Pinlock problem

[Salish1300]

So I wear a full face helmet and need a pinlock most of the year due to our rainy and cool climate. I had one setup that never gave me problems. I replaced the shield, and reused the pin lock, and now the pin lock won't stay stuck. It has a gap and so that part of the shield fogs up. And the strange part is that it seems the pin lock does not want to conform to the shape of the shield exactly. Yes, the pin lock is otherwise installed correctly.

So do pin locks wear out? They seem to just be silicone and so just held on by the curved force of the shape. So why would that not stay in place now?

Does the fact that I often ride with the shield up at slow and medium speeds have anything to do with it?

Curious and appreciate your ideas.

 

[mcatrophy]

Check whether the pins are offset so that rotating them alters the distance between them. If so, you should find that will squeeze the inner layer to the visor.

 

[Biquer]

In my experience, when they won't reseal they're done. I've re-seated them, cleaned them and re-positioned them with no luck. The seal may be hardening with age or UV exposure?

 

[lnewlf]

I take mine off and flatten them out under a book of something similar. It seems that when they set a curve they don't seal as well. After a week under a book they get flat again..

 

[SCOTTIE]

Check whether the pins are offset so that rotating them alters the distance between them. If so, you should find that will squeeze the inner layer to the visor.

I had the same issue as you with my Shoei X11 and this is what the problem was. Twisted the pins and it fixed everything.

 

[Eric L]

try to adjust the pins - they arent symmetrical.

 

[Warpdrv]

Which helmet ?!?!

I got the Shoei Air Gt, pin lock worked great for quite some time. I pulled the shield to clean and reinstalled the pinlock shield - bottom was loose and open, pulled the pin lock again and seated it a bit higher up which sealed up the bottom. Your also supposed to use a small socket on the pin lock screws to adjust it.

One other thing - I thought for the longest time that I was having fogging issues with the pin lock screen and it turned out to be the drop down tinted inner shield was what was fogging up on me, just didn't think about it at the time....

 

[Salish1300]

Great ideas. But what pins are adjustable? My helmet is a HJC17. The visor has pins but I think they are built into the visor as knobs. Don't move at all. The pin lock has places you can engage the pins. Maybe that is what you are saying. Engage the pin lock on different slots?

 

[wheatonFJR]

Great ideas. But what pins are adjustable? My helmet is a HJC17. The visor has pins but I think they are built into the visor as knobs. Don't move at all. The pin lock has places you can engage the pins. Maybe that is what you are saying. Engage the pin lock on different slots?

I thought the pinlock pins were cammed, so you could tighten the visor insert.

 

[Salish1300]

Yes, that may do it. I've pulled my visor off and the pin lock off and see that I had engaged the pin lock on the pins in a symmetrical way. Silly me

. On one side I've engaged it on the top most or farthest notch. On the other side I engaged it on a smaller, little notch that is further out. When I put the pin lock on now it is quite tight to the visor and took some work to get it to lay flat. Seems well stuck!

Thanks folks, I wouldn't have looked at that since why would you design something to go on asymmetrically? Will see if this works, or if other folks here are correct that it is simply done and too old. I think I will be in the market for a new helmet this fall anyway, but this isn't a new helmet thread!

 

[Punkinhead]

I'm curious since my new GT-Air is the first time I've had a pinlock. Do you leave it on all the time or is there any particular reason to remove it when the temp/humidity is such that it's not needed?

 

[wheatonFJR]

I would remove the shield and the insert when not in use to keep the springiness in the insert longer...and thus a better seal.

 

[Salish1300]

I've left both on all year because I live in the NW and though our summers are the best, they are still cool and damp in the morning.

And I rode today after my earlier post and all was well with the visor and pinlock.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I'm curious since my new GT-Air is the first time I've had a pinlock. Do you leave it on all the time or is there any particular reason to remove it when the temp/humidity is such that it's not needed?

I'm running a Pinlock in the my Multitec year around, too much fogging even in summer in the PNW. Depending on the situation, I have light & dark gray, yellow and clear. Never leave home without them!

--G

 

[Goodman4]

I've never taken mine off, except when I had to replace it because it stopped being as effective. So that may make Wheaton's advice the better choice.

 

[paramonkreel]

My second one didn't go in well. I had to pull it and set it artifically high to get the bottom to seal, I also had the wrong slots on the pinlock. It's fidgety....

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I used to take mine off. But not any more. Cool mornings mean leaving it in much of the year, and I haven't experienced any problems from running it year round of pretty much daily riding.

 

[smithpa68]

Look at the silicone bead carefully. I found when mine started fogging it had flattened out in one area. I use a Shoei Neotec. Oddly, it really only happened a lot when it was cold out. Say under 40 degrees. It happened very quickly under 32 degrees. It rarely fogs now with warmer temps. I bought a spare for when it starts happening again.

I also leave it in all the time. Not sure if that contributes or not. My theory is that flipping up the faceshield on the Neotec makes it twist and flex a bit. I think that is the cause of the flat spot on the seal in on specific spot only. Just a theory though.

 

[tbonesullivan]

There have been different versions of the pinlock pins. I have a CL-16 helmet, and with the original visor had circular symmetrical pins. The tinted visor I got for it 2 years later had square pins that were not symmetrical.