few dollars! I'm not pointing fingers at anybody, but I personally won't do that. I feel it's not right. And in a way, I feel that it's kind of like theft of service.
 The dealer pays to stock the items, electric, heat and/or AC, for their customers. I'm sure the prices are listed on the items. If I felt the prices are so high I must order elsewhere. There is the option to leave then and buy else where because I want to pay less. To then go ahead and try items on to find out what I want, and then buy elsewhere is IMO, just not right. So I personally won't do that.
 I realize that dealers prices are sometimes higher than I can buy on line for. But sometimes if I ask, they give me a better price for being a loyal customer. I also realize that the dealer is a business, and as such needs to make a profit to survive. The fact is that less, or not enough profit could mean the demise of the dealer. I personally like to keep the dealers around. There are things that I might need from them. So it's in my best interest to help them survive.
 Like I said, I am not pointing fingers at anyone. This is just my feelings and belief on this practice! reading this thread kind of reminded me of that. So I decided to voice my opinion on it. Not at anyone in particular, but as the group as a whole, in general!

[JetJock]

I personally will not go into a dealer, try on the helmets or other gear to find out what fits. Then leave and order it somewhere else to save a few dollars! I'm not pointing fingers at anybody, but I personally won't do that. I feel it's not right. And in a way, I feel that it's kind of like theft of service.
 The dealer pays to stock the items, electric, heat and/or AC, for their customers. I'm sure the prices are listed on the items. If I felt the prices are so high I must order elsewhere. There is the option to leave then and buy else where because I want to pay less. To then go ahead and try items on to find out what I want, and then buy elsewhere is IMO, just not right. So I personally won't do that.
 I realize that dealers prices are sometimes higher than I can buy on line for. But sometimes if I ask, they give me a better price for being a loyal customer. I also realize that the dealer is a business, and as such needs to make a profit to survive. The fact is that less, or not enough profit could mean the demise of the dealer. I personally like to keep the dealers around. There are things that I might need from them. So it's in my best interest to help them survive.
 Like I said, I am not pointing fingers at anyone. This is just my feelings and belief on this practice! reading this thread kind of reminded me of that. So I decided to voice my opinion on it. Not at anyone in particular, but as the group as a whole, in general!

+1

100% agreement.

I hate people that "shop for sizes locally" and then go online and find the cheapest source. As a small biz owner, I see customers like this. We try to make it up on customer service and providing good advice that's much more honest than anything they'll find online, but there's always a percentage of people (usually the ones that like to say "stealership" when talking about bike dealers) that are using our time and staff so they can get something for a few bucks less online --- and then they complain when there's a problem with their online purchase.

With helmets, I would never buy online. I want to try stuff on, wear it long enough to see if any hot spots develop, etc. That means I buy locally because my ethics prevent me from ripping off another small biz owners' time.

[maxtog]

I personally will not go into a dealer, try on the helmets or other gear to find out what fits. Then leave and order it somewhere else to save a few dollars! I'm not pointing fingers at anybody, but I personally won't do that. I feel it's not right. And in a way, I feel that it's kind of like theft of service.

+2 Agreed.  I would not do that either.  I checked on the local shops, nobody had the features OR color I wanted, THAT is when I decided to go online.  If they had the size/model to try but not the color, I would order from them instead (assuming the price was not astronomical).   It is just the right thing to do.

[CrashGordon]

I've never gone into a dealer to try-on and then left to order the item cheaper, but I probably would if the price difference was great enough (and the dealer wouldn't deal). I know the dealer has to make a profit, but there's no reason why they have to charge MSRP for an item that can be bought off the internet for sometimes 20% less. They are counting on their "loyal customers" not checking to see that they are charging pro-shop prices. I don't know this for sure, but if they are like auto dealers, then most of their money is made off of parts, service and accessories and not bike sales. That means they're selling enough stuff at enough of a markup to keep the doors open so I don't feel too sorry for them.

That said, there's always some benefit to being able to take it home now rather than waiting for it to be shipped.

[Flathead]

+3 Support your local dealers whenever possible or they will close up shop!

[JetJock]

I've never gone into a dealer to try-on and then left to order the item cheaper, but I probably would if the price difference was great enough (and the dealer wouldn't deal). I know the dealer has to make a profit, but there's no reason why they have to charge MSRP for an item that can be bought off the internet for sometimes 20% less. They are counting on their "loyal customers" not checking to see that they are charging pro-shop prices. I don't know this for sure, but if they are like auto dealers, then most of their money is made off of parts, service and accessories and not bike sales. That means they're selling enough stuff at enough of a markup to keep the doors open so I don't feel too sorry for them.

That said, there's always some benefit to being able to take it home now rather than waiting for it to be shipped.

Often a small biz has little choice but to charge MSRP or close to it. They simply can't buy in large enough quantities to compete with Rocky Mtn ATV (for one example) that buys tires by the multiple-container load. Just like small book stores can't compete on price with Amazon.

In a retail biz, if you're not getting a 30% markup on your sales, you're probably not going to stay in business for long as overhead is always at least around 25%. Since the markup on products from distributors is typically in the 30 to 40% range, there's not a lot of wiggle room on pricing . . . unless you buy in giant quantities.

In my store, I cut my friends and regular customers a break. Someone I've never seen before who may never buy another thing, I'll try and close the deal and I'll negotiate price to a point, but people who shop based only on price aren't going to keep me in business.

[DaveO]

my local  indy  shop will try to get close to internet prices on some items.
Close is good enough for me .
He also puts me head of the line if i need service work.

