Talk to me about crash lids

[RODeo]

No I wont use THAT usual word to describe it ,for the same reason TB wont say G*****t
 I need to buy a lid soon. Only ever owned an open face stadium one as a lad,which cost something like £1 17 6d ! I think I would like a full face flip up front type,where the whole front lifts. Whats best or is it just personal preference? I see prices of £200 upwards. are the more expensive ones a better fit or summat? Please discuss........

[one arm bandit]

hi from personal experience,buy the best you can afford, i got knocked off my RSV millie (rip ) i had my cheep £70helmet on i used for work. i flew 27metres to be stopped by a curb stone the whole chin guard of the helmet smashed off it was only a plastic helmet. i own a £300 agv which is lighter comfier and stronger made of carbon fibre, id still be crying now if i wrecked that one. moral is you get what you pay for and could well be the difference of ending up brown bread or not!

[Dslam]

Hi Rodeo,
I used to work at a bike dealership and am a drag/sprint scrutineer so I know a little about skid lids. First and foremost the fit is the most important thing. Everyone has a different size and shape of head. Each manufacturer makes hats for a specific shape through the size range. For example, Shoei hats are for rounder heads whereas Arai hats fit a more egg shaped crown.
With regard to quality, you get what you pay for. Cheap polycarbonate hats will meet the minimum standard so disregard those. Look for something that is ACU gold standard.
My plan of action would be to go to a large dealership or bike clothing store and find out what fits. Then look for the the style you like within that manufacturers range. Check under the lining inside the hat it will have a date of manufacture. Don't buy anything made over 18 months age. Don't buy on the web. Different countries have different standards and the same hat made for the south American market for example will be constructed to a lesser standard to meet their criteria (a generalisation no an absolute. Not all makers do this ) Choose if you want a double D or 'seat belt clip' type fitting. I prefer double D fitting as its easier to adjust and remove with gloves on.
I recently paid over £400 for a new Arai. Plain black but top quality. Another £80 would get a flashy paint job but I would feel a bit of a knob in one of those given the shrapnel I ride!
Hope that helps.
Any questions? discuss further............
Andy.

[spanners]

whats wrong with an owd ,,corky,,,,???

[one arm bandit]

i read a helmet test colum in a bike mag once it said some of the cheeper range manufactures only test on the top left hand side so just to meet safty standards they only put a small strip of the specified reinforcment on that patch as there all tested in the same place?? im not sure to the truth in this.

[morrag]

%0+ years ago an old stager, then, gave me this advice when I asked a similar question, he said..."If you have a £5 head, buy a £5 helmet!!!...." no more to say really! and that was in the dark and distant past, when flat caps were more common than helmets!....Morrag

[Tony oily bike]

I was an ACU steward a while ago too, and DSlam's totally right in what he says.

The method of BS testing is prescribed, so any make/model of lid that is BS approved will have gone through the same test regime. Bear in mind that to get a BS mark, it has to pass a 'minimum' requirement. Many lids will have exceeded these requirements, have added features and overall higher levels of protection, usually in proportion to how much they cost.

I've been on Police courses, were the Police riders gave up their own time to help us mere mortals learn some skills, and chatted about lids. I've seen examples of post-crash (and fatality crash) lids, and lids that have been cross sectioned to reveal their construction, and yes, I've seen cross-section of a model from a once renowned manufacturer who was bought out - the name continued but the quality sure a hell didn't - there were 'thicker regions' at the area where the tests were carried out!!

So, visit a big store and try on loads. Hold your head still and try to a) rotate your lid and feel what the lid will do, then b) tilt the lid back and forth, seeing what it does.
Good shop staff should be able to assist...

None of us know what's around the corner, some crashes are caused by others, some by ourselves, a knowledge of defensive / advanced riding techniques could (note I said 'could') be the difference from having a dink, and not..... worth thinking on eh?


Flip-front lids - been informed that if you ride with it flipped up, you can be done as if you had no lid at all!!!

