Seeing in the rain ???

[redwing]

Recently I got caught in the rain. I rode about 5 miles in a stiff rain over a very familair road. My visor got to wet to see through. I cracked open my visor about an inch then my glass got to wet to see through but that worked well for a ways. Stopped about a 600 feet from the house and removed my glasses (could still see the road.) Got home and did not lay it down. All is good. My front was wet... back dry?? Riding in the rain didn't seem to bad but how do you see in the rain??

Can a windshield of the proper height move the water over one's helmet?
I have a convertible and at 20 plus mph in a light rain the drops move in an arch over my head. I usually stay dry until the drops get big. Fog gets me wet.

How does one see in the rain?

A friend who has been riding several years said when the rain gets heavy all you can do is pull over and wait.

[ka5ysy]

Try waxing your shield with teflon based car wax. That will shed a lot of the water pretty well and not screw up seeing where you are going. It also makes removal of bug guts a lot easier !

One thing I sometime do is use Rain-X on mine. You need to test it on a small part of the side of the shield to be sure it does not screw up the plastic though. It is not really recommended for that, but I have been using it on my helmets for years. It sheds water quite well that way.

[AllanCook]

Five miles? I rode 200 miles in a driving rainstorm on the interstate one day. Your helmet has a lot to do with it. My Arai has good venting to let out the moist respiration. If I crack it open a little bit, that helps, too. At speed, if you just turn your head a little bit it will push the water off pretty effectively. The main problem, in my experience, is the dirt: You can't really wipe it off when you're moving, so it's a good idea to stop periodically and wipe off the visor. Those little squeege things on some gloves are practically useless.

[AncientMariner]

Try cleaning your face shield (and wind shield) with Pledge. It cleans off the bugs and grime and leaves your plastic looking crystal clear, and your bike will smell lemony fresh. Rain drops bead up and blow away.

Try to find a small can at a convenience store or rural general store. Keep it in your tank bag with a small rag.

My face shield is Arai and the windshield is BMW.

[NeilS]

+1 for Rain-X. Just turn your head and the water runs right off the shield.

I can't speak for all brands, but I've asked Shoei about this. They say they've tested Rain-X on their shields and do not see any problems.

[qgaex]

Use a Schuberth helmet with anti-fog visor.
Use Held "Raindrop" gloves with an actual little windshield-wiper rubber profile sewn to the left index finger.
Keep going all day.

Cheers

qgaex
+singingintherain+

[deilenberger]

I also have a Schuberth with the built-in anti-fog coating. The anti-fog coating tends to become marginally useful with age, it seems like the hydroscopic effect saturates more quickly, and it eventually starts to fog. That requires cracking open the shield to the city position (or even bottom up first-click if around town) - which then allows rain to start coming in, so you have rain on the outside and dribbles on the inside of the shield, and eventually dribbles on my glasses.

Despite all that - I can usually see enough to ride.

I've found faster is better at blowing the rain off the outside of the shield. And periodically using "Rejex" (an aircraft windshield coating) on the outside of the shield makes rain blow off even easier. FWIW - CeeBailey sells Rejex rebottled/labeled for use with their bike windshields (and they ship a bottle of it with the shield when you buy it - or at least they used to..)

I have spent more than one entire day riding in the rain, and after a bit - once you get the feel of the wet road vs dry, it becomes rather fun.. sort of a challenge to ride REALLY smoothly, and attentively (avoiding pavement flaws that may be extra-slippery and such.) I get into a zone doing it - and it's really not a problem.

[TT RDHS]

http://www.pinlockusa.com/index2.htm

Pin lock visors will NOT fog up. It's like a double pane window.
One of these and some "rain-x" on the outside. You'll be able to see through any storm...

If you have trouble finding these in the States, these folks are great and will ship anywhere.
http://www.thevisorshop.com/acatalog/Pr ... _1070.html

[deilenberger]

http://www.pinlockusa.com/index2.htm

Pin lock visors will NOT fog up. It's like a double pane window.
One of these and some "rain-x" on the outside. You'll be able to see through any storm...

If you have trouble finding these in the States, these folks are great and will ship anywhere.
http://www.thevisorshop.com/acatalog/Pr ... _1070.html

Had the Pinlock visors on a Nolan helmet (one of the first to come with a faceshield with the pinlock "pins" installed in it.)

They were functionally equivalent to the anti-fog coating on the Schuberth faceshield, not really a double-pane window scenario - although there are some snowmobile helmets/shields that use that idea - they have about 1/2" spacing between the two layers. Pinlock uses the same sort of hygroscopic coating that absorbs water vapor. I had the same sort of problem as the pinlock shields got old - they became less effective. FogCity used to be popular - and counted on a double-pane window scheme.. I found them to be close to useless in most cases and dangerous in others (increased glare and it still fogged up.) Guess that's why you no longer see them heavily advertised.

One thing I dislike about any inserts is the additional two surfaces between my eyes and the world. Made for increased glare at night and some fringing effects where the two layers got close together. Plus the fact that they don't cover the entire faceshield makes for some peripheral vision problems. Better than nothing - but not perfect.

