Time for another new Lid?

Quite some time again I wrote about how dirty the inside of my helmet had become and how smelly it had become due to my sweety melon being in it on hot days, you can read that here. Was that really two and a half years ago?

With an upcoming ride I thought I'd remove the internal liner and cheek pads and give them a spruce up in the wash and I wondered how dirty it would be this time around. I was very surprised with what I found.

Bummer the internal crown liner has fallen apart and is now no good. I checked and I got the helmet back here in December 2013 so it's now six years old. It's starting to show a few signs of wear, with a few chips in the surface and the cheek pads are worn and a little loose.

So then, time for a new helmet I thought to myself. Damn I don't need to spend that amount of cash right now just after MOTOGP weekend but nothing else for it. The GT Air has been a superb helmet and I would purchase another one again.

So I go online to check out the new Shoei GT Air II which reportedly has the internal visor drop down another 5mm to cover the gap where light can get in with the Mark I version. Price..... bang, goes my head on the floor as I pick myself up and check that price again. Yep Bang again.

No, I am not going to spend  $1050 clams on a new helmet.

Not when my head is only worth $25. So then whats a tight ass bastid supposed to do when he's a bit skint......
I remember Dave saying recently after he bought a GT Air he was going to get another liner as a spare. What a great idea I thought. I wonder if the liners are $500 shoei clams?

So I checked around and to my surprise the cheek pads and crown liner came in at only $149. Yeah that's some expensive bits of foam but it's $900 cheaper than a new lid. So I ordered some from the new AMX superstore at Auburn which is nice and handy near my work. That was on Monday and by Friday they had arrived.

Busting them open they were duly fitted up and now it's almost like a new helmet, cept for the scratches on the outside. Well the inside is brand spanker's. Now for the sniff test......... mmmm smells like strawberries and cream.......er no, then its smells like VOC gassing me but I likey very much. That new smell, sure beats stank sweat any day.

Helmet Stink

In the process of cleaning all of my motorcycle gear for our pending New Zealand tour, I grabbed out my helmet which is usually stored on a shelf with all my other clothes. It needed a clean as it was smothered in bugs, I'm sure that Shoei was spelt with an I. Yes there were quite a few of the little critters stuck to it.

I usually clean the outer surface of my helmet with a bucket of warm water and a chux wipe and some good old fashioned elbow grease. After about 10 minutes the helmet came up looking pretty good.

I took a close look inside and my nostrils were assaulted with the stench of months years of old sweat. Erg god the humanity, the stench was nearly unbearable I thought to myself, no point in having all this nice clean gear if I vomit on it every time I put my helmet on. So it was out with the Shoei manual that came with the helmet to see how to pull all of the cheek pads and inner linings out.

What's the worst that could happen? Maybe I couldn't put them back in again and would have to purchase a new helmet. I can live with that, I'm prepared to take that risk.

To my surprise the cheek pads and inner lining came out really easily, I wonder why I'd never done this before now. To my complete surprise and horror the inside of the helmet was absolutely filthy, not just sweat but there was dirt, dust and a whole platoon of dead insects inside. I've only had this helmet for 3 years as well. God  knows what would have been inside the lining of my last helmet as it was 8 or 9 years old.

Left: Bugs galore.

Right: Dirt, dust, debris and bugs.

I decided on following the manual and just hand wash them in warm water. I also added a dash of liquid detergent that I normally use in the washing machine, I figured it couldn't hurt if we use it for our clothes it should be fine for the cheek pads. After hand washing for 5minutes and a 15 minute soak, it was out onto the line in the shed to drip dry.

Back in the house I got the visor and cleaned it. I've been having a few problems of late with the visor. No matter how I clean it, it always has a hazy looking streak across the visor that I haven't been able to get rid of. That is until now. I bought myself some Plexus plastic cleaner and gave that a go. What a difference that made. The visor is completely clear again, no haze and some of the scratches are barely noticeable. Its look as clean as the day I bought it. This plexus stuff is pretty good even though it bloody expensive.