FAQ

FAQ is an abbreviation of Frequently Asked Questions.
This section has been incorporated in the website with the purpose to inform the customer in a comfortable and effective way about the normal doubts about helmets. In addition to this, we are always open to receive your suggestions about our website, if consider useful for other consumers, we will of course publish this info. Please send your comments via our contact form.

Helmets can be divided in different categories depending on its shape, the material used in the manufacturing of the exterior shell and its usage.

Division according to the shapes:

• a) JET – This is an open face helmet which is not protecting the chin.
• b) FULL FACE – This is a helmet made from a one piece external shell which is able to protect the chin in case of an impact.
• c) FLIP UP – This is a helmet made from a two piece external shell, one to protect the skull and the other used to close the front part of the helmet. This second piece can be flipped up and down while stopped.

Division according to the material used in the manufacture of the external shell:

• a) Thermoplastic – This is a helmet made of plastic by injection moulding. This process allows reducing the cost of manufacture as well as the cost of material. For that reason these helmets are the most affordable ones.
• b) Composite – This is a helmet made by mixing different components and with a more complicated manufacturing process. The structural performances of these helmets are better balanced in terms of protection and in terms of weight than those of thermoplastic.

When you buy a helmet, the most important thing is choose the right size: measure the circumference of your head by using a metric tape to find your correct size. The circumference should be parallel to the floor and passing slightly above the eyebrows and just above the ears.
To determine if the size you selected fits perfectly on your head, you have to check the following:

• The helmet should not be so big that it moves about on your head, nor should it be so tight that it squeezes your head. A helmet that is too big may slide down and cover your eyes, or slip sideways while you are riding your motorbike.
• Once you have put the helmet and you have fastened it, try to remove it by moving it forwards and backwards. If the helmet tends to come off very easily, it means that it is too big for you or does not fit with your head shape.

Never buy a second hand helmet, even if the price is tempting. You will never be able to determine the protective performances of the helmet unless you test it. The helmet might have suffered severe blows or treated with solvents or exposed to heat (i.e. let the helmet inside of a car on summer time close to the glass, fasten the helmet close to the exhaust pipe, etc.). All these may severely affect the protection this helmet may offer to you.

In order to clean your helmet, you may only use just water and neutral soap to clean the helmet and the visor.
Take care with the visors; the coating on the inside is vulnerable to friction and sharp items.
If your helmet has a completely detachable and washable lining, use exactly the same technique, cleaning the foam left by the soap with clean water. Let it dry naturally and don’t twist the pieces. To clean the cheek pads, you can take out the fabric and clean it separately, this way the drying process is faster.

Please always read your user manual before removing parts from the helmet.

In short, you can’t.
If your helmet is made of plastic, it is not advisable to paint it.
In some cases, even the composites contain a small part of highly specialised technical plastics, so it is not advisable to apply any painting that contains any chemical solvents.
The helmet may be seriously damaged by some common substances without the damage being visible. Therefore, do not apply paints, petrol, stickers or other chemical solvents to the helmet.

The helmet protects your head; therefore it should be treated with care. It must be replaced if it receives a heavy blow or if it is damaged following improper use. Furthermore, it must definitely be replaced in the event of an accident, independently if it is a heavy crash or a small blow, and even if it does not show any sign of damage. Do not leave the helmet exposed to the sun or other sources of excessive heat (such as the motorbike exhaust pipe).
With normal use, the average life of a plastic helmet is 5 years, the average life of a composite helmet is 7 years.

The visor must be changed as soon as the scratches in it no longer allow a good vision. A scratched visor might become dangerous in night time and even in daylight use.

Please always read your user manual before removing parts from the helmet.

Not in terms of protection. The helmets used by our pilots are exactly the same as the ones sold at the shops with the exception of the fine-tuned aerodynamics fittings we sometimes use to enhance the performances of the pilot. These fittings are specially designed and made for each motorbike-pilot combination. All these analyses and work allows us to have a greater knowledge on aerodynamics and ventilation that we use to improve our future models.

High impact technical plastics whose macromolecules are freely disposed, thanks to this disposition, are able to melt with heat and thus acquiring the desired shape that is kept when cooled. Normally the moulding is done using the injection technique.

Complex material in which two or more different and structurally complementary substances, such as polymers, glass fibres, carbon fibres, aramids (Kevlar), etc., are combined to produce high structural performances with a lower weight than plastics.

To be sold in various countries, the helmet must respect the standard that those countries impose.
There are technical and bureaucratic standards. The homologation is the certification, made by the Relevant Authority of the country where the helmet will be marketed, that the helmet itself fulfils the technical standard which the selling country adopted to authorize/allow its sale.
For your own safety always wear a homologated helmet.

In all European countries, the standard in accordance with the rules is ECE 22 Regulation of UN (United Nations). When the homologation is granted in one country, it becomes valid for all the countries applying the same standard.
Other homologations, apart from Europe, as the American SNELL, DOT, the Japanese JIS or the Australian AS aren’t recognized as valid in Europe.
For your own safety always wear a homologated helmet.

