Cleaning visor on the move

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I carry a spray and cloth to clean the visor at stops. Riding in heavy rain isn't an issue it just runs off. But visiting my mum in hospital with the road so filthy but not actually raining means the visor is getting splattered but there's no enough moisture to wipe it off.

 

I used to have a sponge in a little container but I can't see anyone selling things like that these days. I might try a V sponge if I pass J&S this morning. But any other brilliant hacks to clean the visor whilst tootling along in the outside lane of a motorway?

[husoi]

I found that microfiber cloth works really well.

[S-Westerly]

I had the same issue coming north. Just grime hitting my visor (and probably not doing my breathable waterproof kit any good either) but not wet enough to be able to clean it with my clove on the go. I carry a water bottle and microfiber cloth which works well enough but I have to be stopped which into services etc and delays my journey. Mind you going south tomorrow I'll be into services every hour just to defrost. 

[Throttled]

I suspect the police attitude would be you need to be stopped to safely clean your visor and anything more than a wipe across the visor with your finger is failing to properly control your vehicle. For bad weather riding, I use a glove with the built in visor wipe and if that does not work, stop.

[husoi]

Maybe I misunderstood the title.

When I mean using the microfiber cloth I mean stop clean it, have a coffee and get back on the road.

while riding the only "cleaning" I do is rain by turning the head both sides and let the wind do the work.

[Fiddlesticks]

https://youtu.be/86fQA0V-efo?feature=shared

 

I think you're better off stopping, tbh...

Edited January 17, 2024 by Fiddlesticks

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I used to have a wet sponge on the handlebars,  it was really good for those days when muck is thrown up but not enough rain to wipe the visor clean. 

 

I get the police and being in control thing, but giving the visor a wipe with a wet sponge isn't that much difference from wiping it with a glove. 

 

It's safer to be able to see than to be riding half blind on a stretch of motorway where you can't stop. 

[keith1200rs]

Visor tear-offs? Depends on helmet- they only work on single curvature visors.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

11 minutes ago, keith1200rs said:

Visor tear-offs? Depends on helmet- they only work on single curvature visors.

That's a bit Formula 1  - not sure I quite qualify for that just yet.

 

Plus it's not great for the environment.

 

I will try a wet wipe shoved between my instrument cluster and screen. 

[Hairsy]

I battled with this a week or so ago as I rode into the low winter sun with road muck on my visor and nothing with me to clean it off. Fortunately I came across a petrol station and was able to get water to clean my visor.

 

I did some initial research, hoping to be able to find some large disposable but environmentally friendly wipes that are visor friendly but couldn't find anything suitable. For now I've bought a small visor spray and put that and a microfibre cloth under my seat.

 

The two problems that I just couldn't resolve when looking for wipes were:

 

1) Something that doesn't contain chemicals (e.g. to make them smell nice and/or be kind to the skin). Things like this will inevitably cause smears and, possibly, damage the visor

 

2) Wipes that are properly wet. By definition, this problem arises when there is dirt being kicked up onto the visor but not enough rain to wash it away. We're therefore trying to get rid of dried on dirt and a slightly damp wipe is going to cause scratches very quickly. And, having recently come back to biking after a long break, I'm still hyperventilating over the cost of visors these days!

 

But if anyone has found some properly wet and visor safe wipes then I'll be first in the queue.

[husoi]

Just a wee question.

 

What is the problem of stopping for 1 min? does your timing is so perfect that 1 min delay creates a huge problem in your life? 

 

I mean, stop somewhere safe, get whatever you want to use to clean the visor. Clean the visor and put it back where you get it from.

Set off again when safe.

 

If this takes more than 2 min I will eat my hat...

 

Not that I have one. 

[Simon Davey]

What about these?

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/212517

[KiwiBob]

1 hour ago, keith1200rs said:

Visor tear-offs? Depends on helmet- they only work on single curvature visors.

Probably the best way to keep it clean on the move! .. Only downside is that some smart arse might report you for littering and get you an £80 fine!

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

31 minutes ago, husoi said:

Just a wee question.

 

What is the problem of stopping for 1 min? does your timing is so perfect that 1 min delay creates a huge problem in your life? 

 

I mean, stop somewhere safe, get whatever you want to use to clean the visor. Clean the visor and put it back where you get it from.

Set off again when safe.

 

If this takes more than 2 min I will eat my hat...

 

Not that I have one. 

One of my regular journeys is up the M57 - no services at all and no slip roads where you can pull off and then get back on again.

