8 Tips to keep your motorcycle helmet in top condition

1. Make helmet maintenance easy with a helmet donut

Before we start with the maintenance of your helmet, we at RAD would like to draw your attention to an accessory that may not seem impressive at first glance, but if used properly, it can make everything a lot easier. We’re talking about the helmet donut or helmet ring.

A helmet donut ensures that your helmet remains stable while you maintain it. It prevents your helmet from rolling away or falling out of your hands. Better yet, you will have an extra free hand for a proper cleaning and which reduces the risk of a lot of fine scratches. Also remember that a helmet that falls onto the floor can no longer be considered safe. Buying a helmet donut can save you a lot of worries. In addition, you can use it for all the helmets you will buy in the future to give them the best possible maintenance.

2. Maintain the outer shell of your helmet

When you ride a motorcycle or scooter, your helmet is exposed to the elements of nature. Rain, wind, dust, and insects leave their marks on your motorcycle helmet, but of course, you want your helmet to always look good and not leave any dirt on it. Therefore, it is important to keep the outer shell and visor of your helmet clean.

The motorcycle helmet can be finished in a glossy or matte version. For cleaning, we recommend using a soft damp cloth, preferably a microfiber cloth. Under no circumstances should you use paper towels. This can cause fine scratches and your helmet will lose its shine. With matte helmets, you will quickly see imperfections in the finish or even get shiny spots in the matte finish.

Cleaning of glossy helmets

Because water is not always sufficient for streak-free cleaning of your helmet, you can use specialized cleaning products. You spray these products on your helmet and wipe them off with a microfiber cloth for optimal cleaning results. If you are dealing with stubborn dirt, allow the product to work in for a short time before you start cleaning the motorcycle helmet. With the following products, you can guarantee a scratch and streak-free cleaning of your helmet and visor. They are suitable for all visors; transparent, reflective, and colored. These products have many advantages and you can also clean headlights and windshields with the helmet and visor cleaner. We know it’s good quality and both products come with a microfiber cloth.

Extra protection for matte helmets

If you have a nice matte helmet, you can use the same products as for glossy helmets. It’s also beneficial to provide your helmet with an extra protective layer after cleaning. Matte helmets are more sensitive to dirt and greasy fingers. The following spray protects against dirt thanks to a protective layer that reduces dirt adherence. This way, you can be sure of a streak-free cleaning.

3. Keep your helmet interior/liner fresh

Now that you have cleaned the exterior of your helmet, it’s time to tackle your helmet interior lining. Just as you would wash your clothes because they absorb sweat and dirt, it is important to regularly clean the interior of your helmet as well. This way, your helmet will not start to smell of sweat, gel or hairspray and feel dirty when you wear it. We recommend doing this at least 2 to 3 times a year if you ride often. You can do this in the following 2 ways.

Cleaning with hand wash

If your helmet interior is removable, you can take it out and hand wash it in warm water with a little bit of detergent. Allow it to dry completely. When everything is dry, you can put it back in the same order. Make sure you place everything in the right place, the snap buttons are securely fastened, and everything feels comfortable when you put the helmet on. If it feels like something is wrong, check whether everything is in the right place.

Freshen up with helmet interior cleaner

Because a hand wash and the removal and replacement of the liner is a bit too much work for some people, the interior cleaner was introduced. With this, you can clean the inside of your helmet without all that puzzle work. The interior cleaner acts on the dirt, dissolves it, and makes the inner lining clean and fresh.

Here’s how to procede: Shake the aerosol can before use and apply the spray to anything you want to clean. Let the spray work in (for stubborn dirt 5 minutes) and wipe off the spray with a damp microfiber cloth. Rinse this regularly during the treatment. Dry the treated parts with a clean, dry cloth. Let the interior dry out completely before you use the helmet. If you don’t let it dry completely, skin irritation may occur. If you are not yet satisfied with the result, you can clean the helmet interior again. We have the following type of interior cleaners available.

4. Prevent premature wear of your helmet interior and unpleasant odors

We’ve all been guilty of it at some point. After riding, we stick our gloves in our motorcycle helmet, which isn’t a smart move. If you frequently put things in your helmet after a ride or during a pit stop, you risk damaging the interior of your helmet. For instance, the velcro of your gloves could get stuck in helmet liner, this will not benefit the antibacterial properties and your motorcycle helmet will not be able to breathe optimally. Also, don’t put anything in your helmet after you’ve been riding through the rain. A wet scarf or wet gloves will keep your interior moist, which will cause bacteria to develop faster. Of course, you don’t want your helmet to start smelling. Placing your helmet upside down on the helmet donut after a ride ensures that it can air out properly before you store it.

