Is a 20 year old helmet safe to use, been stored in the original box in a cupboard and looks like new
The only two lids that are available to me is a black Arai and a very basic open face lid (used on a R1 / 916sps / 996r Lol) both from the 1998 period,i'm still standing that's the testament.
Okay but just bear in mind, you asked for this. Now follows a diatribe. Since the introduction of mandatory safety testing for motorcycle helmets, all helmet manufacturers have designed and manufactured their helmets to meet the minimum requirement. Roll forward to today and the understanding of how motorcycle helmets behave in genuine accident scenarios have driven significant changes to improve the safety testing standards and some manufacturers have got their act together and design and manufacture helmets to exceed the minimum standard. At the end of last year, the FIM re-wrote their standards for helmets used in their competitions which, to be fair, only brought together the better parts of all the different standards that were being used into one document but added a few changes. You may remember, some MotoGP riders had to ride with a different helmet because the teams and manufacturers didn’t get their act together in time to test their helmet against the new standard. I hope that this safety testing compliance rationalisation will filter done to full face helmets we can buy from our favourite highstreet retailer. The bottom line is, a helmet designed and manufactured 20 years ago is NOT going to protect your head as well as a helmet designed and tested to meet the latest standards if you fall off, END OF STORY. Andy
@Android853sp You lost me after the first sentence Headmaster.....so just went away for a brew & ham sandwich,i've now read the above with interest,what you're saying has merit,with time the helmet construction has improved the inner and outer shells with knowledge & data collected over a period which is great news for us comsumers. If anybody wants to have a whip-round for me for an upgrade to protect my bonce,then feel free.
Its UV light that generally degrades helmets and that's why they recommend a 5 year lifespan. That and the fact the manufacturer wants to sell more helmets of course. If the lid has been in a bag, in a box and kept somewhere that doesn't have extremes of temperature it's likely OK. I would wear a 20 year old Arai in front of a new chinese 50 quid lid any day of the week personally. Arai's have always far exceeded EVERY required minimum standard. In fact required helmet standards have been pretty static for years, excepting the utterly useless and pointless SHARP test which most of the motorcycle helmet market derides. A new standard does come in place at the end of this month ECE22.05 changes to ECE22.06. If you are wanting to trust labels and not common sense - you'd all be needing to swap your crash helmets. The real trick here, is dont fall off though. It doesn't really matter then
What's wrong with SHARP? The helmet industry derides SHARP because it's an independent test – and it's shown room for improvement by even the big-name brands. Would I trust information from a manufacturer's marketing department or independent tests that the (highly respected) Transport Research Laboratory devised? SHARP only came about because too many riders were suffering from traumatic brain injury because their helmets didn't do a good enough job. The problem was so severe that the Government put money into doing something about it. While I wouldn't pick a lid solely on SHARP results – because the helmet must be comfy and a perfect fit – I'll take SHARP into account when choosing what to buy. (Just as I'll look at MotoCAP test results for clothing.) How else can I ascertain how protective a helmet is? What sponsors pay racers to wear? What internet forums or my mates think is safe? Reviews in magazines that rely on advertising?
When a 50 quid chinese helmet can obtain a higher Sharp rating than a 1000 quid Jap helmet - it may indicate to you that the testing process may be flawed. (It is). Some Chinese manufacturers know the SHARP test and build cheap lids especially to pass it by strengthening only the few parts tested I use common sense, experience and personal knowledge of the industry when I select a helmet. I have sold thousands of 'em over the years and even been to a few factories. I dont need to see labels to tell good from bad. It's pretty obvious. The real test of helmets is how they perform on the road and who uses what. If I notice Valentino or Jorge or Marc start wearing Arashi helmets, I will of course look again. Until then, I will put my cranium in Arai and my Geranium in Arashi (see what I did there)
It's a myth that cheap lids score better than top Japanese products. Every current Shoei is 4- or 5-star rated. (Except the GT Air, which likely has less impact absorption because of the cutout for the internal visor.) No Arashi has a 5-star rating. If less expensive lids are being built to achieve a high SHARP rating, then good! SHARP tests are extensive, and it’s no mean feat to get a 5-star rating. Cheaper helmets may feel nowhere near as plush as a Shoei or Arai, but protection and comfort aren’t the same things. SHARP came about because too many riders were getting traumatic brain injuries, due to inadequate helmet protection. Research found: The temple is particularly vulnerable to injury, and helmet design should provide more protection A 30% improvements in helmets’ energy-absorbing capabilities would halve the number of critical/unsurvivable motorcycle casualties Independent research found variances of up to 70% in the protective capability of different helmets In terms of protection, motorcycle helmets have hardly changed over recent years – which I find disappointing. For example, protection from rotational injury to the brain has been known for a long time, but it appears only Bell has taken this mechanism of injury seriously.
