TL;DR: SHARP motorcycle helmet ratings are a performance rating comparing helmets that’ve already met the mandatory ECE 22.06 safety rating for motorcycle gear. Understanding them helps you buy the best quality helmet for your budget and head shape.
One of the essential pieces of kit for riding a motorbike is your lid. Of course, there’s other essential motorcycle gear you’ll need. But you should start from the top, with your helmet. Helmets aren’t just a good idea to have when you’re on a motorcycle; they’re a legal requirement to ride on UK roads. Not only that, they’ll likely save your life if you come off your bike. The SHARP motorcycle helmet rating helps you choose the best one in terms of safety.
Whether you’re just starting CBT training with us or a seasoned rider, your helmet is a crucial investment. Helmets come in a range of styles, sizes and safety ratings. Any helmets on sale in UK stores have met the minimum legal standard. That bare minimum standard is the ECE 22.06 mark. ECE 22.05 helmets are still legal to wear and you might find remaining ECE 22.05 stock for sale in some shops, but they haven’t been tested as rigorously as the newest legal standard.
To help you decide on the right lid, the UK government funds and runs independent helmet testing. It’s the Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Program, or as most people know it, SHARP. That’s because ECE safety ratings are a pass/fail test. SHARP ratings tell you how well a helmet passed the ECE tests by retesting at higher impact rates. When you understand the label on the box, you take the guesswork out of choosing the best helmet for you. That’s why we’ve explained SHARP’s motorcycle helmet ratings and what they mean for you.
Five stars
SHARP put all the helmets they test through the exact same process. They bash them about on curved edges, hit them with sharp implements, and whack them on abrasive flat surfaces to see what happens. This is done from different angles and higher velocities than ECE testing. SHARP tests are at 8.5 metres per second vs 8.2 metres per second, representing around 10% more energy. All of it’s done under specific, controlled conditions. It adds up to 32 different, yet precise, beatings in total, per test. At least seven different helmet samples are used to give the rating for that brand and style.
Once they’ve collected the data, they’ll give the helmet a rating of 1 to 5 stars. The more stars, the better it held up in their tests. A 1-star helmet is still legal, and the ECE 22.06 sticker (or the ECE 22.05 sticker) shows this, but it’s not as robust as a 5-star SHARP rated helmet.
What about safety ratings for American brand helmets?
Helmets made for the American market won’t have SHARP ratings at all. Unless, of course, they’re also submitted for ECE certification to be sold in the UK, like Klim and Bell do. Instead, American helmets have ECE 22.06 protection stickers along with maybe a DOT or a SNELL rating. This is largely because SHARP testing isn’t mandatory for selling lids in the UK or the EU.
DOT refers to the Department of Transport in the USA and SNELL is regarded as the racing helmet standard. It comes from the Snell Memorial Foundation in America – set up in 1957 after Pete Snell, a racing car driver, died in a crash. SHARP testing is vigorous to give detailed results, but it’s not a legal requirement for selling helmets in the UK.
Impact zones
As well as the overall star rating SHARP gives helmets, they categorise parts of the helmet in a colour code. They use a 5-colour safety map to show you which parts stand up best in which situations.
- Green and Yellow: indicates superior or good energy management. That’s the helmet’s ability to absorb and distribute impact energy away from your head and brain.
- Orange: Average protection and energy management at this point.
- Brown and red: Poor or little protection in this area of the helmet.
- Black: SHARP no longer uses black in their colour coded impact safety maps. When they did, black indicated little or no impact protection in that area.
The side of your head is particularly vulnerable to injury so, it’s good to look at the colour ratings for this area. Look for a lid with the highest rating for this zone and the overall star rating, to get the best protection you can afford.
SHARP ratings now include Latch scores for modular helmets. These are given as a percentage to show how often the chin bar remains locked through the 30 different linear impact tests. A 100% score shows the chin bar remained in place through all tests. 50% indicates there’s a 50/50 chance of that helmet popping open in a crash, leaving your face exposed. Less than 50% and it’s not going to be much use at protecting your face if you come off your bike.
Price vs safety and quality
It’s a mistake to think that a higher priced helmet means a higher safety rating for the lid. The MT Braker SV, HJC C70 and Airoh Valor 2.0 lids sit around the £100 price mark and come with 4 to 5-star SHARP ratings.
When you opt for a higher priced helmet, you’re usually paying for lighter materials, more complex ventilation systems or great paint work. Often, a basic, thermoplastic shell is better at absorbing impact from SHARP testing. When shopping for the safest lid for you, don’t let pricing guide you. SHARP ratings and impact zones matter far more. A £100 5-star SHARP rated helmet is safer than a £500 3-star helmet. Every time.
All of the helmets used by us on our courses have a SHARP rating of 4 or 5. Quality kit not only improves safety, but it also improves your riding pleasure. When you’re able to relax and have fun, you’re able to be a better rider.
