Full Face Motorcycle Helmets

A full face motorcycle helmet has a fixed chin bar and provides coverage around the head, face and jaw. It is the most widely used helmet style for everyday road riding, commuting, touring, sports bikes and track use, but that does not mean every full face helmet is designed for the same job.

At RaceLeathers, you can browse full face motorcycle helmets across a wide range of prices, sizes and designs from brands including Shoei, HJC, Shark, Scorpion, Bell, MT, Airoh, SMK, VCan and more. The range covers practical everyday road helmets, comfortable sport-touring models and focused racing helmets, with plain colours and graphics ranging from fairly restrained to impossible to lose in a car park.

Why Choose a Full Face Motorcycle Helmet?

The fixed chin bar and enclosed design provide more physical coverage around the face and chin than an open face motorcycle helmet. Full face helmets also give the rider a visor, weather protection and a sealed interior that can help reduce wind, rain, insects and road debris reaching the face.

That makes them suitable for a broad range of bikes and riding styles. They are used by scooter riders, commuters, tourers, sports bike riders and racers rather than belonging to one particular type of motorcycle.

A full face design is not automatically the correct choice for every rider. Anyone wanting a chin bar that can be raised may prefer a flip front motorcycle helmet, while cruiser and classic-bike riders sometimes favour open face styles. You can compare all the available options in our main motorcycle helmets collection.

Road, Touring and Racing Full Face Helmets

Everyday road and commuting helmets tend to concentrate on practical features. Depending on the model, these may include an internal sun visor, micrometric chin strap, removable lining, Pinlock®-prepared visor and spaces for intercom speakers.

For touring and longer road journeys, comfort becomes particularly important. Look at the ventilation controls, visor opening, liner materials, available shell sizes, weight, glasses compatibility and whether the helmet works properly with your motorcycle's screen and riding position.

Sport-touring helmets try to balance everyday comfort with stability and ventilation at higher speeds. They may have a more aerodynamic shell, larger rear exhaust vents, a locking visor mechanism and a closer fit around the neck and cheeks.

Racing and track-focused full face helmets usually place greater emphasis on aerodynamics, ventilation, visor security and vision when the rider is tucked forward. Features may include a double-D ring fastening, tear-off-ready visor, rear spoiler, emergency cheek-pad release system and a wider or taller eye opening.

Not every full face helmet is approved or suitable for every track event. If you intend to use it for a track day or competition, check the helmet's approval, look for the required ACU marking where applicable and confirm the organiser's rules before turning up looking hopeful.

How Should a Full Face Motorcycle Helmet Fit?

Fit matters more than the logo, colour or size printed on the box. Motorcycle helmet brands use different internal shapes, so a Medium from one manufacturer may feel completely different from a Medium made by another.

Measure around the fullest part of your head, normally just above the eyebrows and ears. This gives you a starting size, but it does not tell you which brand or model will suit the shape of your head.

A properly fitted full face helmet should:

• Feel evenly snug around the whole head.
• Hold your cheeks firmly without causing pain.
• Move your cheeks and scalp when you turn the helmet.
• Remain secure when pushed forwards, backwards and from side to side.
• Have no large gaps between your head and the lining.
• Have no sharp pressure points across the forehead, temples or crown.
• Allow the chin strap to be adjusted and fastened securely.

New cheek pads will normally settle slightly with use, so a new helmet should feel firm. That is not the same as being painfully tight. A helmet that causes a strong pressure point after several minutes may be the wrong internal shape rather than simply the wrong size.

Keep the helmet on for a while before deciding. A quick ten-second try-on will tell you whether you like the graphics, but it may not reveal the pressure point that starts drilling into your forehead five minutes later.

Some manufacturers offer replacement cheek pads or crown liners in different thicknesses. These can help fine-tune the fit, but only where the helmet has already been correctly sized and the manufacturer approves the alternative parts.

ECE 22.06, ECE 22.05 and SHARP Ratings

Motorcycle helmets used on roads in Great Britain must meet an accepted safety standard. Most new full face helmets now use UNECE Regulation 22.06 approval. Properly approved ECE 22.05 helmets also remain legal to wear in Great Britain.

ECE 22.06 introduced a wider range of testing requirements than the earlier standard, including additional impact locations and assessments intended to examine helmet performance in more varied conditions. Check the individual product information and approval label rather than assuming that every helmet in the collection uses the same standard.

SHARP is the UK Government's independent motorcycle helmet assessment scheme. It tests selected approved helmets and gives them a rating from one to five stars, helping riders compare the relative protection offered by the models that have been assessed.

Not every helmet has a SHARP rating. An unrated helmet has not necessarily failed; in most cases, SHARP simply has not tested that particular model. Start with helmets that fit properly, then use the SHARP result as another useful piece of information where one is available.

