Government release SHARP helmet ratings
Check in here to see how well - or how badly - your lid stacks up. Some of the results are surprising.
Posted: 12 June 2008
by Jon Urry
The results of the Government’s latest safety initiative, SHARP, has caused a mixed reaction from the UK’s helmet importers with some discrediting the scheme and others supporting it.
SHARP (the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme) was launched last year at the NEC show with a target of saving the lives of 50 riders a year through an independent rating system of how much protection a helmet has. SHARP would test all the lids currently available in the UK at a test facility and give them a star rating from one to five. One being the lowest, five the highest. This, the Government believe, will make choosing the safest lid easier for bikers.
How well did your lid do?
Discuss this story
3* for my £400 Arai 5* for my £180 AGV 
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 10:58
Yeah. All the top and most expensive lids are crap. All the low and least expensive lids are excellent! Sounds like there's some conspiracy going on.... Do you really get what you pay for? Mmmm
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 11:07
Not really. Brand always plays a part in the price of anything. Percieved value, set your price too low and your product isn't seen as exclusive enough. My KBC VR2 cost £120 for my first one and then £30 for my second one from a show. It only scores 2*. I was looking to change them anyway and now I have a better idea of what to get next based on real world brain injury prevention.
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 11:13
I have been selling helmets for nearly 30 years and i have always said you DO NOT necissarily get what you pay for. I have repeatedly stated if a salesman says "How much do you value your head" then its time to walk out of the shop. No doubt the arguement over there testing will rage for years to come BUT Arai can hardly complain when one of there helmets still gets 5 stars, all be it not the £500 well overpriced one. No matter how they are tested these have all been tested the same way so it must be a fairly decent comparison. Bottom line price DOES NOT mean protection
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 11:54
Put a racers paint scheme on it and add £150 instantly.. Someones gotta pay Vale his millions every year!
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 11:59
Yeah i'd agree with that. Having "tested" the HJC CL-ST myself with a 20mph impact to the floor with the back of my head a few months back, i can state 3* is right. I mean, after all, it hurt quite abit, but i wasn't even concussed  I'm not sure if this SHARP thing hasn't just caused me more confusion by murkying up the waters you know - after all, i've read manufacturers are simply going to "cheat" for this test to get 5*, at the cost of actual real-world protection. How does average Joe get the best helmet for the cheapest price these days?
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 16:52
Where is that Phoenix Arai feller now then?? Usually he is bigging up the Arai construction standards and belittling the ACU gold /snell ratings..no doubt now they will be saying the new test isn't representative either.. Of course there is only one way to find out if your helmet works...and I dont recommend that
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 17:58
Big up to the AGV! and was thinking of "upgrading" to an Arai!
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 18:55
All well and good but they ought to at least explain how the star rating works... Does my measly 2* Arai Condor offer 80% less protection than a 5* AGV?? 
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 19:15
All well and good but they ought to at least explain how the star rating works... Does my measly 2* Arai Condor offer 80% less protection than a 5* AGV??
I dont know but before these tests Arai purists would have you belive it was £200 better than a £150 AGV, so why should the same type of argument not apply the other way 
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 19:16
Of course there is only one way to find out if your helmet works...and I dont recommend that
I have "tested" at least 5 Arai helmets over the last few years and the only time I have been concused was wearing an RX7 thingy top of the range - mind you it was one of the biggest crashes I have had. Last year I had 2, 100mph plus get offs, and one slightly slower high side and each time my head was fine and that was wearing the basic Condors.
I went out last night wearing my new RX7 Corsair Edwards Laguna rep and its so bloody noisy - looks the bollocks but the vents dont work properly unless you are in a sort of racing crouch, sat upright they dont make much of a difference. Bloody glad I dont pay full price for them 
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 19:24
Bought one Arai probably wouldn't buy another as I have never had a helmet pick up so many chips in the thin paint. I Have a Suomy that still looks like new after 5 years. HJC or Shark next going by these equal test results.
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 21:13
I have had several 100mph+ crashes in "Cheap" helmets with no issue Any decent helmet salesman will tell you "Above all else, its the fit that counts most"
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 21:14
Good to see the cheaper helmets doing very well - 60 quid lazer anyone? How long till there double in price??? On a serious note I really quite like the look of the Bell M1. Anyone know what they're like in use, after all that test is just for impact protection.
Posted: 12/06/2008 at 22:51
the problem is that this test is done at fixed points around the helmet, as in each helmet is struck at EXACTLY the same point for every test, these points (as with the known points of testing for ece regulations) are very easily reinforced at those specific areas to give very good results at these areas at the expense of the rest of the shell, which is exactly what some manufacturers can pass the ece test despite having massive vent holes in the helmet covered by nothing more than a mesh. SHARP have to implement random point testing on helmets and repeat impacts before i become more convinced. For instance the reason the Arai GP5x came out better is that it is styled as a car lid (a la stig!) and has what looks like those lug point attachments on the side, it just happened to be a bit chunkier on the side due to styling, it is not a better helmet (or a worse one for that matter). Having said that i am pleased my Shoei came out well, but even if it didn't in this 'test' i would not be changing it and i know in future exactly where my head will be nestled into.