[CrashGordon]

In my area (Dallas), shops tend to fall into two categories.  I'm sure it's like everywhere else--we have bike dealerships and gear shops. The bike dealerships will always have an income source for factory parts and service. Of course, service can't be sold over the internet and at the prices dealers get for service (we've all griped about what some dealers charge for a tire change!), they can afford to price competitively on some gear items. The gear shops tend to price more competitively from the start, but they don't seam to stock much. Obviously, they don't have unlimited shelf space or back room storage, but if I'm going to have to wait to get my item then why not save some cash for my trouble? Add to that having to pay sales tax locally while a lot of online sellers offer free shipping (with no sales tax) and the price difference between someone like Revzilla and my local Kawi dealer can get quite large.

I'm always willing to pay a little more to take my item home today, but I'm not going to pay an extra $50 on a $300 helmet (a price difference I've actually seen at a local dealer).

[Awaz]

If I go shop at a dealer I will just buy it from them.
It appears though Gmax has a sizing feature where you measure the circumference of your forehead and they will tell you what size helmet you need - L, XL, XXL, etc. I will have to find Gmax dealers near to me if I want to try those helmets out.

[C1xRider]

Wow, it's fascinating what people pick up on, and how it can steer a thread in one direction or another.

OK, the rest of the story...  This happened a couple of years ago now.

I had been looking for a motocross helmet to use for snowmobiling on dry powder days (with goggles).  I normally use a modular, but there are times when the the snow is like dust, and it gets to the inside of the shield.  Even with an electric shield, it just doesn't work.

My buddy found the Scorpion VX-17 (Kevlar based) on sale at this particular dealer.  I wasn't fond of the dealer, as they never seemed to care about the customers, like to ask if they could help you, never would budge on price, etc.  For me, loyalty is earned, not given.

Anyway, I went down there a few days after he bought his, planning to buy one if it fit, and all I could find was one in solid white.  I prefer solid colors on a street bike (even have 2 in white), but not for the sled (unless it's black).  I tried it on to see if it would fit, and determined the medium felt good.

In the whole time I was there, no one bothered to stop by and ask if they could help (there were at least 7 employees in the store (3 or 4 on the floor at any one time), and only about 5 customers.  Finally, I flagged down someone to ask if they had anymore in back, and he said "that's all we have", and walked away.  No offer to try and get me one, or even steer me to something else.

I left, and went online to see if I could find someone that was close to that price, and found Motorcycle Super Store had them, at a much better price, with cool looking graphics.  I bought 2 of them.  Prior to that, I had one experience with buying a helmet online without seeing it first, and it was bad.  I would never do that again.  Shoes and helmets, don't buy them site unseen.

If a dealer is at all good to me, I go out of my way to support them.  My last dealer (R.I.P.) was outstanding.  I would call the parts guy whenever I was looking to buy something, and tell him what I was after, and about what I could get it for, and ask him if he could get close.  Usually he could, and I would buy from him.  Only on 2 occasions did he tell me "I can't get close to that price", and I would suggest he add the place I was looking at to his supplier list.  Once, I bought a snowmobile track from him, and he gave me too good of a price on it.  I told him to add $100 to it, as I wanted him to make some money, but he declined, and said my purchases allowed him to exceed some buying threshold with the manufacturer, and get free shipping for the rest of the year.

In fact, when I was looking to buy the Coocase, I ran it by my dealer, and he said he could get it.  After he got it in, I told him it would be a week before I could stop by and pick it up.  He said no problem, as a customer saw it, and wanted one just like it (another sale for him!).  I said "Great, if someone wants one and isn't willing to wait, sell them mine, and order me another."

So, as the saying goes, now you know "The rest of the story..."

[firetruck41]

it's easy when you choose shoei RF1100. you get it right the first time.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

I have 3 Scorpion EXO1000's and I haven't paid over $120 for any of them.  Alot of bang for the buck as far as quality and features IMO.

[OregonLAN]

I have no problems with going into a shop, trying on helmets making the a local purchase IF the price is reasonable. However, most of our local shops charge a 15% - 40% premium over MSRP. I was at one this weekend. I overheard a guy complaining that MSRP was $40.00 lower than the asking price. The employee quickly suggested that MSRP was a "suggested" price and not their store's price. After the guy started walking away, the employee suggested he could probably match the MSRP if wanted. That's BS! If you want to sell your ****, don't mark it up beyond the highest suggested price in hopes that an unsuspecting fools may wonder in and pay for it. I understand that shops have overhead, but when you're trying make a 50% profit for nothing, that's just wrong. Larger companies make more money by selling in volume, not by trying to jack up their profit margins.

[Awaz]

Middle of corn fields it is slim picking when it comes to dealers. Any dealers you guys can recommend in central illinois? Even St. Lois area?

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Middle of corn fields it is slim picking when it comes to dealers. Any dealers you guys can recommend in central illinois? Even St. Lois area?

My buddy is a customer at this dealer and he said that they are great to work with.

http://www.stlouispowersports.com/index.htm

[DocPigskin]

As a business owner myself, one misperception is that price is the primary factor in a purchase.  I truly believe dealers can keep their price higher than an internet price as long as they are willing (and also point out to the potential buyer) to provide benefits internet sites can't (i.e. returns, returning customer loyalty discounts, special Customer appreciation days sales, ect...that brings people back to the shop).

[maxtog]

I have 3 Scorpion EXO1000's and I haven't paid over $120 for any of them.  Alot of bang for the buck as far as quality and features IMO.

The EXO-1000 is a $260 to $300 helmet!  Not sure how you did that, but good job!

[Jeremy Mitchell]

The EXO-1000 is a $260 to $300 helmet!  Not sure how you did that, but good job!

I found two of them on clearance through sportbiketrackgear.com for $110 shipped (there was a thread on the other forum pre-crash) and the other I bought from a member of this forum.