Helmet.

[BuzzCap7]

Ok, fess up. Be honest now. If it is optional, what do you do?

I live in S.E. Florida and it is often 90+ and yup. I dawn the 1/2 helmet to save my whole head.

I figure simply, without it, you lose. With it, you have a chance.

BuzzCap7

[ldr]

As the brand new moderator for this Board I thought maybe we could generate some conversation about helmets, I have my opinion and would really like to hear yours.

I've always believed in wearing a helmet, but with the proliferation of cheap import helmets currrently on the market I have to wonder if folks are being fooled by a helmet that is likely to come apart in a crash. I recently had a exchange of opinions with an expert that reviews helmets on the WEB, that will remain un-named, about this very subject. My question had to deal with the 5 year rule that the manufacturers talk about for helmet replacement.

The gist of my argument is that I have a 20 year old Schuberth that is unmarked, never dropped, in excellent condition. I bought it new and know what it has been exposed to over the years....I would trust it over a discount off-shore helmet in a minute.....his response was any helmet over 5 years old should never be used......

I spent a couple of careers in Manufacturing Quality, and know that what you might see on the outside of a product might well have no relation to the design or testing that may or may not have taken place for "Certification" to the various National and International specifications.

What say you???

LDR

[BuzzCap7]

Apr 14, 2012 7:08:19 GMT -8 ldr said:

As the brand new moderator for this Board I thought maybe we could generate some conversation about helmets, I have my opinion and would really like to hear yours.

I've always believed in wearing a helmet, but with the proliferation of cheap import helmets currrently on the market I have to wonder if folks are being fooled by a helmet that is likely to come apart in a crash. I recently had a exchange of opinions with an expert that reviews helmets on the WEB, that will remain un-named, about this very subject. My question had to deal with the 5 year rule that the manufacturers talk about for helmet replacement.

The gist of my argument is that I have a 20 year old Schuberth that is unmarked, never dropped, in excellent condition. I bought it new and know what it has been exposed to over the years....I would trust it over a discount off-shore helmet in a minute.....his response was any helmet over 5 years old should never be used......

I spent a couple of careers in Manufacturing Quality, and know that what you might see on the outside of a product might well have no relation to the design or testing that may or may not have taken place for "Certification" to the various National and International specifications.

What say you???

LDR

Wow, very interesting. not being an expert or anything but when I purhcased my SEER helmet and most definitely my full face SHOEI DOT approved helmet it was clear that after whatever short a perdiod of time OR after dropping it, it must be replaced.

1st thought...........sure, so u can make more $$$ off of me.
2nd thoguht..........degradation of the internal components. Supposedly even taking ur helmet off and putting it on your mirror is not good for the inside of the helmet.

As I recall (do not trust the memory of an old guy like me) the inside materials that absorb the shock dropped or not degrades, can not be replaced other than buying a new one.

My personal line of thinking as faulty and baseless as it may be is......I am holding onto my helmets for an unlimited time period. that is good enough. Good enough? Really when it comes to protecing ur brains? Yup, that is my decision and I am sticking to it.

Unless of course I change the color of my bike and I want a new helmet to match the new color of the bike. LOLOL Just kidding abt that.

BuzzCap7

[ldr]

Sounds as though we are not that far apart on our feelings on helmet life.....

I would sure like to hear from someone that has some independent helmet testing experience or knows something other than what they have read in a manufacturer influenced "test" or a testing organization that gets "free stuff" from the very people that they are supposidly doing an independent test/ evaluation of their product. Call me skeptical, but I have to wonder how many of the various motorcycle publications and web sites would be in business if they did negative reviews of their advertisers products......doesn's sound like rocket science to me to figure that one out....

[BuzzCap7]

Apr 15, 2012 15:04:03 GMT -8 ldr said:

Sounds as though we are not that far apart on our feelings on helmet life.....

