AJS & Matchless Owners Club

Any recommendations.

I have a Shoei open face helmet with a flip visor at the moment but I find that the visor lets in too much wind so I am looking for a flip front type.

I have found a Shoei Neotec which fits the bill but they seem to be around £495 at all the places I have found on the net.

I am not one to skimp on safety so if I have to pay that then so be it.

What has made things more difficult choosing a helmet is the safety standards on helmets nowadays. There used to be a kitemark or ACU approval tags but that seems to have gone by the board and been taken over by the SHARP standard. Not all helmets seem to be covered by this so how does one make a decision?

I read somewhere that all helmets must meet a minimum safety standard but how can you tell if a particular helmet meets that standard if it has been made in a different part of the world?

Jim

I recall reading helmets are part of the M o T ???? If that is correct, something may be stated online about it.

I've never had my crash helmet checked as part of an MOT! Cheers. Bruce.

Settle down Rob, it was an April fools prank a few years ago!
Dave.

JimFitz wrote: I have found a Shoei Neotec which fits the bill but they seem to be around £495 at all the places I have found on the net.

I can't recommend one as I bought a Shoei Neotec (£495, as you say) five years ago on my sons' insistence after a major crash. It's the heaviest (1.60kg), noisiest, draughtiest helmet I've ever worn, even though (at the dealers' insistence) I tried many and wore it for 20 mins walking around the shop before purchasing it.
I still wear it on the assumption that it's very safe but it's 'orrible and during a weeks' ride to and around Spain I had neck ache for the whole trip and had to have several beers at the end of each day to dull the pain.



As far as certification is concerned I researched a great deal before replacing mine and found it baffling. Helmets are not tested individually. I believe it's mainly the materials, visor mechanism, fire resistance, method of stitching and clasp that must be compliant to the range of standards. Part of the classification covers expected speeds.
The very best helmet I had was a Lidl one for £29.99 which met all the necessary Euro standards and did its job well in a very serious smash.

Google 'helmet safety' and you'll find loads.
This from our Gov't site:
All helmets worn on UK roads must meet one of the following: British Standard BS 6658:1985 and carry the BSI Kitemark. UNECE Regulation 22.05. a European Economic Area member standard offering at least the same safety and protection as BS 6658:1985, and carry a mark equivalent to the BSI Kitemark.

and this....but my arm-and-a-leg Shoei has no stickers or compliance tags at all!

The standard is usually an oblong red, blue or green sticker displayed on the back or the side of the helmet. The sticker has a BSI Kite Mark symbol in it.

BS Standard on the back of a helmet

The 3 different sticker colours and levels for the BS 6658:1985 standard stickers are:


Red sticker – Type A/FR: Used for helmets with a fire-resistant lining (normally used in car racing)

Blue sticker – Type A: Used for high-performance helmets offering a better level of protection

Green sticker – Type B: Used for lower-rated helmets.

Great photo. I can almost taste the beer from here. Is that Bruges? Cheers. Bruce.

thornebt wrote:Great photo. I can almost taste the beer from here. Is that Bruges? Cheers. Bruce.

No, Pamplona in 34 degrees - my sons wanted to ride the Bull Run route. It was my first tour after losing the use of my right arm and knee ligaments - 2,060 miles on a brand new Honda CBF125, aka the 'Grudge Special', max cruising speed 65mph, as I can't handle the Matchless yet (too heavy).
My sons were very patient on their Crutch Rockets....

I'm on my second Neotec and love it! Spriddler is correct about the weight as they're not the lightest being fibreglass but I've not had much trouble in the way of wind noise except on the BM where the wind rolled of the top of the screen which was right in the helmet line. A deflector soon stopped that and all was quiet again. If weight and cost is an issue than you may have to go down the polycarbonate route and try a Cabbage, sorry, Caberg! Alternatively if cost is no problem and you have a funny shaped head you could try a Schuberth C3, never got on with them but the wife loves hers.

ajscomboman wrote:I've not had much trouble in the way of wind noise except on the BM where the wind rolled of the top of the screen which was right in the helmet line.

No-one enjoys riding behind Roy.

dave16mct wrote:Settle down Rob, it was an April fools prank a few years ago!
Dave.

Well my memory was correct,