Hey, we’re hearing that the Snell Helmet standards here in America are going to get dumped by most racing organizations by 2007-2008 and the BSI (British Standard) may be the replacement. Can anyone direct me to what the British standard is and any good websites?
Apparently some HJC helmets have already been banned. Supposedly the models that are not the “AC” class helmets have left a couple serious injuries.
Thanks
Found this on a gov website:
We also have ‘ACU’ stickers on most top-grade helmets, ACU being the auto-cycle-union, a governing body behind motorcycle racing in the UK. To race, you need an ACU stamped helmet. I’m sure someone like Chuffster can elaborate on this, who races.
Personally, I wear Arai helmets. I have an Arai shaped head. I have seriously crash tested them and they have always been fine. I have crash tested a Shoi as well, again, it did the job, looks a bit like a hard boiled egg thats been hit by a spoon now though.
I have heard that the Japanese, who are extremely stringent on safety, have changed their testing procedures. This has made it really tough for manufacturers to get their helmets passed for sale over there. I know that when these were first introduced, the Arai got through but the Shoi did not.
As for buying a helmet with an ACU approved Gold Sticker on it, don’t go by this at all. The stickers can be got hold of and are stuck on some helmets that they should never be on. There was an instance recently of a guy taking a 30mph spill in a supposedly ACU authorised lid, the lid split in half. It was a £70 lid and would never have passed ACU standards.
As my head is probably the most valuable piece of my body, I make sure that it is very well protected (not that I don’t protect the rest). I get what I consider to be the best, in my case that is Arai. The visors are super strong, you can fold them in half without them breaking. The lining is removable so you can wash it. Depending which version you get, they have lots of air vents to get air around your head when riding. The visors are easy to change, if you ever want a demo, just ask.
Having slid down the road after a ZX9 landed on my head, the only damage to an Arai was a crack on the chin bar. The helmet was a write off, but had done the job and very convincingly. To make sure that the helmet was never worn by anyone else ever again (you know what scavengers down the tip are like), I decided to completely stove it in. So I cut the chin strap off, that was quite tough to do for a start. Then I hit the lid with a 2lb lump hammer. The lid was on the ground and wallop. The lid compressed and sprung up in the air, over 6ft up. I had to smack it real hard 62 times before I finally broke the outer shell. My surmisation of that, if it can take that much abuse then it is going to do the job when I crash in it.
I concur, Arai are best, imo, and experience!