I would sure like to hear from someone that has some independent helmet testing experience or knows something other than what they have read in a manufacturer influenced "test" or a testing organization that gets "free stuff" from the very people that they are supposidly doing an independent test/ evaluation of their product. Call me skeptical, but I have to wonder how many of the various motorcycle publications and web sites would be in business if they did negative reviews of their advertisers products......doesn's sound like rocket science to me to figure that one out....

LOL!!! You are 100% right!

I suspect Consumer Reports would be a good bet.

What you said ldr is exactly what I ahve been telling my real estate agents for years......when a new fandangled whatever comes out in real estate, I care not what the real estate magazines say or worse the product brochure, I would like to get a "3rd disinterested party" to review and pass an opinion. That I would listen too.

It is nice to see someone (like yourself) that has and uses common sense and "think"s. I better stop here before I get into ranting.

BuzzCap7

[steveh]

A couple of things:
The active ingredients in helmets are a plastic shell and styrofoam. Niether tends to age well. By wearing a helmet we are attempting to mitigate damages caused by our own foolishness or someone elses. I might consider trying to keep my beer cold in a 20 year old cooler, but trusting a 20 year old helmet? I think not.

Check out Motorcycle Consumer News for product trials. Like consumer reports they are readership-funded, and do not accept advertising. www.mcnews.com/mcn/home.aspx

Okay, a third thing - About the poll-I really like being able to retract a vote. Perhaps we should try this in elections too.

[BuzzCap7]

May 28, 2012 18:07:37 GMT -8 steveh said:

A couple of things:
The active ingredients in helmets are a plastic shell and styrofoam. Niether tends to age well. By wearing a helmet we are attempting to mitigate damages caused by our own foolishness or someone elses. I might consider trying to keep my beer cold in a 20 year old cooler, but trusting a 20 year old helmet? I think not.

Check out Motorcycle Consumer News for product trials. Like consumer reports they are readership-funded, and do not accept advertising. www.mcnews.com/mcn/home.aspx

Okay, a third thing - About the poll-I really like being able to retract a vote. Perhaps we should try this in elections too.

I understand if u drop ur helmet, that is enough to decrease its effectiveness (although I logically find it hard to agree with) but certainly over time. But how much time? Mine is abt 4 yrs old.

When making the poll, I sometimes make it so u can retract ur vote. So u may want to go back and see if u can. If not, sry abt that.

I like ur link to MCNews. I'll check that out more in depth sometime soon.

BuzzCap7

[Gonzo]

Hey ya'll....this is some great stuff !

I always look askance at manufacturer's shelf life claims. no matter what the product.

My helmets are new.....cuz I'm a new rider .

But I plan on doing some research on the materials used in these helmets and come up with my own determination of "Shelf Life" for the materials.....not the assembled product.

In the meantime....I bought a good Harley 3/4 and a bucket for the heat. I figure it's got to be a good product if it's got Harley's name on it (I hope, I hope, I hope).

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @gonzocrossusa
Blog: www.GonzoCrossUSA.blogspot.com
Email: [e-mail]
Cell: 949-433-0761

[wvhog]

I live in WV (a helmet reqd state) have a collection of $75 tickets for failure to wear, and SC ( a helmet NOT reqd state) seldom wear one. On long rides 2,000 miles or more sometimes take a $10 helmet with a face shield for heavy rain.

[strike]

Always have, always will. Even wore a full face helmet when I lived in Phoenix. I have recently bought a shorty helmet, and bring it along when I go out on longer rides.

I do believe in ATGATT. Living in San Diego, there are so, so many guys (and girls) buzzing down the highway on crouch rockets (heh, nothing personal against these, to each their own) wearing only shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes, and then at least 4-5 days out of the week you see a motorcycle accident on the 600 o'clock news, and 99% of the time it is a crouch rocket.

As one co-worker always says; one more stupid person out of the gene pool. Again, nothing personal against Sport Bike Riders.................