White motorcycle helmets

A white motorcycle helmet is the easiest to see in daylight and the one that heats up least in the sun, which is why so many everyday riders stick with it. Here you will find white helmets from NZI and By City, whether you want a full-face, an open-face or a modular, in pure white, pearl white, bone or cream, gloss or matt, plus white helmets with race-style graphics. There are women's and children's options too.

Why a white helmet stands out

In daylight, white contrasts with almost everything behind a rider: tarmac, cars, buildings and trees. It is not just a feeling. A case-control study published in the British Medical Journal in 2004, based on riders in Auckland, New Zealand, linked white helmets with roughly a quarter less risk of an injury crash than black ones. It has its limits: in fog, snow or against a bright sky it loses contrast, and at night it is reflective material, not shell colour, that makes you visible.

Cooler under the sun

A white shell reflects much of the sun's radiation, so in summer the inside stays cooler than in a dark helmet, both on the move and when it sits on the bike for a while. If you ride in town through the hot months, a white open-face helmet such as the Rolling 4 Sun, Magma, Ringway 2 or Capital Vision Plus is one of the most comfortable choices. For open roads there are white full-face models such as the Street Track 4, Eurus 4, Revival or Wake, with more models and colours among our full-face helmets. If you tour and stop often, a white modular such as the Combi 2, Combi 3, Minimod or Fastback lets you lift the chin bar without taking it off; compare them with the rest of our modular helmets.

Pure white, pearl, bone or cream

• Pure white: the cleanest look and the strongest contrast, in gloss, on models such as the Street Track 4, Revival, Freccia, Wake or the Combi 3 modular.
• Pearl white: a warmer, pearlescent white on the Minimod modular, the By City 90 Degrees and the Bello Pearl White design of the Street Track 4, Flat Track 2 and Rolling 4 Sun.
• Bone, cream and beige: classic off-whites that hide dirt better, such as the Mad Carbon in bone, the By City The Rock, NZI's Tank Bone versions, the Rolling 4 Sun Creamy or the By City The City open-face in beige. They look right on classic bikes, and you will find more in that style among our vintage and cafe racer helmets.
• White with graphics: a white base with blue, yellow, red or gold details, such as the Outline and Harmony designs of the Street Track 4, the Aspar replica in white and orange or the Trendy 3 Stream Rapid, which comes with a tinted visor.

Keeping it white

The flip side of all that contrast is that white shows everything: bugs, traffic grime, rubber marks or rubbing from a top box. Clean it often, before the dirt sets in, with lukewarm soapy water and a soft microfibre cloth, and go over the vents and the visor seal with a cotton bud, as that is where grime builds up. Store it in the shade: after years of sunlight, white paint and lacquer can turn slightly yellow. If yours is matt white, follow the matt paint care we explain on the matte black helmets page.

White helmets for women and children

Many searches for a white helmet come from women riders, and the key there is size: with a small head you want a model made in XS or XXS, ideally with a smaller shell for those sizes, so it does not move around or feel heavier than it should. There are more models, such as NZI's Pasarela open-face helmets designed by Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, in our range of helmets for women. For young riders there are white versions of the Activy children's full-face and of the open-face Helix and Single II, listed with the rest in our kids' motorcycle helmets.

If you are after another colour or want to compare styles, go back to our main motorcycle helmets section.