Renew Your Helmet

[bwringer]

My beloved bright yellow HJC AC-12, purchased last spring, was getting rather floppy of shield and gamy of scent.

I removed the inner liner and cheek pads, which simply snap out, and washed them in a sink of warm water with a touch of Tide. I might have heard a few tiny screams as the rampant biological activity in the cloth and foam was badly disrupted.

The water turned an unseemly shade of gray, leading me to believe that maybe I let this chore go a tad too long. A few more rounds of washing and rinsing, and the liners looked and smelled much better. I set them aside on a clean towel to dry for a few days. (My backup AC-12 was pressed into service for the duration.)

Then I visited http://newenough.com where I ordered up new base plates (the bits the shield attaches to) for a reasonable $11.99 and a new clear shield, about $25. NewEnough also sells new cheek pads for HJC helmets for about $15, but they were out of stock at the time. My old ones were in fine shape after their overdue bath anyway.

The new base plates install with just a few simple screws. With the new parts installed, the shield snaps into position with authority and stays put, just like it did when the helmet was new. The interior smells daisy-fresh, erasing that feeling of dread when pulling it on.

Moral of the story? If you have a nice helmet that's starting to smell bad or is suffering from worn moving parts, poke around for replacement parts. It's quite likely you can rejuvenate this old lid for a very reasonable sum

And fer Pete's sake, clean the interior once in a while. I've learned my lesson there.

Now, if I can just find a little HJC Dark Yellow touchup paint...

[Nessism]

Nice feature having a removable liner. Some of that "color" you saw in the cleaning water was most likely dye from the fabric. No doubt that stuff transfers to our head when we sweat as well. At any rate, good heads up.

[Killer2600]

I just throw the cheek pads and liner in the washer and let them air dry.

[bwringer]

Some of that "color" you saw in the cleaning water was most likely dye from the fabric.

Man, I hope so.

[DPage]

I think I'll try to wash the Nolan's helmet lining over the winter - it's starting to smell like a foot.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Borax is a wondrous chemical. It takes the rotten smell out of everything including ols sneakers.

[DPage]

Thanks Jeeprusty, I used Borax and then regular liquid laundry detergent with a very good outcome. It doesn't smell like a foot anymore. There is some wear on the helmet liner fabric and foam when you do this, so I wouldn't want to do it every six months, but it seems like a good thing to do every year or two.

Also, the Nolan helmets website offers OEM replacements if you'd like it all to look new. The liner is about $50 and a pair of cheekpads are about $40 - not cheap, but a lot less than a new Nolan helmet.

[michaelj_444]

Anotherr tip is to stuff your lid with newspaper during the off season.

[jimfj]

try a couple of your favorite fabric softener dryer sheets in each of your helmets when your not wearinf them. Easy and cheap.