Helmet question. Snell M95....expired? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Helmet question. Snell M95....expired?

darthwolf

Member
Bought a helmet years ago did my M1 and M2 but never got around to getting a bike to practice and do the road test.

I'm just wondering, my helmet is a HJC CL-10 Dot Snell M95. Is the helmet expired or can I still legally use it? I don't want to buy another helmet till I re-do my M1 and M2 and buy a bike.

Ideally i'd like to use this helmet for the training and M2 test, then buy a new helmet when I get a bike.
 
Examiners and courses typically check certification stickers before they start.

YMMV. Grab a cheap (now discontinued) CL-16 HJC for around $100 in the states.
 
I could be wrong but I do not think they expire. DOT is all the matters for road riding. The Snell 95 may be an issue if you want to do a track day (outdated). Having said that, it is an old helmet, you may want to update it for multiple reasons...
 
yes I will update but just want to use it for the M2 course and test. I plan to upgrade the helmet when I get the bike. Just want to see if it's still legally usable.
 
You might get reamed out by the instructors for trying to use a potentially 20 year old helmet... you might try to get in contact with them beforehand. Which course is it? A lot of the instructors are right here
 
I was planning to take the learning curves course since I'm in Richmond Hill and they have a course in markham (honda canada campus) which is just a few minutes from my house. i just sent them an email.
 
There is no legal expiry date but that is one old helmet.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
 
Examiners and courses typically check certification stickers before they start.

YMMV. Grab a cheap (now discontinued) CL-16 HJC for around $100 in the states.

can you recommend anywhere to go in the states. Heading to Erie, PA end of the Aug.
 
The course is fairly short and in a closed environment... If you are comfortable using it.... Don't buy a new one... I'm not sure about learning curves but sheridan had some extra helmets when i did the course 2 years ago
 
yeah, i'm comfortable. Only used it when i did the course years ago and a couple of times in a go-kart. I'll wait and see what their response is.
 
can't find the manufacturing date of the helmet.

Got a response from learningcurves, fyi if anyone is interested:

For the purposes of the course, the helmet you have will be just fine. Your helmet is still 'legal', but over time your helmet will deteriorate. You should look into getting a new one every 5 years (or whatever the manufacturer recommends).
 
the foam inside the helmet is a crumple zone. Like in a car. It's designed to deform at a controlled rate. Over time, beginning when it rolls off the production line, the foam will deteriorate. The "controlled rate" changes, and the function of the "crumple zone" weakens.

When a helmet manufacturer gives a life expectancy, or expiry date, they are saying the deterioration during that time is anticipated and it will keep inside the safety standard.

After that time the helmet can't be "guaranteed" to meet the safety standard anymore.




DOT rating - ****** - the manufacturer of the helmet is responsible for testing and they are the ones who certify the helmet


ECE / snell / SHARP / jis - all do the tests themselves.


Snell is used for racing because they are thorough and they do flame resistance testing. Also they do random spot checks after certification to make sure the helmet still meets the standard.
 
Please be aware that the SNELL year code is the test standard. Every 5 years Snell can change the test standards. So a helmet with a SNELL 95 approval sticker could have been made as early as spring 1995 or as late as the spring of 2010. Snell 2010 helmets would have started to hit the market place in early 2010. So that helmet could be only 4 years old. While you want to have something newer, alot of people ride in helmets 4 years old. Sadly many riders ride with helmets much older than 4 years old. parillaguy
 
I think your math is off. Snell does a new "standard" every 5 years. A Snell 95 would be outdated as Snell 2000 would have be in place for helmets from 2000 to 2005.
 

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