5. Keep the rubber seal in top condition

Your visor is sealed by a rubber seal that runs along the recess for the visor of your helmet. Some brands such as Shoei include a small bottle of silicone oil in the box of your helmet. This can be used to keep the rubber seal hydrated, because if it starts to dry out, the rubber will lose its flexibility and slowly deteriorate. As a result, the seal will no longer close properly and rain can enter the helmet through the visor. If you don’t have silicone oil available, you can also use petroleum jelly. Apply a little silicone oil or petroleum jelly to the end of a cotton swab. Use this to lubricate the rubber where it comes into contact with the helmet. Not only does it keep the rubber in good condition, but if your visor pinches it will also cause less wear and tear.

6. Make your helmet rainproof

Every motorcyclist has experienced it. Rain that impairs your visibility or your visor starting to fog up as you ride in the rain. Because there is a solution for every problem, we would like to draw your attention to the following products.

Rain-x water repellent spray

This spray doesn’t allow water to adhere to the treated surface. The water droplets will bead off your visor or are blown off the treated surface by the wind while riding. This product has been specifically developed for plastic surfaces and is perfect for treating your helmet visor or the windscreen of your motorcycle, so you will experience less inconvenience from the rain.

Treat your visor with anti-fog spray or install a Pinlock lens

During wet or cold weather, there are more water particles in the air, causing your screen to fog up or condense more quickly. By treating the inner side of your visor with Anti-fog spray or by installing a Pinlock lens, your visor will remain free of condensation. Combine this with water-repellent spray and you will always have a clear view of the road during the rain.

7. Replace wear parts

You have a 2-year warranty on your motorcycle helmet. Some brands, such as Shark, HJC, Scorpion, Shoei and Schuberth offer an extended warranty on certain models if you register the motorcycle helmet with them after purchase. This warranty covers manufacturing defects and parts that can break prematurely. You will rarely need to invoke this warranty. These brands do this to show how robust their helmets are. The visor and other wear-sensitive parts are not covered by this warranty. If a part breaks due to wear or bad luck, it’s most likely you can find it among the helmet spare parts we have available for the helmets we sell. This way, you can easily place a new visor attachment, a lost cover cap, or even a new helmet interior. This way, your helmet is quickly restored to its former glory and as good as new.

8. Store your helmet in a suitable place

Storing your motorcycle helmet properly is more important than you think. As a motorcyclist, you can keep your helmet clean and ensure that it smells fresh and shines like never before. But there are also elements that can affect your helmet where minimal effort is required. This is how you keep your helmet beautiful and safe in the long term.

Store away from sunlight

Do you have a helmet with a colorful design and bright colors? Then it is important to store your helmet somewhere where there is no direct contact with sunlight. Sunlight contains UV, and this radiation is not only bad for our skin, but also for color and pigment. This will gradually fade the colors of your helmet. If your helmet is always in front of the window in the full sun at home, then the colors will become dull within a few years. If your helmet is always in the same position at this window, you will even see a difference with the shaded side. In the past, we have been asked by customers why their helmet started to discolor after a few years and whether this was not a manufacturing defect. Unfortunately, this is the natural consequence of the UV radiation that affects your color.

Therefore, put your helmet in a helmet cover. Every helmet comes standard with a cover. Use it to protect your helmet from sunlight. Does this mean that your beautiful helmet cannot be displayed in your house? Certainly not, but please do not place it by the window in direct sunlight.

Out of the heat

Now that we have discussed sunlight, I would like to touch on the issue of heat. This goes hand in hand with sunlight, but you can also achieve it by storing your helmet in a very warm place. This affects the inner shell of your helmet, which is made of polystyrene or EPS. This contains solvents that are responsible for the damping property of the inner shell. The more these evaporate, the less effective the energy distribution of the inner shell will be. This is why we often talk about the expiry date of a helmet. Exposing your helmet to heat will make these solvents evaporate faster. If all goes well, you won’t notice this. You will only experience this if you fall off the bike and hit the ground with your helmet. It would be a shame if at that moment you were wearing a helmet that had passed its expiration date earlier than expected.

The same applies to dropping your helmet. When a helmet falls and the inner shell has absorbed the energy of the impact, your helmet is “used” and should be replaced. This brings us back to the helmet donut with which I started this article. With a helmet donut, you can prevent dropping your helmet during maintenance.

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With these 8 tips, maintaining and storing your motorcycle helmet from now on will no longer be a problem. We hope that you can enjoy your motorcycle helmet as long as possible and experience great times on the motorcycle.

Related links:

• Motorcycle Helmet Maintenance Products
• Motorcycle Helmets
• Visors & Pinlocks