Topic: Visor Misting - who has a cure?

[SteveD CB500F]

I know that I may be asking for 3096 different views, but I've been trying different helmets in an attempt to find one that is quieter and have found a large variation in performance with regard to visor misting on these November mornings:

Arai Quantum F: 6 years old and cost a fortune. Very noisy on the motorways - I have started to wear ear plugs. Visor misting not too bad.

Shoei: an old one that I've had for years and use as a spare. Wind noise worse! Misting terrible, even with the vents all open. Have to open the visor every time I stop. Also - can't get my specs on! They sit really high up and hurt!

Nitro: cheap(er) eBay buy by my son when he had a CG125. Wind noise better than the Arai but misting just as bad as the Shoei.

[mcpuffett]

can't really help you with full face helmets as i use an open face with flip up visor  , but if i ride with visor up one notch cuts out wind noise and circulates air to keep visor clear ,    mick.

[GroovieGhoulie]

Maybe some of the anti-misting coating that SCUBA divers put on their masks?

Alternately, you can take some liquid dish soap, put a dab on a soft rag and "coat" the inside of the face mask with it.  Let it harden, then polish it off.  Sort of like Waxing a car.  My SCUBA friends say that works as a poor-man's anti-fog method.

[SteveD CB500F]

Mick - my Arai doesn't have a "notch" (the others do) but I find that if I ride at any speed with the visor cracked open, the wind makes my eyes water and I can't see! This is probably something to do with the aerodynamics of the visor airflow and my spectacles...

GG: We used to use washing up liquid in the 70's! (how's the weather over there by the way? Any chance of riding one of those "desert bikes" that we see on the TV? I understand they are diesel(?) to fit in with the US's "one fuel for everything standard?

[GroovieGhoulie]

GG: We used to use washing up liquid in the 70's! (how's the weather over there by the way? Any chance of riding one of those "desert bikes" that we see on the TV? I understand they are diesel(?) to fit in with the US's "one fuel for everything standard?

It's actually colder than a witch's teat.  I'm up in the mountains and it's not the hot desert everyone thinks it is.

Regarding the desert bikes, the Military uses the Kawasaki KLR650, modified with a diesel engine, though most all Army Diesel vehicles run on JP-8, which is an aviation fuel.  Yet more cost-cutting: "Hmm...I wonder if we can run our trucks on what we use in our helicopters..."  It actually works pretty well, since a diesel can run on pretty much anything, but a helo can only run on Aviation Fuel.  The diesel KLRs are sweet: 100+ MPG, tough as nails, reliable, and actually pretty fast.  I would LOVE one and there is a company selling them, but they run about $10K on the civvy market.

Currently, only Special Operations guys use the KLR, and the military is wanting to go away from motorcycles in favor of 4-wheelers.  Their rationale is that a motorcycle takes both hands and both feet to operate, leaving the operator no open hand to fire a weapon.  However, there are videos where SpecOp guys are roaring up to an airfield on KLRs with a pillion passenger and the pillion is firing a machine gun for cover fire while the driver drives.  It's also harder to operate than a 4-wheeler and I think the military didn't want to spend the training dollars.  Also, people were doing dumb stuff when they got bored and hurting themselves.

Between soldiers getting hurt on and off-duty on motorcycles, I am serious when I say the US Military HATES motorcycles and I am not lying when I say that they would absolutely outlaw their ownership or use by servicemen if they could.

[spitfire]

Hi Steve,
          Way back in the 70's when we used to go on lots of rallys in the middle of winter I used to use washing up liquid on the visor (just a smear), however I usually forgot to put some on, the thing that probably stopped the misting was the fact that I always used to wear a silk scarf over the mouth and nose to stop them freezing, though I sometimes used to get ice in my moustache ! Usually on Dragon Rallies. Posher people had silk ski masks.
My helmet was an AGV full face type.

Cheers

Den

[hopterfixer]

I wear an Arai Astral.  With the brow vents (the ones in the visor) open, the demist lock open (the visor lock that "cracks" the visor a hair to allow air in), and the chin vent open I get no fogging when moving.  Even with all of these open the moving air is not bothersome.  Below 29 degrees F I have to breathe down a little but it still won't fog too bad.  I hope this helps.     

[Bodi]

First try cleaning the inside of the visor with toothpaste, this removes any remaining coating that exacerbates misting. Then try the dish soap, a small cloth with a few drops on it kept in a ziplock bag will last for months. I've used Rain-X and had decent results too, the stuff is magical on the outside to keep the visor clear in rain and it helps with inside fogging too.

[SteveD CB500F]

I aim to buy a new helmet after Christmas - I'll probably look for a deal at the Bike Show in January (London)

The wind noise issue has put me off Arai a bit - what's yours like?

Oh, and what is a "pinlock"??

[SteveD CB500F]

Bodi - I've heard of Rain-X. I wonder if it is available over here?

And WTF is a "pinlock"?

[kghost]

Most new helmets come with an anti fog coating.

