Taking care of your helmets and functional textiles

When riding a motorcycle, not only the care and protection of the motorcycle is of great importance, but also the care of important equipment such as clothing or helmet. Their unrestricted functionality plays a decisive role in protecting the rider. Regular care of the equipment also ensures optimum wearing comfort and protection of the materials.

The state-of-the-art equipment of a motorcyclist today no longer consists only of the leather suit and the helmet. Helmet visors alone are equipped with a wide variety of coatings to prevent glare, scratches or fogging of the visor.

In addition to classic leather, more and more functional textiles are being used in motorcycle clothing today. Underneath the outer textile layer, such garments have a climate membrane that keeps wind and moisture out, but at the same time ensures optimal breathability from the inside to the outside. These modern finishes also require particularly high-quality care to ensure perfect function and durability.

Textile care; tips and ideas

a) Cleaning your motorcycle textiles:

High-quality functional textiles require special care. With increasing soiling, the breathability of climate membranes is reduced. Conventional detergents and fabric softeners can impair the climate membrane function and reduce the effect of waterproofing agents.

We recommend S100 Fabric & Leather Wash. It renews the breathability of climate membranes and ideally prepares the ultra-modern fibres to receive a waterproofing spray.

No fabric softener!

Fabric softeners contain substances that wrap around the fibres during washing, reducing friction between the fibres. This is why the laundry feels softer afterwards. Waterproofing agents for textiles work according to the same principle. However, if the fibres have already been treated with fabric softener, these active ingredients cannot adhere to the fibres. Effective waterproofing is then no longer possible.

b) Waterproofing your motorcycle or leather textiles:

Anyone who unexpectedly gets caught in a rain shower knows how important waterproofed textile fabric or leather functional clothing (be it jacket, trousers or shoes) can be. Even the outer lining of waterproof membrane clothing soaks up water and lets the wind create unpleasant evaporative cold. The body cools down and you have the feeling of being wet. In addition, this greatly reduces the breathability of the membrane.

We recommend S100 Fabric Protect Textiles & Leather. It offers integrated UV protection and shows a superior waterproofing effect – on textile and leather. Its special active ingredients wrap around the fibres of the garment and line up next to each other like a multitude of “umbrellas” during drying. It also effectively prevents fading and preserves the visual appearance of the garment in the long term. S100 Fabric Protect Textiles & Leather provides lasting protection against moisture and evaporative cold. The breathability of climate membranes is preserved.

Helmet care; cleaning and hygiene

The helmet is one of the most important pieces of equipment for protecting the motorcyclist. Around three quarters of all motorcycle accidents are frontal collisions. Only a helmet that functions without impairment can contribute optimally to the rider’s safety. Regular care also guarantees the best wearing comfort and, together with continuous monitoring of functionality, supports safety when riding a motorcycle.

a) Helmet visor:

Every motorcyclist knows it: After a long tour, the helmet is littered with dead insects. If you don’t get rid of them quickly, they become stubbornly attached and are almost impossible to remove. The faster and more completely insects are removed, the better. The condition of the visor has a direct influence on visibility when riding a motorcycle. Modern visors are usually equipped with special coatings (e.g. tinted visors, scratch-resistant and mirrored visors or visors with anti-fog coating).

Cleaners for visors must protect these different coatings and still clean the visor optimally. Because a well-cared-for visor ensures optimal visibility and thus more safety and, in the truest sense of the word, unclouded driving pleasure.

We recommend S100 Visor and Helmet Cleaner. It offers a strong cleaning effect, especially against insect residues, and is gentle on all types of visors. Thanks to the gentle ingredients, the product is even suitable for Pinlock visors and mirrored visors. The enclosed microfibre cloth supports the cleaning effect very effectively and prevents scratches and streaks caused by the use of incorrect cleaning cloths.

Tips:

If possible, clean the visor immediately after a ride. This is the gentlest and easiest way to remove dirt.

Avoid vigorous wiping to remove dried insect remains. This can lead to scratches on the visor.

Look out for damaged areas on coated visors. Do not leave cleaning agents on these areas for a long time. The cleaning agent could otherwise penetrate under the coating at these points and partially peel it off.

If you use cleaning cloths for the visor, make sure they are guaranteed scratch-free.

Never use polishes on coated visors. They usually damage the coating irreparably.

Replace the visor in good time. A scratched or blind visor can lead to considerable restriction of vision, especially at night (e.g. when dazzled by oncoming traffic or low sun).

b) Helmet shell:

For gentle and effective cleaning of the helmet shell from insect residues and other dirt, we also recommend S100 Visor and Helmet Cleaner or S100 Visor and Helmet Cleaning Wipes for on the go.

For dull or slightly weathered gloss painted helmets, we recommend using a polish. After thoroughly cleaning the helmet, S100 Paint and Plastic Polish ensures optimum colour refreshment and a radiant shine. Even insect residues that are extremely burnt into the varnish are excellently removed with it.

Tips:

Helmets in good condition should be sealed. Wax protects the helmet surface from fading due to UV rays. This way you can bring back or permanently preserve the colour and shine of the helmet.

What’s more, the protective layer prevents attack by insect residues and reduces their adhesion. This makes cleaning much easier.

Seal gloss painted helmets with S100 Gloss Wax Spray.

Seal matt painted helmets with S100 Matt Wax Spray.

Important: never treat matt painted helmets with polishes! White spots may appear and the matt look will be lost.

c) Helmet padding:

If a helmet is worn frequently, the helmet padding becomes dirty over time. Influences such as road dust, remnants of hairspray and sweat leave an unhygienic layer of dirt in the helmet and form unpleasant odours. In the long run, this dirt can also worsen the fit of the helmet. Conventional upholstery cleaners do clean the helmet upholstery, but they may loosen adhesions and do not permanently combat the odour, but only mask it.

We recommend S100 Helmet Lining Cleaner to care for the inside of the helmet. It provides a thorough cleaning of all dirt, kills bacteria and eliminates unpleasant odours for good instead of just covering them up. Its ease of use eliminates the need to remove and tediously replace the helmet pad.

(taken from Dr. Wack.com makers of S100 cleaning products)