Pinlock misting

I learned something about Pinlocks, thought I'd pass it on.

Early last year, I bought a Schuberth C4, which comes with a Pinlock anti-misting piece on its visor. Used the helmet many times, but late last year it started misting, and the misting was between the visor and the Pinlock, so couldn't simply be wiped off.

I reseated the Pinlock, making sure it was properly sealed. Didn't stop the misting.

It got gradually worse during the winter, got to the stage where I was having to leave the visor open, not pleasant when it's blowing near-freezing rain into your face.

Went onto the interweb, looking to see if I was doing anything wrong, and I came across a snippet which said that the Schuberth Pinlock [and I presume other brands] is designed to absorb moisture.

Ah-ha!

I have always kept my helmet in the garage, which is unheated, and gets the bike put away damp in it quite often, so the air must be generally moist.

So I brought the helmet into the house where the air is much drier, took off the Pinlock, let it dry out (the "snippet" said at least overnight).

Since then I've been keeping the helmet in the house, not had a problem since.

So it's wise not to keep your Pinlock'd helmet in damp conditions.

I take my pinlock out every couple of months and put a cloth on a radiator and put the pinlock on that and dry it out and it's good to go again.

I agree, but for slightly different reasons. Mine dont have any part that absorbs moisture, except the air between shield and pinloc. Excess moisture in between them is going to become visible, more so at low temps- similar to what happens when a double paned window loses seal. What I have found, on mine, is that, after lots and lots of miles, grit can get between the bulb/bead of the pinloc and slowly etch the shield until it and the pinloc can no longer maintain an airtight seal.

The amount of times I crack or open my shield, vs just using the chin bar, can affect how long it takes for this to happen

I was wondering why my pinlock type thingy was getting fogged inside. Unfortunately, I have the inexpensive type that has a sticky line around the edge and sticks onto the inside of a standard sheild. {I bought this because my Shoei did not come with a pinlock sheild, so in order to install a pinlock, I would have had to buy a new pinlock-enabled sheild AND the pinlock itslelf. {over 100 dollars in all, the stick on one I bought is a little over 20 dollars}.

Now that I know this is why mine is fogging up, I will bring the helmet inside, out of the garage, and gently open up the bottom of it and hold it open for a day or so with a clean, very dry, paper towel. That should get any moisture out of it and give me another year of sweet foglessness. Thanks for posting this, Phil

philter said:

I was wondering why my pinlock type thingy was getting fogged inside. Unfortunately, I have the inexpensive type that has a sticky line around the edge and sticks onto the inside of a standard sheild. {I bought this because my Shoei did not come with a pinlock sheild, so in order to install a pinlock, I would have had to buy a new pinlock-enabled sheild AND the pinlock itslelf. {over 100 dollars in all, the stick on one I bought is a little over 20 dollars}.
Now that I know this is why mine is fogging up, I will bring the helmet inside, out of the garage, and gently open up the bottom of it and hold it open for a day or so with a clean, very dry, paper towel. That should get any moisture out of it and give me another year of sweet foglessness. Thanks for posting this, Phil

Click to expand...

At a guess, you don't need to split it, merely let it dry through.

mcatrophy said:

philter said:

I was wondering why my pinlock type thingy was getting fogged inside. Unfortunately, I have the inexpensive type that has a sticky line around the edge and sticks onto the inside of a standard sheild. {I bought this because my Shoei did not come with a pinlock sheild, so in order to install a pinlock, I would have had to buy a new pinlock-enabled sheild AND the pinlock itslelf. {over 100 dollars in all, the stick on one I bought is a little over 20 dollars}.

Now that I know this is why mine is fogging up, I will bring the helmet inside, out of the garage, and gently open up the bottom of it and hold it open for a day or so with a clean, very dry, paper towel. That should get any moisture out of it and give me another year of sweet foglessness. Thanks for posting this, Phil

Click to expand...

At a guess, you don't need to split it, merely let it dry through.

Click to expand...

mcatrophy said:

Hmmm, it is sealed pretty good. I will let it set inside for a few days and if that fixes it, that would be better than opening it up, If not, I can still open it up.

Click to expand...

