seeing in the rain!

[pencil shavings]

ive always wondered how other bikers deal with heavyish prolonged rain, to the point where rain on the visor actualy restricts your view?
At slower speeds I just use my left hand to wipe my visor. When im going along with a bit of speed I find that if I tilt my head slightly to the right or left the wind blast will blow the rain off the visor and I dont need to use my hand.

anyone have any better/different methods?

[Beenz]

Thats what I do as well.

[yorkie_chris]

About the same, that or at a stop open and close the visor a few times, the ratchet tends to flick the drops off.

[gettin2dizzy]

Ride faster!

You can get anti-rain sprays on the visors which are meant to help

[tricky]

Eat more carrots ?

I'll get me coat........

[Alpinestarhero]

ive always wondered how other bikers deal with heavyish prolonged rain, to the point where rain on the visor actualy restricts your view?
At slower speeds I just use my left hand to wipe my visor. When im going along with a bit of speed I find that if I tilt my head slightly to the right or left the wind blast will blow the rain off the visor and I dont need to use my hand.

anyone have any better/different methods?

At the moment, I am doing a project for my final year at uni looking into making the visor more water repellant. I have an experiment coming up (getting the stuff ordered to do it) which might well work, although the materials involed (fluoroalkylsilanes) could make the method expensive. We'll see though how it pans out. My research has been inspired by not bieng able to see when I am riding in the wet weather.

I'll keep the .org posted :D

Matt

[pencil shavings]

Eat more carrots ?

I'll get me coat........

didnt say anything about the dark, only the rain :rolleyes: :smt056

[pencil shavings]

At the moment, I am doing a project for my final year at uni looking into making the visor more water repellant. I have an experiment coming up (getting the stuff ordered to do it) which might well work, although the materials involed (fluoroalkylsilanes) could make the method expensive. We'll see though how it pans out. My research has been inspired by not bieng able to see when I am riding in the wet weather.

I'll keep the .org posted :D

Matt

sounds like a good idea, I think there would definatly be a market for anti rain products!

[Dicky Ticker]

I use silicone spray on a clean visor,let it dry and then polish up.Not 100% but def better than nothing at all as it needs less wind force to shift the spray. If you have a faired bike put your head directly in the airstream off the screen and with the silicone spray it clears immediately

[Alpinestarhero]

sounds like a good idea, I think there would definatly be a market for anti rain products!

Dicky ticker hit on a very good point; the silicone stuff (based on polysiloxanes) is a great water-repellant material, problem is it collects dirt and other crap, and is not permanent - I'm aiming to try and make a permanent coating, much like the hard / anti-scratch coating thats already present on the visor surface (this is commonly a silica-based coating).

The effect should be the same, the water will not adhere to the surface as strongly, and the water should run off easily :D There probably is a market, and to be honest I dont know why there isnt already such things avaliable; its possibly due to the coating not being hard enough and prone to scratches, but I'll have to investigate that at a later stage.

Matt

[thor]

Dicky ticker hit on a very good point; the silicone stuff (based on polysiloxanes) is a great water-repellant material, problem is it collects dirt and other crap, and is not permanent - I'm aiming to try and make a permanent coating, much like the hard / anti-scratch coating thats already present on the visor surface (this is commonly a silica-based coating).

The effect should be the same, the water will not adhere to the surface as strongly, and the water should run off easily :D There probably is a market, and to be honest I dont know why there isnt already such things avaliable; its possibly due to the coating not being hard enough and prone to scratches, but I'll have to investigate that at a later stage.

Matt

Solution - tear offs :D

[Alpinestarhero]

How do you mean thor?

Matt

[Dicky Ticker]

There is a product on the market that is suitable for glass.used on the bridge windows of liners like the QE2.I have used it on truck and car windscreens plus headlamps but due to it being a several application of different chemicals it is totally unsuited to plastic visors
You end up with a milky residue ingrained into the visor
On a glass surface it lasts for 6-9months and seems to repel dirt,salt,water etc. but it is very expensive

[thor]

Plastic tear offs like racers have. When they get scratched, you tear off the top layer to reveal a fresh layer below. You can get visors with tear off posts for most major helmet types.

[Blue_SV650S]

Plastic tear offs like racers have. When they get scratched, you tear off the top layer to reveal a fresh layer below. You can get visors with tear off posts for most major helmet types.

Unfortunately unless you seal them (tape on the top?), you end up with water running between tear offs ... you can't see jack ... not good!!!

