Anybody else have constant issues with Pinlock?

[c_dug]

I've had maybe six or seven different helmets with Pinlock across four manufacturers in the last ten years, and without fail they have all ended up shaking around, scuffing themselves and/or the visor, and steaming up on the inside.

The obvious thing is to say I'm fitting them wrong or maintaining them wrong, but I've actually been to bike shops and had them fitted from brand new on more than one occasion, and followed countless guides to cleaning and adjusting.

Without fail they end up loose and shaking around.

On my last visor I took to running a thin line of tape around the outside of the Pinlock which was excellent, but I don't see anybody else having to do the same? And in any case there was already damage by the time I thought to do this.

I've just bought a new visor and pinlock and this time I'm tempted to run a very thin bead of silicone sealant around the join.

Curious on if anybody else has these issues, or any suggestions?
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[kgm]

Yep, every single one. Interestingly my Shoei Neotec 2 was the worst.

You can adjust them by rotating the pins but I find it hard to get a perfect seal.

It's fine most of the time but in really bad weather, particularly in the winter they do steam up a bit.

They also end up covered in microscratches really easy.

I've yet to find a better alternative though.

[Weisse Schlange]

Nope, been using them for 10 yrs or so and never had a single issue.

Mostly Schuberth.
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Hing Oan

[MCN]

Nope, never, ever.

The pins have a cam on them.

If the insert is loose, pop the pins out.
Insert in the holes so the offset of the cams are facing in.
Insert the insert.

Be careful when handling the insert as the inside surface coating is easily damaged.

https://pinlock.com/support/
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[FretGrinder]

I've had success with flexing the visor flat so that the pinlock can reseat itself after rotating the cams.

It seems to get a better seal once flat and allowed to return to it's natural shape.
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Yamaha MT-09

ಠ_ಠ

[Easy-X]

I like to think of it as visor double-glazing. And much the same as the glass equivalent once the seal is broken the damp gets in and it starts fogging up.

I can only think that either the inside surface of the visor wasn't 100% clean when applied and/or it's not been fitted correctly. It should not be able to move at all.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[MarJay]

I got a pinlock visor with my Shoei about a year and a half ago and I've never had a problem with it.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Fat Angry Scotsman]

I got a pin lock visor for my Scorpion EXO 410 which is a alright helmet for £110. Pin lock cost me £25 online and I got it myself. I think it’s fantastic to be honest.
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PRESENT: 2018 BMW S1000XR SE Sport.
PAST: 2009 Kawasaki ER-6F. 2021 Zontes ZT-125U.

[tom_e]

Nope no problem here across multiple helmets/manufacturers.

[Copycat73]

[MCN]

[Copycat73]

[c_dug]

[stinkwheel]

Yes. Every time.

They also fog up. I find they produce marginally better vision during daylight but cause so much flare and starburst at night from oncoming headlights that I'm better without them.

Useless waste of money. Emperors new clothes. People can't believe they spent £20 on a piece of plastic and convince themselves it was a good idea.

EDIT: All the disciples will try to tell you you are using it incorrectly. Last one I had on my Arai was supplied by an arai specialist in York, already fitted to a new visor because I told them there was no way I was putting a screwdriver anywhere near an new £45 visor.

It became the worlds most expensive tear-off before Scotch Corner because I was doing 100mph on a dark motorway and couldn't see where the fuck I was going.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[kgm]

[Pigeon]

3 helmets and 4 pinlocks, about 80k miles. Fit Pinlock day1 and leave it in there.

The only one that steamed was the one I removed and cleaned a couple of times. Damaged the seal, but not surprising that it fogged after that.

Shoei Qwest
Shark Speed R
Spada .....something. MotoX lid.

[stinkwheel]

[MarJay]

[stinkwheel]

They make double-glazed visors with electrical heating elements in them in the US for use in snowmobiles. They just don't let enough light through for UK regs.

You can retrofit them to HJC lids.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[MarJay]

[stinkwheel]

AYe, thing is, as pinlocks demonstrate, the coatings only work up to a point. That point being when you really need it to work. If the inside of your helmet reaches dew point, a coating is going to do fuck-all.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[MCN]

Im a disciple

I used Fag-City years ago but they were a bit of DIY to fit and pernickety AF to align properly.
If you got it wrong then it was a new visor and a new insert that was required as they use/d some strong AF adhesive to stop it coming off and to maintain the air tight seal. Same principle as Pinlock.
Double Glazing.

The issue I have, that is the only criticism I can honestly level at a Pinlock insert, is that they can only deal with so much humidity and cold.

They are trying to defy the laws of fizix.

The water in humid air will condense on cold surfaces
In winter on those minging wet cold days the atmospheric conditions probably overwhelm the device.
The coating is a moisture absorber.
If it's already loaded with moisture then fitted to a visor then any air that is trapped plus the absorbed air will freeze or fog.

Winter riding and some summer riding in rain is difficult and systems are just not available that can cope with 100% of the problems.

There's device around called Precipitation Friend or something like that. Think it's crowd funded.
It's probably shite too.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Kentol750]

The benefits of pinlock or similar far outweigh its cost. It's not perfect and needs a little adjustment sometimes. I have never used anything better and at night, in the rain, scratches on the visor can really make riding uncomfortable.

As for neotec 2 over neotec, never had serious problems with either, 2 was better. Use a Simpson carbon flip now. Much lighter and with pinlock it's excellent.
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Some bikes.

[DJP]

The factory fit one on my Nolan is great but the retro fit ones I've had have been a bit iffy.
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Suzuki Bandit 1250
https://deejayp999.atwebpages.com/index.html
That's http not https

[BRUN]

their are 3 different levels of pinlock iirc

if its the lowest one your using it will be better than nothing but not as good as the higher level ones

my helmet only takes the basic one, and its not perfect but it is definitely better than without