The ECE Regulation obliges that the helmet has a permanently fixed label in the chin strap.

The information we can find in the homologation label is the following:

• a) A circle containing a capital E followed by a number. This number determines the country that has granted the homologation of this type/model of helmet.

  The country code is as follows:
  1 for Germany, 2 for France, 3 for Italy, 4 for the Netherlands, 5 for Sweden, 6 for Belgium, 7 for Hungary, 8 for the Czech Republic, 9 for Spain, 10 for Serbia and Montenegro, 11 for the United Kingdom, 12 for Austria, 13 for Luxembourg, 14 for Switzerland, 15 (vacant), 16 for Norway, 17 for Finland, 18 for Denmark, 19 for Romania, 20 for Poland, 21 for Portugal, 22 for the Russian Federation, 23 for Greece, 24 for Ireland, 25 for Croatia, 26 for Slovenia, 27 for Slovakia, 28 for Belarus, 29 for Estonia, 30 (vacant), 31 for Bosnia and Herzegovina, 32 for Latvia, 33 (vacant), 34 for Bulgaria, 35 (vacant), 36 for Lithuania, 37 for Turkey, 38 (vacant), 39 for Azerbaijan, 40 for The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 41 (vacant), 42 for the European Community (Approvals are granted by its Member States using their respective ECE symbol), 43 for Japan, 44 (vacant), 45 for Australia, 46 for Ukraine, 47 for South Africa and 48 for New Zealand. Subsequent numbers shall be assigned to other countries in the chronological order in which they ratify or accede to the Agreement Concerning the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be Fitted and/or be Used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of these Prescriptions, and the numbers thus assigned shall be communicated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Contracting Parties to the Agreement.

• b) A first series of numbers 051940/J whose meaning is as follows:
  The first two numbers, in this case 05, means the Amendment of the Regulation to which the helmet has been homologated. At present only 05 approved helmets can be sold.

  The following four numbers, in this case 1940, means the approval number that the Authority has granted to the manufacturer for this specific type/model.

  The letter after the slash, in this case J, means the protection level of the helmet as follows:
  • J: The helmet does not protect from chin impacts.
  • P: The helmet protects from chin impacts.
  • NP: The helmet is not a Jet but it does not protect from chin impacts.
• c) A second series of numbers stating the serial identification number for each helmet.

For your own safety always wear a homologated helmet.

With our NZI Tech Com 1.0 that was sold from 2007 to July 2010:
With the Garmin Zumo the compatibility is good and there are no problems to pair with the NZI Tech Com system. When you have paired the helmet with the navigator, the NZI Tech Com system will maintain connected and only can be used to receive the instructions from the navigator and the phone calls that are coming in through the navigator.

In case of the Tomtom Rider II, de representatives of Tomtom Spain have told us that there have been some changes in the software to make it possible to connect with our NZI Tech Com system; these are updates you have to download from the Tomtom website to your navigator. Having said that, we found that it still doesn’t pair to the NZI Tech Com system with ease. Therefore we can’t recommend the use of this product in combination with our NZI Tech Com system, until the Tomtom website will list our system as compatible with their device.

With our NZI Tech Com Basic and NZI Tech Com Intercom, sales started in September 2010:
The are compatible with all existing navigators for motorcycles and with those who can send voice commands via Bluetooth.

The operation between devices is guaranteed by Bluetooth SIG if there standards are surpassed.
The NZI Tech Com system can be used as HF (Hands Free) and HS (Head Set) and, once paired; this is shown in both used devices. It is the phone that searches for our system and will find it or not.
It occurs that some specific mobile phones are released into the market, whilst they are not completely compatible with all devices that use Bluetooth® technology. Normally, after the release, the manufacturer of this device will update the software, which you can then download from the internet to overcome the problems with pairing.
We recommend testing the pairing of your mobile phone with the NZI Tech Com system to be sure it functions well already with the first version of the software installed in the phone.

With our NZI Tech Com 1.0 that was sold from 2007 to July 2010:
The NZI Tech Com 1.0 system uses wireless Bluetooth® technology, all music players equipped with this technology should be able to play the music in the helmet, if it has the HF (Hands Free) or HS (Head Set) protocols. Please take into account that the NZI Tech Com system is not designed to be used as a music player. The quality of the sound will not be the same as with a system that is specifically designed for playing music.

With our NZI Tech Com Basic and NZI Tech Com Intercom, sales started in September 2010:
Both models support the A2DP profile which ensures listening to music in stereo and both have the typical HF and HS profiles.

With our NZI Tech Com 1.0 that was sold from 2007 to July 2010:
From the 2009 version of the NZI Tech Com and onwards, the system is ready for installation of an additional speaker. This second speaker substantially improves the sound quality.
The second speaker is sold separately as Kit 3 and the installation is very simple. To install the speaker it is enough to exchange the right cheek pad and connect the cables.

With our NZI Tech Com Basic and NZI Tech Com Intercom, sales started in September 2010:
Both models are stereo so you have two speakers and, indeed, can hear through both ears.