Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Best cheap motorcycle helmet deals for October 2022

Looking for cheap motorcycle helmet deals? If you ride a motorcycle, moped, e-bike, or e-scooter, you know the best personal protection you can buy is a good helmet. Whether you’re shopping for your first helmet, adding to your collection, or buying for someone else, this is a great time of the year to find deals. You can go all-out with carbon fiber and the latest racing lid, but there are loads of cheap motorcycle helmets available. We rounded up the best motorcycle helmet deals available today for various types of riders. Below, we also included some useful advice on how to choose a motorcycle helmet.

Today’s Best Cheap Motorcycle Helmet Deals

How to Choose a Motorcycle Helmet

Because your noggin’s pretty important, don’t buy a motorcycle helmet on price alone. There are plenty of good deals available, but at a minimum, you want the protection and security of a helmet that’s Department of Transportation (DOT) approved — anything else is a toy and not capable of protecting your skull or worthy of your dollars.

Motorcycle helmet standards, approvals, and certifications

In the U.S., there are two helmet safety standards to consider: D.O.T. and Snell. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) FMVSS1218 is the minimum standard required to sell a helmet for use on street motorcycles in the U.S. Manufacturers certify that their helmets meet the D.O.T. standard on their own. The tests include impact, penetration, strap strength, and peripheral vision range.

Related

Snell Memorial Foundation approval, or Snell, requires additional tests. Snell approval isn’t required for helmets sold in the U.S., and a helmet with both D.O.T. and Snell approvals isn’t necessarily safer than one with D.O.T. only. However, f you want a helmet design that has passed independent testing rather than relying only on the manufacturer, buying a helmet with both approvals is a good idea.

Purpose

Different types of riding and riders need different helmets. There are helmets designed specifically for motocross bikes, off-road scramblers, sportbikes, touring bikes, cruisers, and smaller bikes including scooters, mopeds, and many more variations.

Style

Helmet style includes personal preference (Do you like the way it looks?) and structural design. Open face, 3/4, full-face, and modular styles all have their adherents. A good full-face helmet protects your face as well as your head. If you’re not sure if face protection matters that much, consider what it would feel like and what could happen if you ran into a June bug at 50 miles an hour during a summer evening ride. If you don’t have a full-face helmet or at least a face shield, just remember to keep your mouth shut when you ride, especially in the early evening.

Visibility

Dark-tinted face shields may look cool or menacing, depending on who’s looking, but test before you buy an extra-dark face shield because you don’t want to impede visibility.

Ventilation

Most newer full-face helmets have one or more ventilation channels, usually with slide controls to keep the air out when the weather is cold. If you have any chance to try a helmet before buying, check that the ventilation actually helps. If you’re not sure, look around for buyer testimonials.

Comms

Touring bikes often serve as two-wheel infotainment and communications centers. If you’ll be wearing a full helmet and want to be able to take calls, stream audio, and chat with others on your ride, consider buying a helmet that accommodates communications electronics such as those made by Sena or Cardo.

Editors' Recommendations

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Cars teams. He also writes technology news…
Honda is selling a $995 drivable suitcase-size electric scooter we can’t tell if we love or hate
The Honda Motocompacto wants to solve last-mile e-mobility
Two people riding Honda Motocompacto escooters on a city street.

Honda has been slower than many manufacturers to sell battery electric vehicles in the U.S., only recently announcing the 2024 Honda Prologue EV. In an interesting but somewhat bewildering twist, Honda has introduced a second vehicle to the EV arena, an electric scooter. The Honda Motocompacto is a collapsible ride-on electric scooter you can order online today for $995. The orders will be fulfilled at select Honda and Acura dealers beginning in 2024.

If you first see Honda's new e-mobility device on the street, you might wonder if someone put a motor in a folded card table. If you ride one, you'll notice that there are no pedals. Despite first appearances, the Motocompacto isn't an e-bicycle; it's an e-scooter. The foot pegs are there to give you a place to rest your feet, not to propel the scooter.

Read more
2024 Audi Q8 SUV flagship updates exterior and lighting technology
New features help differentiate Audi's flagship from the rest
2024 Audi S Q8 in Waitomo Blue left front three-quarter view on pavement near the ocean shore - European Model Shown..

Audi pulled off a pretty neat trick updating its flagship Q8 SUV. How do you differentiate an automotive brand's flagship from the rest of the model lineup? It's imperative to balance significant brand identity clues with distinctive touches that signal the flagship's specialness.
The Audi Q7 three-row mid-size SUV packs sufficient luxury for many buyers, so Audi needed to add unique features to the Q8 to provoke desire and loosen budgets. The most significant changes in the 2024 Audi Q8 are in exterior styling, blending boldness with elegance, to use Audi's terms. Audi rolled out additional standard driver assistance technology in the Q8, but the drive trains carry over unchanged for the Q8 and the sporty SQ8.

The 2024 Audi Q8's updated design
The 2024 Audi Q8 styling changes emphasize the existing roofline slope, frameless doors, and broad wheel arches. The Q8's octagonal front grille incorporates new design features, including L-shaped sections on the Q8 with the S Line style option and on the SQ8.

Read more
Indian Motorcycle has a new limited-edition, carbon fiber-laden bike starting at $18,999
Classic cool with modern flare — we love it
Motorcycle rider out of focus carrying helmet toward Indian Motorcycle 2024 FTR x 100% R limited edition

Indian Motorcycle and the 100% motocross apparel and rider equipment brand announced its collaboration in the 2024 Indian FTR x 100% R Carbon motorcycle. The top trim of Indian FTR performance bikes, the FTR x 100% R Carbon, is a limited edition, with only 400 motorcycles available worldwide, with prices starting at $18,999.

The FTR x 100% R Carbon adds 100% styling, finish elements, and additional bodywork to the premium FTR R Carbon model. A single colorway is available: Blue Candy with white stripes and the distinctive red 100% logo. A glossy white trellis frame and red accents on the wheels and chin fairing add to the visual appeal. The trellis frame is the visible structure of metal tubular segments that connect the motorcycle's steering head with the swing arm, the section that connects to the rear wheel.

Read more