A higher price does not automatically mean a higher SHARP rating. More expensive full face helmets may offer a lighter shell, more shell sizes, improved ventilation, better-quality lining, easier visor changes, replacement interior options and more refined aerodynamics. Those are all worthwhile benefits, but the price label itself is not a safety test.

Read our full guide: Are Expensive Motorcycle Helmets Actually Safer? What SHARP Found in 2026.

Visors, Pinlock Inserts and Internal Sun Visors

Most full face motorcycle helmets are supplied with a clear road visor. Depending on the model, replacement clear, lightly tinted, dark smoke, mirrored or coloured visors may also be available.

Do not assume that every optional visor is legal for road use simply because it fits the helmet. Check its approval markings and restrictions. Visors marked “Daytime Use Only” should only be used during daylight, while very dark visors may not meet the legal light-transmission requirements for use on UK roads.

If you use a dark or tinted visor during the day, remember that daylight has an irritating habit of disappearing later. Carrying a clear visor is considerably more useful than trying to ride home in the dark with it open and collecting every fly in Lancashire.

A Pinlock® insert creates an insulating layer inside the main visor to help reduce misting. However, there is an important difference between:

• Pinlock® ready: the visor has the mounting pins, but the insert may need to be purchased separately.
• Pinlock® included: the correct anti-fog insert is supplied with the helmet.

Always check the individual product description because the insert supplied can also vary between helmet versions.

An internal drop-down sun visor can be useful when light conditions change during a journey. It is convenient for commuting and touring, although not every full face helmet includes one. Focused racing helmets often leave it out in favour of a simpler, lighter internal structure and the use of interchangeable outer visors.

Ventilation, Noise and Everyday Comfort

Ventilation systems commonly use chin and forehead intakes connected to rear exhaust vents. The position and size of the vents matter, but so does whether you can operate them while wearing motorcycle gloves.

No motorcycle helmet is completely silent. Noise is affected by the helmet, your head shape, motorcycle screen, mirrors, riding position, speed and the amount of air reaching the helmet. A model described as quiet on one motorcycle can sound completely different on another.

Features such as a chin curtain, neck roll and well-sealed visor can help manage airflow, but suitable hearing protection is still worth considering, particularly on longer or faster journeys.

For regular use, a removable and washable lining makes the helmet easier to keep fresh. Glasses wearers should check whether the interior has suitable channels and whether their spectacle arms sit comfortably without being forced into the side of the head.

Full Face Helmets and Bluetooth Intercoms

Many modern full face helmets are prepared for a Bluetooth intercom, but “intercom ready” can mean different things. Some models simply provide recesses for universal speakers, while others are designed around a particular manufacturer-specific communication system.

Check the available speaker space, speaker diameter and thickness, cable routing and the intended position of the microphone. A helmet may technically accept an intercom but still be uncomfortable if the speakers press directly against your ears.

Some helmets are supplied with an integrated communication system, although most require the intercom to be purchased separately. Browse our motorcycle intercom systems for universal and helmet-specific options.

Polycarbonate, Composite and Carbon Helmets

Full face helmet shells are made using several materials and manufacturing methods. Common options include thermoplastic or polycarbonate, fibreglass composites, multi-composite materials and carbon fibre.

The shell material can affect the helmet's weight, thickness, cost and finish, but it does not create a simple league table where every carbon helmet is automatically safer than every polycarbonate helmet.

The complete helmet design matters, including the shell, energy-absorbing liner, chin bar, visor system and retention strap. Check the legal approval, consider the SHARP rating where one is available and, most importantly, make sure the helmet fits your actual head.

Premium helmets may also be made in a greater number of outer-shell sizes. This can help prevent smaller helmet sizes from sharing an unnecessarily large shell and may produce a better-proportioned, more refined fit across the size range.

Replacement Visors, Liners and Helmet Parts

Replacement parts can make a good helmet easier to maintain over several years. We stock motorcycle helmet parts and accessories, including replacement visors, Pinlock® inserts, cheek pads, crown liners, vent parts and visor mechanisms for many popular models.

Always match parts to the exact helmet model and generation. Two visors can look almost identical while using completely different mounting points, and adding the word “Evo”, “II” or “3” to a model name is often enough to make the old part useless.

Expert Full Face Helmet Fitting in Darwen

Visit RaceLeathers at Britannia Mill in Darwen, Lancashire, to compare full face motorcycle helmets from different brands properly. We can help check the overall size, internal shape, cheek-pad pressure, movement and chin-strap adjustment rather than simply measuring your head and pointing towards a pile of boxes.

Bring your glasses if you ride in them and tell us what motorcycle you use, the type of riding you do and whether you intend to fit an intercom. Those details are considerably more useful than choosing entirely by graphics and discovering afterwards that the helmet does not suit you.

Browse our full face motorcycle helmets online with free UK delivery on orders over £30, visit our Darwen store for expert fitting, or call us on 01254 704000 if you need advice before ordering.

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