I can second this, I've purchased 2 of the AFX FX39 helmets from Motorcycle Gear, Parts and Accessories at Motorcycle Superstore and I can't say enough good things about them. It's pretty simple, measure your head, look at the size chart. I typically wear a large and purchased a medium reluctantly(but their size chart said I should). It was a tad snug first pull down but after 10-15min it felt great!

I would score the helmet an 8.5 of 10, I currently ride with the hi viz version!

 

[QUOTE I would have died if my dad got me a bike as a kid. I would have slept on the thing. I would have begged to ride all the time. Kids just aren't the same today. I had video games growing up, but always preferred toys that used gas. Maybe the Atari 2600 wasn't as addicting.[/QUOTE]

Hahaha exactly! When I was 14 I was on a trip with my step dad and a friend of mine. We went to Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado...in a motorhome. One day we were passing through a small town, and there was a bike sitting for sale on the side of the road. We stopped, he bought that bike for me, I had no idea that he was even thinking of anything like that. He paid $400.00 for it with American Express travelers checks. I will never forget that first bike. It was a Hodaka Combat Wombat 125 with the chrome fenders and chrome gas tank. It was my first bike and it was a dual sport!!! Good times. sniff...sniff... I wish I still had that thing. Oh and a friend of mine had the Atari 2600, we spent hours playing tank battle and other games. How things have evolved huh?

 

I still have my Atari. Busted it out awhile ago... Combat with invisible tanks and ricochet bullets. Destroyed them! Never had a chance. Boop boop beep beep bip bip Bang! Bang! Again? Bang! Through the wall? Bang! What's up kids? They couldn't even finish the 1st round of Space Invaders.

 

When I was about 14 some friends and I bought one of the original electronic Pong video games. We played it all day for about 2 weeks and then never played it again. That was the last video game console I ever bought.

My son and I did stop in one motorcycle store a few weeks ago just to try on some dual sport helmets, some cheap $87 ones all the way up to a $500 one. To me the $87 ones seem to fit and look the same as the $500 one. The one thing I noticed with all of them is they all felt very heavy and bulky compared to my full face hang gliding helmet I've had for years. However, my hang gliding helmet doesn't have a face shield, nor is it rated for road use.
But that brings me to a question maybe somebody here can answer... What is the advantage of the dirt bike style helmets over full face street bike helmets for dual sport use? Weight? Ventilation? Visibility?

 

Ventilation mostly and a visor. When trail riding you get pretty hot, more vents is better. Although my off-road helmet is warmer than my road after I put electrical tape over all the vents, go figure.
Dual Sport helmets combine the best of both, ideally.
And once you have a visor and ride into the sun, you will wonder why it's not on all helmets...until you turn your head at highway speeds, but you get used to the tug.
$500 helmets are sweet until you whack it in a crash and need to replace it. That's why I like a cheap DOT certified helmets.

 

I like the MX style, I even added the goggle quick release that keeps one side attached to the helmet, and a velcro style for the other side. You can take it off while riding without worrying about losing the goggles.

Here is the Canada ride report.
700 miles, 4 days, 3 bikes, 2 much fun--1 for the road home - ADVrider

 

Hmmm? The ventilation thing I can understand, you are not going as fast trail riding as you might be on the streets or highways, so you need more vent holes you can open, but wouldn't sun visors also be pretty useful for street riding? How do they manage?
Excuse my ignorance, as I said in my first post, it's been many years since I had a motorcycle, I guess I got a lot of catching up to do.
I appreciate the helmet recommendations, I've been reading a lot of helmet reviews and I notice they often talk about how important it is to try the helmets on before buying do to people different head shapes. Problem with that is when it comes to dual sport helmets I notice there isn't a lot to choose from in the stores. Also I'm wondering if it wouldn't make sense to buy a couple cheaper helmets, one for street, and one for trails, instead of one that tries to do both? I think right now with the cold cloudy weather we are having there isn't any benefit to a visor or extra ventilation for the time being. Of course as soon as we start getting snow on the ground I guess there won't be any need for a helmet all. lol
Any other thoughts on the mater of helmets you more experience riders could share?

 

I use my DS helmet all the time. Flip the shield up just a little and it gets good air, full open for lots of air. The AFX39 is also designed so that goggles can be worn with the shield up or down.

At freeway speeds, as said above, the visor can grab some air and twist on your head. If I were doing lots of high speed without trails planned, I would like to have a street helmet also.

 

All un-modded XT 225's are hard starting, just like un-modded KLX bikes. My guess is he did't run the gas out of the carb.

 

Yes to the sun visor on the street and perhaps even more so. Off road you are usually on some trail that turns and changes direction all the time. But on the street, like across Nevada on some of the 20+ miles straight stretches into the sun, a visor is a must have. What I ended up doing on my Scorpion Full Face Helmet was I added a single strip of black electrical tape to the bottom of the drop down shield since I ride 95% of the time with the thing wide open, since I like the openness, and I have the Automatic windshield that I can adjust. So when I run into the sun I just tilt my head down till the tape blocks the sun and its perfect!