Total Motorcycle Community Forums

cb360 wrote:Wow. I can't believe this thread.

"anyway....i know that a helmet is good for only one drop"

That is patently untrue. There's almost certainly nothing wrong with your helmet (other than maybe cosmetically). Even the Snell Foundation says that you don't need to go buy a new helmet for a garden variety parking lot drop. Think about it - an unladen helmet drop won't even come close to bending the hard plastic shell enough to deform the foam inside. Now if you'd dropped your helmet from 20 feet or if you fell on concrete with your head inside it might be a different story.

The 'drop it and get a new one' maxim is a wives tale in my opinion. It probably used to have some validity but I don't believe it's the case for modern helmets. And I certainly wouldn't expect the manufacturers to try to disabuse us of the notion.

I've seen it debunked several times from what I believe are reputable sources - here's one I could find off the top of my head...

"If you drop a helmet from a few feet, say the seat of a motorcycle, is it okay?
Basically, yes. It takes a lot to damage a helmet. If the helmet fell onto a hard surface and your head was in it, you should replace it. "

It's down near the bottom of this page, but that's certainly not the only place I've seen it.

http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/fa ... sTour.html

If you have serious doubts about your helmet by all means get a new one. I'm as big a safety nut as the next guy but dropping your helmet off the seat of your bike is not even close to damaging your helmet enough to make you get a new one.

Mintbread wrote:Remember the good old days before food and beverage items needed to be fitted with anti-tampering seals?
I would not buy a bottle of milk if it had been opened. It may be alright, but you never know...

Same goes for helmets, in my opinion.

Dirtytoes wrote:

cb360 wrote:Wow. I can't believe this thread.

"anyway....i know that a helmet is good for only one drop"

That is patently untrue. There's almost certainly nothing wrong with your helmet (other than maybe cosmetically). Even the Snell Foundation says that you don't need to go buy a new helmet for a garden variety parking lot drop. Think about it - an unladen helmet drop won't even come close to bending the hard plastic shell enough to deform the foam inside. Now if you'd dropped your helmet from 20 feet or if you fell on concrete with your head inside it might be a different story.

The 'drop it and get a new one' maxim is a wives tale in my opinion. It probably used to have some validity but I don't believe it's the case for modern helmets. And I certainly wouldn't expect the manufacturers to try to disabuse us of the notion.

I've seen it debunked several times from what I believe are reputable sources - here's one I could find off the top of my head...

"If you drop a helmet from a few feet, say the seat of a motorcycle, is it okay?
Basically, yes. It takes a lot to damage a helmet. If the helmet fell onto a hard surface and your head was in it, you should replace it. "

It's down near the bottom of this page, but that's certainly not the only place I've seen it.

http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/fa ... sTour.html

If you have serious doubts about your helmet by all means get a new one. I'm as big a safety nut as the next guy but dropping your helmet off the seat of your bike is not even close to damaging your helmet enough to make you get a new one.

well, i hope you're right. i'm going to the shoei place tomorrow to get the helmet checked out...it's like a 30 minute drive and i have to leave it with em for 1 to 3 days but it's worth it....plus i can't ride for another couple of weeks because i'm sitting in a cast. and as far as cosmetic damage to the helmet, there is absolutely NOTHING....not even a scratch.

i really hope that it's not cracked

cb360 wrote:

Dirtytoes wrote:

cb360 wrote:Wow. I can't believe this thread.

"anyway....i know that a helmet is good for only one drop"

That is patently untrue. There's almost certainly nothing wrong with your helmet (other than maybe cosmetically). Even the Snell Foundation says that you don't need to go buy a new helmet for a garden variety parking lot drop. Think about it - an unladen helmet drop won't even come close to bending the hard plastic shell enough to deform the foam inside. Now if you'd dropped your helmet from 20 feet or if you fell on concrete with your head inside it might be a different story.

The 'drop it and get a new one' maxim is a wives tale in my opinion. It probably used to have some validity but I don't believe it's the case for modern helmets. And I certainly wouldn't expect the manufacturers to try to disabuse us of the notion.

I've seen it debunked several times from what I believe are reputable sources - here's one I could find off the top of my head...

"If you drop a helmet from a few feet, say the seat of a motorcycle, is it okay?
Basically, yes. It takes a lot to damage a helmet. If the helmet fell onto a hard surface and your head was in it, you should replace it. "

It's down near the bottom of this page, but that's certainly not the only place I've seen it.

http://www.timberwoof.com/motorcycle/fa ... sTour.html

If you have serious doubts about your helmet by all means get a new one. I'm as big a safety nut as the next guy but dropping your helmet off the seat of your bike is not even close to damaging your helmet enough to make you get a new one.

well, i hope you're right. i'm going to the shoei place tomorrow to get the helmet checked out...it's like a 30 minute drive and i have to leave it with em for 1 to 3 days but it's worth it....plus i can't ride for another couple of weeks because i'm sitting in a cast. and as far as cosmetic damage to the helmet, there is absolutely NOTHING....not even a scratch.

i really hope that it's not cracked

Reading your description of what happened I would be shocked if that helmet was cracked. Can't hurt to get it checked I suppose. It just sucks that the people who are gonna check it would benefit financially by telling you you need a new helmet and there's not a real practical way for you to refute them. Hopefully they wouldn't be uncool like that. Unfortunately I think the makers of the helmets are all too happy to let everyone believe that one little drop means you need a new helmet despite the people who perform the tests on the helmets saying otherwise. I can't say I blame them I supppose. In this litigous age you risk a lawsuit every time you tell someone something is safe - much easier to just say 'get a new one' - that way your "O Ring" is covered no matter what.

Dirtytoes wrote:got a call from shoei today.....my helmet's OK!!!!!!

it made me so happy to hear those words. "your helmets ok!"

they're sending her home tomorrow morning!!!