Full Face Helmets - Who Was The First?

[steve roberts]

We now accept and expect riders to wear full face helmets nowadays but who was the first to make them popular I wonder? Barry Briggs comes instantly to mind but they didn't really catch on until the early seventies. I recall seeing an image of Malcolm Simmons wearing one before reverting back to a standard helmet. There was a picture of Ivan Mauger wearing one (with mirrors!) in his autobiography "Triple Crown Plus" but I never recall him wearing one during his glory years? Terry Betts was another early advocate.

[Grachan]

I've seen pictures of Martin Ashby wearing one, which would be before 1974 as they were already old pictures when I starting going. Paul Gachet is another who comes to mind.

[chunky]

Briggo certainly was one of the first, if not the first. However, Sid Sheldrick was another early one...

[chunky]

9 minutes ago, Grachan said:

I've seen pictures of Martin Ashby wearing one, which would be before 1974 as they were already old pictures when I starting going. Paul Gachet is another who comes to mind.

Briggo was wearing one in 1969, because he wore it at Wembley. Martin toyed with one on and off, but he was never a convert. Paul was a little later...

Arthur Price was another early one.

Edited May 4, 2023 by chunky

[steve roberts]

16 minutes ago, Grachan said:

I've seen pictures of Martin Ashby wearing one, which would be before 1974 as they were already old pictures when I starting going. Paul Gachet is another who comes to mind.

Remember Paul when he first turned out at Arlington and later bacame a "Rebel"...retired far too early in my opinion.

Martin was an early advocate of the full-face but I recall that he reverted back to a standard helmet (1974/5?) as "chunky" referred. Garry Middleton was another who wore a full face before adopting a standard helmet during his last two years riding in the UK.

Edited May 4, 2023 by steve roberts

[chunky]

Okay, at the end of 1968, Briggo still wore a mask. Speedway Star W/E 11 April, 1969, there is a pic of him with a full-face helmet.

[FAST GATER]

From talking to older  riders one of the main problems with full face helmets was misting/steaming up ,also having enough tear offs they also used it those days what we called "flickers".These held one or two pieces of plastic lense that flicked up level with the helmet peak, one other big factor was being filled in( they rode on wet tracks in the past) you can't get the goggles out of the F/F helmet but could pull the mask down.

Edited May 5, 2023 by FAST GATER

[steve roberts]

29 minutes ago, FAST GATER said:

From talking to older  riders one of the main problems with full face helmets was misting/steaming up ,also having enough tear offs they also used it those days what we called "flickers".These held one or two pieces of plastic lense that flicked up level with the helmet peak, one other big factor was being filled in( they rode on wet tracks in the past) you can't get the goggles out of the F/F helmet but could pull the mask down.

I remember Melvyn Taylor was once excluded to turning round at the tapes before a race waiting for the others to appear as his goggles were misting up and he was wanting to clear them.

[iris123]

My guess was it was introduced from the States ?

Either someone who went there got one, and Briggo is a candidate. But what about Dewayne Keeter ? There at least seems to be a pic of him and Sonny Nutter wearing them in possibly 1967....

Edited May 5, 2023 by iris123

[chunky]

2 hours ago, iris123 said:

My guess was it was introduced from the States ?

Either someone who went there got one, and Briggo is a candidate. But what about Dewayne Keeter ? There at least seems to be a pic of him and Sonny Nutter wearing them in possibly 1967....

I think there were probably a few Americans wearing them pre-1969, but the interesting thing is that while he was here, DeWayne Keeter wore an open-face helmet.

As I said, the first pic I can find of a speedway rider wearing one is Briggo in April '69.

[BOBBATH]

Full face helmets came after my time -left UK in 68- I certainly well recall the use of "flickers" and seeing riders use them sometimes a few times in a heat.

[BL65]

The Bell Helmet company was formed in Bell, California in 1954 and the Bell Star helmet was claimed to be the first full face helmet when it was introduced in 1967.  I have a vague recollection that Barry Briggs first tried these helmets when he visited California with Ivan Mauger.  That would have been either 1967 or 1968, when they ran training schools for local riders.

[steve roberts]

As full face helmets became popular and most riders adopted them there were a few who continued wearing traditional helmets and the Grahame brothers come immediately to mind. I remember Simon Wigg wearing one for one season (1984) before reverting back to the full face option.

[chunky]

6 hours ago, steve roberts said:

As full face helmets became popular and most riders adopted them there were a few who continued wearing traditional helmets and the Grahame brothers come immediately to mind. I remember Simon Wigg wearing one for one season (1984) before reverting back to the full face option.

