Relining old helmets...

Rocan

"Long after I rest, my steel will live on"
Can it be done? id love to rock a vintage helmet, but cant bring myself to do it with old foam in there...

ive smacked my head around enough to take helmets seriously. would be awesome to have an old shell with new foam and padding.
 
Hey,

Yea its possible. There are a few threads on here talking about that kind of thing.

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=8024.0

Twisted Wheels did an awsome restore on an old helmut,
http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=9315.0
though im not sure what the padding was like.

I'm sure there are others around too,
Good luck on yours, its hard to beat some of the great styles on old lids. Though new Bells Custom 500's are pretty enticing.
 
i saw that first post before... what im talking about is full on new foam. old foam loses its impact resistance.


feel me? ;)

i like those custom 500's also.. :D
 
Anything could be done if ya wanna pay the money... I cant remember where but there are a few companys that do it. Ill see if i still have the info. For what youll end up paying though, just buy one of the new Bells. Just sayin.
 
Although there are places that now replace the soft foam rubber and fabric lining, I've never heard of anyone replacing the impact styrofoam.
 
VonYinzer said:
Anything could be done if ya wanna pay the money... I cant remember where but there are a few companys that do it. Ill see if i still have the info. For what youll end up paying though, just buy one of the new Bells. Just sayin.

im curious what the price is... one of the first generation simpson bandits would be sick to have with new foam...
 
I used to do this until I realized how dangerous it is. I still find old helmets and paint them for fun. but would not wear them for anything. I have a friend who died trying to 'look cool'. it's just not worth it. Bell makes some cool 'vintage looking' 3/4 helmets.

I recommend wearing a full face helmet anytime you get on the freeway. and a modern 3/4 is cool for gettin groceries. puddin basins are pointless and look stupid, IMHO. that being said my buddy wears one. I wish he wouldn't. cuz I'm not gonna hang out with him if he's a drooling mess.

but the impact foam degrades, breaks down with time and becomes useless. leaving you unprotected. and do you trust yourself to replace it and create decent head protection. you can't just throw packing peanuts in there. it's what keeps you from being DEAD or RETARDED.

don't do it. stay alive.
 
greasy said:
I used to do this until I realized how dangerous it is. I still find old helmets and paint them for fun. but would not wear them for anything. I have a friend who died trying to 'look cool'. it's just not worth it. Bell makes some cool 'vintage looking' 3/4 helmets.

I recommend wearing a full face helmet anytime you get on the freeway. and a modern 3/4 is cool for gettin groceries. puddin basins are pointless and look stupid, IMHO. that being said my buddy wears one. I wish he wouldn't. cuz I'm not gonna hang out with him if he's a drooling mess.

but the impact foam degrades, breaks down with time and becomes useless. leaving you unprotected. and do you trust yourself to replace it and create decent head protection. you can't just throw packing peanuts in there. it's what keeps you from being DEAD or RETARDED.

don't do it. stay alive.

the whole point of gettting new impact foam is to have the safest vintage possible. i wouldnt ride a vintage 3/4, or a modern 3/4 if i had the choice

i wouldnt ride a full faced vintage with old foam either.

whatever it is; i want the internals to be the best i can get. feel me?
 
I didn't know you could replace impact foam. it definitely degrades w/ time. I thought you meant the liner.

still, why not just hang the vintage helmets in the garage and wear a safe helmet on your noggin. if you have the $ to get someone to replace the impact foam you could buy a pretty decent helmet.

not tryin to tell ya what to do. I just think not being retarded or dead is very important. and lookin 'cool' is not as important.

I tell everyone this. I'm sure it's annoying. but maybe if someone had annoyed my buddy enough he wouldn't be dead.
 
This helmet debate is tired and overplayed. Wear whatever level of risk you're comfortable with and don't impose your beliefs upon others. If I wanted to be completely safe from motorcycle related injuries, I wouldn't ride a motorcycle.
 
