You’ve also seen folks riding motorcycles without any gear and, depending on the state, without even a helmet.

Often the type of gear the rider wears rider is dictated by the crowd they fall in with as a baby biker: the “ATGATT” crowd do not let others in their ranks get away with anything less, and freely shame those in no gear. The gearless riders “live and let live” and do not shame others about protective gear, or mention at-fault accidents, or the potential for more protection. It is akin to religion: whatever you were brought up with, is your current belief system. Anything else is foreign, ridiculous, unthinkable.

Can a gearless rider be converted? And should “ATGATT” riders be preaching gear, or simply quietly setting an example, or shutting the hell up?

“I am worried about your eternal soul bodily integrity” doesn’t generally garner any warmth.

Can it be that riders who do not wear gear simply wholly accept road rash, blood, injuries as the inevitable outcome of any crash? Do gearless riders and their friends accept a different eventuality? Is it a given? Are they battle scars, war wounds? Of course you’re torn up; you crashed your motorcycle. Is it more dangerous, more risky, more thrilling this way? That’ll take months to heal, man. Good luck getting any sleep. Those bandages sure look uncomfortable.

The “ATGATT” crowd says: Do not accept this eventuality. Think harder about your well-being.

What a gearless rider accepts as inevitable, other riders take every precaution to prevent.

Some “ATGATT” zealots get tangibly angry upon hearing about a rider who has crashed their motorcycle and needed stitches, skin grafts; has a cracked skull or a broken jaw; posts pictures of several square feet of road rash, some of it right down to the bone, weeping blood and lymph fluid. No-one likes to see or even think about that. It is much easier to live in denial.

We have all encountered riders who insist they’re not going to crash. Of COURSE I don’t wear a full-face helmet. I don’t need one if I’m never going to crash. It is comforting to think we are safe. We have normalcy bias, an illusion of control, harbor too much optimism.

Mustn’t gearless riders think about the fact that the right gear for the conditions keeps a rider cool or warm as needed, protects (especially the eyes and hands) from road debris and bugs, keeps sunburn to a minimum, and, yes, will often keep a low-speed “oops” from being a trip-ending incident or a hospital stay?

Many “ATGATT” riders assume that riders who do not wear all the gear, are not serious riders, and this (forgive, as the data set is in the tens but vociferous) is because any small mishap – a stone tossed up from the road; an insect large enough, at 50mph, to break skin; a cloud of sand in the face obscuring vision for several vital seconds; a low-mph drop – can end that rider’s trip. Can a serious motorcyclist plan a multi-day tour without any insurance against the smallest injury? Can a serious motorcyclist truly accept that any small mishap will keep her off a bike for weeks to months while skin, muscle, bone heals?

And in these gearless circles, are there lessons to be learned? When a rider has an “unplanned getoff” do those who know and love that rider say, that could have been me? Is there any analysis of the preparation, and the outcome? What can I do to prevent those injuries should I ever fall off my motorcycle? How could that rider who crashed, and is now sporting bandages over road rash, or stitches, or worse, done better?

Motorcycle gear has advanced quite a lot in just the last few years: fitment, abrasion resistance, armor, adjustability, breathability, waterproofness have all improved. If you’re a gearless rider who hasn’t looked at motorcycle gear beyond a sweaty leather jacket in a couple of years, you owe it to yourself to try out a Cordura piece or two.

Have you seen the rider in a scuffed-up Aerostich and scratched-up helmet, roll into an event and regale the attendees with a story about his crash that same afternoon?

It’s something. Listen to him, after he’s had a few ibuprofen and a beer. He’ll tell anyone who is willing to listen exactly what happened, and maybe what he did wrong, just so someone else doesn’t make the same mistake – and he may also say, I was wearing all the gear, and I don’t even have a scratch. Better replace these gloves soon though.

Which is why, until now, ICON has sort of stayed clear from the race helmet thing. Sure, you’d still see some of their lids at the track, but those were mostly on guys who either wanted something they could replace often because they fell over a lot, or guys who were just really obsessed with the looks. And no one came blame them. For $150, the Alliance dark is about as good as it gets.

The Airframe Pro, however, is whole new leaf for ICON. Something they spent more time on developing the high speed performance and aerodynamics of rather than the styling. Something that was intended to go fast, and be really good at doing so, rather than just scaring the old lady in the Buick next to you.

