I was browsing round a motorcycle clothing outlet today, looking at helmets. They had all the top brands, AGV, Shoei, Caberg etc., however,looking inside a Shoei helmet to check the size, I noticed a sticker which stated a release date of December 1997!! Now I understand that helmet manufacurers advise that we change our helmets every 3-5 years, (depending on use), but what is the "shelf life " of a helmet before sale?

Can't talk for all brands, but if I remember correctly, Arai say that shelf life can be up to 2 years, with service life of 5 years, so a possible total of 7.
The 2 year shelf life limit is quite handy, as Arai helmets approaching the end of their shelf life are sold off relatively cheaply. Cheaply when compared to the full retail cost, anyway!! I do love Arai helmets, but I'm damned if I'm going to pay £500 for one......

tyres also have a date stamp, don't get caught out by buying a knock down price tyre because its old and gone hard

This use by date is rubbish as the amount of helmets i see which are much older than 7 years old, if the helmet was no good after the date they said the law would not allow you wearing an old helmet.

johnp wrote:This use by date is rubbish as the amount of helmets i see which are much older than 7 years old, if the helmet was no good after the date they said the law would not allow you wearing an old helmet.

...and an old helmet is perfectly safe if you don't crash in it! Though of course, manufacturers have a vested interest in telling us to buy new helmets as frequently as possible!

I contacted Shoie about this, and their reply was that "providing the helmet had been safely and correctly stored there should be no problem". So unless you can be assured that the helmet you are looking at has not been kicking about any number of dealers stockrooms, stood on a shelf under a spotlight for "X" number of months (or years) it should be OK. So unless you go for the latest "must have" helmet , on your head be it. (There must be a pun in there !!!!)