I'm trying to get opinions on how well visors block out the sun. I currently ride right now with sunglasses and a clear visor but looking into getting a replacement visor so I can ride without sunglasses

http://www.newenough.com/street/helmets_eyewear/replacement_shields/hjc/shields_for_hjc_ac12_clsp_and_cl15_helmets.html

This is the visor, but do you think a mirrored visor will be good enough for the sun or should I get a smoked out one?

I can't comment on HJC's mirrored visors, but the mirrored Scorpion I ride with does a solid job with light management but staring directly at the sun. Then I just break out my welding shield.
To be fair, it's not recommended to ride with anything but clear after sunset.

+1 on the clear after dark. DO NOT get a visor that's too dark. It'll screw you up even if you ride under some trees.

My job sometimes requires me to stay until late into the day, so I carry my clear shield with me (I have a sack for it, and I tuck it into the waist of my riding pants. Rides nicely there, and doesn't get in the way.)

Anyway, I've got the blue mirrored one (BTW, yes, that's a Joe Rocket helmet... same shield. The helmet is made by HJC):

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/adouglas2001/Motorcycle%20tour%202009/IMG_0138.jpg http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/adouglas2001/Motorcycle%20tour%202009/IMG_0514.jpg

As you can see it's not TOO dark. Does a decent job.

I do wish it was neutral gray... it's brownish/amber. That's good for cutting haze and such (the human eye is evolved to be most sensitive to yellow light), but I like to see green grass and blue sky. You get used to the color quickly, and if your preferred sunglasses color is brown anyway, you're set.

i'm using a gold mirrored visor on an older HJC Zeek and have found that i still prefer to use my sunglasses under this visor to get the 'blockage' that i like.

+1 on andrew's suggestions too

I have a polychormatic visor on my Scorpion that works pretty good. After four years it doesn't get quite as dark as it originally did. I also have a tint strip across the top. This set-up covers about 90% of my riding.

There is a manufacture out there that markets sun shifting visors but I cannot find them with a quick internet search. Anyone know who it is?

And yes, a dark visor is no fun when going from bright sun to shade when you are riding the twisties. Bang - you cannot see a thing.

Get a helmet with a flip down sun visor, then you never need to choose.

I use the HJC "Dark Smoke" visor during the day and switch to clear at night.

How sensitive are your eyes? Personally I find that a mirrored shield isn't dark enough for me. They always seem to be about as dark as a light smoke shield. I use a dark smoke shield and still occasionally need to use sunglasses.

If you get a dark smoke shield and find it's too dark for the circumstances you face, you're screwed. You'd have to slap on your clear shield, assuming you've got it with you.

If you get a mirror shield you still have the option of adding sunglasses to it if it's not dark enough. You have more flexibility.

Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions. I was leaning more towards the mirrored to begin with. And yes no matter which one I get I would still carry my clear shield with me and change back to them once it gets close to sunset. Nice thing about the CL-15 is shield swapping is very quick and easy.

I've got a clear shield on my HJ but with the flick of a switch a pair of tinted "glasses" pop down on the inside that works A+++. If it starts to get dark, press in a little button and it pops right back in.

I only have Scorpion helmets, and use 3 visors, i cant speak for other manufacture's types!

Mirrored visor reduce sunlight a tad, vs Clear,

but NOT as good as Smoked visors!


Mirrored also is WORSE to use at night time then Clear!

Use ONLY CLEAR visor at nighttime!

Order: Dark smoke > light smoke > mirrored > clear

True about riding in the day/sunny and going into a overcast dark shaded area from the trees, CAN make your sight hard and scary to see through the turn!

Riding directly towards the last Hour of the day/ Sunset... NOT even my Dark Smoke visor blocks out the sun for ****!
Have you ever drove in your car, got sunglasses on, also have the sunvisor in your car down... yet the Sunset light is still too Great, Hazy and Visablilty is Very Poor, you cant hardly see the Car in front of you!?! :mad: :eek:

Either just keep wearing a Clear visor 100% time, with wearing your sunglasses under for day riding/going home from work.

Or, Buy a light/dark smoke visor and bring it with you to use during the ride home from work (if daytime) or such!

OR!!! Buy a Helmet like this one from Scorpion Exo-1000 $299.95-329.95!
Its got built in flip down sunglasses!

Oh, ill also add that riding at Night time with a Dark smoke Visor on is SCARY AS HELL!!! :D

Ive done this afew times, NOT by choice, id get out of a movie forgeting what time it is.. and CRAP!!!! its 9pm already? DAMNIT! :eek:

On top of that, once i had to ride home at night with my dark visor on (only one) and its Raining pretty bad also!!!!

