Got a used helmet with my 95 CBR. Asked the guy to throw it in because it matched. The friggin visor either...

A: When it is down, it flies up from the wind and wont stay down.

or
B: When it is up, it slams closed and wont stay up.

lol it's a lose lose situation for me. Wont stay up or down when I want it to.

My buddies helmet seems to click when he moves his visor. Granted his is brand new and isn't 16 years old. Do all visors have "notches" or are some of them smooth when you move them? Do they wear out over time or just become loose? Is there a method to tightening the visor or something?

Or is it just time to get a new helmet? Any favorite brands with helmets under $250?

 

definately sounds like its time for a new helmet. Not only would the visor get annoying. But a helmet that old I'm not sure if i would trust the integrity of the shell during an impact. Materials break down. period. I'd go ahead and spring for a new one.

 

Cool thanks for the input. As much as I was hoping I wouldn't get your answer, I am glad I did. I definitely want to be safe while riding and a helmet that loses integrity is no good for me. Any favorite brands? I heard good things about Icon but they seem really damn expensive. Have you heard anything about Bell helmets?

 

Yeah as you have said, classic symptoms of visor fixing wear, I had a Vemar lid for
about 15 years, and over that time it got slacker and slacker, I'm a welder and I got
into the habit of flicking my head so the visor came down ( same as the welding hood )
till one day I did it too hard and the visor split into two halves :O

yeah, time for a new one mate

 

16 years? 15 years? Seriously?!?

Like pittsm said, the materials in those lids have broken down. UV exposure, temp changes and just plain age. I doubt seriously helmets that old would provide any significant protection.

And esp0791:
A 16 year old USED helmet? You have no idea (and neither does the previous owner, prolly) how many times that helmet has been dropped or has had impacts with hard objects (bumps into edges / walls / etc). The visor mechanism is the least of your concerns. I'd consider that helmet seriously compromised

 

Check out craiglist. I'm always seeing new helmets at decent prices.
If you stick with the top brands and give it a good inspection you can save big bucks for good gear.

Ern

 

this is true. Helmets are designed to only take a couple of hard hits. sometimes just one! Any time your helmet has a "hard" impact throw it out. Even thought it may look ok from the outside, theres no way to know that maybe the next hard hit it takes it may crack like an egg. and since you don't know its history, that makes it extremely dangerous.

 

Helmets need to be replaced in every 5 years. If it's a snell certified, then your helmet is no longer good on race tracks after 5 years. There is a sticker inside the helmet that tells you the year. The reason behind it is the polystyrene foam inside the helmet will lose its compressibility and become rigid over the years.
Don't be cheap on safety gears is my advice.

 

As everyone else has mentioned, buying a used helmet is always a bit risky, let alone if it's that old.

For recommendations, check out Scorpoin, the Exo1000 and 700 are really nice and can easily be found under $250. Bell makes very safe helmets, but they have a very wide price range (Bell Star $500, very high quality helmet, Bell Arrow $99, not bad, but nothing crazy). I use an Icon Airframe right now and I like it a lot, great ventilation, very comfortable, but kind of noisy and not the lightest. You will probably find some members who view icon as "style over function," but with their current helmets all receiving ECE certifications on top of DOT and Snell, I think they are really making a good move as a quality brand.

As far as the visor flipping up, that can be a sign of a worn visor, but can also be a symptom of a cheap helmet. I know a few people who have had visors flip up accidentally on some lower end HJC helmets. HJC is another brand that has quite a wide range of pricing, with their higher price lids being pretty nice and their cheaper ones being, well... cheap.