How Long Are Motorcycle Helmets Good For? [UPDATED]
How long are motorcycle helmets good for?
After riding my motorcycle through 9 countries and experiencing my fair share of accidents, I understand that knowledge about helmet protection is priceless.
Motorcycle riders travel at the same speeds as the cars around them without the layers and layers of protection those automobiles provide their passengers.
And every biker ever knows that few drivers are aware of motorcycles on the road.
Without a motorcycle helmet, a biker is courting death or, at the very least, catastrophic injuries.
Motorcycle helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injuries by as much as 69 percent.
So even if a helmet isn’t legally required where you are, it’s still a good idea.
But how long are motorcycle helmets good for?
The short answer is five years of general wear, seven years from manufacture, or one crash, whichever comes first.
In this blog post, I will break down everything you need to know about the lifespan of a motorcycle helmet, plus helmet safety standards.
Let’s get started.
Do Helmets Have an Expiration Date
Because of regular wear and tear, exposure to ultraviolet rays, and transfer of hair oils, hair products, and oils from your skin, the resins used in helmet production break down over time during your motorcycle helmet ownership.
The Snell Memorial Foundation recommends replacing your helmet every five years or seven years after its date of manufacture, whichever comes first.
Even if you never crash your bike and have your helmet sacrifice itself to protect your brain, its integrity will become compromised over time.
So yes, your motorcycle helmet does expire.
What Causes a Helmet To Wear Out?
Helmet degradation is a gradual process you won’t notice, but that doesn’t mean it’s not slowly breaking down your helmet’s protection.
Weather Conditions
Getting rained on isn’t fun, but getting your helmet wet won’t damage it. You don’t want to use heat to dry it, though. Use a towel or air-dry it out instead.
The real culprit is ultraviolet rays. A study out of Vietnam recently showed that exposure to UV light significantly broke down the outer shell’s integrity through photo-oxidative degradation. This caused micro-cracks that compromised the helmet’s integrity.
Climate
Extreme heat can cause problems for the helmet’s shell. But if it’s hot enough to melt your helmet, you’re probably not out riding in it.
The real climate-related issue for your helmet involves the lining and padding inside the shell. Extreme heat and cold can cause deterioration in the adhesives used to hold them in place.
Humidity and sweat can do the same thing, allowing mold growth inside your helmet.
Once your helmet lining starts flaking off (when you find black specks in your hair after taking the helmet off), it’s time for a new one.
Cleaners
Since motorcycle helmets expire, you can prolong their life by regularly cleaning your helmet. But the wrong supplies can harm it, instead.
Household cleaners contain harsh chemicals that can, at the least, scratch or otherwise hurt the helmet.
More dangerously, many cleaning products contain various petrochemicals that can interfere with and break down the plastics and resins in the helmet.
Use mild soap and water instead.
Drops/Accidents
The part of your helmet keeping your head safe is a layer of expanded polystyrene (EPS). This layer sits between the shell and the liner, and its purpose is to absorb energy upon impact.
First and foremost, if you have an accident on your bike, you need a new helmet. Period.
Once a helmet has absorbed the major forces involved in a crash, it has fulfilled its life’s mission and must be retired.
But dropping your helmet causes that EPS layer to absorb that energy. Since the EPS is not a renewable resource, so to speak, once a section of it absorbs energy from a drop, that spot can’t absorb any more energy.
In a crash, the helmet won’t be able to provide full protection.
Motorcycle Helmet Parts
Each part of the helmet serves a purpose related to protecting you in a crash, so each part and all of your helmet’s materials must remain in good working order.
Chin Strap
Arguably the most important part of the helmet, the chin strap, keeps it on your head. After all, if you lose the helmet while crashing, it can’t protect you. Duh.
Due to sweat, humidity, and the wear and tear of daily use, a chin strap’s fabric can degrade over time. The chin strap is usually fastened with two D-rings.
Once the chinstrap begins to fray or stretches to the point where you can’t tighten it enough to secure it, you can replace it without having to get a whole new helmet.
Inner Pads
The pads of the comfort liner inside the helmet allow for a comfortable fit. In a new helmet, the inner pads will feel a bit more snug than in a used helmet.
But the cheek pads squishing your cheeks together like a chipmunk when you smile is a good sign you have a decent helmet that will protect you.
The inner lining also helps keep the helmet in place during an adverse event so it can protect you as designed.
These pads will degrade faster than the outer shell of the helmet. Even if they don’t break down, sweat, rain, and humidity can cause them to smell bad, according to helmet manufacturers.
They are replaceable, and most helmet manufacturers provide aftermarket kits for pad replacement.
But remember that their purpose is to help the helmet protect your head, so if the option is to ride with smelly pads or none at all, keep them in place and deal with the odor.
EPS Liner
As mentioned above, the EPS liner inside of the helmet is the workhorse of the helmet. It is a dense foam, and its sole purpose is to absorb impact energy.
Picture styrofoam. While EPS is not styrofoam, its construction is similar. If you look closely at styrofoam, you’ll see that it’s made of a bunch of tiny foam beads all hooked together.
The EPS liner has the same style of foam beads, and when the liner absorbs energy, it does so with the beads. Rather than being transferred to your head, impact energy goes into the beads and dissipates upon crushing those beads.