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 11:19
It's hard to know what to make of this report. If it was an independant body like NCAP with more ratings and depth than it would be more helpful. head on impact *** side impact ** repeated drops *** overall *** etc. As it's a goverment scheme I remain sceptical. As I understand it, would be better to have a good fitting arai "3 star" than a bad fitting nitro 5*. My Arai chaser isn't on there. Bought the arai because it was the best fit. I had some tachaki one b4 just to tide me over until I had passed test etc. That fell apart in no time and felt very poorly constucted. However going on these tests its possible that it could be equal or better protection than my arai. Surely the bigger brands have more money to do r&d and have more rigid/stronger consruction than a £70 helmet.
I wonder if when you goto your local bike shop they will advertise this ratings system with stickers on with the rating? Maybe it's compulsory I don't know.
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 11:42
Sorry, bit touchy today! 
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 13:40
Reading these comments it amazes me why peple dont go read the actual site from those helmet links and read what the tests look at. In comparison to most other tests this is much more 'real world' in terms of number of points tested, method of testing. They even state that they look for re-inforcing points to beat the tests etc. I can understand those gutted that their expensive helmets come out low are whinging - its a fix, cant be real etc. Someone made the point that these tests are done in the same way. Get over it - the point of this scheme is to make you aware, and hopefully pick a helmet that might save your life. My helmet isnt on there, but if it was and got shit marks, with 3 kids and a wife Id get myself a better helmet! No I dont beelive everything the Government says, but go read the actual site and then make your mind up. It just goes to show that big brand doesnt equal better quality, it just equals more profit. True the tests dont check noise, ventilation etc, but lets be honest this is a much better scheme than anything before. Hopefully it makes the big manufacturers sit up and look. I also hope it becomes obligitory to stick ratings on helmets in shops, that way the sales tosh of you get what you pay for becomes clear nonsense. I
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 17:28
As I understand it, would be better to have a good fitting arai "3 star" than a bad fitting nitro 5*.
Yes, but a 5* nitro helmet could protect you better than the 3* arai if both fitted well (and provided these tests are an accurate representation of what lid is safer).
tbh, someone that buys a helmet that doesn't fit must not have that many braincells to protect in the first place.
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 17:40
I don't get the hostility to this test. Assuming that the methodology is correct, it's saying that expensive helmets aren't worth the money, and people should be getting angry at the manufacturers for charging a premium for a substandard product. Besides, if you like Arais, get a GP5x. They're a lot cheaper than an RX7 too, which strikes me as a win-win situation for the consumer. As for cheap helmets, I came across an article recently that said that they were just as good as expensive ones. http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html I suspect that the test results will affect peoples' behaviour. I'm thinking about getting into biking, and as I've got a desire to keep my brains where they belong those with five star ratings will be at the top of my shopping list.
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 22:59
Maybe the hostility is from people that bought certain makes thinking they were the best but this set of tests now proves otherwise I own a Suomy, Arai, Roof and a Lazer helmets all supposed to be good but not so in some cases.
Posted: 13/06/2008 at 23:04
I heard Arai shipped all of its top dealers over to its test facility in holland earlier this week to try and brainwash them into thinking the sharp test is crap and basicly giving them a script to use at point of sale to try and overcome some of the customers worries over the recent findings. I think its terrible that Arai dont take on board these tests and work with sharp to make their helmets much stronger, they owe it too the buying public and in the interest of saving lives ! Remember just because your lid has a fantastic paintjob,a fancy interior,beautiful visor action and a heavy price tag brought on by the amount of free lids and money it pays racers all over the globe to wear them , DONT MAKE IT SAFE !! im off out to buy a 5***** Lazer LZ6 for £59.95  Dan
Posted: 14/06/2008 at 07:15
You would be amased at the amount of people that dont have a helmet that fits properly
Which is the #1 reason people get hurt.
Last year we had a fatal where the guys lid came off in a fairly low speed spill ,smacked the back of his head on the road.........goodnight. I use shark lids just because they fit my bonce,dont hurt if I wear it all day and appeared ok quality...........I dont like the clip fastener on my rs2i but I will live with making sure the chin strap is not too loose.
Posted: 14/06/2008 at 09:14
I always thought manufacturers used the same basic shell and internals for most of their range, but with styling differences dictating the percieved quality and cost? So if this is the case, how do helmets from the same manufacturer manage to offer different levels of protection? Futhermore, if a lid is light, well-ventilated, has well designed fasteners etc. surely that also contributes to its overall safety?
Posted: 14/06/2008 at 10:27
I think its terrible that Arai dont take on board these tests and work with sharp to make their helmets much stronger,
The problem is that a "stronger" helmet might actually be worse.
Point 9 in this link:-
http://www.suomyusa.com/ssafety.htm
All the best
Keith
Posted: 14/06/2008 at 12:35
£250 arai 2* and the nitro n1200vx i have isnt listed. thest tests have to be flawed a bit, think of how many riders you have seen fall down the road with an arai on and survive. including the guy in a mag who hit a lamp post at over 100mph with his head and survived, 2* my arse! anaything that saved someone at over 100mph hitting lamp post is quite safe in my books! Trevor
Posted: 14/06/2008 at 14:00
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