ATGATT - Hidden Helmet Damage

I'm not really sure this is the correct category for this - but it seemed the closest. Admin, please move if necessary.

Back in March, my wife, Jeannette and I met up with a bunch of fellow FJR riders for a multi-day Death Valley experience, and had an absolute blast. This was my wife's first ever trip on the FJR - and we covered 1130+ miles in 4 days. She's now hooked !!

Now - I haven't told but two other folks about this, as Jeannette wanted me to keep it quiet, cause she's a bit embarassed, but I felt this info should be out there for everyone.

Coming home from Lone Pine that Sunday, we pulled into the gas station due south of Lone Pine on 395. Now Jet is tall - 5'11", but she has some limitations on movement due to RA which she's been dealing with for some time. So - we worked out a routine for dismounting the bike - I stop the bike, lean onto the side stand, and when I tell her it's ok, she holds my shoulders, stands up on the pegs, and swings her right leg over the tail and down to the ground.

So - we pull into the station, we go through the routine - only there's a little difficulty - her right leg 'catches' somehow, and she fell off the bike - she said she thought about grabbing me, but she worried about pulling me off the bike as well - and she also thought about putting her arms back to brake the fall - but she figured that might break both her arms - (all of this in the time it took her to fall) so she just 'back flopped' - landed flat on her back, and let the gear take the impact.

Keep in mind that the passenger pegs on the 06 are what - about 10" off the ground? So here she is at 5'11", add 10" to that height, and you have 6' 9" - a fairly long distance to 'lever' or swing your head from vertical to horizontal, and then stop the acceleration with a concrete slab.

When she hit the concrete, I heard the wind knock out of her - and I distinctly heard her brand new Caberg Justissimo 'CLACK' on the concrete - not once, but 'clack clack clack' -

I was off the bike very quickly - leaned over her, looking for little things like breathing, pulse, etc. - and I could see tears - so I figured she was ok - it took me about 2 minutes to get her back up off the deck - about which time a few of the other couples that were also fueling up to leave arrived at the station. They didn't know this had happened.

Now - to the gist of this story - I am a firm proponent of ATGATT - those of you who have seen me wearing my Roadcrafter in 106 degree heat know that I'm a stickler for the safety gear.

When we arrived home that afternoon, I immediately ordered another helmet - just like the first one.

Here's a picture of the back of the helmet - you will note what appears to be a very small scratch on the 'edge' of the molded surface - other than that, there was absolutely NO INDICATION of any damage - but I replaced the helmet anyway.



I wrote 'DO NOT USE' in large letters with a sharpie across the top of the helmet, and set it aside.

So - I finally got around to stripping it down - I pulled both visors, the cheek pads, and liner - these 4 parts when purchased run about $200 - so I didn't want to discard them with the bucket.

When I pulled the liner out- I about freaked - here's what I found -





As you can see, the styrofoam did EXACTLY what it was supposed to do - it absorbed the impact. Note the large round indentation where the back of her skull deformed the foam - and the crack from the impact. Had the helmet been one of those 'almost' half helmets, the results of her fall could have been very different - I'd probably be spoon feeding pureed pees to her at the local extended care facility - or worse. When I discovered this hidden damage, it really did shake me for a bit - it appears that my bride of 27+ years took a really hard hit - but the gear did it's job. Thank God.

When I took the MSF class in June 05, we were told to replace a helmet if it was ever dropped, or involved in a slow fall, even if there was no evidence of any damage - because it could be hidden.

So - here's hard evidence that cosmetically near perfect helmets can be damaged in a fall or drop - and should be replaced, as recommended by the MSF and the manufacturers - it's not just an 'opinion' to increase sales.

Guys and Dolls, if any of you are wearing a helmet that has been through a fall, or slow speed drop, or whatever, EVEN IF IT DOES NOT SHOW ANY DAMAGE - and even if it still has that 'new helmet' smell, replace it. Don't screw around. Just bite the bullet, and get it done, OK ? Your brain is worth more than any $$ you might save.

DON'T SCREW AROUND WITH YOUR SAFETY GEAR !!!!

Thanks for the pics, good data!

Glad she wasn't hurt!

Good write up, thanks for taking the time.

Very important reminder to us all, glad the story had a happy ending!

I've taught alot of MSF courses, explaining just this fact to them all. And I'm very careful with my personal helmets.

The other day I was on a trip to Deals Gap. One of the kids I was with (riding an R1) had his helmet fall from his bike. I think it was on top of the tank, and it fell hard, bang bang bang bang, really hard.

He just picks it up like it was nothing, puts it on and rides off. I didn't say anything cause I'd already been perceived as the gear nazis. Needless to say I won't be riding with those guys anymore.

Good yer wife is alright.

DOT and ECE 22-05 approved

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Hmmm, coincidence?

I think not.

The impact you describe is very typical of most M/C crashes, but without the sliding.

JB's SNELL helmet gave him a lingering concussion from what was basically the same type of force, only to the side of his head, where your wife's was in the back.

You wanna ask her to do a re-enactment with an Arai, which averaged 44 more G's delivered to the interior in this test than the Fulmer AFD-4 (which I wear)?

All gear is not created equal. None of it is failsafe, but some is masquerading as protection.

Glad things worked out for you, sounds like you guys have chosen the right gear.

Sorry for the sermon, but that's what ministers do best.

Talk about a "Thank God" moment! To me, this is a good reminder to the owner who was only riding 2 blocks to the motel without his helmet and got a ticket....Doh!