Don’t forget fit and comfort
With all the safety testing in the world and the highest possible ratings, if your helmet doesn’t fit, it’s not going to do its job. Lids are about keeping you safe first and sound reduction or keeping the wind out of your eyes second. A helmet that fits well reduces sound and wind disturbance better than one that doesn’t. When it comes to the crunch, your helmet is what stands between you getting back on your bike and never riding again. This can’t be stressed enough.
We’re all different and that includes the size and shape of our heads. A helmet that fits me snugly may not be right for you. You want to look for something that fits well under your chin but doesn’t rotate on your head. It shouldn’t wobble up and down either.
When trying helmets on, keep them on for a minute or two to make sure there aren’t any pressure points that’ll give you a headache after wearing it for a while. This checklist will help:
- The chipmunk look: Your helmet should feel snug and squeeze your cheeks like a doting Italian grandmother.
- Your forehead: The liner needs to be snug against your brow with a MAXIMUM single-finger width between.
- Shake, shake, shake: When moving your head from side to side, the helmet should move with you, not slide along behind.
- Roll with it: Once you’ve fastened your chin strap, try pulling the helmet off from the back. It shouldn’t be possible.
If your helmet is loose, your head accelerates inside the shell during a crash before hitting the EPS liner. This secondary impact can lead to sharper brain deceleration and more severe injuries than SHARP tests account for. You might want to start checking motorcycle helmet reviews online, but don’t neglect to try some on before you buy.
There are other comfort factors that you should consider too when buying your lid. You’ll want sound cancelling properties for reducing wind noise, but not too much to leave you deaf when riding. Ventilation is worth thinking about too. You don’t want your head getting really hot in summer. Neither should you feel like you can’t breathe with the visor down. Ventilation also affects whether or not your visor fogs up in cold weather.
Why you should buy your helmet new
We’d advise you to always buy new, whether it’s online or in-store. You should replace your lid every 4 – 5 years and you need to know a helmet’s history. One that’s been battered about may be damaged invisibly. Even where you store a helmet matters to its integrity. The internal EPS structure can develop micro-fractures or delamination that’s invisible to the eye from petrol fumes and cleaning solvent vapours just as it can from a drop or low impact crash. It’s not worth taking the risk.
So don’t break the One-Drop Rule: Your helmet is a single-use safety device. If it has hit the ground with any force, its SHARP rating is no longer a guarantee of safety.
Then, of course, there’s your hygiene to consider. Helmet liners absorb sweat, hair oils, and skin cells that bacteria thrive in. A fresh, new helmet will feel and smell better than a second-hand one that’s been absorbing the original owner’s sweat and tears.
The 5-year rule directly relates to the effectiveness of the EPS liner of your lid. It naturally degrades and hardens over time. This hardening means it loses its ability to absorb energy. That loss of ability means impact energy is more likely to go directly to your head.
When you’re looking for a new lid or buying your first one after passing a test, prioritise this piece of kit above all others, shortly followed by gloves. Your hands and head take the brunt of a fall. Try on as many helmets as you can until you find the one that feels right, has the highest possible overall safety rating for your budget, and has good impact zone ratings too.
Technically, a 5-star helmet has managed to distribute impact energy away from the head better in SHARP’s lab tests. However, fit is the ultimate decider. A 5-star helmet that’s too loose will perform worse in a real crash than a 4-star helmet that fits your head shape perfectly. Safety ratings tell you how the helmet performs; a good fit tells you how it performs for your head.
A tinted visor doesn’t change the structural safety of the lid, but using a tinted visor at night is illegal because it reduces your view and significantly increases your risk of an accident. SHARP tests are done with the clear visor provided by the manufacturer. If you want the best of both worlds, look for a 4 or 5-star helmet with an internal drop-down sun visor.
Most modern helmets have removable, machine-washable liners. Keeping the liner clean prevents oils and sweat from breaking down the comfort foam too quickly. That makes the liner last longer and smell better too. But washing the liner won’t reset the 5-year rule for the EPS structure underneath. This structure will still deteriorate and harden over time.
The honest answer is YES. Even though it didn’t have the weight of your head inside it, a drop onto a hard surface can cause delamination (the layers of the shell separating) or hair-line fractures in the EPS liner. Since you can’t see this damage without special equipment, the SHARP rating is no longer guaranteed. It’s better to be safe and replace it.
Watch this clip from 5:17 to see the micro damage caused to a helmet from a simple drop: Is my crash helmet now ruined?
Yes. On UK roads, wearing a protective helmet is a legal requirement for both riders and pillion passengers. It must be fastened securely and meet one of the safety standards we mentioned earlier (ECE 22.06, 22.05, or BS 6658:1985). The only exception is for followers of the Sikh religion who wear a turban. We always recommend the highest level of protection possible when training with us.
Ready to ride?
Choosing the right gear is just one of the early steps in your riding career. Whether you’re looking to start your journey with a CBT or tackle your Full Licence, our instructors are here to help you stay safe and enjoy the ride. Book your training with Phoenix Motorcycle Training today.
