Knowing what to do with motorcycle helmet when parked can waste your precious time. The truth is that it depends on individual reasons and preferences. For some people, their decisions could be based on the helmet’s safety or on preventing damages. For others, it could simply be habitual.
But there are two main actions to take in such a situation. Option one is to take the helmet along with you or leave it on the bike by locking it. Another option here can be putting it in a bag, which isn’t so common. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of the available options. Moreover, you’ll discover a few more vital information in reading this post. So, read on for more details.
Article Summary:
- Knowing what to do with a motorcycle helmet when parked is often based on personal preferences and environmental conditions. Some options include carrying the helmet with you or leaving it with the bike.
- Certain motorcycles come with special space for storing helmets. If your bike has it, then you don’t have a problem. You can simply put your helmet in the space provided to secure it.
- The most recognized pros of leaving the helmet with your bike are convenience and comfort. On the other hand, some drawbacks here may include lack of safety, vulnerability to damages, etc.
- Some advantages of carrying your helmet with you are safety, supervision, maintenance, etc. Conversely, certain cons attached to carrying a helmet along include inconvenience, the possibility of forgetting it, etc.
What to Do With Motorcycle Helmet When Parked?
To decide on what to do with motorcycle helmet when parked, there are a few things you can consider. However, they’re based on personal preferences or environmental conditions like the security level. One of the few things you can do in such a situation is to leave the helmet on the bike. The second option to consider is taking it along with you. Moreover, one thing you should always be mindful of in this decision is safety. So, let’s consider your options in detail.
Carrying the Helmet Along
For some folks, carrying a helmet helps keep their minds at rest. They believe that taking the helmet along is keeping it safe from damage. Another reason for their decision to carry it along is to avoid theft cases. You may consider this the safest decision to take. However, it’s not the most convenient action to take.
Just as it is with everything, there are advantages and disadvantages attached to carrying your helmet along. So, in this case, the best advice is you can take it along if the neighborhood isn’t familiar enough. You don’t want to feel the pain of returning to a missing helmet. Also, you can carry the helmet along if you’re not certain about how long you’ll be away from the bike, especially when there are kids around.
Leaving the Helmet on the Bike
This is the second option to consider when parked. If you’re only concerned about convenience, leaving the motorcycle’s helmet would be the best option. Conversely, if you’re bothered about a theft case, you should discard this idea from your mind. As stated earlier, your decision is based on personal preferences.
Furthermore, you can attach the helmet to the bike using a lock if it’s not convenient to carry it along. Nevertheless, can you say that employing a lock will guarantee the complete safety of the helmet? Well, using a lock doesn’t provide total security for the helmet. What this does is slow down the stealing process. Moreover, it’ll be pretty easy to cut the lock to have access to the helmet with the right tools.
Locking your helmet may only be ideal if you can get an undisrupted view of your bike. Also, you can lock the bike if you won’t stay away for a long period. This will give the thieves a short time to make their decision.
Furthermore, fastening your helmet to your bike throughout the night might not be such a good idea. If you must leave your bike on the street all night long, it’s best to take your helmet along. Thieves can easily get away with your helmet than they would with your motorcycle.
Putting It in a Bag
An additional option is putting the helmet in a bag. For some riders, this is the ideal option. It keeps the helmet safe yet allows them to engage both hands for necessary activities. There are a few bags that are best for this purpose. It is fine if the bag has adequate space for things like books, food, headphones, or water. A few examples include a regular backpack or a helmet bag. They also come in handy when carrying your touring motorcycle boots and so on.
Pros & Cons of Carrying a Helmet with You
As you may already know, carrying a helmet with you can prove to be the right thing to do sometimes. But sometimes this decision has its disadvantages too. So, what are the most notable pros and cons of taking your helmet along with you?
Some advantages of carrying your helmet with you are safety, supervision, maintenance, etc. Conversely, certain cons attached to carrying a helmet along include inconvenience, the possibility of forgetting it, etc. For better knowledge, let’s address these pros and cons in detail.
Pros of Carrying A Helmet with You
Safety:
The first guarantee you get when you carry your helmet along is safety. The fact that you have your eyes on your helmet reduces the chances of theft occurrence. In this case, you can decide to carry it in your hand or a bag.
Supervision:
Having your helmet with you lets you know what’s happening around it at every point in time. This alone is enough to keep your mind at rest when it comes to your helmet.
Maintenance:
Carrying your helmet along with you is one way to maintain it. You can choose to place it on surfaces that won’t attract scratches on them. Also, you control what and who comes close to it, especially if you’re avoiding letting it fall off a height.
