Harley-Davidson Helmet..Protection and Fashion

I was cleaning out my garage and accidently knocked my helmet off the shelf. It hit the cement hard and made a huge smacking sound. After calling myself an idiot, I decided to see if I needed to buy another helmet.

I asked my lady if she wanted to take a ride over to Adventure Harley-Davidson with me.

"Sure Babe, I love checking out the new MotorClothes® at Adventure. When do you want to go?"

"I'm ready now, " I said as I revved the engine on my 2007 Road King®."

Arriving at Adventure H-D we both headed for the MotorClothes® Dept. "I need to ask some questions about helmets!" I growled as we approached as salesperson.

"Sure, " said Chelsea. "By the way what are your names?"

"I'm Gary and my wife's name is Rita. I dropped my helmet in the garage and was wondering if I should replace it.

"Gary, Helmets look tough and sturdy but you have to handle them with care. If you have dropped your helmet or it has been impacted, you need to replace it right away. A very important fact is that a helmet is only designed to take one impact even a small one. An impact could fracture the outer shell or compress the impact absorbing liner. The damage may not be visible, " Chelsea continued, "Even if your helmet has never been damaged, it needs to be replaced every three to 5 years. You can judge this be how much you have used it. As time passes UV rays, adhesive and component aging will damage the helmet. Its protective features may deteriorate and wear with time making risky for your safety."

"Chelsea, I did not have a clue about when and why I should replace my helmet. I figured I broke it because I did see a crack but I'm glad I found this out before something bad happened."

"Gary and Rita, I want to give you this tidbit of info also. Never use, expose or store helmets around the following: Insect repellent, gasoline, cleaning fluids, exhaust fumes or excessive heat. The exposures can result in the degradation of helmet materials and protective components and the damage may not be visible."

"Chelsea, Now that we know about replacing our helmets can you tell us a little about the different Helmets Harley-Davidson® has available, " I inquired.

"You guys, I have a ton of info about the helmets. So stop me if I start to bore you, OK, " Chelsea grinned as she continued. "Harley-Davidson® takes helmet production seriously. Your safety is highly valued at Harley-Davidson®. Harley-Davidson® performs road tests on their helmets to meet DOT requirements. Harley® discourages selling novelty helmets which do not meet DOT requirements or are not SNELL approved."

"What is a novelty helmet, Chelsea?" asked Rita.

"A novelty helmet in not intended for motorcycle wear and does not provide head protection. It is for fun only and when it comes to motorcycle safety its time to stay serious. For your riding safety only purchase a motorcycle helmet that meets DOT requirements and is Snell approved, " Chelsea smiled as she pointed to three helmets."

"I want to know what kind of helmet I should replace this old one with? Can you tell me about the materials helmets are made of?, " I asked, at this point, I was anxious to buy a helmet but I wanted to make sure I got a good one.

"Gary and Rita, Harley-Davidson® offers a complete line of half, three quarter, and full face helmets for men and women. Helmets in general are made of four primary elements: the outer shell: a liner that acts as an impact absorber; padding for your comfort; and a retention system to keep the helmet in place on your head" Chelsea swallowed and took a breath. "Here we go. First you have the Thermoplastic construction, it is hot plastic (polycarbonate) that is injected into a mold and hardens. This process is not very complicated and usually results in a less expensive helmet. It usually flexes as a reaction to impact against a hard surface. To meet DOT requirements, thermoplastic helmets must have a thicker impact liner which requires a larger shell. You get a slightly larger heavier helmet that is less expensive."

"So, I bet my old helmet was a thermoplastic because it was less expensive than the rest when I bought it. Rita remember, that was the day you got your Harley-Davidson® leather riding jacket, " I chided at Rita just to get her riled up.

"Gary, You told me to pick out the jacket I loved the most, so if you have any regrets it's totally you fault, " Rita wailed as she threw me a don't start anything look.

"I'm only kidding honey. You look great in your black leather H-D® jacket and I love you, " I grinned as I turned to Chelsea for some more helmet info.

"OK, you guys lets talk about fiberglass shell construction. It consists of putting multiple layers of fiber cloth inside a mold and adding resin. After that you must heat the mold so it bonds to the resin while removing the pockets of air. It takes many steps to create the layered weave. This winds up causing more expense. Upon impact the fiberglass shell usually cracks, crushes and/or delaminates. This causes the impact to be reduced so the impact liner can be thinner. All of this makes for a reduced overall size and weight of the fiberglass helmet, " Chelsea went full speed ahead. "Ultra Light Hybrid helmets are approximately seventeen percent lighter than fiberglass shell helmets. The fiberglass helmets are made with a two-step process that that has layers of fiberglass and injected resins to form the shell. The resin amounts may vary slightly as they are added to each shell. This causes variances in weight. The Hybrid Ultra-Light Helmets use a one-step process that incorporates Aramid reinforced fiberglass. The exact amount of resin is built into the fibers (known as pre-impregnated). This precise mix of materials and state-of-the-art manufacturing process gives a smaller, lighter shell."

"Man, Chelsea you really know your stuff, " I said as I stood there amazed that one person could spit out so much detail about the helmet manufacturing process. I was interested and wanted to hear more.

"Well Rita and Gary there is one more process I need to tell you about. Carbon/Kevlar® construction is the same as fiberglass. There is one separating factor. The cloth in made from incredibly tough, carbonized Kevlar. Carbon/Kevlar's strength results in fewer materials needed make the helmet impact resistance achievable. For the most part, carbon/Kevlar is 20% lighter than fiberglass. The technology required to produce this type of helmet make it more expensive, " Chelsea sighed and laughed. "Now I've informed you and you have to make your choice. I'd be glad to tell you which helmet is which."

"Ok, Chelsea, that's fair. You have given me a lot to think about. So let me look at these helmets and think awhile, " I chuckled as I seriously started picking out my NEW helmet.

"Hey, Chelsea. I want to know about us women and our needs. I don't want to buy a small man's helmet like I did the first time I ever purchased a helmet. Do you have any helmets that are designed for women only? That fits women and our needs?" Rita whined as she took over Chelsea's attention.

Chelsea's lips curved into a sly grin as she replied, "Rita we have just what you are looking for, The Skyline Helmets by Harley-Davidson. Thy have a 10mm deeper cavity that provides a lower profile for women. Skylines' also have interlocking side & crown liners for a wonderful customized fit front-to-back and side-to-side. Skyline Helmets have an anti-static comfort liner to reduce helmet hair. These helmets have a ponytail notch that provides extra room through a special cutout section in liner. Skyline Helmets from Harley-Davidson® offers half, ¾ and full-face helmets to meet women's preferences. What do you think, Rita?"

"Well, I think that I'm gonna get me a new helmet also, " Rita replied flabbergasted.

"Hey Gary and Rita, Harley-Davidson® offers a complete line of helmet accessories to go with the helmet line. You can choose from replacement face shields, replacement visors, helmet bags and helmet communication pouch. They are all on display right here or if you want to shop online just go to www.adventurehd.com, " Chelsea concluded.

"Goodbye Chelsea, and thanks so much, " we yelled as we slipped on our brand new Harley-Davidson® helmets that we got from Adventure H-D and rumbled on down the highway of life.

Brenda has been working in the Adventure Harley-Davidson world for over 15 years. She is currently a student at Stark State studying computer science and is working on completing her short stories writing classes.

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