I see where the new Schuberth C3 helmet has gone to a pinlock design. I can only hope the pinlock shields have improved since I last tried them (about 6-7 years ago at least.) I suspect the reason Schuberth went with another vendors anti-fog solution was they had QC problems with the coating on their shields. The early ones were wonderful. Later ones less so, and they replaced a few of the shields for me for free due to peeling of the coating.

Another scheme Schuberth tried was a heated face shield. It was available as an option for the first BMW "System" helmet, and was quite a rare accessory. It used fine heating wires embedded in between two layers of faceshield, that were bonded together (avoiding the two-additional surfaces problem.) I had one.. and used it for quite a few years. Good part - it absolutely eliminated fogging of the faceshield. Bad part - the heat distorted the shield in the area of the heating wires, giving sort of a Venetian blind effect.

Goes to show - YMMV.

[websterize]

I see where the new Schuberth C3 helmet has gone to a pinlock design. I can only hope the pinlock shields have improved since I last tried them (about 6-7 years ago at least.)

So far, so good with the C3 on several rainy commutes this summer — and no noticeable fogging or glare at night with the pinlock shield.

[TT RDHS]

http://www.thenorthwestrider.com/?p=867

The Pinlock lens solves this problem through the use of the same system that we have used in building construction for decades, double pane, or insulated glazing. In short, a clear (yellow shown in this illustration for clarity) lens is placed precisely inside the plastic visor of your helmet. The lens is made from a moisture absorbing plastic and is lined at the edges with a thin bead of silicon sealant. Pins on the visor hold the lens securely in place, forming an insulating layer of air between lens and visor. This keeps your warm, humid breath from coming into contact with the cold surface of the plastic visor. As a result, fog will no longer form, even on the coldest winter day.

For more reviews, click the "reviews" button at this site... http://www.pinlockusa.com/index2.htm

Repeatedly voted "Best in the World"

[snag]

The new System 6 helmet uses the pin lock double pane system. While I haven't been in rain yet with mine, on my last trip cold mountain mornings at 38 - 40F were no problem, fogging was non-existant.

Doug

[Tak]

Shoei also offers Pinlock versions of their faceshields. They work great. Riding at night in the city there is a little bit of halo effect around lights but I don't consider it a problem. On cold nights it is less annoying than the cold air (if cracked open for venting) or fogging up when closed.

Honda Gloss (made for plastic) on the outside works well for beading up the water and helping it slide off.

[The Meromorph]

The best for beading up and losing the rain on the outside of the shield is Rain[Coat], made by the same people as make FogTech, it comes in little sachets good for four or five applications, and usually lasts a couple of weeks per application.
What all the other polishes do quite well, it does superbly and durably.
Most bike stores sell it (Cycle Gear certainly does) and it should be $1 a sachet.

[ShinySideUp]

Thanks for turning me on to Rain Coat. I've used Rejex, Rain-X and Pledge. All work pretty much the same and fairly well in my experience. Have you had a chance to compare Rain Coat to any of these?

Thnx,
Bill

[Lost Rider]

Pull over and wait? Does your buddy ride a Harley or something?

+1 Shoei Pinlock.

It is THE ONLY system I have found to be 100% fog free in every condition imaginable.
I've been through quite a few face shields and I've found that installing a brand new insert to a brand new shield is the way to go, never removing the insert... the insert seems to scratch much easier while cleaning than the shield so I don't separate them at all - the Shoei is sealed so dust doesn't get in there. I have seen other brands pinlock system not do so well - they are all not the same...
Faceshields, seats, wind screens... all very subjective - I am blessed with exceptional vision so any reflections or other cons about the pinlock is far outweighed by the fact that it just works. For me.



BTW, I just finished a long ride with my BMW touring screen that is really quite small compared to my Z screen that I've had on for most of my long miles.... I probably rode 700-800 miles in rain in the last few weeks, some very heavy, and some hail on this trip and I found that having less protection ( more air flow) actually helped quite a bit in keeping my shield clean and visibility excellent even in the heaviest of cold rain ...
A bigger screen might not be the answer, even if you can live with how it looks.

My 2¢

[The Meromorph]

Thanks for turning me on to Rain Coat. I've used Rejex, Rain-X and Pledge. All work pretty much the same and fairly well in my experience. Have you had a chance to compare Rain Coat to any of these?

Thnx,
Bill

Yes, I used Lemon Pledge, or specific plastic polishes, before discovering Rain[Coat] and found the Rain[Coat] dramatically better. RainX may damage the coatings on some visors, and the Rain[Coat] lasts longer anyway.

I found the Rain[Coat} after a freshly polished visor went nearly opaque from tiny water drops in very light rain. The ride back, was trouble free, in the same rain.

[redwing]

To many to list ... so to One and All....Thanks
Lots of good information on fogging and rain. I didn't realize I had a fog problem until the subject was mentioned.

And yeah, my friend has a Harley. And in fairness I think he he actually said 'in high winds and driving rain he pulls over' good advice.

Robert