Crash- Helmet examination

jamie192 · Spanner Monkey Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :

My sister hit an ice patch on her bike today on her gn 125, she was going over a humped back bridge and going 30 mph the correct speed limit, shes a bit of a worry when shes on her bike shes never hit 60 before even on national speed limits. Anyways back to my point, she hit her head with her helmet which has never been dropped or been in a crash before and was brand new about 3 months ago. She only slid off her bike the bike landed on her leg and she bumped her head on the road.
Her helmet had split, my friend who has had 3 or 4 crashes said that at a 30 mph slide off a helmet should of cracked like that because he came off at 50 mph was flipped off his bake and landed on his head and it didnt crack just scuffed.

How true is this, or could it be it was unlucky that it broke?

It was a FM helmet,she has to get a new one but quite cheap as shes having to pay for repairs on the bike, any cheap makes which dont break so easily?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for looking.

Thumbs Up

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jay12329 · Dr. Evil Joined: 02 May 2003 Karma :

Cheap or not all lida are designed for one use only. Even if it doesnt split it should never be used again. When i came off my bike i dont think i hit my head, and there were no scuffs on the the outside of the lid but i still replaced it.
HTH
J

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

Whatever the state of the helmet now it probably saved your sisters life.

I would take what your mate said with a pinch of salt, because it does depend on the specific crash. Even if the helmet /looked/ unscathed I would have thought that it was useless to use now. Personally I wouldn't take the risk. If I had had a crash where I had hit my head then I would change the helmet. No ifs or buts.

Crash helmets work in the same way that crumple zones do in cars. The polystyrene inside compresses under impact, and the hard shell is there to keep all of the polystyrene pieces in place so that your head is protected, and also to help prevent injury from solid objects puncturing the lid. If the helmet split during an impact at 30mph... don't use that make of lid again!

Take my advice, get her to buy a decent lid, and get your mate to throw his 50mph crash lid straight in the dustbin.

Karma

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jamie192 · Spanner Monkey Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :

Thanks for your replys, she doesn't plan on using it again, im getting my friend over to ride it back for her and then we will start working to fix it.

Shes just annoyed because of the money an shes starting to loose interest and is now thinking of selling it.
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stinkwheel · Bovine Proctologist Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

Yep, agree with all the above. The helmet broke instead of her head. Which is what it is supposed to do. Any sort of hard impact is an indication for replacing the lid. I believe some of the more expensive makes offer an inspection service where they check the helmet for damage by x-ray after a crash (arai?) and report back to you.

I replaced my shoei lid after I highsided even though I am pretty sure I never hit my head. Thing is, I am not absolutley certain I didn't, there is no obvious damage to the lid but I was doing 70mph when I came off.
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streetfighter · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 07 Dec 2004 Karma :

I crashed wearing an OGK aeroblade, £220 helmet.
The chin bar broke and stabbed me in the chin, but the shell saved my bonce.
I also crashed wearing a £50 Nitro helmet (can you see a pattern forming here?). Same sort of speed 50ish, and the Nitro held together better.
My point? All helmets are designed to withstand ONE impact. If they have a ACU gold sticker they are the best you can get. This is where all the Arai and Shoei wearers start snarling!
Helmets are mainly about FIT. A £350 Arai is no good if it doesn't fit properly, but a £50 Nitro will be.
You don't need to spend huge sums on helmets as long as they fit properly, carry an ACU gold sticker, are less than 3 years old (a racing thing that is a good benchmark for the road), and look good.
I'm gonna get slated for this, but I have been there many times, in lids from £400 Arai's to £50 Nitros, and they've all done the job perfectly by following the simple rules above.
Wink

Hex · Party Boy Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

jamie192 · Spanner Monkey Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :

After examining the helmet and the bike we figured out that she must of , dunno what its called, the front slipped out to the left and she fell to the right with the bike and her shoulder smashed her mirror, lowside? Anyways the helmet is not as bad as she described it, she told me it had cracked and u can see the next layer. To me it looks pretty standard how it actually is, and my friend squashed it about a bit to see if it was broken and it didnt seem to be. if i can get my cam working ill post sum pics.

Thanks for all your replys.
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Craggles · Traffic Copper Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

tgabber · Crazy Courier Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Karma :

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Hi

It was polycarbonate helmets that normally had a seam, but cannot remember seeing one on a grp lid.

Helmets are designed for a single hard impact. They might well work a 2nd tme if you are lucky enough to have the impact on a seperate area of the helmet, but would you really want to take that risk?

