History of the Motorcycle Helmet — From Leather to Carbon
Over a hundred years of evolution: how the helmet went from an experimental leather cap to the most important safety equipment in modern motorcycling.
The first helmet: leather and cork
British neurosurgeon Eric Gardner is considered the father of the motorcycle helmet. In 1914, watching motorcycle races at Brooklands, he designed a leather cap reinforced with cork for riders. The idea came after noticing that most fatal injuries were head trauma. However, widespread adoption took decades.
During the 1920s and 30s, racing riders began adopting hardened leather helmets, similar to those used by World War I aviators. Protection was minimal by today's standards, but represented a significant advance over no protection at all.
The modern helmet industry is born
In 1953, AGV (Amisano Gino Valenza) was founded in Italy, one of the most iconic brands in helmet history. Gino Amisano started by manufacturing saddles and soon converted his company to produce motorcycle helmets, leveraging his experience with resistant materials. AGV quickly became a global reference thanks to its adoption by MotoGP riders like Valentino Rossi.
That same year, researcher C.F. Lombard at the University of Southern California published the first serious scientific study on the biomechanics of cranial impacts, laying the groundwork for safety standard development.
The first safety standards
Following the death of racer William "Pop" Snell in a 1956 race, his family and friends founded the Snell Memorial Foundation in 1957. This organization established the first serious voluntary standards for motorcycle helmets, creating the SNELL testing protocol that remains a world reference today.
In 1961, Shoei was founded in Japan by Shoichiro Otsuka, initially manufacturing industrial helmets. A year later in 1962, Arai Helmet also began in Japan under Hirotake Arai, who had previously worked manufacturing hats. Both Japanese brands would become synonymous with excellence in the following decades.
Fiberglass and the full-face helmet
The 1970s marked a revolution in helmet construction: the widespread introduction of fiberglass as the main shell material. Lighter and more resistant than solid plastic or hardened leather, fiberglass allowed for safer, better-molded helmets.
At the same time, Bell Helmets (founded in 1954 in the US by Roy Richter) popularized the full-face helmet, which completely covered the chin and face. This design, initially resisted by many riders who found it uncomfortable, quickly proved its safety superiority and became the standard for competition.
In 1972, the DOT (Department of Transportation) standard came into force in the United States, the first legally mandatory requirement for motorcycle helmets in that country.
Carbon fiber and the modular helmet
Carbon fiber, initially used in aeronautics and Formula 1, began to be incorporated in high-end helmets during the 1980s. With superior resistance to fiberglass and half the weight, it revolutionized the premium segment. AGV and Arai were pioneers in its application.
The 1990s saw the birth of the modular or flip-up helmet: a solution combining the protection of a full-face helmet with the comfort of an open-face, allowing the chin bar to be raised without removing the helmet. Schuberth, the German company founded in 1922, became a reference in this segment thanks to its aerodynamic and noise-reduction engineering.
The digital era: ECE 22.06 and MIPS technology
The European standard ECE 22.05, for years the world reference, was replaced in 2022 by the more demanding ECE 22.06: it includes oblique impact tests, rotation tests and structural rigidity evaluation. All helmets sold in Europe since June 2023 must comply with this new regulation.
MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) technology, developed in Sweden in the 90s and popularized in the 2010s, adds a sliding layer inside the helmet to reduce rotational forces in an impact — one of the main causes of brain injuries.
Today's high-end helmets incorporate: integrated Bluetooth communication systems, smart ventilation, photochromic visors that automatically darken in sunlight, and carbon fiber structures weighing under 1,200 grams while offering maximum protection.