Pinlock Insert

[manxie49]

New helmet came with a pinlock insert, never noticed this before, I have used them previously, but it says day time use only ...... Does anyone know why? Its a clear insert so didn't think it was a problem, used them at night on other helmets.

[raesewell]

This is because the double glazing will cause glare from headlights at night.

Most people take no notice.

[JRH]

Pinlocks did not have this at first, but latter one have the notice.

I have emailed pinlock about this and the first time the reply was no problems, when i pointed out the note the second time it was Oh we have to put that on now as there is some light loss.

I appears to be a sop to the litigation fraternity to stop suing them in the case of accidents.

Ana as Rae says in some instances it can cause halos etc. It can be worse if you wear glasses as well as the light refracts through multiple surfaces.

[manxie49]

Thanks guys, I'd never noticed it before and used pinlock on my last helmet, used at night as well with no problem, this was the first time I'd noticed the warning in big red letters, I was thinking if I have to take it out when the weather is bad or it starts to get dark then its just going to be a pain in the proverbial, bearing in mind its usually when the weather is bad that the visor mists up! Sort of defeats the purpose .... Going to stick it in and use it as normal.

[Throttled]

My Shark Skwal, the helmet with the LED lights built in, so ideal for night time, has pinlock. I have never had any issues riding in the dark, from roads with street lights to roads in the countryside and light is just form headlights.

[Lanceautoman]

I commute and most of my riding is at night with my pinlock fitted, I also wear glasses. The only problem I have is if I forget treat my glasses with anti-fog spray.

[Foxy Stoat seeks Pig]

I wear glasses and have done away with my pinlock this winter. It's dark to and from work at the moment and the glare from car headlights is a real pain.

[Throttled]

I wear glasses and have done away with my pinlock this winter. It's dark to and from work at the moment and the glare from car headlights is a real pain.

 

Is one possible why some get glare and others do not, down to cleaning? I would clean my visor with pinlock insert in, as I would visors with no pinlock, using Muck off visor cleaner.

[manxie49]

I commute and most of my riding is at night with my pinlock fitted, I also wear glasses. The only problem I have is if I forget treat my glasses with anti-fog spray.

 

Had the same problem last year, used rain x anti fog to clean, worked wonders.

[manxie49]

Pinlocks did not have this at first, but latter one have the notice.

I have emailed pinlock about this and the first time the reply was no problems, when i pointed out the note the second time it was Oh we have to put that on now as there is some light loss.

I appears to be a sop to the litigation fraternity to stop suing them in the case of accidents.

Ana as Rae says in some instances it can cause halos etc. It can be worse if you wear glasses as well as the light refracts through multiple surfaces.

 

Contacted pinlock myself, just to see what they said, didn't get a reply! That always speaks volumes to me.....

[Joe85]

Works well at night with a Dark Smoke visor.

[MR_W]

The reason it is on the pinlocks is because the light they let through is about 1 or 2% below the legal minimum for a visor. I can't remember exact figures but memory says the limit is 85% light must pass through and they allow 83% to pass.

Police wouldn't generally do anything about it though.

Has nothing to do with causing halos from lights at night, purely because it is just below that limit.

[iangaryprice]

I thought light transmission had to be greater than 85% for all windows/visors/shields that are permanently in line of view.

Items you can quickly remove form line of view i.e. sunglasses, pivoting sun shades etc. arre allowed to be darker.

Hence a pinlock if it does stop more then 85% cannot be removed easily therfore illegal!

Are you sure they only allow 85% through, compared to my car windows (definitly legal) my viso/pinlock appears to let a lot more light through.

[Throttled]

The police would need a way to measure that light reduction which could be used there and then. I doubt such a thing exists.

[MR_W]

I thought light transmission had to be greater than 85% for all windows/visors/shields that are permanently in line of view.

Items you can quickly remove form line of view i.e. sunglasses, pivoting sun shades etc. arre allowed to be darker.

Hence a pinlock if it does stop more then 85% cannot be removed easily therfore illegal!

Are you sure they only allow 85% through, compared to my car windows (definitly legal) my viso/pinlock appears to let a lot more light through.

 

Pinlocks do tend to remain near permanently in view unless you open your visor. Not like a sun visor.

[DJP]

I've never got on with Pinlocks.

I find that they never quite fit properly so that you still get condensation but it takes longer to clear. Either that or they cause glare at night.

My current lid came with one as standard, after the first few weeks it was relegated to the drawer.

[manxie49]

I've never got on with Pinlocks.

I find that they never quite fit properly so that you still get condensation but it takes longer to clear. Either that or they cause glare at night.

My current lid came with one as standard, after the first few weeks it was relegated to the drawer.

 

Thats the reason they fog, you have to fit them right, make sure the rubber gasket is in contact with the visor all the way round, clean the visor first, its worth taking the time and trouble to put them on right, I had the same problem once, pinlock fitted and still misting, a friend took it of and re-stalled it for me "did it properly" no more problems after that.

[manxie49]

Got a reply from pinlock, this is what they said:

Thank you for contacting Pinlock and using our products.

See it as a caution of precaution. The reason we say daytime use only is because at night there is a change the Pinlock lens could cause an annoying effect. This is a slightly offset double image. This can be really dangerous. It is always your own choice to drive with the Pinlock lens at night or not.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.

[raesewell]

S'wat I said in post number 2.

[Hoggs]

in addition to wot Manxie said... in regards to pinlock misting... Hoggfather helpfully pointed out the lugs are not round but more an oval which means you can tighten the pinlock by rotating them which solved my issue.

[Liveware Problem]

It depends on the helmet too, I have a scorpion with pinlock fitted which has been absolutely fine and was simple to fit,

However I more recently bought an LS2 helmet with pinlock specific to the model.. which just doesn't fit!

I tried and failed, sportsbikeshop sent me another one.. still didn't fit. I sent the helmet back for them to fit.. they returned it but the pinlock still wasn't properly sealed to the visor. Useless!