Motorcycle helmet

[Wedg1e]

Shoei Neotec (the first version, be about 12 years old now) and a Schuberth C3 Pro.
Neotec is up to about Mk3 and the C3 is now C5 I think.

If you visit Sportsbikeshop branches and leave some ID they will let you road test any helmet you fancy for an hour or two.
They also sell shop soiled/marked/returned lids and gear via their ebay shop. My Schubert was £216 when they were still £380 on the shelf and you needed the Hubble telescope to see the mark that 'downgraded' it.

 

[Migmac]

My go to was Roof, found them comfy

 

[jmp49]

Not riding bikes any more, but better half got me a new lid for trackways, always wanted a Simpson Bandit from my Elsie days,
So got one of these

xlmoto

www.xlmoto.co.uk

I like flat fronted helmets like the simpson bandits etc, and have ridden with various Craft's of similar sizing because I like how much I can see behind me when I look back because the apeture is larger.
Some of the earlier simpson designs seemed more targeted to the 4 wheel crowd than on a bike wanting to look about you. I like the appearance of that simpson though and might give one a try out.
As above some lid's have horrid wind noise or bob your head unstable at speed and get tiresome on a longer run.
I had one Craft go back for inspection with stress cracks over the front chin vents, but they returned it and said "its been dropped". It hadnt though. I have a theory that at speed on naked bikes the chinstrap flexed the shell constantly.
Theyre really light though, the rx5 was good, but I have a rx9 carbon that I got because the rx5 had the wrong sticker for scruitineering and that's even lighter though I prefer the rx5 for road use because it feels like the vision is better and its not as close to my face.

 

[Norsk]

Once youve chosen sit in the shop with it in for 10 or 15 minutes….comfort is a must.

Such good advice. I bought an expensive helmet when I bought my first bike,its pants. Hurts my head,loud and worst of all the eye box ( bit you look out of) is tiny. I thought that spending large would buy my comfort and safety,havnt worn it in years and second hand helmets are worth stuff all here.

 

[More Amps]

The manufacturers like to say that helmets should be replaced after five years...ok, but in the real world what's the oldest helmet that people are still regularly using? For the record I'd never buy a second hand helmet - you never know how it's been treated and given the price of a new lid I've seen some people treating them like they cost a fiver. My current Shoei cost enough that I treat it with kid gloves - if the worst happens, I want it to do the best possible job of protecting my possibly empty skull!

 

[TEO]

I found this site very helpful, I knew that there'd been a quiet revolution in helmet testing since my last one 20 odd years ago & this was very instructive.

SHARP - THE HELMET SAFETY SCHEME

Welcome to SHARP, the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme, a scheme to help motorcyclists make an informed choice when buying a helmet.

sharp.dft.gov.uk

 

[Seadog]

The manufacturers like to say that helmets should be replaced after five years...ok, but in the real world what's the oldest helmet that people are still regularly using? For the record I'd never buy a second hand helmet - you never know how it's been treated and given the price of a new lid I've seen some people treating them like they cost a fiver. My current Shoei cost enough that I treat it with kid gloves - if the worst happens, I want it to do the best possible job of protecting my possibly empty skull!

My Arai is 31 years old, but has done fewer than 3000 miles. I last used it September 2025 when I picked up my new bike. But I can't get a new visor for it, so it's unusable once the visor becomes too opaque.

 

[Robotstar5]

My Arai is 31 years old, but has done fewer than 3000 miles. I last used it September 2025 when I picked up my new bike. But I can't get a new visor for it, so it's unusable once the visor becomes too opaque.

Does Bob Heath have anything?

 

[Seadog]

Not that I can find. Perhaps I'll look again.

 

[RichardM]

Shoei about 7 years old, never been dropped and as its now moulded to my noggin with age, very reluctant to change it. Must have the dark visor with all my lids but carry a clear in my back box for night riding if ever caught out on a late ride home.

I use a tinted pin lock in mine, take it out if I need too, stops the plod from being grumpy too.

 

[zzr1200]

I rode with a legal tinted visor, with an aftermarket removable inner (stick in) visor, which overall made it a very dark visor (a technically illegal visor), however because of the removable part it become a contestable visor..... I always carried a clear visor as well for night time use.

There is no law that states you cannot wear sunglasses while wearing a helmet (as far as I'm aware), the tinted visor carried a BSI number, I also had a discussion while m/c training once with a m/c copper, he said he wouldn't like to argue my theory considering I carried a clear spare.

 

[Robotstar5]

I rode with a legal tinted visor, with an aftermarket removable inner (stick in) visor, which overall made it a very dark visor (a technically illegal visor), however because of the removable part it become a contestable visor..... I always carried a clear visor as well for night time use.

There is no law that states you cannot wear sunglasses while wearing a helmet (as far as I'm aware), the tinted visor carried a BSI number, I also had a discussion while m/c training once with a m/c copper, he said he wouldn't like to argue my theory considering I carried a clear spare.