First, I'm glad Jeanette is okay. Second, a good reminder as the Spring riding season is in full swing.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That being said, there's a better way for a pillon to get on the bike. Have her get on first as if she's going to drive and simply scoot back. Your mount will be a little trickier, you step up with your left foot on the peg but it's not hard unless you have serious mobility issues too. Dismount is reversed.

Thank goodness Jeanette is OK. I can imagine how embarassed the poor girl must have felt.

+1 on replacing the hidden-damage helmet. It would have been so easy to just look at the outer shell, think it was OK, and save the money.

Right now, DH and I are staying in Arizona which has no helmet law. Of course, we're both riding in full face helmets and mesh jacket/pants. It shocking to see that 90% or so of the other riders on the road have no helmet or protective gear.

We're taking a helicopter ride later this morning, and asked at the place if there was somewhere secure that we could leave our bike gear. There is, but we were asked if we wouldn't just ride the six miles or so without our gear. No, we prefer not to. ATGATT is the only way that the gear can protect you.

Jill

This is a really good post with good photos. My kids have learned with their mountain bike and dressage horse helmets to lightly flex the foam after an impact and look for these cracks. Both have had concussions and I've paid for replacement helmets for each within the past year, even though the first look at the existing helmets (especially the exteriors) revealed nothing.

Bob

Great post, thanks for sharing that info.

-MD

WOW. thanks for posting. I hope you do not mind I will "borrow" your photos for possible point reinforcement during my classes. And possibly use your whole post on other forums with your permission.

Thanks for the post with the pics that really bring the point of AGATT home. Glad your lady is OK.

-GSE-

Great post, thanks for taking the time to share this.

Thankfully your lovely lady was uninjured.

Here in Australia the law is very clear.

If you have a medical or other reason why you can't wear a helmet then you most certainly can not ride a motorcycle.

There are no exceptions.

All helmets must carry and be clearly labeled with SNELL and ASSA approval (I think that's the correct acronym), they just need to start putting expiry dates on them.

The SNELL and ASSA approval has unfortunately meant our only Australian helmet manufacturer has had to recall a large number of helmets, which has near forced them into receivership. But they have now resolved their certification issues and are back in the market again.

Hal,

Same trip- I pulled out in front of a semi the morning we were leaving. Scarred the sh*t out of me and the driver. Like your story, nothing really bad happened and I learned a lesson. Glad Jeanette is fine and maybe my story will make her smile and realize that weird stuff happens all the time when out with the FJR crew!!

Barabus said:

Hal,
Same trip- I pulled out in front of a semi the morning we were leaving. Scarred the sh*t out of me and the driver. Like your story, nothing really bad happened and I learned a lesson. Glad Jeanette is fine and maybe my story will make her smile and realize that weird stuff happens all the time when out with the FJR crew!!

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...and I saw you do that in my mirror and damn near shit, too!

Thanks for posting that, Hal. I worried all weekend about my RF1000, that hit the ground in my get off. (Unfortunately, my new lid was too small and I had to drive it back to San Dimas, only to find out they didn't have a larger one in stock.) Even though I'm 90% healed and rode at 6/10ths, that lid gave me worries the whole time.

Glad the luverly Mrs. is okay, too!

Nice and perfect posting!!! You should see some of the mountain biking helmets I have really messed up over the years. I honestly have 3-4 helmets brand new in a box ready to use. Thank goodness never had to mess a motor helmet on the street.

No my mom didn't drop me. . . I did it all by myself!

Glad the wife's OK and thanks for your post.

TC, thanks for this. It was a real eye opener for me.

toecutter said:

DOT and ECE 22-05 approved

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(snipped)

You wanna ask her to do a re-enactment with an Arai, which averaged 44 more G's delivered to the interior in this test than the Fulmer AFD-4 (which I wear)?

(snipped)

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Jim/jonesin'

Good post. People are always arguing about the validity of replacing helmets after a drop. I have replaced 2 helmets due to sizable drops and one was 2 weeks old.

noob said:

I've taught alot of MSF courses, explaining just this fact to them all. And I'm very careful with my personal helmets.
The other day I was on a trip to Deals Gap. One of the kids I was with (riding an R1) had his helmet fall from his bike. I think it was on top of the tank, and it fell hard, bang bang bang bang, really hard.

He just picks it up like it was nothing, puts it on and rides off. I didn't say anything cause I'd already been perceived as the gear nazis. Needless to say I won't be riding with those guys anymore.

Good yer wife is alright.

Click to expand...

I work for a private MSF endorsed school. They informed me that they (the school) contacted the SNELL foundation and SNELL now says a drop of a helmet with nothing in it i.e. A head will not damage the EPS liner. News to me for sure. After writing this I looked it up: "I dropped my helmet! Do I have to go buy a new one?

Generally the answer is probably not. Helmets are one use items, but are quite durable otherwise, at least the ones we certify. Frequent dropping or spiking a helmet on the ground, or other hard surfaces may eventually degrade the helmet's performance. Similarly if the helmet falls to the ground at highway speeds unoccupied the owner must be aware that some degradation may have occurred. In general the real damage comes when the helmet contacts an object with a head inside. The Foundation recommends that if you are participating in an activity that requires that you wear a helmet, that you avoid hitting stuff with your head. It can be difficult to readily determine if a helmet has been damaged, and the protective capabilities compromised without a thorough inspection by a trained professional. Some manufacturers may provide this service or direct you to these others that can perform these inspections. The Foundation recommends that if you suspect your helmet may be compromised, then replace it. If the helmet has been involved in an impact while in use, replace it. "