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Life Saving Tips

Maintaining Your Helmets

Use the following instructions and guidelines to maintain your motorcycle helmet.  This includes HJC, Shoei, KBC, Cirus, Cyber, Nolan, Skid Lids, Suomy, Fox Racing, Oneal, Troy Lee Designs, Thor MX and our entire line of helmets.

Motorcycle DOT and Snell rated helmets are designed to provide safe and comfortable rides for many years. To keep your helmet looking new and feeling comfortable, it is recommended that you follow these guidelines when cleaning your helmet. Please remember that your helmet is constructed of a variety of materials, so it is important to clean the various pieces in a manner to suit the given material.

The Outer Shell:
Only commonly available helmet or plastic cleaning products should be used to clean the exterior surface of your helmet. Automotive wax can be applied to protect the paint finish, but other harsh chemical should be avoided to keep from damaging the high-gloss finish.

Plastic Parts (including the shield)
Plastic parts should not be cleaned with anything containing solvents, including petrochemicals, as these agents are absorbed by the plastic material and may cause them to deteriorate and weaken over time. Acid or alkaline based corrosive cleaning agents, such as window cleaners containing ammonia, should also be avoided. The shield should only be cleaned using a soft cloth or a cotton swab with cool water.

Comfort liner
Removable padding should be removed and washed by hand in cool water using a neutral cleaning agent or in a washing net in the washing machine. Fixed padding should be wiped with a damp cloth containing a neutral cleaning agent. After cleaning, all parts should be thoroughly dried out of direct sunlight in order to prevent the development of unpleasant odors.

EPS Liner
The EPS (expanded polystyrene) liner is neither solvent nor heat proof, so the liner must be treated with particular care during cleaning. It should be cleaned using only a damp cloth in order to avoid scratching.
 

 

 

When Should You Replace Your Helmet

Replacement - When Should You Replace Your Helmet?

Applies equally to HJC, Shoei, KBC, Nolan, Cirus, Cyber, Icon, Fox Racing, Troy Lee Designs, Thor MX and all brand of motorcycle helmets.

A safety motorcycle helmet's useful service life, usually three to five years, is dependent upon the intensity and frequency of its use. Helmet replacement is recommended if one or more of the following points applies to the helmet.

1. The helmet was subject to an impact. Your were involved in any form of an accident with the helmet. If so, the helmet's integrity has been compromised and will no longer provide the same level of protection it was designed to give.  It is recommended that if you want to maintain maximum safety, to replace your helmet immediately.  Money is not at issue here, we're talking about your life, the life of your children and family.

2. The comfort padding or the retention system has become loose due to heavy use, or they display signs of deterioration.  The retention system is there to hold and maintain your helmet to your head.  When this is compromised, the protection no longer exists.   Regardless of how food the shell is, if the retention system is not there, you may as well not even be wearing your motorcycle helmet.

3. The synthetic foam padding displays signs of heavy use and the helmet feels too loose. You can test the effectiveness of the padding by fastening the retention strap and gently shaking your head. If the helmet moves, the padding is too loose.  The padding is what sits between the hard outer shell and your soft head.  Unless there is 100% integrity in this foam, you will not be receiving maximum protection.

4. There are cracks or compression in the EPS liner and/or white spidering can be seen on surfaces of the EPS liner.  You see this, time to get a new helmet.

Shoei offers free inspection of your Shoei brand helmet.  Please contact Shoei for details or follow our link above for contact information.

 

Look on tag attached or for a label or stamp inside of the helmet for the Mfg date or release date, usually found under the padding. Mfg or release date determines when the life of the helmet begins for use, not the purchase date.


Aiya Group Inc.
Corporate Headquarters
1871 W. Commonwealth Ave, Fullerton CA 92833 USA
Tel: 714-879-8882 / Fax: 319-937-4457
Toll Free: 800-288-0640
This article reprinted by permission of Cycles Matters

 

 

April 8, 2010

April is helmet awareness month.

Motorcycle education and training (the transfer of information from teacher to student), is resulting in more and more motorcyclists wearing helmets. Consider these facts:

  • Helmets reduce motorcycle related fatalities
  • Helmets reduce the seriousness of motorcycle accident head injuries
  • Helmets are required by law in some states
  • Helmets provide protection from debris, noise, hail, sun, and rain, etc.

Most motorcyclists have strong feelings for or against wearing a helmet. We support your right to make your own decision, but feel we would be remiss if we didn't share information on helmet safety and helmet selection. We hope you find it interesting.

Please take a minute and tell a friend about us. Cycle Matters continues to develop and grow as a resource for motorcyclists and businesses that cater to motorcyclists. By passing this newsletter to friends and fellow riders, or telling someone about our web site, you are contributing to the adventure of motorcycling. Thanks for your support, and as always, we invite your feedback.

Keep the shiny side up...


WOMEN RIDERS

LIFE BEGINS AT 200 (MPH)

It was just a year and a half ago that Connie Beavers was airlifted to a hospital after breaking 12 ribs and puncturing a lung in a motorcycle crash at El Mirage dry lake bed in the Mojave desert. And it was just under two years ago that her boyfriend, Nick Nicolaides, broke both wrists and his right ankle racing against Connie at Irwindale Speedway.

