Have You Compared Your Chosen Motorcycle Wear To The Latest Standards ?

Not necessarily, the CE standards are constantly being updated and introduced. The standards that you jacket is certified to is maybe what was there at the time and the jacket exceeds those?

I have a Dainese Santa Monica perforated jacket, not at all unlike the C2. It lacks a back protector or a pocket to take one so I tend to wear a Forcefield back and chest harness when wearing it. Those combined it's probably the best protection I have despite having CE rated jackets of a younger vintage. The irony is that I don't wear it these days, it's too hot and cumbersome...

 

Apparently my Ducati Branded Revit jacket I brought a couple of years ago is certified to EN 1621.1/97, so I should look that up really.
Not sure my Sainsburys own brand jeans are up to scratch though

 

I also bought new, old stock of a Revit Ducati jacket, must be 6 + years old, had the old style hard plastic moulded armour, offers no impact absorption, I just changed it for D30 armour. Thought the new testing includes the material and stitching not just the armour.

Thought this video quite interesting, not just about jeans..

 

And this Bennetts piece is interesting, too: https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/product/motorcycle-ce-safety-standards

 

I actually make sure I change my bike gear fairly regularly. Typically I'll keep a textile suit for about 5 or 6 years while under warranty, and helmets maybe around the same, as I read somewhere that they can degrade over time. Whether that's bollocks or not, I don't know, but I like new stuff, so am going to believe it.

 

In the main it's use. Sweat and compression of helmet linings will have an effect on the protective qualities for example. Whereas keeping it in the box and not wearing it will make precious little difference.

 

I'm afraid that's not true, Charlie. I put the question to a colleague a few years ago. He's a doctor of materials in the aerospace industry. Atmospheric pressure (ambient) degrades Styrofoam type materials over time. This is why helmets have a 'born on' date.

 

Interesting, are there any figures on a timeline? i.e. over what time-span can one expect a significant degradation that would effect the protective qualities. I would expect temperature fluctuation, exposure to moisture and other contaminants combined with pressures under expected use to have far more of an impact. I completely understand why industry bodies suggest a lifespan for helmets, though I would expect this to be conservative/worst case scenario.

 

bloody hell, my Hideout made to measure leathers are about 23 years old. But its OK, no way i can fit in them now anyway

 

Re EPS layers in helmets. After 5 years the EPS loses 40% of its ability to absorb energy,
One of the bike mags did a piece on helmets with input from Shoei, Arai etc.

 

Blimey! I must replace my lids more often

 

Whilst I'm not saying helmets last forever and that given average use the recommended lifespan should be seen as a maximum, surely it's in the industry's interest to encourage this cycle of replacement come what may.

If it looses 40% of it's ability to absorb energy after five years surely we should be buying new helmets every two or three? Is this figure with them sitting on a shelf or being used daily by a courier...?

I don't need to be encouraged into buying new kit but so long as it hasn't been dropped or in an accident then I'm happy replacing mine every 5 years. In my case they get little use, maybe 5-6,000 miles a year, mostly fair weather, and are stored carefully.

 

The new AAA standard is well below the previous Cambridge standard. AAA will endure an ‘unscheduled dismount’ at 40mph. We all ride around above that, so the previous standard is preferable.

 

im hardly qualified to disagree but let’s face it, they are in the market of selling helmets so their opinion might be somewhat biased?

look up any environmental study and ask how long does it take polystyrene to breakdown/biodegrade and you get anything between 500 and 1 million years and that’s floating in seawater or surrounded by composting rotting material underground and yet mysteriously the polystyrene in crash helmets stored correctly and worn a few weekends a year lasts only 5yrs before it’s already lost 40% of its structural composition?

 

Indeed. Did you see Bennetts’ article about it?

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/product/motorcycle-ce-safety-standards

As the EU’s standards committee largely comprises industry representatives, the situation is hardly surprising. The industry sets its own regulatory standards – the poachers are the gamekeepers

 

You are comparing apples and pears there.
Polystyrene at a molecular level is a pretty stable long chain hydrocarbon, and large amounts of energy are required to break the bonds into chunks that can then be further broken down by the digestive processes of simple micro-organisms and brought back into the carbon cycle (the literal meaning of biodegradable)
At a macromolecular and functional level, the “E” of EPS (expanded) is where the degradation happens, the foam becomes brittle or collapses into more dense structure, and no longer does the job of absorbing the energy of your head hitting it after a crash as well as it did when new.