[RODeo]

Very interesting replies there guys.....I noticed the police bike riders use the type I described,so thought they must be good?

[tbone]

Very interesting replies there guys.....I noticed the police bike riders use the type I described,so thought they must be good?

Some do, it depends on the force.

Slightly off topic now, but if you don`t know about the scheme, google CRASH card.
What the hell, heres the link.........http://www.ambulancemotorcycleclub.150m.com/crash-card-uk-loading.htm

[RODeo]

Good idea. Keep meaning to get a donor card as well . I think it should be changed so that you are permanently registered and only carry a card if you do not wish to be a donor.

[BikerGran]

Doesn't matter how expensive the lid is if it doesn't fit - fit is the most important thing!

[hunter]

Good idea. Keep meaning to get a donor card as well . I think it should be changed so that you are permanently registered and only carry a card if you do not wish to be a donor.

The state i'm getting there'll be nothing of any use to anyone

[Cabman77]

Good idea. Keep meaning to get a donor card as well . I think it should be changed so that you are permanently registered and only carry a card if you do not wish to be a donor.

The state i'm getting there'll be nothing of any use to anyone

While on the subject of Donors. My mum contracted Multiple Sclerosis at a relatively young age (at the time) and made arrangements to donate her body to science. A contract was signed between the old bat (trust me we didn`t get on) and Aston University and when she died that was where she was going. She cancelled all the life assurance policies (one for each kid 6 in all) that were to pay for her funeral because there wouldn`t be one and proceeded to plod on for a good few years more. Come December 1983 Mum starts to drift away, holding out long enough for me to back down from a five year argument (that`s another story in itself), until the 21st when she finally shuffled off this mortal coil. A quick phone call to Aston University went like this:

AU: `allo!!!!!!

US: Is that Aston University Human Biology Department.

AU: Wot???

US: Is that Aston University Human Biology Department?

AU: Wot? Oh Yeah. Wot do ya wont??

US: Our mother has just passed away.........

AU: Sorry to hear that.........

US: Well she has a contract for your department to recieve her body..................

AU: WOT? Really?? Do they actually do that??

US: Well yes the contract`s been signed for ages.

AU: You`d better phone back after New Year then mate.

US: NEW YEAR?? What the hell are you on about??

AU: The Yuniversitty ain`t open mate. There awl orf on there `olidays.

US: Who are you then?

AU: I`m jus` a contracta, doin` mayntenanse on the air con an` fridges!!!!!!!!

US: So what are we supposed to do with mum`s body then? (purely rhetorical question)

AU: I`d cremate `er if I wuz yu, much less messy than stickin` `er in tha ground if ya arsk me..........................click.........bbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr



So  a quick whip round between me and my sisters, and £800 later mum went to Redditch Crematorium to be cremated......................................and that`s another story in itself.............................


Sorry to sidetrack your thread Rod.

[kapri]

Many people would willingly give organs but never get round to signing up to the register. It is unfortunate that it is only in sudden death scenarios that the organs are still of use so normally it is from RTAs or strokes/brain injury so is always a traumatic time and the family can still veto the donors wishes.

Something very clos eto my heart as I am only here because I have been fortunate enough to have received 2 kidney transplants , first 23 years a( aged only 33)  and the, after another 6 months on dialysis another 10 years ago. The donors and their families are never far from my thoughts.

It is unfortunate that when the opt out clause was discussed it became about politics with people confusing a purely medical matter with politics and saying that it was a Labour tax on dying:(

[Cabman77]

I am a firm believer in Organ donorship, after all we have the know how and the ability to exchange damaged organs for good ones with an exceptional success rate and that must be put to use or it is a waste of human endevour. I have lost friends that chose not to have transplants and lost friends because no organ was available, I miss the latter more because it wasn`t their choice.

If there is anything left of me worth using, when I go, then it should be put to some better use than I`ve put it to over the years.