Wow im glad im still alive! (cue Pearl Jam song) :o

On my Scorpion Chameleon Exo 700 I use the "mirrored green" visor. Oddly enuff it works pretty well at nite due to the tinting so I never bother with carrying a spare "clear" visor.....:thumbup:

Order: Dark smoke > light smoke > mirrored > clear
My silver mirrored EXO-700 shield beat the snot out of the dark smoke for me at the store where I was looking at them. Now starting to wonder if it was a mislabeled light smoke or somesuch. Still very happy with it as the cagers can't see me making faces sitting at stoplights :p

Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions, I ended up ordering the mirrored blue because as someone mentioned I can add sunglasses if its not dark enough and not have to completely change out the shield for slightly darker days like I would for a smoked shield.

Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions, I ended up ordering the mirrored blue because as someone mentioned I can add sunglasses if its not dark enough and not have to completely change out the shield for slightly darker days like I would for a smoked shield.

cool :thumbup:

as far as sunglasses go, to use under the helmet for daytime riding...

it helps for the sunglasses' frame to be one of a thin build, thus it being more flexiable to form around your ears and whatnot!

I wore a pair that were great for at work, but sucked under my helmet.
They were alil more rigid and thicker, kinda Pushed into the sides of my ears/head. Very uncomfortable!


Mirrored visors add privacy and looks to your helmet. Just remember to TRY NOT to ride Towards sunset during that last hour, i have afew times and its dangerous as hell IMO. I always try to plan my rides around that time of day cause of that!

Unless the sunset is to my Back! :D

Some "mirrored" visors work ok in the dark, dark smoke never does.

I'm trying to get opinions on how well visors block out the sun. I currently ride right now with sunglasses and a clear visor but looking into getting a replacement visor so I can ride without sunglasses

http://www.newenough.com/street/helmets_eyewear/replacement_shields/hjc/shields_for_hjc_ac12_clsp_and_cl15_helmets.html

This is the visor, but do you think a mirrored visor will be good enough for the sun or should I get a smoked out one?

I have two HJC helmets, one with integrated dark shield, and one with the smoke one, light, works great. I have tried the mirror one. It rides cooler for inside helmet, but not more protection from the sun.

I wear glasses, so sunglasses are not an option for me (without contact lenses) so i bought the scorpion exo-1000 with the internal flip-down sun visor. boy is it nice! much better than my previous helmet which used a standard swapping visor. its extremely nice being able to get rid of the tint without taking the helmet/sheild off... any time you go into a tunnel, under-ground or when it starts to get dark, it's perfect. i would strongly recommend a flip-down internal visor vs. an tinted shield to anyone.

I wear glasses, so sunglasses are not an option for me (without contact lenses)

Sure they are. I have prescription sunglasses that are very cool. Look great, too.

The biggest challenge to me is that I have a really powerful prescription... I'm extremely farsighted (correction +6.5 in one eye, +7 in the other) so my choices are very limited. None of the modern-style shades with prescription inserts will work.

As it happens the sunglasses I've got are polarized, which makes for some pretty trippy lighting effects when I wear them inside my helmet (the shield polarizes light too).

I just remembered a trick that my wife thought of:

Bring your helmet when you buy new glasses or sunglasses and make sure that the specs are easy to put on and remove when you're wearing the helmet. It helped us greatly the last time we were picking out frames. There were a few frames that looked good at first, but it turned out that they didn't work very well with the helmet at all.

I just remembered a trick that my wife thought of:

Bring your helmet when you buy new glasses or sunglasses and make sure that the specs are easy to put on and remove when you're wearing the helmet. It helped us greatly the last time we were picking out frames. There were a few frames that looked good at first, but it turned out that they didn't work very well with the helmet at all.

+1
I found the FLEXON frames{the ones you can wad up and they return to shape} work very well with a tight fitting helmet

I just remembered a trick that my wife thought of:

Bring your helmet when you buy new glasses or sunglasses and make sure that the specs are easy to put on and remove when you're wearing the helmet. It helped us greatly the last time we were picking out frames. There were a few frames that looked good at first, but it turned out that they didn't work very well with the helmet at all.

Good trick to know, thanks! My favorite Oakleys (wire 2.0) are a little long, so they sit about 1cm off my face inside the helmet, no to mention being exceptionally uncomfortable to put on once in the helmet. Thankfully I don't do that anymore.

I have a polychormatic visor on my Scorpion that works pretty good. After four years it doesn't get quite as dark as it originally did. I also have a tint strip across the top. This set-up covers about 90% of my riding.



Where on line do I get a tint strip? Issues in morning with that low sun going to work!

Thanks foir the help!

