Tag Archives: Visor

Wipey promises clean helmet visor

There has been no shortage of inventions over the years to keep the rain off your visor and now there is Wipey which is a portable windscreen wiper.

Wipey is a snap-on device which fits in seconds to your visor and uses a small electric motor to wipe it clean like a car’s windscreen wiper.

The Slovenian product is not yet in production but will soon go to a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign.

It snaps into a tiny plastic guide which can be fixed to the visor with two M2 screws or double-sided tape. wipey visor

Victorian police might take a dim view of this product since they still believe any addition to a helmet is illegal.

They also object to novelty helmet covers because they “have the potential to impede vision through the visor”, so this may be deemed illegal.

Visor cleaning inventions

Wipey follows many inventions trying to solve the same problem of rain on a helmet visor.

The simplest solutions are sprays such as Rain-X, gloves with a small wiper blade on the forefinger, or the glove-mounted Visorcat washer/wiper that washes as well as wipes your visor. 

Visorcat helmet visor cleaner and wiper
Click here to read our review of the Visorcat visor washer and wiper

However, there have also been automated wipers like Wipey around for a long time such as this Turbo Visor that “spins the rain away”.Visor wipey turbo wiper

The closest to Wipey is Rainpal which raised money through a crowd-funding campaign a couple of years ago yet has still not gone into production.

We can’t tell you more about Rainpal as we have been threatened with legal action.

Rainpal wipey visor
Rainpal

Wipey is a little different because it is small and portable and quickly snaps on to any visor.

How Wipey works

You can put the small 55g unit on the top or bottom of your visor and there is a big black button to push to activate it. One push gives one sweep, but a longer push starts the intermittent wiping.

While it’s on, press again to go from a one-second intermittent wipe to three seconds snd again for six seconds.

One long push of the button then turns it off.

Seems awkward, but an optional Bluetooth handlebar-mounted remote will also be available.

wipey visor
Bluetooth handlebar remote

They say it does not impede the anti-fog function of a Pinlock visor insert.

It looks like it could easily be dislodged, but they say it has been tested at 130km/h.

A 3V battery will last up to three hours of continuous use or 12 hours intermittently. You can also use 3V rechargeable batteries.wipey visor

There is no word yet on price, but the Kickstarter begins soon with a 50% discount offer to early supporters.

It will come in yellow or black with a one-year warranty and the wiper blade can be replaced.

wipey visor

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Win a Visorcat washer/wiper for clear vision

Dirty visors are not only a nuisance but a safety risk, but the glove-mounted Visorcat washer/wiper allows you to clean your visor on the go.

Visorcat is made of rubber with a webbing strap that goes around your hand.

There is a rubber loop to go over your finger or thumb, a reservoir for the provided visor wash and two 75mm-long (3”) windscreen-wiper-style blades that sit on the back of your hand, below the knuckle.

Underneath the blades is a sponge.

You wipe right to left to remove rainwater with the double rubber wiper blades.

Visorcat helmet visor cleaner and wiper
Wipe right to left to clear your visor with the double rubber blades

If your visor is dirty and needs a wash first, you wipe left to right.

The curved edge of the wiper flap pulls back automatically to reveal the sponge underneath which is moistened by the supplied washing liquid.

Visorcat helmet visor cleaner and wiper
Wipe left to right to use the sponge

There’s a wick connecting the sponge to the reservoir to keep it moist.

Make sure the sponge is wet to start with and the reservoir is full.Visorcat helmet visor cleaner and wiper

Win a Visorcat

You can win one of these $105 Visorcats simply by subscribing to our free weekly newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

If you’re already one of our subscribers, simply tell us what you think of Visorcat by leaving a comment at the end of this article.

We’ll randomly draw the winner at midnight on Friday (22 March, 2019) and announce their name in this article and on social media on Saturday. The prize will be posted to the winner. (Competition limited to Australian postal addresses.)Visorcat helmet visor cleaner and wiper

Visorcat review

I was initially quite sceptical of this product. It looked cumbersome and, frankly, a bit ridiculous.

However, it’s easy to fit over your left glove and tighten with the strap to stay in place.

Once in place you can hardly feel it’s there and it doesn’t in any way limit your clutch hand movement.

I also thought it would be a nuisance every time I took my glove off or put it on, but it actually stays in place, so there’s no need to remove it.

If you do want to remove it, just undo the strap and it comes off in a second.

The wiper blades are great for quickly and effectively wiping rainwater off your visor.

On wide visors you may have to wipe up to three times to cover the whole field of vision, but generally one wipe will clear enough of the visor for good vision.

Yet another reason to go riding in the rain!Fogging helmet visor wet rain work visorcat

Dirty visor

A dirty visor is another matter.

I prefer to wash off grime, insects, dust, etc with water or a cleaning liquid. If you wipe it straight away, you are liable to scratch your visor.

Even if you can’t see the scratches, you may have made very small scratches which cause a blurry “starring” effect when looking into the sun or car lights at night. 

I was reticent to use the sponge washer, so I tried it first on an old helmet.

You have to make sure the sponge is well and truly moist before wiping across your visor.

I preferred to pull over and check that the sponge was wet first. I even added an extra dob of the liquid directly on to the sponge just to make sure.Visorcat helmet visor cleaner and wiper

I tried it several times on the old helmet and it worked fine without any visible or even minor scratching. That made me confident enough to try it on a brand new visor. It left no scratches.

However, I would not use it on a very dirty or dusty visor. I’d rather douse the visor with plenty of water first.

The Visorcat works just fine for light grime such as a small bug straight after you’ve hit it.

And isn’t that usually the case? You’ve just cleaned your visor, hopped on your bike and in the first kilometre you hit a bug right in the middle of your field of vision!

With the Visorcat you don’t have to stop, but can keep on riding.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com