7 Best 3/4 Motorcycle Helmet | Weigh Them Before You Buy

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Paint that draws comments at the stop light, if you buy the right size.

You buy this lid because it looks like a lid, not a fighter-pod — the cruiser-style finish in Hi-Gloss Black and Captain America graphics has been described as a finish that avoids the spaceman look. At 2.3 pounds it is genuinely light on the head, and the quick-release chinstrap clicks in a second with one gloved hand. The ear room is generous enough for good hearing, which a lot of 3/4 shells get wrong. It ships with a cloth drawstring helmet bag, a snap-on bubble visor, a headwrap and a keychain — nice touches for the price tier.

What riders keep coming back to is the fit once the size is right — well past 40 owners single it out in their feedback, and the smooth polyester shell holds up to daily use. Where the sizing goes wrong is the chart, not the helmet. A 22-inch head has been sold a Large that turned out painfully tight, and a few buyers have had the same experience. One clear way around it: buyers report the smart move is to order one size up from what the chart tells you. That is consistent enough across reviews that it is worth treating as the rule, not the exception.

Two further points worth knowing. The shell sizes genuinely scale — an XS shell is noticeably smaller than an XL, so a small-headed rider is not stuck in a bubble. And the helmet carries a real DOT certificate; some riders have bought one as a display piece for a chopper-style build only to find it was an approved helmet they could actually wear if needed. No vents worth mentioning, which suits open-face riding in warmer weather but not summer traffic — the shell itself is the airflow.

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Two visors, ear flaps that muffle traffic, and a shape that matches your bike.

Here is a helmet built for the rider who wants the open-face look without giving up eye protection. It carries both DOT FMVSS 218 and ECE 22.05 certification — the American and European safety standards — and the 1200 g shell is the lightest build on this list. That weight matters: it is the difference between glancing left in traffic and feeling your neck protest. The shell is advanced thermoplastic over high-density EPS with a mesh liner, and the metal visor base is tool-free, so you can swap shields without a screwdriver.

The standout is the vision system. You get a clear, anti-scratch outer visor, a retractable inner sun visor with anti-UV coating, and a spare long outer visor in the box for better face protection at speed. The retractable tint is the bit owners love — one click and sunlight disappears, another and it is back. The Quick-Release Buckle comes off with a single gloved hand. The liner pulls out and washes, and the ear pads are velcro-mounted so you can leave room for earbuds and glasses without fighting the fit. One owner on a grey Honda XR150 noted the colour matched the bike “98%” of the way — this is a lid that looks considered.

Where this helmet pressures you is at speed. Above 70 mph riders report too much crosswind and noise, so this is a city and back-road helmet, not a motorway mile-eater. The tinted sun visor also has limits in low-sun conditions, and the clear outer visor is not scratchproof against a careless glove wipe. Fit runs on the large side for some — the sizing is the one feature with genuinely mixed feedback. If in doubt, measure yourself and check the guide against that measurement before clicking.

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One helmet, two looks, thanks to a face mask that pops off on the fly.

This ILM is the 3/4 for the rider who wants options. The face mask and visor detach, so you can run it as a bare open-face lid or with the cage in place, and the top screw lets you tilt the sun visor without affecting a camera mount. The metal quick-release buckle releases with a lift of a red lever, and the removable and washable liner keeps the inside clean. There is a camera mount available separately, and replacement chin straps and visors are sold by ASIN if you need spares. It is the highest-ticket item on this list and it earns that with hardware, not graphics.

Appearance does its part too — well over 70 owners flag it as the reason they bought. Fit runs a close second, with an XXL that accommodates very large heads and ear pockets with speaker compartments for a Bluetooth setup. The quick-release strap and closable vents keep the daily routine easy. Rider accounts of long trips land on the same note: comfortable, well-vented, and stable enough to wear for hours.

Now the caution. The face mask is plain hard plastic without padding, and with your nose grazing the front cage the fit can go from snug to unpleasant. Some riders note the visor fogs immediately when the mask is on, so a breath guard would help but is not in the box. The plastic lenses on the spare clear visor arrive unpadded and have been reported cracked. It also sits lower-profile than some 3/4 shells, which trims the visible field. Use it as a fair-weather, lower-speed helmet and it shines; treat it as a highway lid and the mask becomes a nuisance.