 

It's not long but it is long enough that on a day when the road is wet but it's not actually raining the visor gets covered in salt and crud very quickly. To stop would mean using the hard shoulder, which is not ideal. The spray bottle and microfibre cloth is in the top box. On particularly bad days, when the road has been gritted and is damp, I'd need to be stopping very frequently. 

 

So it's either stopping on the hard shoulder which I prefer not to - or being able to give the visor a quick wipe and being able to see properly.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

31 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

What about these?

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/212517

Those are fine - but it's where you can keep it on the handlebars to get at on the move. The old system of a wet sponge in a container was simple and worked really well. I don't know why I stopped using it but I since whatever I had it in has gone I suspect it just broke and one summer I chucked it away and never got round to replacing it. It was probably just something I zip tied to the handlebars but I can't think what it was. Just thought someone who rides all winter might have a suggestion. I can get a bit of sponge no problem.

[Gerontious]

Allow more time for stops. that's all.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Just now, Gerontious said:

Allow more time for stops. that's all.

See above - there is nowhere to stop on the M57. 

 

Just to repeat. I carry a spray of Muc-Off visor cleaner. I carry a microfibre cloth. When I can stop I use these to clean my visor.

 

But there are times I can't stop and the visor is so dirty it is hard to see clearly. 

 

I've been riding for 40 years - I have a little bit of knowledge about riding in winter conditions and the need to clean the visor when it is possible to stop.

[Gerontious]

12 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

See above - there is nowhere to stop on the M57. 

 

Just to repeat. I carry a spray of Muc-Off visor cleaner. I carry a microfibre cloth. When I can stop I use these to clean my visor.

 

But there are times I can't stop and the visor is so dirty it is hard to see clearly. 

 

I've been riding for 40 years - I have a little bit of knowledge about riding in winter conditions and the need to clean the visor when it is possible to stop.

 

The M57 is 10 miles long, so even at the crappy speed of 40mph on a motorway - that's just 15 minutes. Ive ridden in some pretty shocking conditions, usually made so much worse by spray kicked up from other vehicles. a wipe of my visor with the finger wipe (essential during winter) and then a stop at the earliest convenience to give it a better clean when appropriate. and allow more time for this. Thats always been my strategy.

Edited January 17, 2024 by Gerontious

[Nick the wanderer]

Hi,

I think you'd be best revisiting your sponge idea it wouldn't take to much to cobble something that works.

You could drop off the motorway if you were desperate there are 3 or 4 exits on that stretch. Trouble is in shitty conditions you could be stopping every couple of hundred metres.

Good luck keep searching.

[Ian Frog]

Just a thought @Mississippi Bullfrog have you seen the bone shaped bag holders for pooch walking?

Ideal for your damp sponge and quite easy to zip tie to handlebars.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Ian

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

1 hour ago, Ian Frog said:

Just a thought @Mississippi Bullfrog have you seen the bone shaped bag holders for pooch walking?

Ideal for your damp sponge and quite easy to zip tie to handlebars.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Ian

I shall have a look at those,  maybe steal my sister's,  she has dogs.

 

I shoved a biodegradable wet wipe under the fuel tank flap today. Only needed it once but it worked. The tricky bit was getting it back under the flap afterwards.  

[S-Westerly]

Ultimate Addons sell a pack of 100 wipes for visors for £16.00 which imo is pretty pricy and they are no good to use on the go. I haven't bought any but got a couple of free samples when I bought something else. Won't be buying any either.

[Yorky]

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304101139

 

Only £1.00 from Tesco, just wet it and stick it between the clocks. I usually carry one in a plastic bag in summer, just  to clean fly debris off the visor.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Coming back on a rural A road the car in front went through a very dirty puddle which then meant it was sending up muck for the next few hundred yards. Not wet enough to wipe away without smearing. In the dark with oncoming headlights it was pretty horrible. But the wet wipe did the trick. Even wearing Gerbing heated gloves I had the dexterity to flip it back under the fuel cap flap and chuck it in the bin when I got home. 

 

There was nowhere I could have stopped on that road which usually means I'm riding with vastly reduced visibility or have to open the visor and get the crap all over my glasses.  

 

Quite pleased with that idea. But I'll look at the doggy bag suggestion as well. Probably easier than the fuel flap. 

[Bianco2564]

A guy at work had a bike with a tennis ball tywrapped to his bars with the top 1/4 cut off and kept a damp sponge tucked in there.

On the Kawasaki I used to keep a damp microfiber cloth rammed under the screen, when I stopped at a junction just whip the cloth out, wipe the visor and shove it back.