Crash helmets on track days

[jondokic]

I don't understand the popularity of motorcycle lids at trackdays - particularly as many organisers won't allow them. This:
[url]www.grandpri.com/cgi-bin/grandpri.storefront/809020920/UserTemplate/52[/url]
has all the approval you need for anything up to FIA events for £200, so why bother spending much the same on a helmet that is not designed for the job ?

edited to add - link supposed to be to Bell Sport 3, but it doesn't work...

>> Edited by jondokic on Wednesday 26th February 16:38

[DIGGA]

jondokic said: I don't understand the popularity of motorcycle lids at trackdays - particularly as many organisers won't allow them. Thishas all the approval you need for anything up to FIA events for £200...

Fine, but it's £200 wasted if it doesn't fit your bonce! When I visited my 'local friendly' racewear specialist, I intended to buy one of the OMP full face helmets because the price and psec. seemed reasonable. But there was no way my head was fitting in one, and I ended up getting an Arai (and having to fork out a bit more) to achieve a good fit.

[dontlift]

I can get Bieffe F1 helmets for little over 300 quid if you are interested SNELL 2000 rated (top race rating)

[shpub]

Or do I just need to go to a proper 'car' shop next time , add two zeros to everything and be happy , surely the guys that race bikes are interested in getting the right protection for thier heads as much as the guys in cars, if not more so , anyone care to comment that has experience of both two and four track time .

Harry (and a bitsa V8S )

---

The list is from the MSA rules book. If it is not one of those then certainly the Octagon circuits will say that the helmet is not suitable. It is non-negotiable. Period.

The best standard and I looked at what tests they did when I was making a decision is the SNELL and SFi which BTW are not approved for motorcycle use which is why many of the bike shops don't push them. The standards came from concern over the inferior protection that the national standards offered and certainly are a league above the BS and EU standards in terms of the testing.

The Snell and SFI standards are updated about every 3-5 years which is more than the others. They cost around £200-300 and up but it might just save your life....

I change my helmet every 2-3 years as a matter of course and usually go to Grand prix Racewear in Chiswick to try them on as fit is essential. Very wide selection and excellent service but not the cheapest. However it is essential to get the right fit so worth spending that extra to make sure you get what you want. I use Bell as they fitted me better than the others and do a full face style that is suited to those of us that have to wear specs.

My advice is get a Snell 2000 spec helmet and try it on for fit before buying.

[williamball]

I presume that folks having difficulty getting a helmet to fit are trying on different brands, and not just different sizes of the same brand? Different manufacturers make their helmets to different 'shaped' heads. Dunno about all brands, but I do know that if you fit a Shoei helmet, then you will never fit in an Arai, whatever the size, and vise versa. My 'Shoei' shaped head also means that AGVs don't fit me properly.

WB

[R&J]

Thanks for you help and advice.
Today we got our crash helmets from Grand Prix Raceware @ Silverstone.
They are Bieffe Grand Prix Racers and are FIA and Snell SA2000 approved.
Lets hope I've just wasted my money and never need to use them.
Rich