Dropped helmet: Throw out, or risk?

[Riff Raff]

I dropped my helmet and broke the visor mechanism. Continued my ride with visor taped on, and bought a new one asap. So you've thrown another $200 down the drain. It's only money, and it's a small price for peace of mind.

[Quasievil]

If it were a $1400 Arai, the answer mightn't be so easy beanz, but a $200 lid? Forget it mate! Kept it on hand for when you go go-karting or something (now THOSE helmets are dodgy) but use a new one for road riding.

I went to a ARAI educational night at Hamilton M/C run by the importer, they said if its Fibreglass it can withstand a fall of a bike no problems at all. If another material likey it woould have suffered a impact shock which may cause a problem in another hit.
Make what you want of it, but they did demonstrate this with helmets cut in half.
You could take it to the distributor they may be able to assess it against manuafacturer guidelines?
good luck, I just wrecked mine so Im bringing in another from the states so I can sympathize (no I didnt crash lol)

[loosebruce]

I'm with CK on this one to mate, put a price on being brain damaged for the rest of your life and $500+ on a new helmet doesn't sound all that bad does it, i spent almost a grand on my HJC a couple of years back and wouldn't even blink at doing it again, infact HJC are bringing out some tasty looking carbon fibre helmets soon, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm carbon fibbbbbbreeeeee

[loosebruce]

I just wrecked mine so Im bringing in another from the states so I can sympathize (no I didnt crash lol)

Maybe when you do crash it'll knock some sense into ya and you'll buy a gixxer next time

[Holy Roller]

A new helmet I saw the other day at Mount Motorcycles in the BoP was a "Can" retailed at $99 full face or open face, same helmet at Bike Force in Rotovegas retailed at $140 or you can try "ridergear or Trikeworks" on Trade Me they reside in Taupo new gear great prices. One tip I found was that if you were not in a hurry to buy just add the item to your watchlist, after the auction you get sent a buy now price. This price offered has usually been lower than the starting bid price.

[Cajun]

A new helmet I saw the other day at Mount Motorcycles in the BoP was a "Can" retailed at $99 full face or open face, same helmet at Bike Force in Rotovegas retailed at $140 or you can try "ridergear or Trikeworks" on Trade Me they reside in Taupo new gear great prices. One tip I found was that if you were not in a hurry to buy just add the item to your watchlist, after the auction you get sent a buy now price. This price offered has usually been lower than the starting bid price.

Holy Roller, i have one of those helmets as my round down one its acutally called Vcan. most dealers in tauranga have them around for $99 dollars, they arn't to bad helmets

[crashe]

What the heck just go and buy the Vcan $99 helmet for the time being, until you can afford a better quality one.... Never risk you head.

Braindead vs brain-that-works.... hmmmm Brain-that-works.... will do it for me.

[onearmedbandit]

You answered the question yourself in the title to this thread. "Throw out, or risk?" Its like saying, 'should I not put this revolver with only one chamber full to my head and pull the trigger, or should I risk it?'

[Jamezo]

What the heck just go and buy the Vcan $99 helmet for the time being, until you can afford a better quality one.... Never risk you head.

Braindead vs brain-that-works.... hmmmm Brain-that-works.... will do it for me.

so it's better to have a new cheapo helmet than a more expensive one that has been dropped?

[SuperDave]

Helmets, they range from the $99 to what about $1500 or something? What are the differences if they all meet saftey standards? Would the $99 helmet actually protect you less? Just wondering about it now. What makes a helmet pass saftey standards and get that little sticker on it?

[Stinkwheeler]

Just train your conscience to nag you non stop until you get a new helmet. Simple peace of mind (I think?)

And doesn't carbon fibre shatter?

[Blakamin]

Helmets, they range from the $99 to what about $1500 or something? What are the differences if they all meet saftey standards? Would the $99 helmet actually protect you less? Just wondering about it now. What makes a helmet pass saftey standards and get that little sticker on it?

Comfort, road noise....

[k14]

Personally I don't think it would make a difference to the impact absorption. If it was me I wouldn't worry. I have seen some experimental tests on the net somewhere of this guy that dropped helmets from a 2 story building and then crash tested them against brand new ones. The results were that there was no distinguishable difference in impact absorption from the dropped ones to the brand new ones.

If the helmet was screwed after a 1m or so drop I wouldn't want to wear it in a 100kph+ bin.

But its your head and you decide what you want to do with it. I wouldn't worry.

[Marknz]

Here's an exercise to go through that will help you make your own decision. Was taught this one by the paramedic who helped me out after a race crash in Aussie.

Take a 20c coin and tap it around the shell of the helmet. If the note produced by this tapping changes in the area that you dropped it, then the helmet is damaged, and in the case of my helmet in that particular situation, it was taken away so I couldn't ride with it again. If the note is consistent all over the shell, it is deemed not to be damaged and you may use the helmet again.

Still, it's your choice and your head at the end of the day.

[DarkNinja]

i start getting heavy breathing and about to pass out when people touch my helmet, you would be suprised at how many people dont know that after 1 hit, its gooone.