Are Riding Glasses Better Than A Face Shield
I got my first bike when I was a mere 18 years old. It was a 1977 Honda 550 Four with custom dual chrome exhaust and a beefed-up engine. My older brother was also into motorcycles at the same time as me but he had a brand new Yamaha. Right off the bat I was conflicted as to whether or not to use a full face shield or an open helmet with riding classes. My brother was wearing a helmet that had a full face shield but my bike had come with a helmet that only had a half shield.
On the one hand, I could buy a new helmet and riding glasses - and take my chances with bugs - or I could buy a new helmet with a full face shield. This is something that I haggled back and forth with. I really didn’t want to stick with a half shield I had because I figured they were for old people.
But I didn’t really have the money to pay for a brand new helmet because in those days they could easily set you back a couple of hundred dollars if you wanted a good one. However, thankfully my brother made the choice easy for me.
He was riding from Fort Hood, Texas to our home in New York and had bought a full front fairing in order to make things easier for himself. But once he was home for couple of months he decided he no longer wanted it. So he opted to put it on my bike. Even though it may not be manly, I absolutely loved it!
So it solved my dilemma as well as keeping me warmer when the temperature got a little bit cooler. The great thing about my fairing was that it did not interfere with the wind in my hair feeling but it was high enough to stop the issue with bugs.
What I did with my helmet was to remove the half shield and just bought a pair of cool riding glasses. I still have those riding glasses 28 years later! Can you imagine that from a pair of riding glasses?