John Titman also wore one in 1984. By then, the soft "monkey masks" had disappeared, but they were wearing rigid ones. Thinking about it, I don't recall Dave Jessup wearing a full-face helmet?

After then, Ray Morton still wore open face...

[25yearfan]

If you talked to riders from the 60's a lot of them struggled when the pudding basin helmets were replaced by open faced helmets that went right round the side and over the ears because they couldn't hear as well! - I still recall seeing a few riders with pudding basin helmets in the early 70;s, when did these get outlawed?

 

Dave Jessup rode one meeting for Mildenhall at Wimbledon in 1988 which was his final one and he was still wearing a monkey mask. I'm not sure if he ever did wear a full faced helmet, the only time may have been when he was sponsored by Briggo in the early 70's? 

 

Ray Morton and Scott Swain are two of the last riders I remember who wore open faced helmets.

 

A question! - Are open faced helmets outlawed in present times or not? 

Edited June 3, 2023 by 25yearfan

[steve roberts]

7 hours ago, 25yearfan said:

If you talked to riders from the 60's a lot of them struggled when the pudding basin helmets were replaced by open faced helmets that went right round the side and over the ears because they couldn't hear as well! - I still recall seeing a few riders with pudding basin helmets in the early 70;s, when did these get outlawed?

 

Dave Jessup rode one meeting for Mildenhall at Wimbledon in 1988 which was his final one and he was still wearing a monkey mask. I'm not sure if he ever did wear a full faced helmet, the only time may have been when he was sponsored by Briggo in the early 70's? 

 

Ray Morton and Scott Swain are two of the last riders I remember who wore open faced helmets.

 

A question! - Are open faced helmets outlawed in present times or not? 

Good question.

[E I Addio]

On 5/4/2023 at 7:52 PM, chunky said:

Briggo was wearing one in 1969, because he wore it at Wembley. Martin toyed with one on and off, but he was never a convert. Paul was a little later...

Arthur Price was another early one.

Yes, according to the Speedway Plus website Briggo was the first to wear one in 1969.

I stand to be corrected if anyone knows different but I am pretty sure that Briggo, who had a handy sideline in marketing various items of Speedway equipment, marketed his own brand of full face helmets specially designed for Speedway. Full face helmets originally were made for car racers but for some reason were not really suitable for bikes until modifications were made. 

[E I Addio]

8 hours ago, 25yearfan said:

 

 

A question! - Are open faced helmets outlawed in present times or not? 

They are. There are strict regulations about the design of crash helmets including the fact the the riders hair shouldn’t be sticking out of the helmet, although that doesn’t seem to bother Richard Lawson !!

 I remember one incident when the referee , Paul Carrington, ruled Ales Drymls helmet illegal for some reason ( I think it was either too old or damaged ) , Dryml protested and said he had worn the helmet at other meetings. The referee asked him for details of the other meetings he had worn it it. When Dryml asked why , Paul said he was going to fine him £300 for each meeting. Dryml quickly withdrew his complaint and found another helmet !

 

[Rich]

14 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

Yes, according to the Speedway Plus website Briggo was the first to wear one in 1969.

I stand to be corrected if anyone knows different but I am pretty sure that Briggo, who had a handy sideline in marketing various items of Speedway equipment, marketed his own brand of full face helmets specially designed for Speedway. Full face helmets originally were made for car racers but for some reason were not really suitable for bikes until modifications were made. 

The early Bell full face helmets as used in the States were as you say designed for car racing, with limited side vision and no way of fitting a peak. They also were too far down the head especially at the back and had the potential to cause neck or spinal damage in the event of whiplash. I used an Owen full face helmet in 1971 which addressed these issues. 

[steve roberts]

19 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

They are. There are strict regulations about the design of crash helmets including the fact the the riders hair shouldn’t be sticking out of the helmet, although that doesn’t seem to bother Richard Lawson !!

 I remember one incident when the referee , Paul Carrington, ruled Ales Drymls helmet illegal for some reason ( I think it was either too old or damaged ) , Dryml protested and said he had worn the helmet at other meetings. The referee asked him for details of the other meetings he had worn it it. When Dryml asked why , Paul said he was going to fine him £300 for each meeting. Dryml quickly withdrew his complaint and found another helmet !

 

I remember when Kai Niemi's helmet flew off in one race at White City and completed the race without one finishing third (?)...strangley enough the referee excluded him for being "improperly dressed!!"

Edited June 4, 2023 by steve roberts