Once a bead is crushed, its energy-absorbing days are over. Crushing a few beads in the liner isn’t a complete disaster.
Still, upon receiving a major impact, your helmet must be replaced, as the EPS liner will no longer function.
Outer Shell
In a crash, the outside shell can crack, and even if the EPS liner didn’t get spent in such a crash, it would be exposed to the elements from that crack.
Which is bad and will lead to helmet replacement.
A cracked outer shell is a mandate for a new motorcycle helmet.
But aside from visible cracks, UV rays and wild temperature fluctuations can cause microcracks that compromise helmet integrity. And show you that you need to replace your helmet.
Harsh cleaning products can cause damage, as well.
When To Get a New Motorcycle Helmet
After a crash, buy new bike helmets to ride again. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Your helmet is a one-use product, so once it’s been used in a crash, you must replace it.
Provided you haven’t dropped your helmet or been in an accident, you should get a new helmet every five years, even with frequent use.
Weather, storage conditions, and frequency of use may speed up this timetable. It is important to get a high-quality helmet. This isn’t the time to skimp on quality to save money.
However, even if your helmet looks to be in great condition after five years, there will still have been advances in helmet technology in those years compared to the older helmet.
Buying a new one brings added safety features to your riding.
Make sure you get a helmet that fits your head perfectly. I know Travis struggled to find the perfect helmet for his extra large-sized head.
Also, make sure your helmet is great for blocking out wind noise. You want to be comfortable and enjoy your ride!
Care and Maintenance of Motorcycle Helmets
You take great care of your bike, checking this and maintaining that. You even take great care of your motorcycle helmet cameras that capture all the action.
Since your helmet is so important, you should apply the same care and maintenance to your helmet.
And replace your motorcycle helmet when it’s no longer protecting you.
Date of Manufacturing
While the rule is to replace your helmet every five years, you also shouldn’t ride with an old helmet more than seven years old.
If you bought a helmet four years ago, but it had been sitting on the shelf for four years before your purchase, it has expired.
Look inside the helmet, and you’ll find a sticker with the manufacture date on it.
No matter how long you’ve had the helmet, if that production date is more than seven years in the past, you need a new one.
Storing
Since weather and direct sunlight can compromise your helmet, store it in a cool, dark place. Most helmets come with helmet bags, and if the one yours came with seems flimsy, you can find aftermarket bags.
You might not even need the bag if you keep the helmet in a locker while at work.
For long-term storage (for example, if you take time away from the open road during the winter), ensure the helmet is clean and dry before storing it.
This way, your motorcycle helmet won’t get too hot or cold.
Leave Care to Professionals
Your helmet can make a life-and-death difference. If you need to replace something on it, be sure you know what you’re doing.
A helmet isn’t something to experiment on because a mistake can cost you your life.
The safest option you can pursue is to have a professional perform any repairs or replacements on your helmet.
Constantly Check
Rock climbers have a mantra: “ABC— Always Buddy Check.” Smart climbers check their equipment and have their climbing buddy inspect it, too.
Adopt the same mindset for your helmet. Just as a rock climber can die if his equipment fails, you can die if your helmet can’t perform its duties.
Get in the habit of inspecting your helmet before you put it on. Every. Single. Ride.
Clean
Dirt, bugs, sweat, and road grime can all contribute to shortening your helmet’s lifespan, so keep it clean. Micro scratches caused by dust and road dirt can build up, causing integrity issues for the outer shell and the helmet padding inside.
Use mild soap and water—remember that harsh chemicals can hurt the helmet.
FAQs
Let’s take a look at the most common questions people have about helmet replacement.
Yes, motorcycle helmets expire on the shelf sometimes.
If a helmet has sat on the shelf for more than seven years since its manufacture, it is not a viable choice for you, as it has expired.
Look inside the helmet and find the sticker with lots of numbers on it. If you find a standalone 22 or 2022, you know it was made that year.
Do your math, and move on to another if your answer is seven or higher.
Wearing an expired helmet means riding without proper protection. An expired helmet contains an EPS inner liner that may not function properly due to degradation over time.
Riding with an expired helmet means riding with a false sense of security since it may not be able to protect you as you expect.
Yes, that’s the golden rule. Helmets are designed for one use only (the use isn’t the wearing of it, it’s the use of it to protect you in a crash).
If you have worn your helmet in through a crash, the rule of thumb is to throw that helmet away.
Final Thoughts: How Long Are Motorcycle Helmets Good For
Motorcycle helmets are such an important part of your riding gear.
To protect yourself from a head injury, use the right helmet for your head shape and unique needs, whether that be a modular helmet or a full-face helmet.
Also, keep it in good condition through normal wear by taking good care of your helmet so you can use it for a long time.
Your helmet will protect you from potentially fatal head trauma, but only if that helmet hasn’t expired, hasn’t been through a crash, and has been properly cared for over its lifespan.
Take the time to examine your helmet, keep it clean, and learn its date of manufacture. So how long are motorcycle helmets good for?
Five years, seven years from manufacture, or one crash, whichever comes first.
Ride safe, my friends, and as always,
Keep the rubber side down. ✌