If ever the Devil’s plan…

…was made to torment man, it was you, Davida Classic, it was you…

(With apologies to Frankie Laine.)

Ladies and gentlemen, the Davida Classic, premium pudding basin and leather-neck lid for the discerning rocker about town, here in Phil Read guise.

Phil Read sports the original…

I love this helmet. I’ve owned it a while and it never fails to give me a rush of adrenalin. There’s nothing better aboard my ’53 Thunderbird especially when paired with Hinckley Triumph’s own 1950s fur-collared leather James Dean series jacket (though I had to take a sharp knife to the bicep patches bearing ‘Triumph’ and Dean’s signature respectively).

Yes, superficial I know, but for me the biking experience is best when the collar matches the cuffs – or at least when the outfit matches the bike – and when I’m riding a ’50s machine I wanna parade in ’50s clothing or a reasonable replica (though I would draw the line at tweed knickerbockers and a deerstalker if I was entered for the Banbury – no sense in looking like a twat).

Alas, the Davida meets no known laws of compliance other than those to be found in say, darkest Peru or possibly on the Moon. In other words, wear it and you risk giving, as Flanders might say, your noggin a floggin‘ and breaking the law to boot. Frankly, it’s your choice, as indeed, until recently, it was mine, but now, working as a bike instructor, I really cannot be spotted out and about wearing my fragile beauty and so, breaking my heart though it is to do it, the helmet is hereby consigned to a new owner.

NB in best pompous git mode, I do not suggest buying secondhand helmets is a good idea, it’s a very bad idea. However with the Davida providing little or no protection in the modern sense of the word, acquiring a pre-enjoyed example makes little difference other than possibly a mighty cash saving. As always, your choice.