I could not edit my prior post on helmets.
I have gone through my helmets and stripped out all the head sets, and there were 9 helmets (
counting that old abused veteran Bell Star 120 in it's box way up on a shelf in the basement, it saved my head & face some serious wear) … and 5 head sets. (
I sold the head sets already). Anyway, I had a big storage / trip box (
4ft long, maybe 2 feet high, about 18 inches deep) I once made to use in my '77 F150 for trips to carry luggage stored safe and dry in the bed so now it's home to 8 helmets (
3x FF, 2x modulars, 3x 3/4 types, and no beenies) … and some various pieces riding gear, extra gloves, etc. I still will use a helmet when blowing snow, etc. These 8 are virtually like new, no joke. I always wore a cotton & silk fabric helmet slick inside as did my Wife, helmets were only ever left on the bike if a short stop, otherwise they went with us. At home, they were stored in a "jacket & helmet" cabinet in a dehumidified basement. I am
not trying to sell old helmets,
just noting that even at 15 years of age as some are, they are perfectly fine. No, I am not gonna cut easy to replace straps either as I still have spare unused face shields for some of them.
Anyway, I thought of this thread. Recall maybe 20-25 years ago got called out about 2AM to go to Bedford county to reconstruct what a Trooper there thought sure was gonna be a fatal MC/car wreck there on US-460. I talked to him on the cell, he said that the rider had been air lifted to a trauma center before he arrived on scene, but that he and his Sgt figures likely will pass away after being rear ended by a car at 55 mph. I get there an hour later at least, Trooper hands me a cracked & badly scratched black beenie helmet (
1/2 helmet) with a big sticker on the back that said
"Helmet Laws Suck" in white letters. I interviewed the driver of the car that hit the bike, she was a waitress headed home and suddenly hit something that just appeared in the road with no lights on it. She was driving a Vega, BIG dent impact in the windshield dead center. Was a truck in the left lane so she could not swerve, she just did have time to get a foot on the brakes. She hit that "fat boy" (
HD) dead center her grill too, really did a number on the Vega. Trooper had gone to the hospital to check on the rider ahead of me. I did my diagramming, photos, etc, then I went and by the time I got to the hospital, met the Trooper in the parking lot, he had the now "under arrest for DUI", "fat boy"-MC rider in his car as the hospital had released him. We gave him his helmet back with the big
"Helmet Laws Suck" sticker on it presented first. He had been going home from a bar when the bike died and all his lights went dark and he said he thought he was out of the road ... but he was some "
influenced" too. I told him he could not have been better centered in the right lane if he tried. :laugh:
Impact really shortened his "fat boy" too, looked terminal in that respect. He cried.
I saw where a lady was using old MC helmets to make hanging bird housing or flower pots. Might try that myself next time Wife wants to add a hanging basket?
I was serious about "snow blowing", helmet is good to keep the head warm & dry as the tinted internal drop visor cuts glare and the drop outer shield keeps blowing snow out of the face. Might add some high viz details to make it stand out from white snow. Maybe a small flashing LED beacon on top? Might slip in two speakers, a XM antenna on top, maybe fix a belt to use with it to carry my XM receiver and small radio on my side?
With Covi 19 out & about, been threatening to wear my "bug light yellow" Shoei FF with it's gold reflective face shield and a neck curtain to vote? :xzqxz:
I did once buy some Wolverine "barn boots" with composite soles that were water proof & insulated. I guess I forgot I had them because a few years later (
guessing) I found them and was going to use them but the soles were falling apart. Never seen that before, so wrote Wolverine, they sent me new boots after getting mine back, they said "it happens". Was nice of them, but I know of degradation & outgassing with time.