No-Risk:
There’s no risk of sudden damage when you have your helmet with you. You can tell where it is and control who tampers with it.
Securing a Seat:
Having your helmet with you makes it easy to secure a seat for a friend in a café or restaurant. Once you place it on an empty seat, it will prevent anyone from sitting on it. It’s like marking territory.
Serves As A Shopping Basket:
Interestingly, your helmet can serve as a mini shopping basket. It’s possible to run short of options on how to carry a few small loads. Having your helmet in your hand can come in handy in such a situation.
Cons of Carrying A Helmet with You
Inconvenience:
There are a few ways through which carrying your helmet along can inconvenience you. This can be in terms of size or weight. The size might limit the places available to put it, thereby making it a burden. You may need to have it in your hand the whole time you’ll be away from your bike. But holding a weighty helmet for a while can result in tired arms.
The Possibility to Forget It:
It doesn’t matter how expensive the helmet is; it’s not impossible to have it slip off your mind. You can simply avoid this by leaving it on your bike unless you’re always bent on riding with a helmet, which might help to jog your memory when you forget it.
Inability to Engage Both Hands At Once:
Carrying your helmet along reduces the chances of freely engaging both hands. As such, you might be slower at performing certain tasks that require both hands. You may decide to place the helmet somewhere but might forget it after a while.
Pros & Cons of Leaving the Helmet with Your Bike
Keeping the helmet with your bike also has advantages and disadvantages. The most recognized pros of leaving the helmet with your bike are convenience and comfort. On the other hand, some drawbacks here may include lack of safety, vulnerability to damages, etc. Here they are in detail.
Pros of Leaving the Helmet with Your Bike
Convenience & Comfort:
This is common and most likely the only advantage you can get when you leave the helmet with your motorcycle. So, how does this decision produce convenience and comfort? If you can use both hands for different activities without restrictions keeps you very comfortable. In several cases, you can appreciate the idea of leaving your helmet behind if it’s weighty and bulky.
Furthermore, having your helmet with you can be quite tiresome and infuriating. This is particular to occasions when you need to go shopping or run certain errands. So, leaving it with your bike would be the smartest idea in such a case.
No-Risk of Forgetting It:
One good thing about leaving your helmet with your bike is that there’s no chance of forgetting or displacing it. After staying away for as long as you wish, you can be sure that you’ll always return home having your helmet.
Cons of of Leaving the Helmet with Your Bike
Safety challenges:
Knowing you’re somewhere and your helmet is elsewhere is a big minus to the helmet’s safety. At times like that, anything can happen to the helmet. A good example of such things that could occur is robbery. Leaving your helmet in an unfriendly neighborhood can result in such an occurrence.
Vulnerability to Damages:
Leaving your helmet with your motorcycle makes it vulnerable to sudden impacts that could damage it. Moreover, if there are children around the place your parked the motorcycle, they might play with it and damage it.
Troubled Mind and distraction:
Some folks would experience a troubled mind knowing that their helmets are out there with no proper supervision. This will, in turn, leave them worrying about the helmet’s safety and won’t pay full attention to what they’re doing. So, if there’s a chance you can take your helmet along, it’s best to do so to maintain a calm mind.
Tips To Decide On What to Do With Your Helmet When Parked
Knowing the alternatives isn’t the difficult part. But making the best decision to suit you is where the problem lies. So, how do you know which option to choose when you park your motorcycle? Consider these few tips below:
- Certain motorcycles come with special space for storing helmets. If your bike does, then you don’t have any problems. You can simply put your helmet in the space provided to secure it.
- If your bike doesn’t have such a feature, the best alternative is to get a lock for the helmet. With the lock, you can fasten the helmet to the motorcycle. Although this can serve as a good security measure, it doesn’t guarantee total safety.
- Also, you might want to consider carrying the helmet along with you if there’s no lock available. Nothing can be worse than returning to find out that your helmet is missing.
- Don’t consider placing the helmet on the bike if there’s still a possibility it can be stolen. You should take this risk if the helmet is ancient, worn out, or the environment is welcoming. But if you look around and there are thugs or kids around, take it with you.
Conclusion
Many times, knowing what to do with motorcycle helmet when parked is based on personal preference and environmental conditions. Some of the options include carrying the helmet along with you or leaving it with the bike. Leaving it with the bike comes in a few more ways. They include placing it on the bike or putting it in a bag. For bikes with a helmet storage space, you can store the helmet in the space provided. But if there’s no storage compartment or lock available, carry the helmet to protect it.
