How to check your new motorcycle helmet fits
Your new helmet has arrived, and the next step is making sure it fits. A helmet only protects you if it fits properly, so it's worth taking 20 minutes to check before your first ride. New helmets feel a little strange at first, and it's easy to mix up snug with too tight.
We’ll take you through checking the fit in three steps, ensuring you can return and exchange your helmet for a different size if you ended to.
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Get ready
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Check the fit
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Decide whether to keep it or send it back
Quick checklist (boxed on the page)
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Hairnet or tudung on, leave the helmets tags and visor film left in place
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Even pressure all the way round, with no sore spots
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Moving the helmet moves your head as well
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It won't roll off with the chin strap done up
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Still comfortable after 20 minutes
1. Get ready
Your helmet comes with a disposable hairnet. Wearing it keeps hair and natural oils off the comfort liner, which ensures you can return or exchange your helmet if you need to.
Before you start:
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Tie long hair back
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Put the hairnet on so it covers your hairline
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If you wear a tudung, you can wear it instead of the hairnet. Use the one you usually ride in, as its thickness affects the fit, and take out any pins or brooches first
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Skip makeup and sunscreen, as both mark the liner and effect returns
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Leave all stickers, tags and the visor film in place
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Try it on indoors, and keep the box and packaging
The whole process will take around 20 minutes. Hold off taking the helmet for a ride until these checks are complete and you’re sure it is the right fit.
2. Check the fit
Put it on
Open the chin strap fully. Hold a strap end in each hand, spread the sides slightly and pull the helmet down until your head is all the way in. Your ears may fold over on the way in. That's normal, and a finger slid inside will settle them.
Do up the chin strap
Your helmet has one of these two fastenings
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Double D-ring: thread the strap through both rings, loop it back over the first ring and through the second, then pull it tight. Clip the loose end onto its popper if it has one.
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Micrometric buckle: push the toothed tab into the buckle until it clicks, and push the strap through until it is snug against you
With both fasteners, the strap should sit under your jaw with no slack, firm but not pressing on your throat.
The fit checks
Do each of these checks with the chin strap done up.
Pressure test. The helmet should feel snug across your whole head, without any single sharp point of pressure. These are normally felt at the temples or forehead. If you can feel one, it is not the correct shape for you.
Rotation test. Hold the chin bar (or both sides of the shell on an open face helmet) and turn the helmet left and right, then up and down. Your head should move with it. If the helmet slides around while your head stays still, it's too big for you.
Roll off test. Push the bottom edge of the back of the helmet upwards. If it rolls forward enough to start to cover your eyes it’s too big.
Brow and eye position. Look in a mirror. The front rim should sit just above your eyebrows. If it sits well above them, or drops down over your eyes, it’s the wrong size.
Cheek pads. If your helmet has cheek pads (some open face helmets don’t), your cheeks should be pushed in and slightly up (known as chipmunk cheeks) with firm contact and no gaps. But you should be able to talk without biting the inside of your cheeks.
Wear it for 15-20 minutes
Helmets which are the right size, but the wrong shape for your head will often only become an issue after 15-20 minutes. Keep your helmet on while you watch some TV or read. You’re checking that there are no hot spots or pain points that you start to become aware of during this time.
When you take it off you may see pressure lines on your forehead and cheeks. This is normal for a new helmet.
What you're feeling and what it means
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What you notice |
What it means |
What to do |
|---|---|---|
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Snug all round, no sore spots |
Right size |
Keep it |
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A little tight, but not painful |
Right size. It will ease as the liner breaks in |
Keep it |
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Comfortable at first, then sore in one spot after 15 minutes |
The helmet shape doesn't match your head |
Exchange for a different shape |
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Sharp pressure at the temples or forehead |
Likely the wrong head shape for this helmet |
Exchange for a different shape |
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Pressure on the top of your head |
Too small |
Exchange for a size up |
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Moves on its own in the rotation or roll off test |
Too big |
Exchange for a size down |
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Everything fits, but you bite your cheeks when talking |
Cheek pads too thick |
Ask us about thinner cheek pads |
Not sure which head shape you have? Our [Helmet Sizing guide] shows you how to check.
Snug or too tight
A new helmet feels tighter than you might expect. The comfort liner and cheek pads bed in over roughly the first 15 to 20 hours of riding, and can loosen by up to about 20% (AGV).
The hard shell and the EPS lining underneath don’t break in.
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If it feels snug but not painful, it's the right size
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If it moves around now, it will only get looser
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If it hurts in one spot, breaking it in won’t fix it. This usually means the helmet shape doesn't match your head shape.
If everything fits except the cheek pads, but the cheek pads are painful. Get in touch with us to check what’s available for your model.
Wearing glasses
If you ride in glasses or sunglasses, put them on with the helmet. The arms should slide in along the sides without pressing in.
If only your glasses feel wrong, don't size up. A different model is usually the better option, or one with a drop down sun visor so you can leave the sunglasses at home.
Wearing glasses
If you ride in glasses or sunglasses, put them on with the helmet still on. The arms slide in along the sides without pressing into your temples, and the frames don't push against the helmet opening.
If only your glasses feel wrong, don't size up. A different model is usually the better fix, or one with a drop down sun visor so you can leave the sunglasses at home.
Trying it on for someone else
If the helmet is a gift, the rider needs to do the try on themselves, wearing the hairnet or their tudung. You can help with the two checks that are hard to do alone, by holding the chin bar for the rotation test and pushing from the back for the roll off test. If it isn't quite right, the same 60 day exchange and return applies.
3. Keep it or send it back
If it doesn't fit
Need a different size or shape, or just changed your mind? You have 60 days to return your helmet for an exchange or return.
To qualify, your helmet needs to be:
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Tried on with the hairnet or your tudung
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Unused, clean and undamaged
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Returned with its tags, stickers, visor film, packaging and box intact
You can read our full returns policy here.
If you want help finding a better fit, reach out to us at support@swiftmoto.shop or via WhatsApp on 60176172030.
It fits, now what?
If it passed every check and still feels good after 20 minutes, you've found your fit.
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Peel off the visor film once you've decided to keep it (after that, it can no longer be returned)
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Fit the Pinlock insert if your helmet comes with one
Take it for a ride.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take it for a short ride to test it?
No. Once a helmet has been ridden in, it's no longer unused and can't be returned. Run every check indoors first, and only ride once you're sure it fits.
How long can I wear it for?
Try it on once, for about 20 minutes. That's long enough for any pressure points to show, without starting to break the helmet in.
Can I wear my tudung instead of the hairnet?
Yes. A tudung keeps hair and oils off the liner in the same way. Wear the one you usually ride in, and take out any pins or brooches first.
I've lost the hairnet. What now?
A new disposable hairnet or shower cap does the same job. If you don't have either, get in touch and we'll help.
Can I peel off the visor film to check the view?
Please leave it on until you've decided to keep the helmet. The film protects the visor and makes the view a little hazy, but you'll still be able to check your field of view with it in place.
My new helmet feels tight. Will it loosen?
A little. The liner and cheek pads ease over the first 15 to 20 hours of riding. If it's snug but not painful, it's the right size. If it hurts in one spot, see the table above.
It felt fine at first but hurts after 15 minutes. What now?
That usually means the helmet shape doesn't match your head, rather than the wrong size. Send it back within 60 days and we'll help you find a shape that suits you.