The Specs That Matter

The ICON Airframe Pro is a race helmet by nature, despite the fact that I’ve yet to see one on the race track but have seen them all over town. As such, it has a less plush fit and is meant to be worn in more of a tuck – with its eyeport canted slightly up. The bottom rear of the helmet has also been cut out, to help decrease interference when worn in a tuck with a suit/jacket with a speed hump.

The interior liner has been upgraded, from the standard three piece unit ICON normally use to an five piece liner so that the different pieces can be replaced to better customize the fit.

The helmet itself comes in seven sizes, which are created from four different shell sizes.

The Airframe Pro retails for between $375 and $600, depending on which model you get.

We Wore The Damn Thing

I’ve been wearing my ICON Airframe Pro Ghost Carbon for several months now, and can honestly say I’ve put it through just about every test imagineable. The ICON guys were nice enough to get me one two weeks before it came out, so I could wear it while riding the Ducati Monster 1200 R at the press launch at Ascari. Then I wore it at the official launch of the helmet on a Kawasaki 636 at Chuckwalla. Since then, I’ve worn it on everything from supermotos to naked bikes to cruisers, logging hundreds and hundreds of miles from behind it’s dark shield.

The lady friend loves to wear open face and retro helmets but, fan of her face that I am, I told her she’d be wearing a real full face from now on unless we were shooting photos on bike that required otherwise. Her only request was that it not be covered in “stupid pictures or big logos,” so I picked up an Airframe Pro Construct for her despite her complaints that it still wasn’t as cute as the Biltwell Gringo.

Holding each of the helmets in one hand, you will most likely be able to detect a slight difference in weight. But it’s only just slight and that’s only if you’re actually looking for it. The other main differences come in finish quality, with the gold/brass lettering and clasps really doing it for me (and likely not mattering nearly as much to many of you).

The idea of a “nice” ICON was really interesting to me, and I was quite curious as I opened the box. The interior of ICON’s helmets have always felt like a neoprene material that, while not us plush as the inside of an Arai, is something I’ve always been fond of. I was pleased that the AFP, in fit and finish, felt still very much like an ICON helmet – just one turned up to eleven.

The visor mechanism is still a finger bruiser, but the shield locking tab, helmet strap d-rings, interior, and finish are all better than I could have imagined. They’re subtle in a way no helmet, but especially an ICON, has ever been. The overall shape still has an attitude to it, but it isn’t obvious until you pick the thing up just how pretty it is.

On, the helmet is snug, but not as soft as other of their helmets. This makes a day on a cruiser like the Harley Low Rider S not quite as comfortable, but also keeps the helmet in place when you’re hanging it out on the track. Like a KTM seat, it’s firm in a way you notice when you put it on, but then it leaves your attention until you’re surprised that it’s firmness feels nice instead of painful.

ICON claim the helmet was designed to be worn in an “attack” position, meaning with your head tilted down like you would be when riding a sport bike aggressively or tucked. Based on my testing this is accurate, but only in the ways it deals with wind at over 100 miles per hour.

When riding nakeds or bikes that sit more upright at high speeds, it does buffet a bit and let in a little too much wind from the opening, but only once you get moving at track (or track-like) speeds.

Venting is also excellent, with cool air blowing directly to the face and forehead thanks to the TKTK vents, which can also be closed and do a relatively decent job at keeping all the wind out.

Things We’d Change

The only real issue I had with the helmet was with the little chin curtain accessory that came with it. It was not stretched tight enough across the bottom of the helmet and would flap in the wind against the underside of my jaw and neck when riding at high speeds.

It also kept pulling out when I took the helmet off. By the time I was headed to Chuckwalla, just weeks after the helmet was delivered, the tabs that held it in place started to separate and I ditched the curtain altogether (which explains the excessive wind when riding more upright bikes).

Why You Should Care

There are sport helmets I like more than the ICON Airframe Pro for track riding. The Schuberth SR1 is still my favorite helmet on the planet, and the new Shoei X-14 is simply stunning looking and wonderful on the track. But. Those helmets will also cost you an actual arm and a leg.

At $450, the ICON Airframe Pro is as good as it gets for those of you serious about riding in something nice on the track without breaking the bank. It will be better at speed that similarly priced Shoei or Bell helmets, and not break in nearly as much which means it won’t move around at speed over time.

Or, if you can spare the extra coin, you can get a truly beautiful helmet that’s still cheaper than many of the other options and that you’ll love every time you put it on.