Some even have a handy dandy breath deflector that ya can slide up and down.

Feel your pain on the glasses steve....first the visor fogs then the glasses 

[hopterfixer]

The wind noise issue has put me off Arai a bit - what's yours like?

I always wear ear plugs, so it is not too bad.  Without earplugs the wind noise irritates my ears, but I figure that is due to my sensitive hearing from being around the loud turbine powered whirly things for ten years.
 

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Breath deflector, Hmmmm.  Wonder if we could borrow from the SCUBA world again with a stubby snorkel to vent ones breath under ones jacket.  Prevent fogging AND keep ya warmer!

[medic09]

On SAR operations, some of us treat our goggle lenses with a product called Cat Crap.  That's the trade name.  Some like it, some not as much.  You can find it at places that sell skiing equipment.  Haven't tried it on my helmet yet.  It's cheap, and pretty harmless.

Black Diamond will custom grind optical lenses built into the goggles (for a price!).  I wonder if someone can do visors?  What happens when you flip it up? 

No problem with my Shoei and eyeglasses.  They fit right into the little slots in the liner.  The problem is when I wear a balaclava in the helmet this time of year, but I manage.

[Jonesy]

can't really help you with full face helmets as i use an open face with flip up visor , but if i ride with visor up one notch cuts out wind noise and circulates air to keep visor clear , mick.

That's usually what I end up doing.

Some even have a handy dandy breath deflector that ya can slide up and down.

Feel your pain on the glasses steve....first the visor fogs then the glasses

I tried that and it kept the visor clear. The only problem was it directed by breath at my glasses and fogged them up instead!

I tried Cat Crap. Worked like a charm.

[csendker]

HJC full face: top vent closed, bottom vent open, shield cracked open just a bit.  The wind noise wasn't too bad b/4 the windshield, but now it's somewhat louder.  Keeping it cracked open clears it off while riding, but not while stopped at a red light (clears out the sinuses too!).  If it gets bad, I just open the visor up at the stops.  I've used dishsoap once in a while, but I usually forget.  Come to think of it, I used to forget the dishsoap when SCUBA diving too, it's just a lot tougher when diving with your mask cracked open.

[Bob Wessner]

Hmm, Cat Crap, interesting name. Had never heard of it, but I too have problems on cool/cold days with the glasses more than the visor on my full-face. So, Google to the rescue. May be of interest to others. I'll be giving it a try.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet-visor-anti-fog/

[gpdesign]

I've used a "Fog City" stick-on on my visor and it works perfectly, the only problem being at night headlights are a little refracted. I've heard shaving cream also works.

[johnny-from-bel]

My Schuberth helmet has a system that moves the visor forward leaving a small space top and bottom to vent. But when it gets to cold the inside of the visor tends to freeze up. That is why when it is cold I use my old Shoei with a Fog City sticker.

[ieism]

I think a Pinlock works best, I have one in my fullface helmet. It's basically double glazing for your helmet, two layers of glass with air trapped inside will not fog as fast as single glass. Plus the inside of the original Pinlock is treated with some antifog too.
I think that helmets that come with Pinlock standard are better than aftermarket solutions, so if you're in the market for a new fogfree helmet I would buy one with Pinlock.

[Klark Kent]

"Cat Crap offers a nice discount for an order quantity of 3 tubs, so get together with your friends and order a bunch before the weather gets cold!"

so who's in the midatlantic and wants to order up some bulk cat crap at discount and then organize the cat crap cold weather craptastic voyage, riding up and down the east coast distributing cat crap, with me?

i have an arai astral-x and have never worn another helmet at speed.  the noise doesnt bother me and the visor fog is only annoying when stopped, both small prices for how much more comfortable the arai is, and how well it scores in the test lab- in my HO.  that little button that cracks the visor is a little small for gloved hands, but, with practice, i find getting it open a crack is easy and the visor stays down there at speed.

or, just to get back at the cagers you could let it fog up.  now you cant see them either.
keep the foggy side up
-KK  

[crazypj]

DONT USE Rain-X on polycarbonate visor. (it tells you not to on the bottle.) It will make your visor craze and possibly crack.
Toothpaste is too abrasive as well, OK in daytime but at night, in rain...obviously never rode in the dark
Steve, I bought some pink wax stuff at London bike show many years ago, some sort of polymer wax made in Hawaii.
 Instructions and name are in Japanese?
 The only bit I can read is
Hawaii Business Show enterprises
PO Box383985
Waicoloa Hawaii
It worked real well
 I still have most of it as I dont ride in rain very often anymore (at least the last couple of years)
PJ

[Tim2005]

Here in the UK there's a visor spray made by Bob Heath which is great stuff for preventing fogging (not to be confused with the Hein Gericke version of it; avoid that). I use it on my Shoei and on my off-roading goggles and am very impressed with it.

[Jonesy]

Darn, Bob. I was waiting to see all the "WTH?" posts RE Cat Crap. You spoiled my fun!

[Bob Wessner]

Makes you wonder what the thought processes were in coming up with the name though.