Helmets For Trackdays

[Sol]

Well!(mops brow) How bloody difficult is this!

 

I have called nearly every bike shop in MK, Bedford and Northampton about helmets with not much success..Spoke with the Bedford Autodrome facilities manager/buyer and the local kart track too.

 

The upshot is that:

1) Bike shops do helmets for bikes(gold stickered), but not BSI type A/FR(let alone just typeA) or snell.

 

2) Your options are very limited as to where to go to get a snell lid.

 

3)Theres a lot of confusion about whether BSI standards exist on new helmets!

 

Basically, Bedford source their lids from bike shops. They dont really care so long as you have a lid. Which would explain the tat that you hire out. They arent approved to any real standards, and they dont enforce it as a track. Other places might(dunno, never been anywhere else)

 

There seems to be only 3 options: Demon Tweeks, Grand Prix Racewear and AWS. Unbelievable really. And that means £250+ for anything half decent. Shet.

 

I found some Simpson lids going around 250 in a bike shop, but it didnt have snell or bsi(the lining was not fire resistant). VERY nice though!

 

Going to GPR, and possibly Heine Gericke(though the guy there didnt seem to think they would have any anyway) this Saturday, so will update you..

 

I think its a little odd that the hire helmets dont even meet standards, not exactly very responsible considering possible consequences.

[Sol]

Been trawling the forums on Seloc and found some useful(and useless) info!

Went to Flitwick Motorcycles and tried on some hemlets. Starting at £50 for a Nitro helmet, £70 for an AGV and £100 for a sick looking Caberg Darth Vader job. All had the gold motorcycle sticker and ec approval but NOT BSI A, A/FR/ or Snell.

 

Then drove to silverstone to GPR to find they were closed. Which was annoying, but saw some nice cars including a luuuurvely TVR.

 

All this is so confusing so I went straight to the horses mouth and called Paul Golding(CalypsoElise). I have an official response:

Type A, minimum as this will possibly be forced upon LOT (for non competitive trackdays) to be enforced for insurance purposes, which it hasnt been so far(hence why so many ugly graphiced bike helmets at trackdays). Nomex balaclavas are an added option if you want to protect your head and cant stretch to getting a nomex lined lid.

 

While Bedford dont currently enforce this, they are likely to follow in the footsteps of Brands and other "larger" circuits which will state this in briefing soon. Also, its likely that full faced will be enforced unless the roof is on at some point in the next year or so.

 

The cheapest Type A(full faced) is from Demon Tweeks at under £100, so no point going for a bike helmet that will mean you will be forced to look for or hire a pre-stanked out sweaty lid on the day because you fail scrutineering. From there on price wise, it depends on fit/fashion.

 

The concensus is that the Type A is gonna be ok for non-competitive use for the next couple of years.

 

Synopsis:

Dont bother with a bike helmet, its a waste of cash. Type A minimum will do you for a while. Longer term, go for Type A/FR or Snell 2000.

 

Some links for motorsport helmets:

Rally Design in Faversham

Grand Prix Racewear(silverstone,London)

Demon Tweeks (Wrexham)

SCA Race and Rally(Norwich)

AWS Racewear(Kent)Redline Motorsport (Middlewich)01606 737500

 

Going to GRP tomorrow lunchtime, so will fill you in on what I find..

 

HTH

[halfpenny]

Theres also Raceways in Burton on Trent. He has both Type A and some Type A/FR he's trying to shift (old stock) before the new catagories com into play.

 

I tried on a A/FR closed face and Type A open face, both for about £80.

 

Raceways

[Sol]

For completeness, theres also Rallynuts. Their prices are about £30 lower than Demon Tweeks..

 

The search for the holy grail is over, I fret not anymore because I am the proud new owner of a Bell Sport 3 SA2000 nomex lined, snug-as-a-bug lid!!

 

Went to GPR today and spent about an hour umming and ahhing(lots of aahing) and trying on every helmet I possibly could. And its true, theres no point in buying mail order because the fit is SO different. Generally the Large helmets fitted best, but the one I bought was a Medium and fits supremely. Interestingly, of the ones I saw on the websites, I thought the Bell was the fugliest, but it won me over completely. Also, I thing the Simpson Bandit range look the dogs, but the quality of build was obviously lacking in the flesh.

 

Matt, (or anyone else):they had an OMP integrale formula helmet(sa2000, normally £310inc) reduced to £235 in Large and Small if anyone is interested in a bargain. Got me a deal that I was very happy with considering I dont want to have to deal with mail order faffle. For £10-20 saving, Ive found it just aint worth it..

 

YAY. I have a new helmet, I have a new helmet

[Sol]

[Scott_Mac]

Looks quite a lot like mine... how much in the end?

[Sol]

250 all in with a cheapo "padded" bag thrown in for free. So, if you got it cheaper, dont tell me- ignorance trully is bliss!

 

Oh, did I mention - I HAVE A HELMET, I HAVE A HELMET

 

[Scott_Mac]

I got a slightly better one for a bit less from DT as it had a small scratch, but that seems like a good price.

 

Just a thought now, Nick Whale have a Sparco store for those that are looking... wonder if our MLOC discount counts??