The Two BILT Helmet Recalls
In March 2022, Comoto recalled approximately 33,869 BILT helmets — including the Amped Evo Adult, Amped Evo Rapid Adult, Amped Evo Youth, Street & Steel Raider, and Grommet Youth models — after the helmets were found to be noncompliant with federal motorcycle helmet safety requirements. In January 2023, Comoto issued a second recall of approximately 35,400 additional helmets — including BILT Vertex (models BLH133, BLH141, BLH134) and BILT Route (models BLH100, BLH118, BLH109) — after independent testing found penetration test failures indicating the helmets could not provide adequate impact protection in a crash.
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The January 2023 recall was issued under NHTSA Campaign No. 23E-003 and covered BILT Vertex (SM–XL, produced after September 1, 2021) and BILT Route (MD, XL, XXL, produced after March 1, 2020) helmets sold through Cycle Gear stores and online retailers, with Comoto offering full retail price credit toward a replacement helmet and accepting returns by mail-in kit or at any Cycle Gear location [1][2]. Attorneys are actively investigating injury claims against Comoto Holdings arising from both recalls, accepting cases from riders who suffered head injuries in crashes while wearing recalled BILT helmets that failed to provide the protection consumers were promised and that federal law requires [3].
What FMVSS 218 Requires — and Why It Matters
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 (FMVSS 218) sets the minimum performance requirements for motorcycle helmets sold in the United States, including impact attenuation testing and a penetration test in which a pointed striker is dropped onto the helmet to verify that the shell withstands penetration by sharp objects encountered in a crash. A helmet that fails the FMVSS 218 penetration test cannot be lawfully sold in the United States — and a rider who relied on that helmet’s DOT certification label had every reason to believe it would protect them.
When Comoto’s helmets failed independent penetration testing, the gap between the protection consumers expected and the protection the helmets actually provided became the core of product liability claims against the company. A rider who crashes while wearing a noncompliant helmet may suffer a head or brain injury that a compliant helmet would have prevented or reduced in severity — and that failure is actionable regardless of whether a formal recall had been issued at the time of the crash.
Injuries at Stake in These Claims
NHTSA received no injury reports in connection with the January 2023 BILT recall prior to its announcement; injury reports for the March 2022 recall were not disclosed. The absence of formally reported injuries does not reflect the full picture of harm from defective motorcycle helmets — riders who crashed and sustained head injuries while wearing recalled BILT helmets may not have known at the time of their crash that their helmet had failed federal safety testing, and many will not have connected their injury to the helmet’s noncompliance.
Head and brain injuries sustained in motorcycle crashes where a defective helmet provided less protection than required can include traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, concussion, intracranial bleeding, permanent cognitive impairment, and in fatal crashes, death. These are among the most catastrophic and permanent injuries in personal injury law.
Can I File a Lawsuit?
If you were injured in a motorcycle crash while wearing a recalled BILT helmet — including the Vertex, Route, Amped Evo, Street & Steel Raider, or Grommet Youth models — you may have a product liability claim against Comoto Holdings for defective design and failure to meet mandatory federal safety standards. Contact an attorney promptly, as state filing deadlines apply.
References
1. https://www.rideapart.com/news/632696/bilt-vertex-route-helmet-recall/
2. https://vehiclesafetyrecalls.com/recall/23E003000
3. https://www.schmidtlaw.com/bilt-motorcycle-helmet-lawsuit