RF1200 Pinlock at Night?

[Kneedragger55]

Quick and easy....

Do you wear your pinlock at night in "city-type" riding? Meaning, good amounts of exterior lighting including on-coming traffic? Do you leave it in all the time? Take it out during summer? Always interchanging it? Does anyone RACE with a pinlock? Super curious. Not sure if a poll or "vote" feature is available here, but I know a lot of you wear and recommend Shoei's, including the RF1200.

I purchased one last year and have been generally pleased, BUT...I'll be honest...THE PINLOCK IS ANNOYING!!!! Most of you swear by this system, and I just do not see why. Yes it's anti-fog, that's about it. I find that the distortion is pretty bad, optical clarity fairly low, and riding with lights at night (especially on-coming traffic) is horrible. I expected a lot more. My Shark RSR2 is over 10 years old, with WAY BETTER clarity and significantly less glare. I just fail to see how the pinnacle of anti-fog technology is buttoning ANOTHER SHIELD onto the inside of my already existing shield. Companies (or maybe singular) like Shark have managed to produce anti-fog shields for a DECADE without this system. Yet our "golden standard" Shoei's can't cope. Rant over...not extremely impressed with the pinlock, but curious to see what other's patterns are. I'm not buying another helmet anytime soon, but I think the pinlock is coming out until the fog bothers me.

 

[Viper Pilot]

I keep mine attached all the time but the issues you pointed out are definitely true. Perhaps if I did a lot of night riding I would remove it however, I also have the 'auto darkening' face shield on my FR1200 and I leave that with the PINLOCK attached on all the time cause that's one of the reasons I got that type of face shield . I don't like to carry multiple face shields and be changing them out all the time. Guess I'm just lazy in that way. But yes, the PINLOCK works pretty good to minimize fogging but isn't good at night. Then again it does nothing to prevent my glasses from fogging so I'm really blind! LOL

 

[Kneedragger55]

Good to know I'm not alone. I've edited to add a poll, interested to see results.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Mine's been in since I got it 7,500 miles ago, with only a few minutes removed last month to clean the "inside" surfaces. Almost all my riding is urban, and a lot of that at night -- with no glare from headlights, street lights, or lights on streetside buildings.

Are you certain there are no contaminants caught between the pinlock and the helmet visor?

 

[BkerChuck]

I install my pinlock in the Fall when it starts getting cooler out and leave it in until Spring when it starts staying warm.I ride nearly every day and in the mornings when I leave for work it's still dark out so I agree somewhat about oncoming lights. It's even worse when it's raining but admittedly the manufacturer tells us not to use them in the rain. I find it to be only a moderate annoyance but worth it to not deal with fogging.

YMMV

 

[eflyguy]

I generally ride with my visor open, so that probably skews my response. Shades during the day, amber "safety glasses" at night..

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

I have started riding to work again now that the snow is gone. This morning was -1c and the entire visor around the pinlock (including the internal sun shield which supposedly has a non-fog coating applied from the factory) was completely fogged up on my C3Pro - but the pinlock was clear. Great item and I have them installed in all my helmets. I never remove them.

 

[Kaelaria]

Sounds like yours has some damage. Mine is crystal clear, I clean it with warm water and Plexus. I never even notice it's there.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I always use a pinlock. For whatever reason, my current MultiTec is the worst helmet I've ever had for fogging the shield. Agreed it's not the best in nighttime / low-light and raining conditions but for me, it's better than the alternative.

--G

 

[Kneedragger55]

Nice. Keep them coming, it looks like most people leave there's in regardless of conditions, which is what I figured.

I may venture into some race forums and see what guys use for morning races, etc where there's chance of fogging. I can't see anyone really wanting to race with a pinlock. When you're at the critical point for vision, feet turn to inches, and that distortion and glare is not acceptable. I imagine the helmets that don't have a cutout for the pinlock are even worse because then you have an offset between the shield and pinlock that isn't compensated for.

Mine's been in since I got it 7,500 miles ago, with only a few minutes removed last month to clean the "inside" surfaces. Almost all my riding is urban, and a lot of that at night -- with no glare from headlights, street lights, or lights on streetside buildings.
Are you certain there are no contaminants caught between the pinlock and the helmet visor?

To answer, no mine is not damaged nor does it have anything under it. It's brand new and I cleaned it very well prior to install. Others here have similar impressions in those scenarios so I'm sure it's the design. I think it's pretty obvious, as soon as you start layering thick pieces of CURVED plastic on top of one another, you're going to get distortion and glare. More surfaces for light to reflect, different thicknesses and materials mean different absorbance and light in different directions. Next thing you know a decent design turns to a kaleidoscope. Even the shield alone is not the best in optical quality, there is quite a bit more distortion than with the F1 shields I've used in the past. I get a HUGE band of glare from my forehead even during day time riding, and my head isn't as big as you'd think

I have started riding to work again now that the snow is gone. This morning was -1c and the entire visor around the pinlock (including the internal sun shield which supposedly has a non-fog coating applied from the factory) was completely fogged up on my C3Pro - but the pinlock was clear. Great item and I have them installed in all my helmets. I never remove them.