FOGCITY Speed Tint (http://http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=5000&L2=1&L3=107&L4=&item=TUC_55-0043_G&name=FOGCITY_Speed_Tint_Faceshield_Insert) Cycle gear sells it along with tons of other on line dealers.

Of course, you could use a scrap of automotive window tint and squeegee a strip in the inside of your visor.

Jeff

I'm using a really dark tinted visor, which i find pretty awesome in the sun. However in dark tunnels, i can't see as much as i'd like, but i'm used to it now. That is the only time during the day it bothers me abit. And i do 99% of my riding during the day, so i love my dark visor. If you do alot of your riding after the dark, i wouldn't recommend one though :p

Dont wear sunglasses , if you crash you could really tear up your eye balls. And not to mention it looks retarded.

I find sunglasses more flexible than dark shields. For a sunny trackday, I'll put on a dark shield as it provides more field of view and I know there is no chance of being caught out after dark. But on the street, a clear shield + sunglasses allows more airflow when needed, and the ability to have no tint at all if you do end up riding longer than expected. It's much easier than finding a place to carry an extra clear visor on the bike. In terms of safety, I wouldn't wear prescription glass lenses, but any decent pair of sunglasses now is impact-resistant / shatter-resistant.

I have a dark some one now on my HJC helmet and love it. I wear glasses so I don't have to worry about changing to prescription sunglasses with that visor. I have lost my clear shield in the past 8 years of not riding, I need to pick up a new one before I try to ride at night.

Link to a related thread (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16199)

I have a dark some one now on my HJC helmet and love it. I wear glasses so I don't have to worry about changing to prescription sunglasses with that visor. I have lost my clear shield in the past 8 years of not riding, I need to pick up a new one before I try to ride at night.

You wear an 8 year old helmet?

Has anyone used this on your Bell Vortex/Star Helmet???

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=7702


How well does it work, or does it SUCK???

You wear an 8 year old helmet?

Would you feel better if I said I wear a one year old helmet that sat in a closet for 8 years?

I think he's going to feel about the same either way. The more a propos point is how are you going to feel. :)

Would you feel better if I said I wear a one year old helmet that sat in a closet for 8 years?

You know that helmets "expire", right? If you do, that's cool by me. I just wanted to tell ya in case you didn't know :thumbup:

I had no idea, sounds crazy, I'll check it out. My helmet has been stored in a closet and not worn, sweated in, exposed to the elements, cleaner, or gas fumes. So i assumed it would be ok. I will start shopping for a new one though. Helmets aren't something to mess around with.

Has anyone used this on your Bell Vortex/Star Helmet???

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=7702


How well does it work, or does it SUCK???

I bought the Bell Vortex Apocolypse helmet earlier this and then purchased the transitions shield. It was expensive, but worth every penny. The visor shift color without you ever noticing the change, it basically is always the right tint level. It goes full tint to crystal clear in less then a minute. Honestly you can't even tell it's tinted while wearing it until you flip up the lid or take your helmet off.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bell-star-vortex-transistions-photochromatic-face-shield

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bell-vortex-rsd-apocolypse-helmet

As a bonus, Revzilla had excellent customer service and easy delivery to Canada...

This E-Tint AX-9 automatic visor insert.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/e-tint-visor/e-tint-mx-8.htm

http://www.e-tintproducts.com/index1.html

a4gV1gIrSd0

I bought the Bell Vortex Apocolypse helmet earlier this and then purchased the transitions shield. It was expensive, but worth every penny. The visor shift color without you ever noticing the change, it basically is always the right tint level. It goes full tint to crystal clear in less then a minute. Honestly you can't even tell it's tinted while wearing it until you flip up the lid or take your helmet off.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bell-star-vortex-transistions-photochromatic-face-shield

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/bell-vortex-rsd-apocolypse-helmet

As a bonus, Revzilla had excellent customer service and easy delivery to Canada...

Cool, thanks for the 411!

My Transitions shield came in today, STG called me to let me know!

Now i have to wait till this Friday or Saturday to Test it out!
(Its grey and cloudy, gloomy around here, until this weekend - I hate Michigan weather)

Cool, thanks for the 411!

My Transitions shield came in today, STG called me to let me know!

Now i have to wait till this Friday or Saturday to Test it out!
(Its grey and cloudy, gloomy around here, until this weekend - I hate Michigan weather)

Even on cloudy days it will still shade a bit. Like I said previously it's expensive but a great shield!

As far as motorcycle helmets are concerned, a bit of clarification:
Visor = Insert or brim
Shield = Primary eye protection

A full face road helmet always has a shield and optionally has a flip-down visor or insert visor. An off-road helmet has brim-type visor with an open face and a chin bar (eye protection provided by goggles).