First Post Ride Review On New Bell Star Helmet

[Beck]

Just got back rom a nice spring ride to Alice's this afternoon and got to try out my new Bell Star Helmet (Recoil Red model) that I got on closeout sale for $199 (Originally around $550).

First the good:

1) Fantastically stable at any speed. As mentioned in the WebBikeWorld site, it does go through the air very smoothly. No hint of turbulence that usually translate to drag that puts pressure on your helmet and through your neck. the aerodynamic work that Bell is so proud of in their ads paid off 100% IMO. It even beats the smoothest looking helmet I have, the Dianese Ergon. I was really surprised cause I thought the big size of the helmet shell would translate to more turbulence/drag.

2) The visor detents work very well and got smoother in operation after a few times opening and closing it on the road. It feels a little tight and clunky out of the box, but it smoothens out after a little use.

3) For some reason, it actually feels comfortable riding with the visor open in city streets. I think that there is a nice still air pocket formed in front of my face when I ride with the shield open in slower city speed. Really starnge cause I coudln't stand doing the same with all my other helmets. I'll try doing the same for a longer time on my next ride to see if it's not just a fluke.

4) Best venting I ever felt in a helmet! I can even feel my hair move around a bit from the nice flow of air coming from the top vents. What's great too is the flow of air to the shield does not bother my eyes as in some of my other helmets. Maybe there's a little more space between my face and the shield....I dunno... Makes for a more comfortable /calm interior at Highway speeds.

5) The helmet is surprisingly light considering the size of it's shell (it has the extended rear for aerodynamics) and with it's stability in the airstream, it's a helmet that will not tire you out wearing it for many miles like others might.

Now, the bad:

1) It's noisy at highways speeds because of the two rear/side exhaust vents. What makes the helmet vent so well seems to cause quite a bit of noise right behind the ears where the two large exhaust vents are located. If there's anything good about this is, it's not the booming type of turbulence/wind noise that can get you really tired riding quick. It's more like rushing air that's constant. I put on my earplugs and it was so much better cause earplugs are better at keeping these higher frquency sounds from your eardrums. unlike the lower frequency booming I experience in some of my other helmets. At least there's an effective cure for this noise problem in this helmet.

Summary: For the price I got it for, the Bell Star helmet is a fantastic buy. A top of the line model at only $199! Aerodynamics that really work, venting airflow that is among the best out there for sure.

It's one of the best helmet I ever used so far. Only negative with it is the noisy rear side exhausts.

One more plus for me personally, is the nostalgia factor with the Star. I had a Bell Star 120 back in highschool given to me by my dad. this new Star helmet is a welcome return of a brand that I got to know very well in the earliest days of my riding.

Welcome back Bell, hope you stay around a while and compete with the other big brands once again!

Anyone sitll looking around for a new helmet this season should really check out the Bell Star and still try to get them at the great closeout prices.

BTW, the helmet bag it comes with beats all those cheap helmet socks that come with other brands. It is as nice as others have said.

Beck

95 VFR

[RED RUNNER]

Just got back rom a nice spring ride to Alice's this afternoon and got to try out my new Bell Star Helmet (Recoil Red model) that I got on closeout sale for $199 (Originally around $550).

First the good:

1) Fantastically stable at any speed. As mentioned in the WebBikeWorld site, it does go through the air very smoothly. No hint of turbulence that usually translate to drag that puts pressure on your helmet and through your neck. the aerodynamic work that Bell is so proud of in their ads paid off 100% IMO. It even beats the smoothest looking helmet I have, the Dianese Ergon. I was really surprised cause I thought the big size of the helmet shell would translate to more turbulence/drag.

2) The visor detents work very well and got smoother in operation after a few times opening and closing it on the road. It feels a little tight and clunky out of the box, but it smoothens out after a little use.

3) For some reason, it actually feels comfortable riding with the visor open in city streets. I think that there is a nice still air pocket formed in front of my face when I ride with the shield open in slower city speed. Really starnge cause I coudln't stand doing the same with all my other helmets. I'll try doing the same for a longer time on my next ride to see if it's not just a fluke.

4) Best venting I ever felt in a helmet! I can even feel my hair move around a bit from the nice flow of air coming from the top vents. What's great too is the flow of air to the shield does not bother my eyes as in some of my other helmets. Maybe there's a little more space between my face and the shield....I dunno... Makes for a more comfortable /calm interior at Highway speeds.

5) The helmet is surprisingly light considering the size of it's shell (it has the extended rear for aerodynamics) and with it's stability in the airstream, it's a helmet that will not tire you out wearing it for many miles like others might.

Now, the bad:

1) It's noisy at highways speeds because of the two rear/side exhaust vents. What makes the helmet vent so well seems to cause quite a bit of noise right behind the ears where the two large exhaust vents are located. If there's anything good about this is, it's not the booming type of turbulence/wind noise that can get you really tired riding quick. It's more like rushing air that's constant. I put on my earplugs and it was so much better cause earplugs are better at keeping these higher frquency sounds from your eardrums. unlike the lower frequency booming I experience in some of my other helmets. At least there's an effective cure for this noise problem in this helmet.

Summary: For the price I got it for, the Bell Star helmet is a fantastic buy. A top of the line model at only $199! Aerodynamics that really work, venting airflow that is among the best out there for sure.

It's one of the best helmet I ever used so far. Only negative with it is the noisy rear side exhausts.

One more plus for me personally, is the nostalgia factor with the Star. I had a Bell Star 120 back in highschool given to me by my dad. this new Star helmet is a welcome return of a brand that I got to know very well in the earliest days of my riding.

