Mc Garage

How to Give your Motorcycle Helmet a Safety Inspection

MC Garage help for helmet safety.

June 22, 2016

Bad versus good helmets.Julia LaPalme

The helmet is your most important piece of safety equipment. Is it up to the task of protecting your head? Age, damage, and wear can all affect your lid’s ability to do its job. As you gear up for summer riding, make sure your helmet is as ready to ride as you are.

Step 1

Helmet makers say that lids have a service life of five years from the date of manufacture. Your helmet’s birthday is printed on a label applied to the EPS liner. Arai prints the date of manufacture on one of the chinstrap D-rings.Julia LaPalme

Step 2

Remove the comfort liner and check its condition. Besides getting funky, the liner will compress with time and use and may cause your snug-fitting lid to feel a little loose. Wash or replace the liner as needed.Julia LaPalme

Step 3

Remove the comfort liner and check the EPS for damage. If the foam has any dents or “spider-web” cracks, then it has probably sustained an impact and has been compromised. EPS is one-hit-wonder stuff!Julia LaPalme

Step 4

Inspect the shell for cracks, deep scratches, or other signs of trauma. You might not have dropped or crashed in your helmet, but that doesn’t mean that someone else didn’t accidentally knock it off a shelf without telling you about it.Julia LaPalme

Step 5

Chinstraps wear with use, so inspect the webbing for heavy fraying where the strap passes through D-rings. Check the D-rings and closely examine the stitching that secures them to the strap.Julia LaPalme

Step 6

Check the visor for cracks or scratches that may obstruct your vision, and also inspect the weather seal around the eyeport for nicks or tears. Verify that the screws securing the hinge mechanism are tight.Julia LaPalme

MC Tested: Shoei CWR-1 Auto-Darkening Transitions Photochromic Pinlock Shield

How does Shoei’s automatic-transition visor option for the RF-1200 and X-Fourteen work?