But after dusting themselves off, the couple took a schlep down to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last August, where Connie set a land speed record on her 1350cc Suzuki going more than 209 mph and Nick, though not a record for the type of bike he was on, managed to top 220.

She said setting the mark provided the biggest high of her life. He said he'd like to get up to 300 mph one day.

She's 70 years old. He's 80.


LIKE SKULLS?

BE SURE TO PROTECT YOURS

Helmets are an important piece of riding gear; one that may save your life. Yes...they can be hot and uncomfortable, and they don't look as cool as a doorag. Yes...they screw up your hair and leave strange tan lines on your face. Yes...they are expensive and sometimes don't fit well. Yes...they are a hassle to carry around. Yes...there are complaints that helmets decrease visibility and hearing. There is also the old, "I'd rather die than be a quadriplegic" argument. And, like laws requiring drivers and passengers to wear seat belts in automobiles, motorcyclists are resistant to laws requiring them wear helmets.

Just so you know, Cycle Matters' staff have ridden their share of miles helmetless and been known to use some of the above excuses.

At the Lone Star Rally in 2008, a couple of our staff came upon a motorcycle accident. The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet and had a significant hole in the base of his skull. Whether he survived the accident is unknown. What is known is the impact of witnessing this injury. We now wear helmets.

So, yes...helmets are hot, but so is the sun beating down on my head. Yes...I look like an astronaut/space person. Yes...I have helmet hair, but I also have a hat to wear when I take my helmet off. Yes...helmets are expensive, but they are cheaper than hospitals or burial costs. Amazingly, I have found a comfortable helmet that fits well, and so will you, if you shop informed. I can also see better, because the bugs, rocks, and rain are blocked by my face shield. I no longer have to wear ear plugs to block out the wind noise either. My helmet does that for me. And, if I am in an accident, the face shield protects my face. I don't know about you, but I would prefer to have my head protected and not to have my face ground off on the pavement.

Each rider has to make their own decision about wearing a helmet. It's said that there are two kinds of bikers. Those that have been down and those that are going down. I hope you are neither one, but should you go down, I hope you are wearing a helmet.


HELMET QUIZ

THINK YOU HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS ABOUT MOTORCYCLE HELMETS?

See how many of these questions you can answer correctly:

  1. Studies indicate that riders who wear helmets crash less frequently and suffer fewer injuries and deaths if they do crash.
  2. A helmet is of no use if it doesn't provide protection, and that D.O.T. (U.S. Department of Transportation) sticker on the back is your assurance that the helmet will perform.
  3. If you helmet fits your head snugly, it is not important to fasten the chin strap tightly.
  4. When selecting a helmet, you should wear it around the dealership for about 20 minutes.
  5. Helmets should be replaced every 6-8 years.
  6. If you wear a size medium in one brand and model of helmet, another brand and model will fit you best in the same size.
  7. D.O.T. and Snell certifications are the same thing.
  8. Half helmets and open face helmets are the same type of helmet.
  9. Dropping your helmet may reduce it's ability to protect you in case of an accident.
  10. Some brands of helmets change only their inner liners and do not change their shell size.

Answers:

  1. True. Riders wearing helmets are less likely to suffer long-term or permanent disablement caused by head or neck injuries. A helmet that meets the D.O.T. standard offers significant protection if you crash. By cutting down ambient wind noise, helmets can actually help you hear other sounds better. By reducing fatigue from the wind, they keep you more alert. By protecting your eyes from the wind, they allow you to see better.
  2. True. The D.O.T. standard requires that a helmet soak up a significant amount of impact energy, prevent most penetration, and have a fastening system that will withstand significant force.
  3. False. A helmet is no good if it doesn't stay on your head. Be sure to fasten your chin strap snugly so you can feel the force against your chin. Once your helmet is secured, grab the back of the helmet and try to lift it forward. The helmet should stay on your head if it fits properly.
  4. True. That should give you time to determine if the helmet is comfortable. There should be not pressure points on the top of your head, ears, or your forehead. Most dealers will not allow the return of helmets, so make sure its comfortable before you leave the store.
  5. False. Helmets should be replaced every 2-4 years. Not sure how old your helmet is? All helmets must have the month and date of production stamped on inside according to DOT and federal regulations.
  6. False. Just because you wear a specific size in one brand helmet does not mean another brand will fit you in the same size.
  7. False. Snell standards are the world’s toughest and demand quite a bit more protective capability in helmets than anybody else. However, in most states within the U.S., DOT is the standard by which helmet laws are set.
  8. False. Open face helmets are also called 3/4 helmets. They are similar to a half helmet except they have side and ear coverage. Many open face helmets also have visors to protect the face.
  9. True. Once a helmet has been dropped or impacted, it is recommended that it be replaced.
  10. True. This means a small helmet will have a lot of extra padding on the inside when compared to an extra large. Check to see if the helmet brand uses different shell sizes. This kind of helmet may be more expensive, but your head is worth it.