If it has split then it is scrap. However I would not expect any helmet to split in a minor bump like that. I would be inclined to write to the maker about it.

Years ago with a Nava polycarbonate lid I crashed my H100. First thing to hit the ground was my helmet at about 45mph. There were no external marks on the helmet at all.

All the best

Keith
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Jammy-G · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

I would love to change my helmet everytime I dropped it or came off but for most people this is impossible. If I did everything the *proper* way I would be on about my 8th lid by now, how the hell could I afford that?

Have had 4 offs with the same lid, hit head on a couple of them, couple of scuffs. I simply can't afford to get a new one and would probably feel pissed off to throw away a helmet that looks sound.
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NSR125-Kid-UK · Attention Whore Joined: 03 May 2003 Karma :

It's your life mate.
I had the same lid on for my first three crashes - only touched my head down on the third, so I've retired it. It is hwoever still in use. I gave it to a mate after his lid was nicked, and he's since got a new lid and given mine to a scooter boi Confused

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I crashed a few weeks back in my AGV X-R2 Rossi replica, my head didn't touch down which is just as well, cos I don't fancy paying 250 quid for another one!
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nick.h · World Chat Champion Joined: 12 Sep 2004 Karma :

Jammy-G · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Karma :

superchoward · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 24 Nov 2004 Karma :

I am with Jammy G on this one.

JodieWodie · Reflective Banana Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

On my off I was only doing about 20-30...my chin smacked on the floor ... the helmet slid along the floor..and the chin and visor (minorly) of it got scraped.

In an ideal world I would have bought a new helmet.
But...I haven't.

I would not expect a helmet at 30mph to CRACK. Thumbs Down

My helmet is a Shark one..not great...but fits comfortably and feels sturdy.
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superchoward · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 24 Nov 2004 Karma :

My helmet was Shark tooI would also of bought a new one preferably, the clip where the visor clips onto helmet came off in one piece and i will try and fix this. I have had the helmet for 4 months and cannot afford to pay for a new one. This cost £120 (which is a small price to pay for my life i realise) that is far too much to pay again. I was only going 10-15 mph at the time so i hope it shouldnt of done much to the helmet.

Chris

streetfighter · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 07 Dec 2004 Karma :

I'm amazed that so many of you value your life so little. Shocked

Do you wash condoms out as well, they are all designed for one use. In the case of a helmet, one crash.

When your helmet hits something the liner deforms, that's how it's designed. If you hit your head again in the same place the protection is far less.

I know it's money and it's hard earned, but you can't spend it if you ain't here. Confused

I said before, if a helmet has a ACU gold sticker it's top kit. And the assumption that "cheap" helmets are horrible is a very crass, immature statement. I have worn Nitro helmets for a whole seasons racing, the dearest one being £80, the cheapest £45. I'm not on their payroll, but I am singing their praises. They are good, well equipped helmets, some with removeable linings.
I've also worn a Suomy. A helmet that costs over £200 and just didn't fit, and felt "horrible".

It's your funeral, maybe quite literally, so divert some cash from elsewhere to save yer bonce. Very Happy

jamie192 · Spanner Monkey Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :

Firstly in reply to Craggles post, hers can do 65, my friend rode it to her cbt and he rides hard and full throttle all the way, it can get there maybe its not true but she sticks at about 40.

She doesnt want to ride with that helmet and doesnt intend to, she is going to burrow one off a friend for now then buy a new one as soon as shes got the money.

Thanks for all your replys!!
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mchaggis · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 May 2004 Karma :

You can get a new helmet for as little as £30. It is a bit of a dilemma though, isn't it? The only accident I've had where my head has touched down, I was unconcious for more than a little while, and the helmet was obviously knackered. For a crash at 25-30 or so mph, the outside was badly scraped and the polystyrene was compressed and cracked.

The rest of the offs I've had, I've made a concious effort to keep my head off the ground, especially since I got the AGV V-Flyer and spent more than I probably wanted to on it.

Would I buy another helmet without an impact from which I wasn't in a condition to ride immediately afterwards? Probably not.
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grantl · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 19 Sep 2004 Karma :

nitro saved my head

True Blue · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Karma :

NSR125-Kid-UK · Attention Whore Joined: 03 May 2003 Karma :

Nitro saved my head too Smile

.
But compared to my AGV my Nitro lid is still shit Razz

.
Heavy and uncomfortable I think, but it did its job Smile

.
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