I put some car window mirror tint film inside a visor in the 70's, probably illegal, but I was young enough not to care

 

[Bornfree]

The manufacturers like to say that helmets should be replaced after five years...ok, but in the real world what's the oldest helmet that people are still regularly using? For the record I'd never buy a second hand helmet - you never know how it's been treated and given the price of a new lid I've seen some people treating them like they cost a fiver. My current Shoei cost enough that I treat it with kid gloves - if the worst happens, I want it to do the best possible job of protecting my possibly empty skull!

They seem to self destruct after several years. I had a year old shoei and I packed up riding for 10 years . When I started back riding again the shoei looked like new until the first long ride and the lining just disintegrated.

 

[jmp49]

I rode with a legal tinted visor, with an aftermarket removable inner (stick in) visor, which overall made it a very dark visor (a technically illegal visor), however because of the removable part it become a contestable visor..... I always carried a clear visor as well for night time use.

There is no law that states you cannot wear sunglasses while wearing a helmet (as far as I'm aware), the tinted visor carried a BSI number, I also had a discussion while m/c training once with a m/c copper, he said he wouldn't like to argue my theory considering I carried a clear spare.

Especially as wearing sunglasses inside a lid is a LOT more dangerous.
I used to wear prescription glasses before I got shot with fricking laser beams in my 20's, and I had a few off's where I slid face down and my glasses fell off in the lid, and I had stabs in the sides of my head from the arms. That could have been so so much worse... So when I saw a 2 people for 1 eye surgery at a eye specialist at Leeds where I was working a contract, me and someone else from the office went and got shot.
I opted for prk instead of the lasek flap because it was more robust a long term solution, at the time the police and military would only accept you if you had the prk variant because of this, and I was alone in my rentie place over a weekend trying not to open my eyes and it felt like I'd had the mother of all welding arc flashbacks, and I couldnt look at a screen too long for the week after at work, but after that, brilliant.
You could say contact lenses, but I had a few incidents where I had disposable lenses in and looked behind me for a lifesaver with my lid slightly open, and the vacumn just sucked them out instantly.
Slightly ot but actually related properly to the thread for a change

 

[Seadog]

They seem to self destruct after several years. I had a year old shoei and I packed up riding for 10 years . When I started back riding again the shoei looked like new until the first long ride and the lining just disintegrated.

My 31yo Arai is still perfect.

 

[pedrobedro]

I have a Premier helmet which is the best fit out of the ones I've owned. My last one was a Laser helmet. I have a small head and not all helmets are comfortable as I also like some space between my chin and the guard.

 

[bump]

Shoei GT Air 2 for me. Has pinlock, internal tinted lens that is controllable from outside the helmet. Also Tubs Jackson do comms adapter plates for them that make fitting a Cardo or Sena a breeze.

 

[bump]

The manufacturers like to say that helmets should be replaced after five years...ok, but in the real world what's the oldest helmet that people are still regularly using? For the record I'd never buy a second hand helmet - you never know how it's been treated and given the price of a new lid I've seen some people treating them like they cost a fiver. My current Shoei cost enough that I treat it with kid gloves - if the worst happens, I want it to do the best possible job of protecting my possibly empty skull!

That's based on UV exposure causing the shell to deteriorate over time. Consider they go for worst case scenario, so full time m/c courier. I'd probably put daily commuting in a similar bracket.

I replaced my last lid at 8 years old. 3 of which were daily commuting, then riding for pleasure as switched to working from home.

 

[More Amps]

From Shoei Europe

Preserv and Renew​

When should a helmet be replaced with a new one?​

SHOEI recommends replacing the helmet after about 5 years of normal use, care and storage.
While an undamaged helmet outer shell made of AIM or AIM+ is very resistant to ageing, the protective effect of the shock-absorbing EPS inner shell decreases over the years. Age-related changes in the EPS material reduce its deformability. This reduces its ability and capacity to absorb impact energy in the event of an accident or fall. The helmet can then no longer provide the level of protection required by ECE homologation standards.
After a fall or accident, a motorcycle helmet must always be replaced, even if only slight or no external traces are visible

(And naturally there's no denying that regular lid replacement means more sales)

(Shoei GT Air, approx 7 years old)

 

[Nomad]

I'm trying to work out how old my 2 helmets are and I've lost count ...
Carbon fibre Bell (Sunday best, always stored away from UV or high / low temps) 20+ years.
Cheapo full face with a 2nd internal flip-down tinted visor is about the same.


I've not been riding for a few years apart from the occasional test ride, if I get another bike on the road I'll be looking for a new lid.

My newest helmet got binned despite only a couple of deep gouges after high siding on a rider training day at Croft. The crash also broke my indicator,
No other damage - amazing after seeing the pro photographs of the crash. I still have no idea how the bike ended up on the left side on a right hand corner
Bike slid for a while on the centre stand / indicator / handlebar end. Any stunt rider would have been proud !


My folks used to race Vincent outfits in the 60s & 70s, the cork lined pudding basin helmets that were approved for racing at the time were something else.