Motorcycle Journeys Trip Logs

Category: Gear maintenance

  • Tinting strip for motorcycle helmet visor

    I don’t know about anyone else, but I have sun sensitive eyes. If riding into the sun at the start or end of the day, or when when the sun tends to be lower during the winter months is very hard on my eyes.  So I was looking for a solution.

    tinting strip from front

    I researched and found the strips of visor tinting sold for $14.95 online and thought that was a ridiculous price for a slender strip of plastic cling. I headed to Hancock Fabric and found they sell 54″ wide static cling window tinting (no adhesive) by the yard for $3.97. Tough decision. For a buck you can buy enough to experiment a few times. If Hancock has it, I’m sure other fabric stores do as well.

    Link to UV window tinting at Hancock

    I traced the top curve of my visor on paper and made a pattern for the strip. I ended up trying a variety of widths. On riding tests I felt 1″ was too narrow and didn’t help my eyes enough and 2″ was way too much, so I settled on 1 1/2″ across the top of the visor. It doesn’t obstruct my vision at all.

    I wasn’t sure static cling would stay on the visor at highway speeds but I can tell you after thousands of miles not so much as a corner has lifted up. But if I want remove it I just pick up a corner and the strip lifts off with no residue  left on visor. When I clean my visor with a microfiber cloth I clean the bugs off the strip as well and it doesn’t move.

    It’s made a big difference on how tired my eyes get in bright sunlight and I think it helps with the glare on cloudy days as well.

    If you don’t mind paying postage, I’ll send you some to try (I have plenty). Or go to a fabric store and buy a 1/2 yard and you can have a visor tinting party with all your friends. Seriously — if you belong to a riding club you should get some and share it with the other riders. Anything that makes your eyes less tired after staring at the road for 10 hours is a good thing.

    tinting strip from side
    tinting strip from side

  • Nolan N103 visor mechanism replacement

    This post is more about my great experience with Nolan than it is about the repair. I purchased my Nolan N103 at the motorcycle show in November 2009 and immediately loved it. It had all the features I wanted — comfort, flip front, interior visor, padded neck straps so my neck doesn’t get raw, room for speakers.

    Difference in noise

    I have an Autocom  system with helmet speakers and with my previous helmet (a Caberg Justissimo that fell apart) I’d had a difficult time listening to music when riding at highway speeds and if it was windy I could just forget it; the helmet noise drown out the volume no matter what it was set at. Even under good conditions I would have to set the volume so high for the road that it was too loud when I slowed down through towns.  (Factor in that I never ride without ear plugs)

    Before buying the Nolan I had read the review on advrider.com that told people to never buy this helmet because of terrible wind noise.  Granted I don’t have a ton of experience with motorcycle helmets since this is only my third one, but if I’m not happy with the Nolan I think maybe I need to be riding in a car.

    With the Nolan the difference in my music volume is barely discernible whether on the highway and riding 20 MPH and I can even hear the music with the visor open. That never happened before. The simple joy of being able to hear my music just the way I like — set low so it’s in the background.

    Seal repair

    I put a lot of miles on a helmet and figure the Texas heat probably isn’t the easiest thing on them, so I wasn’t entirely surprised last spring when a small section of the seal around the visor came loose. I called Nolan for how to repair it myself, but they insisted I send it back so they could do it and make sure the seal adhered properly. I don’t think the entire process took  a week; I shipped it, they received it, repaired it and shipped it back  the same day. All of which was covered under warranty. I was impressed.

    New visor mechanisms from Nolan

    Visor mechanism worn

    Another feature I love about the helmet is that I’ve been able to have the visor partially open and even at highway speeds it stayed put.

    In the summer heat of Texas I can’t hardly breathe with the helmet fully closed, so this has been one of the most valued features of the helmet. So I was a little disappointed on the ride last weekend down to the hill country in mid 80’s temperatures and the visor wouldn’t stay open even at slower 60-65 MPH speeds.

    New mechanism in place

    I called Nolan when I got home and they knew exactly what the problem was and no questions asked they shipped replacement visor mechanisms at no cost and told me to call for help if I had any problems while replacing them.

    I did call for instructions on how to remove the old mechanisms and they suggested a plastic screwdriver to pry them off. I used a plastic putty knife.

    I snapped the new mechanisms in, snapped the visor back on and was good to go.