I use a little windscreen wiper type blade that you slide over your glove (HG do them). A finger wipe with a glove smears the muck, a little finger wiper acts just like a windscreen wiper on a car ... simple extremely effective ... although seen them before, only got my first one about 2 years ago ... dunnno how I survived so long without!! :thumbsup:

[SVeeedy Gonzales]

I use a little windscreen wiper type blade that you slide over your glove (HG do them). A finger wipe with a glove smears the muck, a little finger wiper acts just like a windscreen wiper on a car ... simple extremely effective ... although seen them before, only got my first one about 2 years ago ... dunnno how I survived so long without!! :thumbsup:

+1

It's also called a v-wipe and you'll find them in lots of bike shops. A lot of winter gloves (even the cheaper ones) have them built in too. You'll be amazed how well they work - completely clear the rain and any muck without scratching in one wipe. I used to clean the visor every week and since getting one of these I maybe clean the visor a few times a year.

[Mogs]

I keep a black cloth (old T shirt) in the little gap between the screen and the fairing panel, it's ideal for cleaning when stopped at lights etc.

[BristolMatt]

+1 for the v-wipe. Fantastic little thing - until i lost it :(

[Grinch]

V-wipe is great, as I have said many times before. The only thing you might find is that the finger the wipe is on may get colder then the others as the circulation of air around it is restricted a bit.

[northwind]

I can't remember the name of the stuff I use, but it's ace :rolleyes: Every time I get close to remembering the name all I can think of is Nitromors. I'll see if I can find the bottle. The water just slides straight off instantly. It does need to be reapplied quite often though.

[Blue_SV650S]

V-wipe is great, as I have said many times before. The only thing you might find is that the finger the wipe is on may get colder then the others as the circulation of air around it is restricted a bit.

That might be the case if you have fatboy winter gloves, but I wear Kangaroo leather summer/race gloves (v-thin) ... its like sliding a bamboo cane in a tunnel when I put mine on my finger ... I actually have a slight V-Wipe 'rotation' problem ...

[Fizzy Fish]

i find that water tends to roll off better if the visor's clean.

have tried Rain-X but don't really like it much. It kinda works but seems to make the water clump together more into bigger drops, which just annoys me!

At the moment, I am doing a project for my final year at uni looking into making the visor more water repellant.

sounds good! :thumbsup:

[chazzyb]

Water on the outside I can deal with; it's when rain gets onto the inside of the visor I find it a real problem!

[pencil shavings]

Water on the outside I can deal with; it's when rain gets onto the inside of the visor I find it a real problem!

+1

can anyone give me tips on dealing with that??

[Fizzy Fish]

+1

can anyone give me tips on dealing with that??

close your visor? ;)

[pencil shavings]

close your visor? ;)

:D :notworthy:

that is truly sound advice!! :thumbsup:

but some times when its cold and raining and ive stoped at lights my visor gets foggy so I open it.....

[Ratty46]

i had a thread running on this on LondonBikers, teh best solution was a v-wipe, or funrtniture polish! havent tried it yet but apprently it works!, mr sheene is best i think?

[northwind]

can anyone give me tips on dealing with that??

I think you've got your helmet on inside out.

[northwind]

Nikwax Visor Proof is what I use. It's very good IMO, but doesn't last as long as I'd like.

[Draper]

so polish would be safe to use on a visor?

i'm travelling back to the other side of the welsh border on friday, and the day is apparantly going to hold a nice 7 hours of rain for me. Wouldn't mind a good home remedy, as i wont have chance to get any products between then and now

also could do with some plastic overalls for my leathers, but if it rains i'll just have to get soaked and cold

[Alpinestarhero]

Plastic tear offs like racers have. When they get scratched, you tear off the top layer to reveal a fresh layer below. You can get visors with tear off posts for most major helmet types.

Thats a good idea, we could coat the surface with a water repellant layer. Best of both worlds; water repellant, and also you can replenish it with a new, clean layer

I'll keep that idea in mind. Are the tear-offs polycarbonate? I would think they are not?

Matt

[pencil shavings]

I think you've got your helmet on inside out.

:D8)

[harvy]

I tried car body polish on the visor on my lid ( rubbed it in on sunday) and went for a ride in the wet today... didnt keep the water off but certainly made it easier to wipe clean with glove, and as stated above much quicker to clean by turning your head!

BTW i used Mei "Autocrem" - also polished up the bike with it... nice and shiny now :D

[therealvw]

There is a type of car wax that is safe for helmets and other plasticky items, Zymol.

I used that. Poolish it off really well and the water beads well enough that the wind makes the water run off fairly well.

[walkaboutandy]

I recently found out that if I tucked behind my screen with my chest on the tank that raindrops quickly bead off straight down. It might be just an aerodynamic feature of my Fabbri DB though.

[Beenz]

i find that water tends to roll off better if the visor's clean.

have tried Rain-X but don't really like it much. It kinda works but seems to make the water clump together more into bigger drops, which just annoys me!



sounds good! :thumbsup:

Yup, I tried Rain-X as well, found my view even worse, wiping the visor always left lots of litlle droplets that I could not expell. Oddly I don't use it anymore.

