Announcement from Jerry about the helmet issue

[OreoGaborio]

Doesn't really seem like anything we haven't heard already from other sources, but I just spotted this on the LRRS homepage & figured i'd post it up for those that haven't seen it yet:

Hi Gang,

Looks like I am rich! Matty G bought an Arai! I really hope that most of you realize that I don't make a dime no matter what helmet that you buy. I make my living selling old motorcycles and houses.

I read some of the long engineer dissertations about helmet studies. Here is the deal, the helmets in question failed my study! Some of you might remember that one of the first faces that you see after a crash is me. I want to know why you are hurt and if we can do anything about it.

Your helmet is supposed to protect your head when you bonk it on the ground. I understand that no helmet can protect you in all cases, but they should work most of the time and when they do not work there should be exceptional circumstances. In the last five head injuries, the only exceptional circumstances were that the crashes were not a big deal and there should not have been a brain injury if the helmet did it's job.

Plastic helmets were never Snell approved before and to tell you the truth, I didn't know that they were now. Anyhow, they are not working despite the engineer studies. John Ulrich did extensive research as usual and found that other racing groups may be having similar problems. I also found that the problem extends to motocross. I spoke with helmet distributors and helmet manufactures and they would like racers to use fiberglass helmets. You might see this spelled out better in future material from them. I think that it unreasonable to assume that a $150 product will work as good as a $500 product. Will a 29 cent screwdriver do the same job as a Snap On?

If you check out RRW, you will find a statement from HJC about what they recommend for racing and that is fiberglass.

This is serious issue and although Don has agreed to allow a 1 race grace period, John Ulrich and I do not recommend racing in them at all.

Please use old tires if you have to, but make the investment to protect the most valuable asset that you have.

I understand that the NEAR group is small, so please help spread the word. I read it here:Snell 2000 fiberglass good - plastic no good!

Jerry

[Stoneman]

Hol' up! Lemme go grab some popcorn!

[Awesome]

That's what most of us were looking for. A clear definition of what isn't allowed, and a grace period. I thought the 39 cent screwdriver did the same job as a snapon, so maybe he effed up that analogy?

I wonder if Chad's head being run over in an HJC was considered a nothing special, light crash?

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by hessogood
[B]That's what most of us were looking for. A clear definition of what isn't allowed, and a grace period. I thought the 39 cent screwdriver did the same job as a snapon, so maybe he effed up that analogy?

Or maybe crafstman tools are next on the list to be banned from LRRS Those screwdrivers torque down the bolts that protect your LIFE, that's not the place to be saving money! Do you really think a 39 cent screwdriver torques down a screw as well as a 25 dollar one?

[legalspeed]

Originally posted by Honclfibr
Or maybe crafstman tools are next on the list to be banned from LRRS Those screwdrivers torque down the bolts that protect your LIFE, that's not the place to be saving money! Do you really think a 39 cent screwdriver torques down a screw as well as a 25 dollar one?

No!

I want the Wood-o-matic 5000!!

[Awesome]

I got wood.

]

[Honclfibr]

Originally posted by legalspeed
No!

I want the Wood-o-matic 5000!!

Heh, you know, I bet that'd be a danm fine screwdriver. CNC machined out of a solid block of aluminum with knurled handle, and replaceabable "spares" tips for when you wreck them trying to open up a paint can. I would buy a woodcraft screwdriver.

[Allan]

I am not a scientist, nor an engineer (although I went to school for engineering), nor do I claim to be either, but I am pretty sure that shell construction DOES have a "significant influence on impact protection". I don't think I need to consult Arai for that info.
If you want an interesting point of view on shell construction, goto the NEAR list and read what my very good friend Ilya #760 had to say. He is extremely intelligent, writes quite well for a Russian, and has life experiences too! [If you cannot find his blurb, I have it in an email at work...let me know] After crashing in a Shoei, he now wears an Arai we fitted for him...I'm not sure (it was a while ago), but I believe the end result of that crash made him second guess his choice of helmet and seek our advice...in any event, he now wears a size small Corsair.
But I think you've missed my point: GET FITTED BY AN EXPERT FOR A PREMIUM (I'm only saying 'premium' because I have to for political reasons - you all know by now I mean Arai) HELMET AND BE DONE WITH IT. ...and if you buy an Arai, you'll never need to worry about LRRS 'lists' or your brain again! Because once you wear a properly fitted Arai, you'll buy one every time you need a new one! (you'll never go back to some other brand - I promise)

...which makes me wonder, what do those five 'brain damaged'/concussed guys now want to wear?!???!? Has anybody asked them? Then again, that might not be a good 'case study'...after all, they were wearing plastic to begin with and may now have been made a little more 'loopy' as a result...

Recently, two customers informed me of a couple of things:
One customer was an employee of G.E. and told me plastic works great if there are no corners or angles engineered into the shape. A flat piece of plastic works great, but once you start bending it (90 degree angles being the worst), it weakens and can shatter at that point. Again, I don't pretend to be an engineer...I just know, premium helmets work, others don't.
Another customer taught me that injecting good UV protection into a clear piece of plastic can raise the price significantly. It is easy to make black or colored plastic protected from UV rays because the pigment helps, but once one starts to demand GOOD UV protection from a clear plastic, the price of that plastic "sky-rockets". Regarding the expensive Arai shields, someone earlier made a comparison to Oakleys and expense and I have to agree: having recently been riding around with my new shield, it IS amazing the clarity one gets with the $45 Arai shields...and one probably gets the best in UV protection too...in the end, as always, you probably "get what you pay for."

And regarding the data requested, don't count on it...Arai didn't even formally respond to the stupid "Are Snell helmets too stiff" article last year, nevermind respond to this minor tremor in the industry.

[Allan]

Oops - that was supposed to be posted to the other stupid never-ending helmet thread...ah well, it's all the same...

[Hardcore]

Originally posted by Allan

...which makes me wonder, what do those five 'brain damaged'/concussed guys now want to wear?!???!? Has anybody asked them? Then again, that might not be a good 'case study'...after all, they were wearing plastic to begin with and may now have been made a little more 'loopy' as a result...

hey fucker---I'm not bain dramaged !!!!!!!!!!!!

I now wear an Arai---I also previously wore an Arai--there is no better helmet!
I wore an HJC for my crash/head run over thing---the only reason I wasn't wearing my Arai is because it was made 9/99 so wasn't snell 2000 + I couldn't afford a new one! So I bought a $120 HJC which was very comfortable---unfortunately it turns out that HJC sucks for motorcycle crashes!!!!!!!!!!

lesson learned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


as for that loopy comment----I'm not loopy, well maybe a little bit, but not really loopy,,or maybe a bit loopy, but not really loopy at all, well maybe........um, what's loopy mean?

[bentbryan]

Originally posted by hardcore
So I bought a $120 HJC which was very comfortable---unfortunately it turns out that HJC sucks for motorcycle crashes!!!!!!!!!!