BMW System 6 Helmets - Availability

Lawsuit

I would imagine that many manufacturers are Leary of the Litigious nature of the American Entitlement Mentality. Did you read about the Biker on PCH in the Big Sur Area who crashed his bike and Sued the State of California for $9.6M. He was Drunk, Unlicensed, Riding an Uninsured and Unregistered Bike, Speeding, No Helmet or Gear, On the Wrong Side of The Road, With no Lights on when He Hit a Wild Pig! The State of California should have Known that Wild Pigs lived in the Forests Surrounding the Big Sur area and Warned the Rider. The rider was awarded $9,600,000 of California Tax Payer's Money. The Only Consolation is that he is a Vent Dependent Quad now, who is Fed Through a Tube and the money will go for his Medical Expenses. The State of California would have picked up his medical expenses anyway. In California we don't need Obama Care. We Already have Deadbeat Care! I am a Health Care Professional and I see things You Would Not Believe!

Well folks... I ordered the System 6 Helmet from Designer Helmets online. They are located in England. The helmet arrived in about a weeks time and fits great.

My only problem with the helmet is that the visor doesn't close tight properly. I took the helmet to my local BMW dealership and the informed me that because I didn't buy it in Canada, they would not cover any warranty issues.

So, now I've got to contact BMW Canada to see if that is REALLY true or not, If so, I'll need to then contact the MOTHER SHIP to see what hoops I've got to jump through to get the helmet fixed.

It is funny though....the dealership stated when I raised the issue: that is a common problem with the helmet, all you have to do is push down hard on the top of the visor and it will seat itself. Interestingly or not, none of their instock helmets had the same problem.

If anyone else has any other suggestions I'd certainly be interested in hearing them.

cbcK1200S - Colin

)))))))))))))) =o&o>

Shipping: I've ordered a few items from England, and my experience is that if it goes by post (mail) you just pick it up without paying duty. The limitation is size. If it's too big to mail, you have to ship by some other means, and that will very likely involve paying duty. (and the hassles of doing so)

Quality: I've worn Shuberth/BMW helmets, the last one purchased in person in England. Frankly, I don't see much about a Shuberth that justifies the increased cost. If you can wear a full coverage lid, the top of the line is probably Arai. For a flip-front, there are several brands from Italy, including Nolan. I've worn Nolans for a number of years.

Approvals: In the US of A, any helmet sold as a motorcycle helmet must meet DOT approval. They don't actually test every helmet, or every size, but the law allows the helmet manufacturer to put on the DOT sticker on every helmet once they have tested that style of helmet.

In some states, helmet requirements are stranger than fiction. In Washington State, for instance, State Patrol rules require that approved helmets have the approaval and manufacturer formed into the shell, not simply identified by a sticker. Since there are no helmets sold in WA meeting that requirement, the cops can't buy a legal helmet to wear while issuing you a complementary green stamp.

Compliance: Since there are so many different types, styles, and makers of helmets, it's a practical impossibility for a LEO to determine if your helmet is legal or not. More to the point, he/she has more important stuff to do. Even if they strongly suspect that beanie "party helmet" is very unlegal, they will very likely ignore it. So, if you are wearing a helmet that looks reasonably legal (Shoei, Nolan, Arai, HJC, Gmax, Zox, KBC, Suomy, Scorpion, Shark, Bell, etc.) it is extremely unlikely any LEO will stop you to check your helmet.

Legality: You are required to obey the laws of the state or province in which you happen to be at the moment. But if someone can flip off at the law by wearing a party hat (in lieu of a real helmet) you can be technically not legal, but ignored by the LEOs. If there is a mandatory helmet law in some state, the only question will be, "is the rider wearing something or not?" And, if for some strange reason you should be stopped and your helmet declared not legal, you could add the appropriate DOT sticker (or engraving) and take it to court. Very likely the judge doesn't know any more about helmets than the LEO, so if you appear to show legality, it's lilkely you will get off.

Safety: The Shuberth and other European-made helmets will have to meet Euro standards, which are different from USA standards. Different does not have much to do with "safer". A cheap WalMart helmet can provide adequate protection for street riding, because the critical part is the crushable EPS (foam) liner, and that's really cheap to manufacture. The other critical part is the chin strap. Whatever helmet you wear, do the "rolloff" test by grasping the rear edge of your helmet (while fully strapped on) and seeing if you can roll the helmet forward.

Personally, I would have no qualms about wearing any of today's major brands, from any developed country. I don't believe the different standards in different countries provide much differences in impact attenuation. Nor do I feel a SNELL rating is better for street riding than DOT or whatever the Euro standards are. The major differences are in shell, faceshield, and comfort liner quality, and exterior paint and graphics.

And, while we're at it, let's note that a light-colored helmet is easier to see than something with bold graphics that looks a lot like expensive camouflage. If you're more interested in staying alive than looking cool, consider how your helmet affects your conspicuity. White is good, yellow OK, silver acceptable. Red, blue, dark gray, black are less conspicuous than average.

Fit: Different helmet brands are based on different shapes of headforms. For instance, the Nolan is more of a "roundhead" while the Arai is more of an "oblong head." So, when buying a helmet, it's very important to try on different helmets and see what fits you. I've discovered that my new Nolan N-103 is really too short in the jaw area. My jaw bumps the insert in the flip front. I wish I had checked that out a little more carefully when I was trying it on for size.

Also, be aware that manufacturers occasionally change their dimensions. Last year's "large" may now be a "medium." It's not just a matter of diameter, but the actual shape. The helmet needs to be snug enough that when new it is almost uncomfortably tight. With use it will loosen up. If your skull can bang into the inside of the EPS, your brain will slosh around inside your skull--which is what causes brain injury.

Now then, to be legal in Canada, would I need to switch from my DOT approved lid to a helmet approved by the Canadian authorities? Maybe I can make up a suitable decal.

pmdave