Hey all,
here's another opinion ....
I have an $800 Arai helmet for my bike as there is quite some difference in the $100 end of the market Any decent outlet will explain what you get for your money and yes, sometimes you will pay a little more for "hero" graphics etc but overall if you are sliding down the road on your head then the cost becomes irrelevant I agree with Craig to a degree, in that your cage, seat, and harness must do most of the work and the helmet is to make sure there is no incidental damage. BUT, after reading an article on vehicle fires and the materials that are in your Aus standard approved helmets (even my Arai) I am not too keen to have my head "shrink wrapped" by nylon in the event of a fire Hence I have a Bell hemet lined with nomex, kevlar chin strap, brass mesh etc for racing which has the Snell rating. Cannot use it on the road however, because it has no Aus standard approval despite the Snell rating being superior - go figure
In short, buy what you can almost afford but make sure that it has the fireproof qualities above all else. That's my 2 cents anyway.
Cheers