BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Hi All, I have a problem with the rainwater running down the inside of the visor of my Neotec II. I've tried adjusting it, applying the silicon lubricant, vent open/closed, but it still comes in, dripping in pretty much from the centre. It then gets onto the Pinlock and the water seems to get stuck. During the day it's a damned nuisance, in the dark it bloody dangerous. I know I could take off the Pinlock and apply some polish (which would partly solve one symptoms), but it doesn't really solve the problem. I'm also loathed to do that as the Pinlock works so well in other circumstances. I had a similar issue with the System 7 helmet I had beforehand, so my thinking goes, is this a problem created by the tall screen of an RT (and any other tall screen for that matter)?

A large touring sized screen will create a lot of swirls & eddies, which in turn will create a bit of blow back around your head, which in turn will make it seem that some of the rain is going backwards by the time it hits my helmet. With my screen 'down' rain drops blow away in the normal way. With the screen 'up' the rain drops blow downwards. Hence my thoughts.

Why don't you ride with the screen down I hear you say. True, but what's the point of having a dirty great big screen to protect you from the elements if you have to lower it when those elements include precipitation, (which they do a lot in the UK) and expose you to the exact elements that you bought the aforementioned dirty great big screen to protect you from in the first place!

Does anyone here ride both touring and 'naked' bike in the same helmet and experience the same problem on the touring but not on the naked? Or have I just been unlucky with my choice of helmets / screen combination.

Good luck as I have never had a helmet that doesn't do that. Currently I have a Schuberth C4, Shoei Neotec II, and Nolan N100-5.

That problem takes me back to the 70/80s with water washing my face in the rain. Your problem sounds like your top seal of the helmet is worn or has come out of place, hence letting water in. Have you tried taking the visor off and bending it as when fitting the pin lock?. Or even trying a new visor. How old is the helmet as it may be a fault and still be under warranty
In heavy rain with the screen in the high position the water hits my helmet just above the visor but none enters behind the visor.

One piece of advice regarding Rain X for plastic is do not use it on the screen. It's great for keeping the screen clean but the water beads over the top of the screen and hit the visor more than usual. I have to keep wipeing the visor all the time. It is a right pain. Rain X Plastic is very good on visors clear but not on the screen.

The helmet is about a year old and I've just put a new visor & pinlock on it. It leaked before, it still leaks now! Reading up since I posted I've read about a paper test between the visor and the seal to see if there is a gap. I'll check that when I get home.

Interesting comment about RainX etc. I use that Plexus spray but it does a similar job. My theory was if it beads up and runs off the screen so much the better for visibility, but you are right, quite a bit also flicks off, and straight onto the helmet / visor. That may also be part of the problem if the eddies etc are blowing not just the rain backward, but the extra flick off as well

I have the same helmet, having had the original version before. My visor also needed adjustment as it would send a jet of cold air straight into one eye. The main thing is to get both sides even or better still a slight tightness bias to the right side as the final clip is on the left. If you put the silicone oil supplied with the helmet on the rubber you should see it pressing all around the top and bottom as it just touches on the visor. If you didn’t get that and silicone based lubricant will do. An easy mistake is tightening the mechanism too tight on one side, which has the result of not letting the visor flex across and seat properly using its spring mechanism. Trial and error but you should be able to get a good fitting, note that the mechanism moves up and down and you may need to experiment. As a double check when the visor is off check the top lip is not distorted from assembly and make sure nothing like a tab of plastic is blocking the spring loading. Hope this helps.

back in the 80,s when money was tight and i had a cheap helmet, it did the same in letting water run down the inside of the visor. My cheap fix back then was to place a bit of thin wire behind the seal so it just pushed the seal onto the visor which stopped the leaking.

These days i only wear Shark helmets (head shape) and have never had the problem with water getting pass the seal. I also use RainX on my visors.

Have you tryed adjusting the visor mechanism on the side of the helmet. There is a bit of movement in them for adjustment.

Also have you contacted Shoei to make a warranty claim.

I used to but AGV helmets in the 80s. My best one was a Wes Cooley copy followed by the Barry Sheene copy.I was a London courier so i was rolling in it for a 17/18 old. I used window draft foam strip stuff. Brilliant until the water goes through it. The 80s were fantastic for bike clothing. Waterproof was just a name that wasn't. The only waterproof suit i had was a wax suit. The only thing it used to get heavy by the end of the day. Black bin liners and carrier bags were the order of the day. The only way to keep boots dry.

Doctor T wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 4:45 pm I used window draft foam strip stuff. Brilliant until the water goes through it.

And me.

Exactly the same issue with me, plus I don’t like having visor closed, bit claustrophobic…. Anyone on here that doesn’t have this issue? Would be good to know if it’s the helmet or the screen

Similar to Docter T, I used a thin strip of foam tape along the top edge where the visor intersects on closing. Its important to be using the right stuff. In my case, the closed cell type foam...its quite dense and will not let the water thru !

Shuswaper wrote: ↑Sun Feb 11, 2024 4:31 pm Similar to Docter T, I used a thin strip of foam tape along the top edge where the visor intersects on closing. Its important to be using the right stuff. In my case, the closed cell type foam...its quite dense and will not let the water thru !

The stuff I uses four decades ago is archaic, but I can see you can get 1mm thick self adhesive EPDM tape. A strip of that applied to the top inside of the visor to might just do the trick. My thought is to go for something wider with a larger self adhesive foot print rather something narrow which might just roll up & peel off. It's only a few pounds from Amazon for a 5mtr x 20mm roll and that'll give me loads to experiment with a few different lengths & widths.

I know it was a long time ago that I posted the original question, but the answer was ultimately quite simple, take the whole damned thing off, visor, flip up chin bar and all and reassemble it properly. I now have a visor that (as long as it's clicked closed) is water tight. Obviously all bets are off if I raise it or the chin bar, but as long as the Pinlock does it's stuff I can keep that to a minimum. The second part of fitting the chin bar properly is I've got an extra raised & locked in place position for the flip up front. Previously it went up to say 75degrees, stayed there most of the time, but occasionally dropped closed under its own weight. Now it goes all the way to virtually 90degrees and feels to have a positive stop/hold. It needs a slight harder push, but it goes all the way up and stays there. I didn't know that it was supposed to do that.

Bottom line, I don't think my helmet was assembled properly at the factory in the first place and given a Neotec is a premium helmet, not really good enough.