Helmets my full face has mould

majt

majt

Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6
Location
vancouver island bc canada
Bike
09 st1300
I've got a full face and discovered mould through out the helmet,my fault . i have a an open face shoei 3/4 helmet for the city. I have to travel next week approx. 700 miles, hwy speeds etc. i wear persc. glasses . any tips and advice for travel with an open face helmet?
 
Get a new full face or modular helmet before you go?

As a kid I had a 3/4 he!met with a snap-on bubble face cover. Does your 3/4 have that? Anything to keep the wind off your regular glasses will help. Otherwise, you will find that your eyes either tear up, or dry out, or both, as the wind eddies around your lenses at speed.

You'll also appreciate the extra protection if you get into rain.
 
majt said:
i just don't feel good trying to use my full face after discovering the mould.....i'm going to have to break down and get another full face.
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I agree, best option.
Don't know if your last helmet had one but the drop down sunny is a life changer/ride changer. Never thought I needed anything else in my life until I bought a full face with one fitted. I would think it would be just as useful in your part of the planet. I always leave my helmet in a warm spot for a day after riding with the visor open and the helmet on its side before putting it away in a good spot.
Upt'North.
 
What size helmet do you wear? I've got a virtually new budget-model HJC full face I bought from another member a while back, that I'll never use. He wore it once or twice, I've worn it once (with a bandanna as a supplemental liner). It's yours for the price of shipping from the DC suburbs of Maryland, if you can cram your noggin into a size small.

One thing it does not have is the internal sun visor mentioned by @Upt' North; the other thing it doesn't seem to have is detents that let the face shield be held partway open. It's an all-or-nothing: fully open or fully closed.
 
A standard mold (mould) abatement solution is a 10% bleach in water. Add 1 part common laundry bleach (chlorox or any brand) to 9 parts water. Spray it on, let it sit for a while then rinse thoroughly. It really depends how bad the mold is. If you can see it all over the interior, I would toss the helmet, if it simply smells a bit, then try the bleach. You will have to dry it thoroughly after multiple rinses - consider putting the hat in front of a fan.

Most common molds feed on cellulose, and require moisture. Subtract the water and the mold will go into a dormant, spore state. I'm not aware of cellulose inside motorcycle helmets, but you might have a mildew bug feeding on the glue or something else in the lining.
 
We'd have to throw entire cars away if a bit of mold couldn't be dealt with here in Florida. Leave a car shut up in a garage for 2 weeks and you might have a green interior when you least expect. I've already had a ride this morning and it was 88' at 8:30 and the humidity was higher than 88.

Wipe it or wash it just kill it and ride.

Now let's move to the ant discussions....
 
as pi.....off as i am, i have to bite the bullet and get a new helmet. i could see the mould in the helmet and through out the intake vents. it was black. thanks for all your advice. i stupidly left the helmet in a Shad top box and it rained a few days back. my st was on the side stand rather than the center stand. it was just the right angle for the top box to leak from the rain and the mould bloomed in less than 48 hrs.
 
I have been buying HJC IS-Max modular helmets since they came out (because they fit me) via closeouts due to color, overstock, etc. and replace them about every two years or so JUST BECAUSE they are worn out, funky, etc. It is hot in humid in the St Louis area about 4-5 months and helmets needed to be replaced on a regular basis. You did the right thing.
 
Don't know if it had mold or not, but my 5-6 yr old Quest was jut ready to be replaced. Great Lid, but totaled lots of miles & wear & tear.
So, replaced it with a Shoei GT Air, with built in Visor. NICE. Fits & vents better, & feels cooler.
U see & sense mold = Time to move on.
 
ibike2havefun said:
Get a new full face or modular helmet before you go?
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+1 I might use a 3/4 around town while keeping a little hyper-vigilant. But I've grown accustomed to my face and a modular helmet. For a road trip especially I'd want full coverage.

Sure bad accidents happen in town at modest speeds but that's a chance I might take. That's an inidvidual judgement call. But on the slab or otherwise at speed I'm really happy with my modular.

How the mold grew in your helmet depends on your particular environment. I've never had that happen. Take the helmet off after a sweaty day and put it on the shelf no worries for me. Wipe it down inside and out afterwards and wash the internals on a regular basis before there's a problem.
 
majt said:
bought a new hjc and tossed the shoei out,sad but i'm not going to dick around with mould.
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Good decision. As fnmag said, there can be serious issues with mold. Three of the common ones are toxic, and given the amount you saw, it is not worth taking chances. My wife and I bought a so called 'mold house'. We saw before pictures and several rooms were streaked in black and yellow mold. The mold abatement people did crappy work but they did get rid of most of it. We gutted the house and replaced nearly everything except the bones. It is not worth doing that with a helmet when a new one costs only a few hundred dollars.
 
The conditions could not have been better. July weather, downpour of rain,sun heating up the top box and a four yr old helmet. I use a cover for the bike during the riding season. I purchased a hjc i70. Much lighter than the shoei but it will due till next year when i can budget for a shoei. A stupid $700 mistake. I simply forgot to take the helmet out of the topbox and store it in the house. I had never experienced this with my other helmets. There was mould everywhere and it took less than 48 hrs to appear.
There,I said it and can sleep tonight with a clear conscious.
Happy trails amigos and I will endeavour to post more on this site after my 2 year riding hiatus. Thanks for the feedback.
 
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