Since it rains occasionally in the PNWet...this will come in handy. I do remove my pinlock once a month or so and clean / remove the dust build up between it and the shield.

Great information, thanks mcatrophy!

--G

escapefjrtist said:

Since it rains occasionally in the PNWet...this will come in handy. I do remove my pinlock once a month or so and clean / remove the dust build up between it and the shield.
Great information, thanks mcatrophy!

--G

Click to expand...

You shouldn't really get dust build-up, it's supposed to be sealed all round the edge.

Maybe try tightening it a bit?

pinlock tends to take the shape of the shield and lose it's "springiness" which keeps it pressed tightly against the shield...I take mine off during the winter and put it under a book to straighten it out...

Thanks, mcatrophy!

I had a similar situation with my Neotec Pinlock shield on the Alaska run last year, two weeks mostly outside in the cold damp weather and the Pinlock was prone to fogging.

I didn't realize that I "Cured" my problem by bringing the Helmet inside the room and cleaning the shield allowing it to dry in two pieces then reassembling before the next days' ride.

The Dempster Dust did kill the shield and the inside of the Pinlock too, I replaced both when I returned.

I'll now keep the Helmet inside the house instead of in the heated, but damp, garage.

Thanks for the post.

mcatrophy said:

escapefjrtist said:

Since it rains occasionally in the PNWet...this will come in handy. I do remove my pinlock once a month or so and clean / remove the dust build up between it and the shield.
Great information, thanks mcatrophy!

--G

Click to expand...

You shouldn't really get dust build-up, it's supposed to be sealed all round the edge.

Maybe try tightening it a bit?

Click to expand...

I'll try that. It's not a lot, but just a whiff of dust at the edges. No real fogging issues in the wet so seems the seal is doing its job.

--G

I have a new Neotec and find it fogging up if I close the shield when first taking off. I open the shield one notch and its gone. Is that web material under the front of the chin bar removable? Perhaps that is holding the moist breath in the helmet.

The chin curtain is indeed removable in the Neotec.

I've had a misting issue on my pinlock in my Nolan N104 and it's not related to keeping the helmet outside.

The first problem is related to the pinlock not sealing completely along the bottom edge, no matter how I position it or how loose or tight I adjust the pins. Running a think piece of paper along that edge still allows it to be inserted in at least one spot. The moist air coming out my nose works its way into that gap and starts to fog inside. My solution has been to take a Q-tip and carefully smear some vaseline along the bottom edge to seal off the gaps. Works like a charm, but does require more effort when cleaning and reinstalling it.

The second problem is moist air coming out of my nose actually causes mist to build up on the exposed side of the pinlock (not between pinlock and shield). I've had helmets that come with a breath guard, but Nolan doesn't offer that option. So I heated up a piece of thin black plastic and formed it into a breath deflector that I double-back taped to the inside of the chin bar. Problem solved.

I found that the pins on the visor - Shoei GT Air - have cams on them and that you can turn them to firm up and seal the pillock better.

Found this out the hard way with heavy misting to the point of not being able to see at all (well ... not much) in heavy rain.

Not sure if all visors have these cams but worked for me.

I have not had any issue with the pin-lock on my RF-1200 but that could be because I am in a dry part of the state. In the winter, I will be storing the helmet inside from now on.

After my pinlock didn't seal properly, I decided to remove, clean and reinstall it. It was not an easy job removing it, and it left quite a bit of residue on the visor - to the point where the pinlock was unusable. Taking it off basically ruined the seal (half remained on the visor)...even though it had only been on for about a year. Has anyone else had problems removing the pinlock?

I managed to clean up the visor (carefully and a lot of work), and then purchased a new pinlock, which has been in permanently for 3+ years...I'm scared to ever remove it...

+1 with Jenks. I too have a Neotec with pinlock. I take it apart occasionally to clean the shield and clean the pinlock insert.

The neotec has pins on the shield that rotate and depending upon their position they will effect the seal of the insert.

I had a fog-city insert on my Multi-Tec. It sealed find but over time became cloudy, so I'm happy with the pinlock insert but have to be careful to set the pins properly. If I do that I never see fog under the pinlock (around it, but never under.)