Photo: Harley-Davidson
KBC America announces a recall for no less than 456 braincap helmets manufactured for Harley-Davidson. The reason is that certain Hybrid C/C Half Helmets fail to conform the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) #218, which specifies the impact attenuation and penetration requirements.
That is, these helmets are not going to protect the wearer's head to the degree the manufacturer intended. And considering the fact that braincaps are more of a euphemistic representation of a helmet and offer only a fraction of the protection 3/4, flip-up or full-face lids come with, there is not much left.
Due to political correctness, the whole thing is presented as potentially dangerous, but we'd rather say that wearing such helmets or no helmet at all is pretty much the same thing, with the biggest difference that wearing one will not get you pulled over in certain states.
Not all helmet sizes are affected by the problem, and KBC America adds that they will recall only certain L, XL and XXL units, saying that users wearing these helmets may "not be adequately protected in the event of a crash, thus increasing the chances of injury."
According to the NHTSA, "the remedy for this recall campaign is still under development. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Customers may contact KBC at 1-818-526-7771." Recall campaign number is 13E025000.
Since it's been a while since these helmets have been around, it would be interesting to find out if anyone wearing one got hurt because of its lack of compliance. As for the remedy, a new helmet or money back and an excuse card should probably do.
That is, these helmets are not going to protect the wearer's head to the degree the manufacturer intended. And considering the fact that braincaps are more of a euphemistic representation of a helmet and offer only a fraction of the protection 3/4, flip-up or full-face lids come with, there is not much left.
Due to political correctness, the whole thing is presented as potentially dangerous, but we'd rather say that wearing such helmets or no helmet at all is pretty much the same thing, with the biggest difference that wearing one will not get you pulled over in certain states.
Not all helmet sizes are affected by the problem, and KBC America adds that they will recall only certain L, XL and XXL units, saying that users wearing these helmets may "not be adequately protected in the event of a crash, thus increasing the chances of injury."
According to the NHTSA, "the remedy for this recall campaign is still under development. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Customers may contact KBC at 1-818-526-7771." Recall campaign number is 13E025000.
Since it's been a while since these helmets have been around, it would be interesting to find out if anyone wearing one got hurt because of its lack of compliance. As for the remedy, a new helmet or money back and an excuse card should probably do.
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