Why develop a new dirt bike helmet?
Posted on 06 July 2020The 'light bulb moment' came when Paul, the inventor of Heltech, tried pushing his thumb into the shock-absorbing EPS at the back of his helmet after a crash. The EPS was so hard that he was going to buckle his thumb before he made a dent into the EPS.
So how the hell was it going to save his head in a big crash?!!! It wasn't.
Then, when champion Aussie MX racer Andrew 'Sharky' McFarlane* [RIP] was tragically killed during the 2010 Broadford MX Nationals morning practise, Paul was stunned - like everyone else that was there. I'm sure Sharky would never have guessed that he would be killed by going over the bars on a small tabletop.
Irrespective, surely his death would shake-up or drive improvements in helmet Standards. But no, nothing. Why the hell not?! We owe McFarlane something more than simple silence, surely?
Andrew McFarlane photo courtesy of Transmoto (http://transmoto.com.au/.)
We've all been over the bars. Not often, but always unexpectedly - and almost always in an instant. Bam, you're down! So, if this could happen in an instant, to a Pro, the 2005 World MX1 Championship runner-up like McFarlane, then it could happen to anyone. Any one of us.
What we're saying is that helmets need to be dramatically improved, far beyond us relying on a bit of hard EPS to 'save our necks' (and heads!). EPS has been in use for over 60 years. It's a non-responsive, single-use material. There needs to be better helmets with better protection-systems, simple as that.
That is why we're developing a new motocross helmet.
* It's actually been 10 years since McFarlane's tragic accident. RIP Andrew 'Sharky' McFarlane.
Check out Transmoto's 10 year anniversary article here: https://transmoto.com.au/andrew-sharky-mcfarlane-rip-10-years-on/
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