South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

Wear it 'til it stinks...








Then wash it and wear it again...




Provided you have a removeable lining

think mine may stink a little! i have had it about 13 years the lowest priced Arai at the time, would not get another purely because i think there are better ones or as good as out there for less money. It is well over due for me to get another. I cannot find one i like at the right price.

I usually get a new one every five years, sometimes more. I think the biggest thing I've always heard is to get a new one if you drop it or hit it from being in an accident. Even a drop could potentially cause some hairline fractures that could weaken the overall helmet. If you do drop it, I would check it carefully and if you dented it, then I wouldn't risk wearing it. I'd get a new one.

Well I replace mine every 4-5 years, not because I want to, more because I keep falling off so I have to. ;)

I agree with all that's been said about the outside of the helmets but its also good to consider the inside.
Having to do loads of helmet lectures when doing CBTs I point out that the inner shell is actually what protects your head. The polystyrene absorbs the impact, this is why you should change it after a crash even if it looks ok,

The polystyrene also compresses with use as well, so technically as a rule helmets should be changed every 3 to 5 years as the shock absorbing qualitys have diminished.

One thing we noticed with cheaper helmets is that the inner shell is not normally a whole shell, they tend to use strips more like a push bike helmet. The more expensive helmets have a full inner shell.

The greater surface area in the better helmets will mean that it wont compress as rapidly and therefore will last longer.

Always a good idea to have a look inside a possible new helmet and see how much polystyrene there is.

I've pretty much only just replaced my helmet that I've had since 2001..... Sure, I still felt safe with my old one but it was begining to look a little tatty - it hadn't been dropped or anything like that, just looked.....old! So, if it wasn't for cosmetics or the fact that I fancied a flip top one, then I'd still have just kept using my old one.