Wanna Ride a Motorcycle? GTFO of Your Comfort Zone.

 

You may need to google GTFO :D. If someone told me a few years ago that I'd be up and moving all the way across the country to a city I've never visited, I would've told them to GTFO!

A few years ago I realized that I wanted to really pursue this hobby and try to incorporate it into my 'career. It's been a difficult journey, especially after losing the one job I thought was going to make that dream come true.

I pretty much gave up on the idea of having a 'real' job in the motorcycle industry, because if you work in the industry, you know how difficult it is to find a really good one that actually pays you real money. I didn't start this website to make money, god knows it's not how I've supported myself.

But I thought there must be some way to do a little of this and some 'real' work on the side. Fortunately, I found Revzilla.

I'd never consider moving across the country for a job I wasn't already in love with. And although this means relocating to a completely foreign city, on a coast I've never lived on, I had no choice. Because I'd rather live in Philly and have this awesome job, than stay in San Francisco and not be completely in love with what I do.

One thing I've figured out so far is that no matter how difficult this journey might be, I know it'll be one of the best experiences I've ever had. But if I didn't put myself out there first, it never would've happened.

How Quiet Can A Motorcycle Helmet Be?

When you're considering a new helmet, one of the things on your mind is probably noise. When you're going down the highway at 55+mph, you have a lot of wind noise to deal with. And it's hard to tell what helmet is going to work better especially when everyone's ears, bikes and accessories are different. The bottom line is, you aren't going to find a magical helmet with so much wind reduction as to silence the world around you. You may have to take a couple extra steps to reduce the wind noise around you.

As a sportbike rider, I'm fighting not only wind, but a minimally faired bike and a lower windscreen. If you expect any helmet to completely silence your ride, prepare to be disappointed. After zipping around today on the back of my friend's Goldwing I discovered just how amazing a large windscreen and fairing could be!

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the added noise reduction my Schuberth provided on this kind of touring bike. My friend Mike and I were able to chit chat along the way to brunch (which was delicious, btw).  I didn't wear my earplugs, and didn't even notice that I didn't have them in until we started across the bridge.

If someone tells you how quiet/loud their helmet is, make sure you ask all the questions and don't assume everyone is going to have the same experience.

And don't forget to make sure you're wearing the right size/fit, because there's nothing worse than a helmet that's too big letting in even more noise.

Old Schuberth Fans, C2 vs. C3

Have an old C2 and not sure why you should upgrade to the new C3? Check out this overview comparing the 2 models and what you might be missing out on! Schuberth C2 to C3 upgrades

Pinlock Visors and Schuberth Helmets

As you might remember, I recently had the opportunity to ride a BMW in Ireland for a day. It was an interesting mix of fun, adventure and rain. Lots of rain!

Unfortunately I had an issue with my Schuberth leaking and my Pinlock lens not cooperating. Luckily I went to visit my friends at Schuberth N.A. at their headquarters in Southern California. Whenever you invest in a high end, premium helmet, they typically offer a level of customer service that you may not be able to find with an entry level one.

Schuberth is no different. Their office is like a small startup, an informal, casual atmosphere but a level of professionalism and customer service that is defined by an elite crew of team members.

The issue I had with my helmet was that the seal between the face shield and the helmet was broken so I was getting wet! I knew this wasn't normal and certainly there had to be an explanation. Phil, one of their customer service technicians took my helmet away so quickly to fix it, I wasn't able to take a picture of the problem. (Thanks Phil!)

Basically there was a visible bubble along the seal, definitely not normal. Above and to the left of where it says Schuberth along the left cheek.

He also noticed my Pinlock lens wasn't seated correctly. If you have one, then you may or may not know that it might need adjustment every now and then especially if the visor stops working. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to do that with this one, because I've had to do that many times with other Pinlock enabled helmets I've had. If the pins become too loose or too tight, then your visor won't seal correctly and it can separate from the visor. There should never be space between the Pinlock lens and the face shield. If you can visibly see fog or air between, then you need to readjust the pins. (or it might be the wrong model # for that helmet, which I've also encountered).

Follow this link for instructions on removing and adjusting the tension on your Pinlock.

Up to this trip, I had never experienced these issues riding in the rain/wind. It makes sense that over time the pins may become too loose. Or you may have tightened them by accident, since it can be difficult to see the tiny arrows on the pins.

If your helmet stops working the way it was supposed to, bring those issue(s) to the attention of your manufacturer. If you have an issue, go back to the store you purchased it from and tell them what's going on. If they can't help you directly, they should be able to refer you directly to them.

My plan was to ultimately have a podcast of our conversation recorded for you to download. Unfortunately, my laptop decided to quit working on me (logic board fail!) right before I needed to press record. So we'll be circling back to try this again real soon.