That's awesome you ride in 30F. I imagine 95% of folks who wear these helmets never ride in those conditions. It's 70F here!

 

[SmashVol]

I work nights so I do quite a bit of night riding and glare is something that I have with both helmets. One with shield and one without. Could always try tear offs! JK

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I have never found any visual reason to remove a pinloc. I normally leave them in year round, and I ride a lot in the dark, plenty of that in the city. Simply no reason for concern. The only downside of leaving a pinloc in year round is that the wear between the pinloc and the visor is accelerated somewhat.

 

[Harald]

The pinlock stays in my helmets all year. I ride a lot at night up here in the north in temps from the teens to the rare 90's and we also have a lot of rain in the Seattle area.

I struggled with fogging for my whole life and nothing I tried worked very well to keep a shield clear. Fogging is not so bad on a sportbike or unfaired bike because there's plenty of airflow and you can always lift the shield at stops or purse your lips and blow down to stop fogging. But the FJR with a barn door winter shield blocks all that wind and fogging can be terrible. The pinlock solves that problem.

When I installed my first pinlock, I was very aware of the vision distortion and especially at night and/or in the rain but I quickly got used to it and don't even notice anymore. I just know that some ghosting, that I don't even notice anymore, sure beats having a fogged up shield that I can't see anything at all!

 

[Gurock]

I'm fairly new to the Pinlock system, but bought a Shoei GT Air helmet last fall and have started using it with the Pinlock. Without the Pinlock in the cold and especially moist weather you either ride with the shield 30% up or fog everywhere. The Pinlock keeps the fog out at speed very well but cuts vision at night. Particularly that I'm 61 and my eyes are probably a little less keen in the dark then they were when I was thirty. I just agree with the opening premises that Shark helmets and Scorpion helmets have anti-fog coatings that give better vision and keep fog out of the shield. But again the people who have owned the Shark RSR 2 helmet should know that this is the most optically correct face shield ever made. Bottom line is that for me the Shoei may have a great name and there are things about the GT air that I do like, but I think it's likely to be my day ride helmet on nicer days and that one of my Scorpion helmets will be my sport touring cross country helmet.

 

[Kneedragger55]

Gurock, I would agree, the RSR 2 shields are essentially the best in the business, and I've kicked myself slightly for not trying a new Race R Pro and going with the Shoei instead.

It seems like there's very little bipartisan support here. Some who swear the pinlock has no glare, others who state it does and how it limits vision. At this point I've come across quite a few people who second the concern over the pinlock distortion and vision at night, even during the day...it's just not the best design. Nothing against you guys who swear by them, but it could be MUCH better. Buy a Shark next, you'll see...clearly might I add.

Some folks have stated that they had better success with aftermarket pinlocks in their Shoei lids, although I haven't gotten a brand, that may be something to look into. Also unfortunate that the RF1100 that I purchased for the wife a couple years ago has NO anti-fogging AT ALL, and also no place for a pinlock attachment. Sooooo....SOL with the RF1100 unless I purchase a CW-1 shield for $60. Guess it was too much for Shoei to spec that from the factory.

 

[Joel S.]

for cw-1 shields, i use a dark smoke, clear, then i have a clear pinlock with a transition pinlock insert.

for me, always dark, then clear at night, pinlock is only used occasionally , depending on the season

Qwest here, getting time to retire it, due to age, perfect condition though. the 1200 is on the radar for sure

as far as the pinlock, if i tilt my head up and down slightly, the lights at night starburst, and sorta double up. if that makes sense.

 

[Gurock]

Kneedragger I just agree that Shark products are under rated and don't get much respect or marketing in the USA. I bought the Shoei GT Air from a fellow on ADVrider who had bought one that didn't fit him while he was visiting Tokyo. So he gave me a very good deal on it new with tags. If they were still making and selling Shark RSR helmets I would have bought another Shark. Like any good gear slut I have a number of helmets, but my favorite was always the RSR and then the Scorpion EXO 1100s. I'd had a Shoei Quest in the past that I was less then in love with and did know that the GT Air would need the pinlock put in for cold or wet weather. I really had no one to blame but myself. I think the reason I bought the GT Air was that I got it for under $300.00. I definitely belong to the club that's less then in love with Shoei.

 

[Kneedragger55]

Exactly. Shoei RF1200 MSRP is ~$500. I too bought mine on sale (although still ~$400) and reluctantly have classified the pinlock as overrated after living fog free and optically clear with various Shark helmets for 10 years. As an engineer I just can't understand how it's 60 years of innovation, it's a stupid simple concept.

I hate that I can no longer find the RSI or RSR helmets ANYWHERE, and the newer Sharks are apparently made of gold. I'm helping a friend look at newer helmets now and have ventured into the Scorpion realm. The EXO-R2000 and T1200 both look like solid choices for less than half the cost of a Shoei.

 

[user 89005]

All lights show as double with the pin lock for me; annoying but better than an opaque visor!

Southern Germany, always cool or cold in the morning (10-40F), ride year round, but swap the pinlock for the standard visor April through Oct (above 35F I suppose). Usually ride with safety glasses and visor up wx permitting.

Thanks for the post, I was surprised when I got the pin lock and had "ghost" lights!