DrJ said:
This helmet debate is tired and overplayed. Wear whatever level of risk you're comfortable with and don't impose your beliefs upon others. If I wanted to be completely safe from motorcycle related injuries, I wouldn't ride a motorcycle.

i hear ya on this one.

On my dads bagger i rock a half helm with a bandana and goggles.. the thing weighs over a quarter ton, its not very powerful, and if it were to hit anything i get the feeling it would take the grunt of the impact. and im never riding it that quickly in the first place.

on anything that would see spirited riding, however... you wouldnt catch me on it without a full face and a jacket; if not more gear then that.

the vintage helms wouldnt be for daily riding... just for the big meets where you want to show off a bit.
 
Hey Does anyone know a shop that does relining? I don't have the time or patience to do it myself...


Rocan said:
Can it be done? id love to rock a vintage helmet, but cant bring myself to do it with old foam in there...

ive smacked my head around enough to take helmets seriously. would be awesome to have an old shell with new foam and padding.
 
I made my own with the ol' lady's sewing machine and some fabric from the store. Total 1HR and $10

Deconstructed the helmet liner and made a pattern:
Picture002.jpg

Sewed it up:
Picture006.jpg

Stuck some foam in and glued it on (BIG MISTAKE - instead use tacks on the outside edge):
Picture009.jpg

Bling-Bling:
Picture013.jpg
 
It has been said before but i'll repeat it. You CANNOT SAFELY rebuild/reline/restore and old helmet.

If you want a piece of period costume to look cool with your bike at a static display, that's fine. Go right ahead, but what you'll have on your head is not a helmet. It's a piece of costume. Let's keep that in mind.

I understand that many peeps on this forum think that this is ALL about the look, and sure, looking cool can be fun, but this is way more important than looking cool. Go visit a rehab center and look at teh bikers who were cool and didn't need to wear a helmet because they were too cool.

Helmets deteriorate over time, and offer little or no protection. Pudding basin types provide no coverage for your face or temple area and are basically useless in most accident situations.

I am totally uninterested in any arguments about it being your choice to make a veggie out of yourself or your rights as an American to be dumb. Sure you have that right to act like an anti social moron, but you also have a responsibility to take care of yourself and not leave the rest of us to have to deal with the consequences of your actions. Just because we have a right to do something doesn't mean we should. We have the right and responsibility to do what makes sense.

Does that mean that we should do nothing that has any risk? Of course not. We have choices. We should use them wisely. using an old helmet on the street is not a wise choice.

That's my opinion. Yours may vary.
 
GHST_TGR said:
In the skating world, we call that being a "pad nanny".

i longboard... yep, wont catch me without a helm when im doing 20+!!
 
I hear what your saying teazer. I really dig the vintage TT style half helmets, but you wont catch me actually sporting one for real.

Consider Dead Bound's helmet refurb something you can do to modern bell 500's, to give it that extra nice look. Not everyone is going to be using full facers, 3/4 is good enough even if your face is in harms way.
The debate is heated and varied, not 100% of people have seatbelt cutters in their car incase they get in a situation where they have to disengage but can't. Likewise it'll never be 100% full face for motorcyclists.

If people wore helmets in cars all the time, wouldn't they be at least twice as safe in an accident? why dont we? Imagine the reduction in concussions and head trauma. (dont mean to be a dick with the car analogies, i'm more curious really. I do appreciate your words of warning teazer)
 
Fullmer makes a cool DOT approved 3/4, even with metal flake paint.

http://www.fulmerhelmets.com/Product/afv2.html

I plan on getting one, they are only like 100 bucks. I dig vintage helmets and this is the best I can find thay looks vintage but is still modern and DOT approved. Some of the new 3/4 can look really big on the head, these don't.
 
bought 5 vintage 70's helmets today for $25 from craigslist. gonna paint and reline a couple. i have a real unique one that i'd like to find a bit more about. it's a Lear Siegler s-80 exactly like this one.

http://www.deadendcruisers.com/otherstuff.html

you have to scroll down. i don't have pics of mine, but it's exactly the same. started to take it apart cause the foam was dusty
 
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