[Ratty46]

so polish would be safe to use on a visor?

i'm travelling back to the other side of the welsh border on friday, and the day is apparantly going to hold a nice 7 hours of rain for me. Wouldn't mind a good home remedy, as i wont have chance to get any products between then and now

also could do with some plastic overalls for my leathers, but if it rains i'll just have to get soaked and cold

so i'm told yeah, it stops the rain drops beading up? there is one some polish of some sort that you shouldnt use on a visor, it weakens it, it a halfords one, i have to have a look back on teh thread on LB

[northwind]

Lots of polishes are slightly abrasive too. Has anyone used that stuff that they're always demonstrating at bike shows, with the steam and the mirror and that?

[Alpinestarhero]

Have to be carefull with some stuff, as if it is absorbed into the anti-scratch layer and makes its way through to the polycarbonate it can attack it and ruin your visor. Rain-X isnt reccomended for motorcycle visors (and use on any plastic) for similar reasons, its intended for glass (i.e. silica based material)

Matt

[themenz]

At the moment, I am doing a project for my final year at uni looking into making the visor more water repellant. I have an experiment coming up (getting the stuff ordered to do it) which might well work, although the materials involed (fluoroalkylsilanes) could make the method expensive. We'll see though how it pans out. My research has been inspired by not bieng able to see when I am riding in the wet weather.

I'll keep the .org posted :D

Matt

I have a great interest in solving this problem.

[themenz]

Nikwax Visor Proof is what I use. It's very good IMO, but doesn't last as long as I'd like.


I am curious about your experience with the Nikwax.

How long does it last in a good downpour? What type of shield are you using it on? Does it go on crystal clear or does it take a lot of rubbing?

[northwind]

It takes a little rubbing, but I can do both my visors in about 5 minutes. It lasts a while, obviously not as long in really heavy rain, I couldn't really say how long for though, I've never really kept a close eye on it. I probably do the visors once a month or so, but really I should do it more often, by the time I redo it, if it's been a wet month it's pretty much stopped working.

[themenz]

It takes a little rubbing, but I can do both my visors in about 5 minutes. It lasts a while, obviously not as long in really heavy rain, I couldn't really say how long for though, I've never really kept a close eye on it. I probably do the visors once a month or so, but really I should do it more often, by the time I redo it, if it's been a wet month it's pretty much stopped working.

Interesting! What type of helmet do you have?

I am going to send you a PM about this, too.

[Warren]

bolts anti fog and rain spray from halfords for me.
ive tried a few other anti fog sprays, and anti rain sprays, but none much good.

bee's wax was very good, but it collects alot of dirt, and just makes it stick.
furnature polish wasnt bad, but the holts (or bolts) stuff i got is the best so far.

one can has lasted me 2 years so far, and its only a fiver for a big aerosol can full of it.

[El Saxo]

It takes a little rubbing, but I can do both my visors in about 5 minutes. It lasts a while, obviously not as long in really heavy rain, I couldn't really say how long for though, I've never really kept a close eye on it. I probably do the visors once a month or so, but really I should do it more often, by the time I redo it, if it's been a wet month it's pretty much stopped working.

I use the nikwax stuff too Northy, works a treat IMO. Like you say it doesn't last that long though. I applied it to my visor before going touring for 10 days & it needed re-applying before the end of the trip. Mind you, I've had the same bottle for about 2 years now & still got some left. I suppose it depends how much mileage you do in the rain! :lol:

[gettin2dizzy]

The pink stick northw? I bought one a while ago... I'm sure it's a magic cloth that does it...

[pmapp]

The pink stick northw? I bought one a while ago... I'm sure it's a magic cloth that does it...

+1

Bought some at the NEC last week. Tried it out at the weekend. It's a pain to get on without smearing (gotta get the stick warm), and as soon as I was out, things started misting up and rain didn't really make any effort to leave the visor.

Smells nice though :smt051

[Jay1]

Always impresses me how good they can make things look at shows or on telly only for them to turn out utter ****e in real life. I was tempted by the pink stick at the NEC but the little voice inside my head saying it would rubbish and was just a clever sales gimick won for a change.

[Swiss]

I use the Pink Stick and I have to say I've found it to be very effective. I think the type of cloth may make a difference, try using a lint free cloth and re-apply. Also apply the stick to the cloth and not the visor, you'll get a much more even covering. I use it on both the inner and outer sides of the visor, I find it helps with the beading of water and keeping the visor fog free. I can't say it's 100% but it does make a noticable improvement. O, and one other thing, give the visor a good clean before application.