ASK THE MXPERTS: HOW TO RAIN PREP YOUR HELMET’S VISOR

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Christian Craig.

Dear MXA,
    It rains a lot in Oregon and tear-offs and Roll-Offs are a must at many races, but I occasionally see riders with extended visors that they use to block roost and rain. Who sells these? Or, is there a kit I can buy?

Some helmet companies make visors that have a sliding or clip-on extension, but most helmet companies do not. Every couple years an aspiring entrepreneur will make a visor extension kit, but he always goes out of business because very few motocross racers realize the need before it arises. Plus, fashion consciousness keeps many riders from wearing anything that is not status backed. The quickest and easiest way to make your own visor extension is to use two-sided tape and a spare goggle lens (you choose the color). Apply the two-sided tape on the nose side of the goggle lens and then attach it to the underside of your visor. We use Scotch Brand Extremely Strong mounting tape. It is rated to hold a 30-pound object. This trick should extend your visor by 2- 1/2 inches. And, it is easily removed when you get so fast that no one could ever roost you.

Danny Magoo Chandler.

One more thing. To make an extended visor work, you still have to duck. The reason that motocross racers in the 1970s and 1980, most notably Bob Hannah and Danny ‘Magoo’ Chandler, wore duckbill visors is that with open-face helmets the only defense for your face was to duck—and a longer visor protected more area.