    Nolan believes in Customer Service

    I don’t know about anyone else, but this isn’t the level of customer service I experience when I call most places. Seal replaced for free and quickly. Visor parts sent at no charge and followed by cheerful help over the phone.

    When it’s time for a new helmet I will get another Nolan, not just because I like the helmet, but because they stand behind their products.

  • Cleaning motorcycle jacket and pants

    I’ve come up with a fairly effective way of cleaning my motorcycle jackets and pants after they have accumulated a good layer of highway grunge. I’ve used the same method on both an Aerostich Roadcrafter and an Olympia Mesh jacket and pants and it works equally well on both.

    I use Dawn Power Dissolver since it’s an incredible product for cutting through and removing grease and oil. I hate to sound like a commercial, but have an oil stain you accidentally washed into a shirt months ago? Buy Power Dissolver, spray the oil stain, wash in warm water. The stain will be gone.

    As for the effect Power Dissolver has on the Gore-Tex — I have worn my Aerostich while riding for a full day in torrential rain after cleaning with the following method and stayed bone dry. Looking good is less important to me than staying dry. And yes, I realize anyone with half a brain wouldn’t ride for a full day in torrential rain.

    Summary of Cleaning Steps

    1. Empty all the pockets
    2. Remove all the protective pads
    3. Pre-soak
    4. Scrub
    5. Rinse in tub
    6. Rinse in washer
    7. Wash
    8. Dry
    9. Waterproofing
    10. Zipper maintenance
    11. Replace pads and put things back in pockets

    Detail of Method and Products

    Step 1. Empty all the pockets. Don’t laugh — I’ve almost washed some important stuff.

    Step 2. Remove all the protective pads. You do not want to get soapy water in your pads. If you want to clean them just rinse with warm water, but be warned — it will take them forever to dry. I learned that one the hard way. The first time I removed the pads I used a permanent marker to initial them with their location. I figured they’d somewhat molded to my body and I wanted the right side pads back in the right and the left ones on the left.

    Step 3. Pre-soak – put the jacket and pants in the bathtub and thoroughly spray with Dawn Power Dissolver and let it soak for 30 minutes. A sink isn’t big enough, so the tub gives you room to work.

    Step 4. Scrub – put hot water in a container (to assist with oil cutting) and a little Dawn dish washing soap (also a grease cutter). The Dawn may be overkill, but as grimy as my suits get I figure it can’t hurt. But only use a little or you’ll be rinsing for an hour. Dip a stiff bristle brush into the water and then scrub the entire outside surface of the jacket and pants paying extra attention to the grimiest areas. Dawn Power Dissolver will foam up as you brush. Dipping the brush into the water doesn’t over dilute the Dissolver.  If your jacket and pants are any where near as bad as mine you’ll quickly notice the foam is really dirty, almost black.

    Step 5. Rinse in tub – rinse thoroughly with clear water in the tub.

    Step 6. Rinse in washer. Dawn and other laundry soaps are not compatible with the products that waterproof Gore-Tex so the soap has to be completely removed. Zip all the zippers (to prevent wear and tear) and rinse twice in the washing machine with clear water.

    Step 7. Wash — I have used Grangers and Nikwax products and find I like Grangers better. I do not want to waterproof when I wash so I use the Granger 30°C Cleaner which is formulated for Gore-Tex. I do not use the all-in-one cleaner and waterproofer.

    Step 8. Dry — throw the suit in the dryer or allow the suit to air dry. I figure air drying is a little less wear on the vital parts so I hang mine to dry.

    Step 9. Waterproofing –  I tried the wash-in waterproofing (it was Nikwax) and felt it left the material feeling almost slimy and I hated the feel against my skin when I wore short sleeves under the suit.  I don’t think the inside needs to be waterproof and seems to me the whole thing will breathe better if it isn’t. I have used Grangers XT Waterproofer several times and love the stuff. I put the jacket and pants on hangers and take them outside to spray. When the exterior is evenly coated with spray I take them back in and put them in the dryer on medium heat to activate the waterproofing. This step is essential for the waterproofing to work — air drying will not give the same results. You’re almost done.

    Step 10. Zipper maintenance – I feel the zippers, especially on my Aerostich, take a lot of abuse so I want to give them extra TLC to prolong their life and prevent problems on a trip (the zipper pull on the leg of my Aerostich failed on the way to Big Bend and that was a pain until I could get to a hardware store and rig something to open and close the zipper with). I already had McNett Max Wax for my scuba diving wet suit zippers so it’s the product I use on the zippers for all my motorcycle gear. It’s a silicone based lubricant that’s like a stick of wax. Rub it down the zipper teeth when the zipper is open and open and close the zipper a couple of times to spread the wax around.

