Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hello all...

Was checkin out the forum and saw that i now have "ROOKIE" status...yay...(make me happy!)...maybe too happy...but on the question now...

My helmet was dropped...an all black KBC sport helmet..nothing too special ..brand new. It dropped from a friend's hand on the cement...
I heard if u drop ur helmet..it might be cracked inside and useless?
Is that true?

thanks

how far was the drop? check for very small hairline fractures... or get one of the most safe rated helmet for 90 bucks on the safe side and use the one you dropped for someone who wants to learn in a parking lot?

Even if you look on the oustide for fractures, it has nothing to do with the integrity of the innner shell which protects your head and you should replace ASAP!

With that said, I dropped my helmet about 2' onto a sidewalk last week and I have kept using it until I save up some cash to replace it (read: I might get a new helmet next year - if the gods are kind).

I dunno man. I think it should be alright.

I mean the max it could have dropped (unless you were standing on a ladder at the time or your friend is freakishly tall) is about 4 feet if that.

These things are supposed to protect you from falls going at 70 MPH+. I think the 'drop your helmet and you have to replace it' is just a myth started by the helmet companies to get more money.


Regardless there was a thread not too long ago about this same subject. It had some interesting readings, might wanna search for that.

I think everyone's done it, at some point. You just have to decide what you're willing to risk... a drop from a hand onto a flat surface is probably NOT going to cause serious damage. A drop onto a pointy rock would be different.

I dropped my brand new $400 Arai in the MSF parking lot, THEN wore it for 2 years and crashed in it... it did the job it was meant to.

I believe ALL helmet manufacturers offer a 'free inspection service' if you want to make sure its okay, but that would mean boxing up your helmet and sending it off (and being without a helmet for some time). I know of at least one person who did this after a drop and her helmet proved FINE. It was worth the peace of mind to her.

P

If a helmet is "ruined" by dropping it, I figure it's pretty worthless in a crash.

It' s not that a short fall ruins a helmet. The idea that the helmet is designed to absorb so much energy. A drop takes away from some of this ability. In small falls it is negligible. Is the helmet ruined? No, but it's less than it used to be.

I don't think the helmet has a set quota on how much energy it will absorb before breaking.

I mean it does, but it generally recieves it all at once.

Placing your thumb on the helmet and pushing slightly will never break it, no matter how much energy it absorbs over time.

Thus why I think a helmet will survive a five foot drop. If not, I wouldn't want to wear it anyways as it certainly would not stop my head from banging against the street if I dropped my cycle (or crashed, or what have you).

Besides wasn't there a study they did on this same thing? I think it was mentioned in that other thread, where they proved (or as much as statistics can) that the whole "drop your helmet buy a new one" was just a marketing scheme?

Annecdotal evidence is not evidence, and claiming to have one time seen a study that might dismiss a fact is not proof that it isn't true.

While personally I think the helmet will be okay for use, I wouldn't take this as a 100% guarantee that it is. Your helmet is literally designed to break as it impacts, this inside crushes and as a result your head decelerates slower (isn't that a funny way to explain it) meaning that there is less blunt force impact, the kind of stuff that rattles brains and crushes skulls.

But the thing is that a lot of the crushing force of that impact comes from having a head inside the helmet to crush the styrofoam liner, otherwise all you're likely to do when you drop it is scrape up the outside, or depending upon the fall break or crack it.

Once again, I have to say that it's only likely it will be safe to use, but any helmet is better then no helmet, so I'd advise wearing that one until you buy a new one.