Visor up or down?

[peppy]

Just the other day a qualified instructor told me that you don't have to ride with your visor down if you don't feel like it: "There's no law against it, it's up to you".

Now, I had previously thought that it was mandatory to ride with some kind of protective shield between your eyes and the elements, whether it was a visor, or CE-approved spectacles / sunnies.

What is the situation?

[Zx6man]

no law with using it up or down, but you must keep it down if you wear non approved glasses or sunnies...that makes it an offence....I think

[McJamweasel]

As your instructor says - its up to you.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[carvell]

Up to you indeed.

I always lift my visor up if I am coming up to some traffic lights where I will have to stop, to get some air.

Riding through busy towns and filtering I always have it up too.
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Yamaha TDM 850

[T.C]

[Josh]

Anything over 20mph I will have it down, evil bugs just seem to aim for my eyes.
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04 Suzuki GSX-R 600 K4 - Sex on wheels :>
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[fazed]

Always have my visor down , bumblebees ain`t to nice when they get stuck in your lid.

[Frost]

You can legally ride an open face helmet. the only law on helmets is that you have to wear one, and that the strap has to be done up. otherwise its all up to you.

As its summer my visor stays closed. int he winter its open a notch.

[KevTM]

only thing i can add to this is that there's nothing worse than a dirty visor, and nothing better than a clean one

[Davo]

The only other thing i can add is if behind a construction lorry, keep that visor down. The tyres on those things will pick every little bit of dust, loose gravel etc...

[Peat]

I've never been advised visor up or down but what I have been told by my instructor is that if you have a flip front helmet (you know, the chin guard, visor and all flip up top) then it is illegal to ride with this open... kinda contradictory if it is legal to ride with a face open style helmet.
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Peat
"Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep."

[PsychoHippy]

[Peat]

[Kickstart]

[iCraig]

I had a Caberg J1 Plus and rode passed loads of police cars with the whole chainbar up!

Not one of them battered an eye lid.

[Peat]

Yep, I have the same helmet and do the same frequently but it's like most things of that nature, the police don't really care... (ever heard of anyone being fined £500 for riding their bike on the pavement? - but that's the law)
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Peat
"Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep."

[T.C]

The matter of flip up helmets being worn with chin bar up or down is a somewhat grey area of law at the moment, simply because some manufacturers submit the helmet for testing as an open faced (the chin bar is an add on) and some submit is as a full faced.

For example Shoei's helmet is approved as an open faced whilst the BMW system helmet is tested as a full face, although the area that protects the skull remains a constant, as someone rightly stated the rigidity of a flip up with the chin bar lifted is reduced.

So it really comes down to a common sense application, but there have not been any publicised prosecutions of this type for a long time simply because the courts are afraid of an unsafe conviction.
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[peppy]

The thing is, with a system / flip-front helmet, if you are riding with the chin bar up and you come off, you had better make sure you don't roll and catch the bar on the ground. Ouch!

[rs2_matrix]

my step-dad is a policeman and there is no law in having your visor

up, but if you get something into your eye, for example a fly or a

stone, then your in trouble. always have it down! (on the safe side)
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I have a RS2 Matrix, Greatest bike out!!!

[rs2_matrix]

my step-dad is a policeman and there is no law in having your visor

up, but if you get something into your eye, for example a fly or a

stone, then your in trouble. always have it down! (on the safe side)
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I have a RS2 Matrix, Greatest bike out!!!

[Mantzy]

There are times when having your visor down is not a good thing, for example it's steaming up. It's better to get a wet face than it is to not be able to see anything.

I wear contact lenses and tend to always close my lid if i'm going over about 30 as my eyes dry out and everything goes blurry. Plus, after looking at my visor today, its covered in bugs and i'd rather have them on the outside than turning up at a job application with greenfly wings sticking out between my teeth. Not a good first impression
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Current Bikes: 2010 Triumph Sprint ST 1050
Previous Bikes: 2002 Sachs XTC, 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R, 2004 GSX-R 600 K4, 2006 Yamaha XT660X

[Munday]

When riding through town or in traffic I tend to have my visor up but anything over about 15mph I put it down as it really kills when you get flies hit you in the face!
Its personal preference though, some people prefer riding with their visor down all the time, I don't usually mind because my helmet has vents so I can breathe ok.
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Bikes: Honda CBR250R | Honda ST70

[Marc_Buck]

I only put my visor down when i am doing about 40+, i don't like having my visor down as i feel more in control with it up as i feel the wind hear more and get a better sense of speed and movement. Anyone else think the same as me?

[TwoStrokePsyc...]

Dunno bout the law, but personally I like the wind in my face.
Prefer a full face after I saw a pic of a guy with his face taken off on the tar.

The other day I had a bee fly into my helmet at high speed.....nothings gonna make me ride with a open visor again I swear!

[Mantzy]