I bought my last helmet in the Spring of 2013, if memory serves me. For what it’s worth, it’s date-coded to December, 2012. That makes it almost 8 years old, and helmets have a shelf life of 3-5 years. The foam breaks down, blah blah blah, buy a new helmet. So, for the past 4 or 5 years, I’ve been on the lookout for a new one.
In addition, the soles of my boots, which I bought in March of 2010, are starting to come unglued, the laces are frayed, and they’re just plain worn. Not quite worn out, but getting close. They are also not motorcycle-specific, so I’ve been on the lookout for those, too, with no success.
Last week I took a ride to Frederick Harley Davidson (or Harley Davidson of Frederick, depending on where you read their name printed). They had posted on Facebook the night before, announcing new helmet arrivals. The one that caught my eye was a metallic blue half helmet. Yeah, it isn’t the same color as my Harley, but it’s close enough for government work!
I decided to go check it out.
And I was in luck.
They had it in my size. Best of all, it fit!
You see, I have a “long oval” shaped head, which is not unlike the Alien Mother from the Alien movies. This makes it quite difficult to find any helmet that fits and doesn’t give me “hot spots” (pain points), usually on the front or back.
Here’s the YouTube video of my ride:
And here are the results of my shopping trip:
-John