Helmets 101

madmike2 · Sep 17, 2007

Most of you know I had a rather violent get off while riding my KLR 650. I am finally getting clear headed enough to use my digital camera and I took some photos of my crashed helmet.

Photo of the right side. Evidently I landed on my right side (from the bruises and injuries) and slid: See the scratches?

From the front, scratches on the right side of the helmet. Can you see the mishaped indentation (flat spot) to the right of the top vent?

From the left side, where I must have slid into the guardrail's 12X10 support beam. Notice that the helmet shell is broken just at the bottom rear of the visor opening.

Different angle of the above picture.

Straight view of the indentation.

I can't see any flex or broken foam from the inside. I've pulled the cloth back and looked but found nothing worth taking a picture of so I left it intact. Evidently the foam liner did what it was supposed to do...compress and protect!

Yes, I have a concussion...and yes, I have a bruise on my brain, BUT I'm alive and recovering.

I know there has been a lot of discussion about helmets and whether "this brand is too hard" or "most head impacts are a glancing blow" etc., etc., ad nauseum, ad infinitum. I certainly don't wish to add to the arguments. I am, however, glad I had this particular helmet on during this particular incident. YMMV.

According to the Life-Flight crew, my riding gear saved my life. I choose to not argue about that. ATGATT and thank God I purchased the CyclePort Kevlar @ WFO and I was wearing it.

Barabus · Sep 17, 2007

Looks fine to reuse again. Those scapes are experience marks! LOL.

Silver Penguin · Sep 17, 2007

If a Shoei looks like that after your get-off, what would a $10 novelty helmet look like? Probably pretty good, since it wouldn't have stayed on your head/ luggage rack. But then they could have wiped the dust off it and set it beside your tombstone.

Glad to see that a good quality helmet gave it's life, to do what it was meant to do.

Jill

madmike2 · Sep 17, 2007

Barabus said:
Looks fine to reuse again. Those scapes are experience marks! LOL.

Yeah....a little Bondo, a little white Krylon and we'd be good-to-go. So Barry, care to be the test-pilot?

Thug · Sep 17, 2007

Mick you are one lucky *******!

VanHarlan · Sep 17, 2007

+1 for Shoei

I have an RF-1000 that I like a lot - and I just ordered a Shoei X-11, their flagship helmet - found a great deal on it for $419 shipped.

Take care - hope you heal up bro!

twowheelnut · Sep 17, 2007

Yep, I uttered, "Holy ****!", when Mike showed me that helmet (glad his mom was in the kitchen refreshing my lemonade!). That was a hecka hit, but it did it's job and gave it's life for yours. :good: Shoei!

Checkswrecks · Sep 17, 2007

If you could take the liner out (not an option in the 900) and flex it slightly, the cracks in the foam would jump at you.

But since it looks OK, you're going to sell it on EBay, right?

Bob

Silent · Sep 17, 2007

At'll buff right out!

Glad you're doing ok Mike!

:drinks:

Rogue · Sep 17, 2007

Donate it at NAFO!

Kustom lids by Mad Mike!

Glad your feeling better!

Toecutter · Sep 17, 2007

I have an intact RF-1000 (in Cerulean) that you can have. Only one impact, when my head fell forward onto the fuel tank after the bee put my lights out.

Many have been hurt far worse with much less impact. I'm sure your blessings are fully inventoried, cross-referenced, categorized, and have been assigned the proper speed-dial hotkeys.

Kevin Daly · Sep 18, 2007

Man I would hang on to that. Whenever you make a mistake or (god forbid) have a "senior moment" you can just point to the helmet and say "uh most of it still works"

serioulsy, glad the helmet did its job Mike!

Ps you did yourself a favor, that helmet is so last year

El Gordo · Sep 18, 2007

Money well spent on that helmet, I don't think you would be up taking pictures if you had been wearing a lesser lid.

Glad to see you are up and about!

Midlifefjr · Sep 18, 2007

Thanks for sharing - a good reminder to invest in quality gear and wear it at all times.

CAJW · Sep 18, 2007

Kevin Daly said:
Man I would hang on to that. Whenever you make a mistake or (god forbid) have a "senior moment" you can just point to the helmet and say "uh most of it still works"

Mike,

I second the motion. I kept the Shoei that saved my life from a 55 mph getoff (T-boned a black 85 lb dog at night) and whenever I start to feel cocky about my abilities, I just pull it off the shelf, feel the gouges, scrapes and broken fiberglass and slow down a bit. Really glad you're here!

JW

uctofeej · Sep 18, 2007

ebay title: Perfectly good Shoei helmet. Only dropped once! Happy bidding!

Glad to hear you're gettin better!

3dogs · Sep 18, 2007

Try to collect from you insurance co for the cost of riding gear replacement. Many companies will cover helmets, jackets, pants, boots, etc... Often time they won't volunteer for these costs--you have to ask. Glad you're OK.

wfooshee · Sep 18, 2007

Looking at that, I'm astonished your neck wasn't somewhere between your shoulder blades. That break on the left side looks like a compression break, which means it pushed down HARD on the top of your head (obvious from the big hole on top, but still!)

I've got pics of your gear from the other thread, and now the helmet from here, to show any squids my kids bring by. they ride up unprotected, and I try to give them the speech, but of course they know better than the uncool old man.

Obviously none of them have had any sheet time or they'd think differently. It's a "manly" thing, I guess, for these kids to ride nearly nekkid. I've never had any sheet time, either, but I know some who have. My brother got busted up bad at a track day some years ago, has a card so he can get his arm through airports if he needs to. His accident was slow, lost the front in a tight turn (late brakes?), Shattered his elbow and upper arm in the fall (they pulled pavement pieces out of the bone in surgery), hit the back of his head hard enough to print the bottom of the helmet onto his chest as a bruise, which broke his collarbone. He'd be dead lidless, and rashed horribly without leathers, and it was maybe 30 miles an hour.

The kids are all, "but I'm better than that. Won't happen to me." They just laugh when I ask how many of these injured riders went out for the day saying "I think I'll go bust my *** up real good."

Sorry to ramble, but my point is, thanks for posting your lid, and thanks to the other poster (forget who it was now!) who posted your gear. Makes a good example of the difference between busted-*** gear and busted-*** rider, hopefully at least one other guy will think and learn something.

painman · Sep 22, 2007

Just ran across this thread and when I first looked at that upper view of the indented helmet I did cringe and had a sudden sick feeling as well. Well though I'm really glad to hear you are on the mend Mike but more glad you are still here to tell us about it. I had communicated with you just before your accident about the Cycle Port gear and am just now able to pony up for a set of that. I had been doing the required measuring from their website earlier today so I can do the order thing. So any doubt about wearing the proper gear is now eliminated by anyone who see's this helmet. And thank God is right you were wearing the gear. Get well my friend and hope to see you back in the wind soon. Del. <><

Helmets 101

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