Pinlock problems

[awa355]

Bought a top of the line ( HJC range) helmet 3 months ago. It came with a Pinlock anti fog insert, fitted by the dealer. It seems to work on foggy nights ok, but the 1st time I rode any distance in the rain, it got water between the visor and insert. Took it into the dealer, we decided the insert was lifting away from the visor across the bottom seal . Infact you could see a good 2-3mm gap.

We reckoned the Pinlock shield had been catching on the helmet rubber as the visor was lifted up. Re fitted the Pinlock on the lower slot and this seemed to have cured that problem for a short while. The gap is back. I do wonder if the visor, being quite thin and flexible is not helping the sealing problem.


Now after cleaning the visor today, I see scratching on the insert which will need replacing. I'm very fussy about my cleaning of my visor, but it seems to be a fairly fragile piece of equipment.

Anyone else had problems with their Pinlock?

[imdying]

No problems whatsoever. Mine is an aftermarket fitment to a Shoei FWIW.

This is why you paid the extra to get your helmet from a dealer in NZ, keep going back till you achieve satisfaction... because if you can't do that, then there's no point paying the extra.

[banditrider]

I recently bought a pinlock visor and insert for my XR-1000 and I have to say that I'm not impressed.

Firstly, when the visor is fully closed and I'm looking straight ahead there appears to be some distortion to my vision. I have found myself peering over or under this part of the visor to try to get a nicer view. Not ideal.

Secondly, the insert is not very tall and the edges of it are in my line of sight. You can kind of ignore this a bit but a $30 stick-on anti-fog insert is superior as it pretty much covers the entire visor.

Lastly, it appears that I may have a leak like too as I think a minuscule bit of water has got between the visor and the insert. At certain temperatures this actually causes "fog" between the insert and the visor making the thing a total waste of time.

Overall I'm not impressed at all and will go back to the cheap stick-on ones. The only issue with those is that you have to be careful not to scratch them when cleaning.

[slofox]

My Arai came with a pinlock insert as stock. Apart from not removing the protective film initially (doh...:facepalm:), it has worked like a dream for the last two years without ever causing a problem.

Any gap can be fixed by rotating the pins in the visor - they are eccentric and a small adjustment helps achieve correct seal between pinlock and visor. I would assume this is standard even on after market fittings.

If any water gets between visor and insert, remove the insert and let the whole kaboodle dry out for 24 hours in a nice sunny spot. I do this if I have to wash any part of the assembly. Works for me.

Wouldn't even consider not having one.

[NZsarge]

My Arai came with a pinlock insert as stock. Apart from not removing the protective film initially (doh...:facepalm:), it has worked like a dream for the last two years without ever causing a problem.

Any gap can be fixed by rotating the pins in the visor - they are eccentric and a small adjustment helps achieve correct seal between pinlock and visor. I would assume this is standard even on after market fittings.

Wouldn't even consider not having one.
+1, you beat me too it over the explanation of the eccentric cams.

[banditrider]

My Arai came with a pinlock insert as stock. Apart from not removing the protective film initially (doh...:facepalm:), it has worked like a dream for the last two years without ever causing a problem.

Any gap can be fixed by rotating the pins in the visor - they are eccentric and a small adjustment helps achieve correct seal between pinlock and visor. I would assume this is standard even on after market fittings.

If any water gets between visor and insert, remove the insert and let the whole kaboodle dry out for 24 hours in a nice sunny spot. I do this if I have to wash any part of the assembly. Works for me.

Wouldn't even consider not having one.

Mine looks fine - I rotated the pins correctly when installing. Maybe there is an imperfection on one of the edges...

[awa355]

Will check out the eccentric cams tomorrow. I did read in the instructions that to be effective, the visor should be closed completely, not opened slightly as I usually have done.

[Laava]

My Arai came with a pinlock insert as stock. Apart from not removing the protective film initially (doh...:facepalm:), it has worked like a dream for the last two years without ever causing a problem.

Any gap can be fixed by rotating the pins in the visor - they are eccentric and a small adjustment helps achieve correct seal between pinlock and visor. I would assume this is standard even on after market fittings.

If any water gets between visor and insert, remove the insert and let the whole kaboodle dry out for 24 hours in a nice sunny spot. I do this if I have to wash any part of the assembly. Works for me.

Wouldn't even consider not having one.

+3 I have had fiddly set up probs with the eccentric cams slowly turning around but at that point I just remove it and clean it. With hot water and a tissue only.
I would never ride without it now if there was going to be fog or rain. I mean, it is permanently on but on sunny days I have a tint visor with no pinlock. Best money you could spend IMO
With the helmet off and visor down, there should be contact all the way around the gasket sealing bead. Very easily checked with fingers in the helmet.

[Gremlin]

I had problems with a previous insert, but the visor didn't come with the holes pre-drilled. Don't know if yours was. It's really important that the holes are in the correct place, and it should be a bit tricky to get the insert off the visor. A less than perfect seal will definitely cause issues.

No problems with the visors pre-drilled, and yes, you can see the lines in your vision, but the pinlock is somewhat of a generic size.

[NZsarge]

Mine looks fine - I rotated the pins correctly when installing. Maybe there is an imperfection on one of the edges...

Yeah you might have got a dud, expensive dud though...

[cs363]

My Arai came with a pinlock insert as stock. Apart from not removing the protective film initially (doh...:facepalm:), it has worked like a dream for the last two years without ever causing a problem.

Any gap can be fixed by rotating the pins in the visor - they are eccentric and a small adjustment helps achieve correct seal between pinlock and visor. I would assume this is standard even on after market fittings.

If any water gets between visor and insert, remove the insert and let the whole kaboodle dry out for 24 hours in a nice sunny spot. I do this if I have to wash any part of the assembly. Works for me.

Wouldn't even consider not having one.

Likewise here - I've got two Arai's both with OEM pinlocks fitted to both clear and smoke visors (so 4 pinlocks all up) and have never had an issue with them, certainly wouldn't consider using a helmet without one fitted now.
Also, I'll add my vote to the comments regarding the pin positioning - the only times I've ever seen anyone have issues with the pinlocks it was down to either badly adjusted pins or wrongly drilled visor for the aftermarket ones.

[Scouse]

Bought a top of the line ( HJC range) helmet 3 months ago. your first line is a contradiction there is no such thing as a top of the line HJC helmet they are all cheap as chips

[awa355]

I had problems with a previous insert, but the visor didn't come with the holes pre-drilled. Don't know if yours was. It's really important that the holes are in the correct place, and it should be a bit tricky to get the insert off the visor. A less than perfect seal will definitely cause issues.

No problems with the visors pre-drilled, and yes, you can see the lines in your vision, but the pinlock is somewhat of a generic size.

My HJC came with the visor drilled and the Pinlock was in the box as part of the total package,

[White trash]

your first line is a contradiction there is no such thing as a top of the line HJC helmet they are all cheap as chips

Elbowz Spies would have us believe otherwise.

[awa355]

your first line is a contradiction there is no such thing as a top of the line HJC helmet they are all cheap as chips

Ben Spies wears one, and apart from the wind noise being more than I'd like, its a brilliant helmet. At 1200gms, light, no buffeting at all, and a ventilation system that works, its the best helmet I've had. At $700. It's not a 'cheapie' in my book.

Just had a price for a HJC visor, $79.00 Pinlock insert- $79.50.

[Scouse]

Elbowz Spies would have us believe otherwise.and so would you if they offerd you a large amount of money to wear their helmets

[st00ji]

pinlock is win.

you get used to it in no time, i havent cracked my visor since i got it. its either all the way up if i want a breeze at the lights, or all the way down.