Are you wearing your lid correctly?

The issue of what is and isn't a legal motorcycle helmet is, for some, a grey area and maybe it's more relevant than most of us realise but while I don't wish to patronise any riders about what is a legal helmet I do want to raise awareness of a certain issue.

The most common 'whoopsie' for us regular tourers is caused by the good old 'flip-front' lid and I admit to knowingly wearing the helmet 'incorrectly' when the temperature rises.

Not withstanding the 'flip-front' issue there are often some misunderstood myths about what makes a helmet legal for use in the UK and Europe but that's a whole other blog.

There are 2 other major helmet issues to contend with at present. The rise in 'Novelty Helmets' and also the rise of 'Fakes'.

During lockdown I was asked to write a document to assist Roads Policing Officers for 2 UK police forces, in identifying illegal helmets, novelty helmets and counterfeit helmets. It was kicked off by finding a rider wearing a novelty 'Iron Man' helmet (pictured)

Here is a short clip from ITV news about the issue.

ITV - Call For Action

Novelty helmets are generally avoided by the regular motorcyclist, especially when they make you look like something from a Disney movie, but I still see riders on 'big' bikes wearing the most bizarre looking lids ever. It is a risk they choose to take.

What concerns me more than these though is the rise in fake helmets. Riders who ride with a 'Batman' helmet generally know they are breaking the law and choose to do it regardless. Riders who buy a fake Arai or Shoei are not so well informed and often think they are getting a genuine helmet at a bargain price. The poor choice in saving a few quid may cost them their life.

We have found numerous outlets on the internet including places like eBay where these helmets sneak on to the UK market and they are generally advertised in such a way to fool the buyer into thinking they are UK road legal i.e. DOT compliant. Well DOT isn't UK legal for very good reasons - they don't offer adequate protection. In fact many fake helmets will increase risk of injury and death.

A fake visor is a good example of this where a projectile can splinter the plastic sending sharp shards in to the riders eyes with massive force.

So to combat these fakes, buy your helmet from a reputable UK outlet or better still, go to your motorcycle shop and speak to the brand expert within. Your life MAY depend on it! If you have a friend, relative or loved-one who rides. Prompt them to do likewise if they wear something dodgy. If you are concerned you have already purchased a fake, take it to the same motorcycle shops and ask them to examine it.

Remember the VISOR must also be road legal. Some tints and mirror visors are not. Look for the E on the visor.

So legal helmets. Contrary to belief they do not legally need replacing every 5 years. A 2 year old helmet may see more use than it's 10 year old equivalent so it's about you examining and taking care of your helmet and applying common sense.

Your UK legal helmet will have a label in the strap mechanism declaring its compliance in law and this is the area I wish to raise awareness of.

The relevant points for legality are:

• Upper case ‘E’ meaning it is approved.

• A number following the ‘E’ which identifies the country granting approval eg E1 is Germany, E11 United Kingdom, E16 Norway.

• There will also be a configuration of the letters J, P and NP present They refer to: ‘J’ - Jet style helmet i.e. ‘Open Face’ ‘P’ - Protective i.e. Offering full face protection. ‘NP’ - Not FULL face protection. This is less common to see but means that the helmet has a chin guard attached or constructed on it and only the upper shell is sufficiently protective and the part around the chin/lower area is essentially cosmetic. ‘P/J’ both present - This means the helmet can be used with the chin guard down thereby offering ‘full face protection’ but also used with the chin guard ‘up’ offering ‘Jet’ or ‘open face protection’

So the point I wish to highlight is the 'P' and the 'J'. Some flip-fronts have only a P on the strap. If they do then it is an offence to ride with the chin/face guard raised.

If your flip-front has a 'J' & 'P' usually displayed as 'J/P' or 'P/J' then you can ride with the front raised.

The reason I want to highlight this is that even some of the most expensive flip-fronts still only offer P protection i.e. should not be ridden whilst open. Shoei's Neotech 1 has P only protection while their Neotech 2 offers both J and P. If in doubt, check the strap. If you are still in doubt, by all means email us at enquires@motoventuratours.co.uk and put the words 'Helmet Question' in the Subject and we will try to help you out.

Ride safe and ride with Moto Ventura for 'Maximum Smiles Per Gallon'

John