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The widest view of the road of any lid on this list.

Field of view is the spec HJC engineers worked hardest on — the i31 gives you a wide, unobstructed picture of the road ahead, better than a full-face, and riders notice it at every junction. The shell is an advanced polycarbonate compound blended with high-impact ABS for strength at 3.4 pounds, and the crown and cheek pads are removable and washable. Cheek pads interchange across all shell sizes, so you can fine-tune the fit rather than accept it. It runs true to size against other HJCs.

Vision and quality are the two things riders praise most, quality taking the top spot by a wide margin. The Pinlock-ready HJ-43 visor offers 99% UV protection and an anti-scratch coating, and it ships with a dark smoke HJ-V12 sun shield already installed. The dual-visor setup means you can run clear shield and tinted inner shield simultaneously — one owner described needing no sunglasses at all. The Advanced Channeling Ventilation System pushes air front to back and the moisture-wicking liner keeps you dry. Glasses grooves in the cheek pads fit riders with eyewear without pinching.

The catch is the closure. The double D-ring strap sits high and comes up short — riders have had trouble threading it in gloves, and one returned the lid over it rather than fight it. The fix owners converge on is adding a quick-release clip aftermarket. Ventilation is the other split; some riders want more openings for sweaty commutes. If you are happy to fit a clip or you like D-rings, the rest of this helmet — visibility, comfort with glasses, and the tinted slide-down shield — earns its keep.

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A fiberglass composite shell that cuts wind noise and holds its finish through years of daily riding.

The Custom 500 is the most understated helmet here — and the only one with a fiberglass composite shell, which is the material that gives it both its light feel and its quiet ride. It meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 (FMVSS 218) plus DOT and ECE22.06 standards, so it clears the toughest European certification in this list. The Ionic+ padding manages sweat as it quick-dries and fights odour-causing bacteria, a nice touch if you ride daily and do not want to pull the liner every week. At 3.7 pounds it is nearly as light as the HJC despite the fiberglass build.

What long-time riders report is the noise. One rider with more than 100k miles upgraded from a DOT brain bucket and found wind noise and buffeting drop off dramatically without a windshield. The shell stays quiet at 3/4 level because there are no vents to whistle through. The interior is quilted and high-end in feel, the stitching and finish are consistent, and the matte black wears well. If you are going for the Steve McQueen look, this is the shell for it.

The honest trade-offs: this lid runs a little small — one rider found it needed half a size up, and a 59 cm head fitting a Large is a useful reference point. There is no venting at all, so warm open-face riding is fine but a summer gridlock will leave you warm. And it can sit low on the forehead and be tight at the crown for some head shapes — if you have a round or oval head, try it on with care. The strap is hook-and-loop, which suits a retro lid but is not the fastest closure in this list.

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Swap the front mask for a full-face look, or pop it off and ride open.

This is the priciest and most configurable helmet on the list, thanks to a removable front mouth guard held on by Neodymium magnets. Pop it off for 3/4 mode, clip it on for Full Mode — two helmets from one shell. The advanced polycarbonate shell carries DOT FMVSS No. 218 certification and dual-density EPS, and ScorpionEXO backs it with a 5-year warranty, which is the longest coverage on this list. The 4.5-pound shell is the heaviest here, and that weight buys you the extra mask, the larger side-release buttons and the double D-ring strap.

Where this helmet earns its extra cost is the setup for a Bluetooth communicator. The speaker pockets are large-diameter and positioned in front of the ears — big enough for most Bluetooth system speakers, with Cardo units specifically reported to fit perfectly. The KwikWick “C” comfort liner keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter, and the Kwikfit cheek pads make it easy to slide glasses on and off. The EverClear SpeedView drop-down sun visor is anti-fog coated and comes with a dark smoke visor installed plus a clear one for night riding.

Fit is the question mark. Riders say the Covert 2 fits snug — some size up — and the pressure points are the symptom of that. The XL runs tighter than the original Covert 1, so measure against the chart with intent. Wind noise is lower than a half shell but present, and the front mask adds a little whistle at highway speed. Weigh the mask as a weekend option rather than a daily accessory. If you want a lid that works with your communicator and your glasses and can change face, this is the one.