Welcome back Bell, hope you stay around a while and compete with the other big brands once again!

Anyone sitll looking around for a new helmet this season should really check out the Bell Star and still try to get them at the great closeout prices.

BTW, the helmet bag it comes with beats all those cheap helmet socks that come with other brands. It is as nice as others have said.

Beck

95 VFR

Sounds nice. What helmets have you had that we can use as a comparison?

[Ryanme17]

Just got back rom a nice spring ride to Alice's this afternoon and got to try out my new Bell Star Helmet (Recoil Red model) that I got on closeout sale for $199 (Originally around $550).

First the good:

1) Fantastically stable at any speed. As mentioned in the WebBikeWorld site, it does go through the air very smoothly. No hint of turbulence that usually translate to drag that puts pressure on your helmet and through your neck. the aerodynamic work that Bell is so proud of in their ads paid off 100% IMO. It even beats the smoothest looking helmet I have, the Dianese Ergon. I was really surprised cause I thought the big size of the helmet shell would translate to more turbulence/drag.

2) The visor detents work very well and got smoother in operation after a few times opening and closing it on the road. It feels a little tight and clunky out of the box, but it smoothens out after a little use.

3) For some reason, it actually feels comfortable riding with the visor open in city streets. I think that there is a nice still air pocket formed in front of my face when I ride with the shield open in slower city speed. Really starnge cause I coudln't stand doing the same with all my other helmets. I'll try doing the same for a longer time on my next ride to see if it's not just a fluke.

4) Best venting I ever felt in a helmet! I can even feel my hair move around a bit from the nice flow of air coming from the top vents. What's great too is the flow of air to the shield does not bother my eyes as in some of my other helmets. Maybe there's a little more space between my face and the shield....I dunno... Makes for a more comfortable /calm interior at Highway speeds.

5) The helmet is surprisingly light considering the size of it's shell (it has the extended rear for aerodynamics) and with it's stability in the airstream, it's a helmet that will not tire you out wearing it for many miles like others might.

Now, the bad:

1) It's noisy at highways speeds because of the two rear/side exhaust vents. What makes the helmet vent so well seems to cause quite a bit of noise right behind the ears where the two large exhaust vents are located. If there's anything good about this is, it's not the booming type of turbulence/wind noise that can get you really tired riding quick. It's more like rushing air that's constant. I put on my earplugs and it was so much better cause earplugs are better at keeping these higher frquency sounds from your eardrums. unlike the lower frequency booming I experience in some of my other helmets. At least there's an effective cure for this noise problem in this helmet.

Summary: For the price I got it for, the Bell Star helmet is a fantastic buy. A top of the line model at only $199! Aerodynamics that really work, venting airflow that is among the best out there for sure.

It's one of the best helmet I ever used so far. Only negative with it is the noisy rear side exhausts.

One more plus for me personally, is the nostalgia factor with the Star. I had a Bell Star 120 back in highschool given to me by my dad. this new Star helmet is a welcome return of a brand that I got to know very well in the earliest days of my riding.

Welcome back Bell, hope you stay around a while and compete with the other big brands once again!

Anyone sitll looking around for a new helmet this season should really check out the Bell Star and still try to get them at the great closeout prices.

BTW, the helmet bag it comes with beats all those cheap helmet socks that come with other brands. It is as nice as others have said.

Beck

95 VFR

Sounds nice. What helmets have you had that we can use as a comparison?

I bought one of the $200 Bell Star's on Closeout, it's great--except that opening the visor also opens the top vents! Not good when the weather doesn't get above 40 degrees... The visor literally hits the switch that opens the vents.

[Beck]

Sounds nice. What helmets have you had that we can use as a comparison?

My other helmets include:

BMW System 2 Modular - Retired - loved it when it was new, but now it looks like a robot head helmet. It's very heavy too. Never really trusted the fron chin piece. It does not seem to be that strong enough to stay on in big crash.

Shoei X8, Rainey Replica - Retired - light and very quiet. Loved this helmet. It was so much higher in quality than my BMW helmet.

Dainese Ergon 1st series - Retired, but I still do take it for a ride once in a while cause it's a sentimental favorite. Very very light, It's a very smooth helmet but suprisingly, it suffers from a little lift at high speeds. It's a little noisy, I think it's because of it's very light (thin?) shell. A grey import from the UK, not DOT certified...blehhhh,, I don't care!

Dainese Evo 1 - Still in use - It's a very stable helmet good aerodynamics. Not too noisy.

X-lite X901 Checa Replica - Still in use - Very high quality helmet. One of those brands that seems to not get noticed for some reason. Very stable helmet at high speed, maybe because of it's thinned down front aspect (very narrow between the cheeks). A very good helmet in all aspects except for the eyeport being a little low above the eyes. makes it a little hard to see far down the road when tucked in behind the fairing.

Except for my retired Shoei X8, I do have unusual helmets when it comes to brands, but I bought these mostly for their low weight and better than average performance.

Beck

95 VFR

[Beck]

I bought one of the $200 Bell Star's on Closeout, it's great--except that opening the visor also opens the top vents! Not good when the weather doesn't get above 40 degrees... The visor literally hits the switch that opens the vents.

That's strange, I do not have this problem with mine. I have an XL shell already. My shield stops before hitting the vent slider switches, so there's no way mine would be opened up by the shield. Something must not be adjusted right on your Bell. Check if you can adjust the side hinge plates to get rid of this problem. Otherwise, you should contact the dealer about it.

Beck

95 VFR