Shoei X-CEED 2 Crash Test |
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Enter the racer. By the nature of what they do, racer’s test everything they ride and wear to the limit. Chris Vermeulen is a young World Supersport racer, riding a Honda CBR600FS for the Van Zon Honda TKR team. The young Australian is fast but he isn’t known as a crasher. But when Chris crashed in testing at Misano earlier this year and wrecked his Shoei X-CEED2 lid, I was in there to witness the lid doing it’s job. The Shoei is a typical modern top of the range full-face lid. It’s crafted from space age materials, it bristles with air vents and it features a flush-fitting visor that can be removed in a jiffy. The lining is plush and easily removed for washing. The cheek pads are removable, so you can swap to ensure a perfect fit.
Chris was unconscious for five minutes, and when he came to he had no recollection of the incident. But apart from a slight headache, a skinned finger and a big bruise on his hip, he was relatively unscathed. The Shoei had performed admirably, absorbing the initial shock, and importantly, continuing to absorb the hits as he bounced down the road. “I don’t remember much about the crash,” admits Vermeulen. “But you can see by the scrapes on my leathers and the marks on the Shoei that it has done its job. The bike was absolutely wrecked, it wasn’t a “It’s a great helmet to wear, it’s comfortable, it doesn’t mist up in poor weather and it’s light. In fact, once I put it on I can forget it and just get on with racing. I know it’ll be there for me if I need it. It’s exactly what I need from a helmet.” Looking closely at the X-CEED the initial point of impact is clear – a large scuff on the left rear of the helmet. Chris’s fancy paint job is well scuffed but the external construction of the lid is substantially sound – it hasn’t split or cracked. There’s another mark a little further to the front, about a quarter of the size of the initial impact and probably caused on his first bounce. As he rolled down the track he scraped the visor and chin piece an The helmet is now scrap, as is any lid that’s taken any kind of severe knock. What can’t be seen by the naked eye is damage done to the shock absorbing lining that sits between the outer shell and the inner comfort lining. This will have compressed to absorb the initial impact and slow the sudden decelleration of the brain in a crash. This is the part that really saves the rider from serious injury. It did its job but it won’t work again – and that’s why you must throw away or retire your crashed lids.
There’s an old saying first coined by Kenny Roberts Senior about crash helmets: “If you’ve got a ten dollar head, wear a ten dollar helmet.” The Shoei X-CEED isn’t a ten dollar helmet, but then, what value do you put on your brains?
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There’s only one way to do a proper product test on a crash helmet – you have to fall off a bike and hit your head on the ground, the harder the better. While it may seem like bike journalists do this all too often, in my case this isn’t true. I’ve been wearing a variety of crash helmets during my eight years as a motorcycle journalist and haven’t crash tested one yet. 
When Chris crashed in his Shoei he tested its safety features to the limit. Driving hard out of one of Misano’s testing bends he hit a bump and lost traction momentarily. When the tyre gripped up again the thing all racers dread happened - the bike highsided and flipped the young Australian high into the air. Chris landed very hard on his head and then bounced and rolled down the track for perhaps 30 metres or more. As he rolled his head bounced and bumped several times on the track surface.
Chris Vermeulen’s Shoei X-CEED worked when tested in extreme conditions, possibly saving him from death or serious injury. Hitting you head on a hard object like the road or even a kerb is much the same as hitting a road surface. So in this case what works on the track will work on the road. The helmet isn’t a specially built racer only model, it’s the same model as you or I can buy.
