Non-destructive helmet testing

Does anyone know if it is possible to get helmets tested (ie ultrasound) to
check for hidden damage? I thought I had heard about it before.

The reason I ask is that I have a couple of helmets with apparent cosmetic
damage only (a few scuffs, scratches etc). I would like to keep them if
they're ok, but it would be good to know if there's any hidden damage.

Ta.

 

I think it's xrays. Your local vet will do it, I think.

 

Really? Cool! I live about 4 feet from a vets! My SO works for them and I'm
in the flat above the surgery!!

 

I think you're being a little overenthusiastic, but yes,
I do think vets can do it. Maybe asking your SO is the
way forward in this case... ;-)

 

Don't get over-excited, radiography is notoriously bad at seeing planar
defects if they are at an unfavourable orientation...
Worth a try, though.

 

Those helmets must be worth an awful lot more than your head.

Unless you know how they got damaged, it might be safer to sell them on
eBay.

HTH

 

And what advice would you give a potential helmet buyer on ebay?

 

None. If you're stupid enough to buy a second hand helmet period, never
mind on ebay, then you needn't worry about the effects of a blow to the
head. It'll miss your brain by up to six feet.

HTH

 

Pay with paypal because it means I can ship quickly.

 

*shrug* I've bought second hand helmets and crashed in them.

I think there's a lot of hysteria about helmets.

I wouldn't buy one now; 'cos I can afford not to. I buy Arai now 'cos I
can afford it and they're very comfortable, not because I think they'll
protect me better than a (well fitting) Lazer or Rayven or whatever.

 

uh? Why do you think I want to go to the trouble of finding out if they're
still ok? It's not for the financial value.

I do know how they were damaged and if they weren't good enough for me I
wouldn't be such a **** as to sell them to someone else.

 

I don't know why you were asking. I'm not a fucking mind reader.

I said it'd be safer. For you. I didn't say you should do it.

So how were they damaged? Then maybe I could tell you if they're likely
to be OK?

 

*cough* I'll get rid of them for you.

 

...and I had a Grandad who smoked 40 a day for his whole life and he
lived to the age of 88.

He took a risk. He got away with it. So did you.

*shrug*

It's your choice on where you take the risks. I've done 'stupider'
things, so I'm not going to make a lecture out of it. The guy asked....

 

Thing is, I'm not convinced that second hand helmets are necessarily
that stupid.

 

Ok, point taken. My thinking was that the market for a used helmet is pretty
much zero, especially one with scratches.

Well if they weren't/aren't safe, I'll just cut off the chinstraps and bin
them.

One has just got general wear and tear over about 18 months. Little dings,
scratches etc. Might be fine, but might not. The other was from my mate who
came off at about 20 mph and landed on his right elbow and knee. He hit his
head at the end of his fall and slid a few feet tops. Damage to the helmet
*seems* to be confined to scratching on the visor side pod and the visor
itself. The shell appears unmarked and in very nice condition otherwise. The
helmet was only a month or so old at the time.

 

Mine smoked a bit (but I don't know how much), he pegged it at around
the same age last year to the big C. Heck, I guess you've gotta die of
something, might as well enjoy yourself getting there.

 

Some of it quite pompous as well. My helmet is secondhand, in the not
new sense, and I've crashed in it too, twice.

I also buy secondhand brake parts.

 

Oh, and a reply from Wizard:

"This topic's been done before. If Dan follows up the phrase "shoei helmet
test for damage" in UKRM around March 2003, all sorts of answers will pop
up."

 

Oooh! A bite! Not the one I was expecting, though. One has what one
has...

I wouldn't buy a secondhand helmet, but then (at present) I can afford
not to and I do value my skull. In days of yore I might well have
bought secondhand if that was all I could afford. I certainly did use
an old helmet of unknown origin for a couple of years. Ah, youth...

At the end of the day, the question is: if I have a crash that
involves a severe head impact, what are the odds that the impact is
going to be so severe that using a *possibly* damaged lid will result
in injury, but not so severe that a new lid will survive to protect
me, or at least reduce the injury? And how much does that difference
worry me?

It all comes down to what odds (perceived of course, the real odds may
well differ) one is prepared to accept and perhaps what degree of
injury one is prepared to accept *if* it all goes tits up. This may
vary according to personal circumstances. After all, a sole
breadwinner might quite reasonably be expected to take fewer risks, if
only by those dependent on him!

I do still use a helmet that theoretically should have been binned
after a high-speed (80-ish) MPH highside. I certainly wouldn't use it
on a track though, because it is scuffed with a couple of areas of gel
coat damage. This is odd, because I have a suspicion that I'm at least
as likely to need a good lid on the road as I am on the track.

Finally, there is that "it won't happen to me" factor. And naturally,
"I'm a better than average rider..."