Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125758
'T " ..., '" ~ w Z ~ ~ o By Don Woods Want to get confused? Just go out to your local, friendly motorcycle dealer and shop for a new helmet. Not since the days of the traveling snake oil salesmen have consumers b een subjected to so many unsubstantiated claims . In fact, helmet man u fac tu rers spend most of their advertising dollars showing y ou how go od their helmets look and not how well they protect you. Your deale r, even if he is safety conscious , will try to sell you a good-looking helmet that he is making the biggest profit from. But don 't hold it against the dealer ; he probab ly is as misin fo rm ed about helmets as the rest of us . While shopping for a new helmet this year I realized that although I thought I was well-informed, I really knew very little about just how safe a helmet was. I had been lu lled into a fa lse feeling of security thinking tha t all those stickers inside that h elm et I wanted would protect my head. Also, like most every bike rider, I was aware that there was some discussion over whether the new "space age" polycarbonate materials were as good as the t ime-proven fiberglass. T he more I lo o ked into ONE QUART OF CASTROL WITH THIS AD . J U ST OUR WAY OF SAYIN G THANKS FOR MAKING · THIS THE HAPPIEST HO LIDAY EVER. DISCOUNT PRICES TO THE PUBLIC STAN DARD NG K PLUGS BLACK MOT O-X BA RS · . BUCO HE L METS . . . . • . . CH AM PIO N FU L L FA C E BLACK VINY L JAC KETS CUSTOM COB RA SE AT S a • . . 59t • $6 .95 $14.95 $29.95 $9.95 . . •. . $19.95 . .. • . ..... ..... .••. . . ~ ~ CYCLE PARTS 133 29 SHER MAN WA Y NO . HOLLYWOOD Phone (2 13 ) 983-0210 OPEN-MON-THURS. I0·7 FRI. 10·9 , SAT . 9 ·6 HUSQVARNA AIR IN·TAKE MANIFOLD Fit s all Husky motorcycles. Kydex vac uum fo rm ed plastic un it is lightweight and d urable. Wat er problems are kept to a mi ni mu m effecting a ir in-take, without $ 3 0.0 0 includ es sh ipping , California residents add 5% fo r sales t ax. Certified c hec k or money o rde r only. Qu antity p rices to dealers. Del Rap in i, P.O. Box 1450, Alameda, CA 94 50 1. _.************** •• : Yamaha & : .. .. : Triumph : : of Fontana : : Sales 'arlS Sen;ce : .. Maico. DKW. CZ. Hodaka, BMW" .. .. .. 9008 Sierra Ave, . .. .. Fontana. Calif. .. (714) 822-2252 It -****************- . . 0 helmets th e more I realized that this was a h igh ly technical subject that would take months of research to really learn anything of value. I read several articles in monthly magazines that. while informing me of the value of helmets. really didn't tell me what brand was best. While in passing on what I have learned, let me emphasize that Cycle News has n ot checked every helmet on the market. The list is far to o long and new brands come on the market every day. The brands that were checked were done on a "what was available" basis and without the knowledge of the makers. The purpose of this article is to pass on enough information to you so that you will be in a position to intelligently choose your next helmet. WHAT DO ALL STICKERS MEAN? THOSE The only way you can tell how safe a helmet really is, is to check the stickers inside. Dropping the thing on the floor or hitting it with a hammer will only tell you h o w good the finish is and not how wel l the h elm e t will protect your head. To u nderstand how the various organizations that supp ly ' th e stickers arrived at their conclusions we 'll have to learn a little about just what that helmet was designed to do. A safety helmet consists of three major parts : The shell , the liner and the strap that h o ld s the helmet o n yo ur head. The shell is merely the container for the liner, which is what really absorbs any impact you may receive when you crash. Until 1957, almost all helmets used foam rubber as a liner. It was very comfortable and felt like it would protect you. Unfortunately, foam rubber, having a high rebound rate, only transmitted any impact your shell received right on through to your head. There were pl enty of people around who had perfectly unscarred heads, but cracked skulls o r bruised brains as a result of foam liners. He lmets protected the scalp but not the head. In 1956 a Southern California sports car ra cer, Pete Snell, died from brain damage caused in a racing a ccident. His death led to the formation of the Snell Memorial Foundation to investigate what could be done to im p ro ve safety h elm ets . Dr . . George G. Snively AN ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS COMPANY, INC" EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR OF TRIUMPH, BSA, AND NOW RICKMAN-METISSE MOTORCYCLES IN THE U.S.A. The Rickman Brothers learn fro The results are nearly perfect. De re k and Don Ric kman have won eno ugh Moto cro ss ch amp io nsh ips to know what makes a bike a loser, or a winner. For over 10 years, they've been learning from the othe r motorcycl e makers' mistakes-an d building the most perfect Motocross competition bikes in the world . The Rickman-Metisses are the results of learning from others' mistakes. Unique Ric kman Fram e: The Brothers realize that a frame doesn't have to be heavy and bulky to be strong. They make their own frame of a Ilghtweight, alloysteel. Then they hand-weld it with almost indestructible bronze welding. And coat it with nickel. The Rkkman frame' is unmatche d for superb balance, strength, and handling. Horsepower vs. Weight: With the frame weight cut down, the horsepower/weight ratio becomes higher. That means you can go a lot faster, a lot longer. 3 Ideal Models- 3 Ideal Eng ines : The Brothers are offering a 125cc Motocross and a 125cc Enduro, each powered by a different single cylinder, piston port, 2stro ke Zundapp. The Enduro develo ps max. h.p. at 6500 rpm; the Motocross at 7500 rpm . The third model is a 250 c c Motocross. This is driven by a 250cc single cylinder, piston port Montesa with a compression ratio of 12:1. Each engine is ideal for its purpose. :.