Do Harley Davison helmets meet Snell SA2005 rating?

Answer 1

That's an interesting question... I knew a couple of things about this but wanted to be sure of what I was saying before I answered. So I did a little poking around and found the Snell Foundation website: http://www.smf.org/ VERY interesting! I had no idea that it was a memorial foundation, for instance.

My particular hesitation in answering your question was what the numbers "SA2005" meant. It refers to Snell's standard for that year, which turns out to remain the current standard... they update their standards every few years. Ok, so THAT out of the way, the part of the answer that I already knew is: it's super easy to tell if a helmet is Snell rated; it will be in small print on the bottom center of the back of the helmet, or printed on the inside, on the liner. Snell has higher standards than DOT, so a helmet marked DOT but not Snell will not be as good. Optimally you want a helmet marked DOT and Snell. The website has listings of the latest Snell approved helmets, listed by manufacturer, so you can look them up. I checked out their listing of HD lids and then did a little online shopping here http://www.latus-harley-davidson.com/Mens-Helmets-73.html and found that none of the shortie helmets were Snell rated, but the 3/4 (open-faced) were, along with the full-faced helmets. I don't know why someone else posted that "most" helmets aren't Snell rated; there are TONS of helmets listed on the Snell website. Perhaps a more accurate statement is "Shortie helmets aren't Snell rated." Heck, MOST of the Harley helmets were Snell rated. Just none of the shortie lids.

Now I know what I'm going to say next will be unpopular with some, but please forget about a shortie helmet? It's just your HEAD we're talking about here! In my 26 years of riding, off road and on, and I've had my fair share of spills. In one particular accident, if it weren't for a full face lid I literally would not have a full face. Shortie helmets have ONLY one purpose: to keep you from getting a ticket if you're in a helmet-mandatory state. They are not in any way "protective gear." I've heard the "argument" that it's better to wear a shortie helmet and just die than survive and be crippled, or that if you have a full face helmet on the ambulance people will break your neck trying to get it off you... that's a bunch of hooey. Look, it's like wearing your seatbelt; it can't totally guarantee your safety, but it HELPS. (Plus it's SO much more comfortable... I don't get sunburned, wind-burned, dry eyes, smacked in the face with bugs/rocks, and it reduces wind noise SO much for my ears.) I don't know about you, but I'll take statistical evidence over some dude blowing his mouth off in a parking lot any day. The bottom line is riding kills several of us each year, and I personally do whatever I can to boost those odds in my favor. I hope you will too.

Ride safe and have fun!

Answer 2

Snell Rated Helmets

Answer 3

some do ,some don't ,the fullface I looked at did, the half helmet did not. check out the harley websight. the helmet listings tell what the ratings are for each helmet.the Harley helmet I had was Just an HJC that cost extra for the harley label. The boss made me wear it so I made him buy it!

Answer 4

More than likely all certified Harley Davidson helmets are both DOT and SNELL certified. When Harley Davidson sells products they prefer to comply with all the known safety standards.

Answer 5

most Harley Helmets do not have a snell rating, you'll see the snell approval inside of those that meet it.

Answer 6

yes

Answer 7

The Snell SA2005 rating is for helmets primarily used for automobile and go-kart racing. Motorcycle helmets should be certified under the Snell M2005 rating standard.

The Snell rating is an additional set of tests and specifications over and above the usual DOT rating. The helmet manufacturer has to request the Snell Memorial Foundation test and rate their helmet, and pay for the testing, so most motorcycle helmets are not Snell rated.

Answer 8

I have a HD helmet with just the DOT rating. I did not look at the few full face helmets they offer but all that I looked at were DOT only.