    Step 11. Replace pads and put things back in pockets. I don’t know what it’s like for bigger size suits, but getting the pads back in my smaller size suit is a wrestling match for me. If anyone has a good method for this I would love to hear it.

    That’s it. It seems like a lot of steps but the only one I really dread is scrubbing in step 4, but that’s because I’m not wild about the smell of Dawn Power Dissolver. I only wash my jackets and pants once or twice a year, depending on mileage, so it’s not that big of a deal and I feel better when they are clean and well maintained.

  • Replacing worn out velcro on Aerostich jacket and pants

    I’ve realized for a while the Velcro wasn’t really sticking at several places on my Aerostich jacket and pants (I have a Roadcrafter zip together suit).  I feel the maintenance on my suit has been pretty negligible considering it’s got about 50,000 miles on it. Except for washing and re-waterproofing I have only had to replace a zipper pull that broke on one of the legs. Aerostich sells a reasonably priced packet of zipper pulls and stops and they were very helpful over the phone in assisting with the zipper repairs.

    What needed repair

    The Velcro areas that were no longer sticking well were the front jacket flap, the front jacket pocket flaps , the fly flap on the pants, and each side pocket of the pants  for a total of eleven Velcro strips. These are the areas that are regularly opened and closed. The Velcro for the pant leg opening, the sleeve opening, and the adjusting tabs in the back of the jacket that stay put almost all the time were all in great shape.

    Stitching after new Velcro has been sewn in

    The two sides of Velcro wear out in different ways. The hook side either has so much fuzz and miscellaneous crap stuck  in it or the hooks are missing or broken. The loop side can get so pulled apart and fuzzy it’s too loose to hold any longer. All the loop sides looked in reasonably good condition, but after cleaning the junk out of the hook sides there didn’t appear to be a whole lot of hooks left. I got a new piece of Velcro and tested both sides. The current loop sides adhered well and the hook barely stuck.

    I suspect, due to experience, Aerostich placed the hook side of the Velcro where it’s easiest to replace — it’s on the actual flap of each problem area, not on the body of the pants or jacket. If it were the opposite way around it would be a huge pain to fix.

    Replacing the Velcro

    I’m sure the suit was sewn with nylon thread to prevent fading, but I decided to go with polyester thread that’s available locally and not worry about a little faded thread showing. The original Velcro was sewn in during the construction process so I’m going to have more top stitching showing than the jacket originally had. I doubt Aerostich takes the entire garment apart and probably makes the repair the same way.

    Less than $7 for thread (called dull brass to match my high viz yellow jacket)  and 5 feet of 3/4″ Velcro. The Velcro on the suit was 5/8″ but that wasn’t available and the slightly wider Velcro wouldn’t make a difference.

    I wanted Velcro brand hook and loop. I have bought some off brand Velcro at a significantly lower price, but it didn’t appear to be made quite as well — at least that was my impression.

    New Velcro pinned to pant pocket flap

    I did call Aerostich out of curiosity to get an estimate and they said the suit would have to be shipped and then checked by the repair department and then they call with the cost. At that time they had a 3 week back log of repairs and you had to send the suit to get in line. So for those who wish to have Aerostich do the work — send it during the winter. I’d hate to be without my suit for 4-5 weeks right now. There’s always the option of going to a local seamstress or tailor if you don’t want to ship to Aerostich or do the repair yourself.

    The removal of the deteriorated Velcro was painless except for one spot. The top piece of Velcro on the front jacket flap was stitched into the collar so I removed the stitches as far as I could and snipped off the Velcro at the collar seam.

    Stitching on the new Velcro hook was almost as easy since it went on flaps. I don’t think it took more than 1/2 an hour to do the stitching.

    Final steps

    I should note I did the Velcro replacement after washing the jacket and pants and before waterproofing. After I attached the new Velcro I sprayed the stitching and the rest of the outside of the garments with Grangers XT Waterproofer and tossed them in the dryer to activate the waterproofing.

    I suspect in another year I will be replacing the loop side of the Velcro as well, but for now the closures are all working properly after spending a little more than an hour and $7 to do the repair.