How to Use a Scooter Helmet Lock
Helmets are essential for protecting your head when you are riding your scooter, but when you make a stop and plan to do some walking, shopping or dining, it can be a pain to carry the helmet around. You could leave your helmet hanging from your handlebars and risk the chance it will be stolen, but it's always wiser to have a helmet lock. Some scooters come equipped with locks inside the luggage compartment, but for better protection you can purchase a tougher helmet lock and easily install it yourself. There are many different helmet lock options on the market, with two of the most common types being handlebar and cable locks.
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Things You'll Need
- Helmet
- Scooter key
- New helmet lock and tool
- Ratchet or Phillips head screwdriver
Instructions
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Using the Factory Installed Lock
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1
Open the luggage compartment under your scooter seat. Inside the luggage compartment you should see a plastic or metal hook. This hook may be attached to the underside of the seat itself.
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2
Close your scooter helmet's strap and shorten it, then loop it over the hook in the luggage compartment. You may have to hold it in place until you lower your seat most of the way.
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3
Close your seat and make sure it snaps to indicate it is locked. Your helmet will be hanging outside of the scooter but the majority of the strap will be inside the luggage compartment.
Using Cable Locks
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4
Open the locking mechanism on the cable lock and pull out the cables.
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5
Open the visor of your full-face helmet or close and tighten the straps of your open-face helmet.
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6
Loop the cable in through the neck opening and out through the face opening of your helmet or loop it through the d- or o-ring on the closed chin strap of your full-face helmet.
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7
Loop the cable through a part of your motorcycle where it can't easily be removed, such as a loop under the seat of your scooter or through the luggage rack.
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8
Insert both ends of the cable through the lock and shorten them if needed so the helmet doesn't hang too far down, then lock the lock.
Using a Handlebar Lock
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9
Disassemble the lock, which should have a clamp for the handlebar and an opening for the cable. This type of lock will usually come with a tool specific to its bolts or screws.
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10
Clamp the handlebar opening around whichever handlebar, right or left, you prefer to use and reinsert and tighten the bolt or screw. Depending upon the size of your handlebar, you may have to insert a washer to reduce the size of the handlebar opening on the lock. These washers should come standard with the lock. If the lock comes in more than one piece, you may have to insert one bolt before adding the locking mechanism and reinserting and tightening a second bolt.
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11
Open the receiving hole on the lock using the key.
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12
Loop the cable through the neck opening, then the face opening of the helmet, or through the d- or o-ring of the chin strap if the helmet is open face, then put the cable through the receiving hole of the lock. If the lock does not have a cable, loop the strap of your helmet through the receiving hole or over the lock pin that opens up.
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13
Push the lock closed, making sure the cable or chin strap doesn't get caught in the mechanism, and turn the key to lock it.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Your scooter's manual, if you still have it, will detail the location of the factory installed helmet lock and how to use it.
Your choice of a lock should depend upon what it requires you to carry around. Some locks must be removed and reinstalled for each use, while others can remain on your bike while you ride. If you do not have storage for a lock on your scooter, you should choose a lock that remains on your scooter and won't cause any problems while you ride.
Cable helmet locks don't have to be designed for scooters. Bike cable locks will work just fine, and may be cheaper.
While there is no guarantee someone set on stealing your helmet won't just cut the chin strap and slip it out of the lock, having a lock is an added deterrent.
Make sure you position your bolt-on helmet lock in an area where your helmet won't hang against a bike part that may be extremely hot, like your exhaust pipe. This could damage your helmet and possibly burn your hands when you use the lock.
References
Resources
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