Vega recalls 30,000-plus motorcycle helmets

Vega Helmet Corp. is recalling more than 30,000 XTS motorcycle helmets after testing found that a few did not meet crash protection safety standards.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said people using the helmets may not be adequately protected in a crash. The recall will start in late January and centers on large, extra-large and extra-extra-large (or XXL) helmets. The models in question were made between May 2011 and last October, according to a notice posted Saturday on the NHTSA’s web site.

Vega, based in Tukwila, Wash., said it will replace the recalled helmets.

The NHTSA told Vega that four extra-large helmets didn’t meet safety standards when tested earlier this year. The company investigated and found that the helmets fell out of compliance partially due to changes in the model’s shell design. Vega told regulators that the helmet’s design would be reconfigured immediately.

Vega doesn’t know how many of the helmets in the recalled population failed to meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard so the company is recalling all of them, according to a letter from an attorney representing the company to an NHTSA official.