Looking After Your Visor: Cleaning And Replacement

A leather trimmed helmet needs a little more attention than a plain shell, but the upkeep is straightforward. Dust and light dirt can be wiped away with a soft, dry cloth, and any marks are best treated with a product made for leather rather than general household cleaners, which can dry the material out over time.

Trying a helmet on in person, and wearing it for a few minutes rather than a few seconds, catches problems a size chart alone cannot. Padding also settles slightly with use, so a helmet that feels snug when new is usually the right call.

A clean visor is a safety item as much as a comfort one, since scratches and haze scatter light and make it harder to judge distance in low sun or at night. Clean a visor with lukewarm water and a soft cloth, and avoid dry wiping, which is what causes most fine scratches in the first place.

A handcrafted helmet shell starts with a base material, commonly fibreglass or a composite blend, layered and shaped by hand rather than produced purely by mould and machine. Each layer adds strength, and the shaping stage is where a lot of the time in production actually goes.

A jacket built for riding, rather than a fashion jacket that merely looks the part, adds abrasion resistance across the shoulders and elbows, and many include pockets for armour inserts. Boots that cover the ankle protect a joint that takes real force in an off, and trousers or riding jeans extend that same protection down the leg.

A certified helmet carries a label inside the shell showing the standard it meets, along with a homologation number that identifies the specific model tested. This label is worth checking on any helmet, since it confirms the exact full face helmet in your hands passed the test, not just the range it belongs to.