OK. I dropped my helmet. Well it fell of the shelf in the laundry room. It fell about 5.5-6 feet. It handed on the top rear of the helmet. The floor is vinyl covered plywood. I know if you drop your helmet you are supposed to replace it but If that falling on pavement or anything? A little help please .. I didn't really want to spend another $500 yet but will if needed. I know Arai Offers an inspection service I am just not sure how long that takes.
probably OK if the clear coat is in tact - thats usually the sign. The plywood floor prob saved you, if it were concrete I would say you are toast.
It may depend on if it is snell or DOT rated........ apparantly from what I have heard DOT will withstand more repeated blows, like a skidoo helmet that guys throw in the trunk of a car and get bounced around, where as snell will take a much harder hit but only once. I am a firm belever in a $5.00 helmet for $5.00 head and its good to see you invested in a good lid, I always buy snell approved and if it was mine I would probley get a new one, thats a hard call it could be alright thou. If you have it tested it would be nice to see the results posted on here.
I attended a mini-seminar on helmets at the NYC bike show in January. This was discussed in detail and based on what was said by the "expert", you should be A-OK.
Some will tell you to just replace it, others will say you must replace it after 5 years.......but they're not paying for the new one. No worries with an Arai.
Hello amigo, I've read several motorcycle magazines and that is afrecuent question , they have said there is no problem with it unless the damage is well visible, if your helmet is DOT and SNELL and do not have any scrath or a break you don't have to be afraid of, but if it is possible take your helmet to the manufacturer to make a deep inspection, there are a spanish publication named LA MOTO (www.lamoto.com.es) where you can read that article. I've read that is worse to a helmet when a decal is placed or when a helmet is washed using chemical cleaners instead of water and soap. good luck
Thanks for the info... Yes, Arai says no detergent or chems.. Warm water only on a microfiber towel. The Chems make the plastic brittle.
Im not up to snuff on motorcycle lids, but when I was mountian biking, if we dropped our lid any farther than 3ft (slip from hand to ground) and there was any blemish to the plastic, it got replaced. the styrofaom can be damaged without breaking the plastic, all your looking for is a discoloration of the reflection of light off the area that hit(this is only a basic test and someone will say its not a valid test). Based on the papers that came with my motorcycle lid, I'd make a safe bet on the same kinda treatment. though some manufactures do say your lid can take some abuse before you need to replace it. when i find the reference i will edit it in.
The liner of your helmet is designed to absorb the force of your heavy head in an impact. That's a one time use obviously, once it's compressed it's done. Dropping an empty helmet from a few feet isn't going to affect the interior impact liner. If the shell is intact, no cracks, dents, deep sractches, then it should also be ok. You should be fine with it, just inspect the shell closely for any damage. I think bike helmets are somewhat different in that they don't have a strong outer shell. My Giro just has vinyl stickers over the styrofoam so if it's cracked then yeah, it's done for.
