BELL STAR ORDER SIZE UP FULL
I assume a company that has been manufacturing full face helmets and race helmets for almost 50 years knows what they are doing. Safety: Haven't tried it out, and hopefully never will. Haven't worn it in fog-up conditions yet, but some airflow can be felt, so I assume this is not as much of a problem as it is with my Shoei RF-1000.
BELL STAR ORDER SIZE UP CRACK
The lever allows to crack it perfectly with one hand, while riding. Works like a charm, and gives several settings to chose from: crack setting with a little lever, and a friction setting. The visors are crystal clear and high quality, adjustment is sweet. I'd rather have some noise than heat, and overall the noise isn't that bad. It somewhat makes the helmet more quiet, but I won't be wearing it in Florida. I tried it with the chin-piece that comes as an accessory. There may be weird weezing and whistling sounds when the vents are in half-open position. With the vents open the Star is slightly louder than the Shoeis, but it is quieter, or at lest the same, with the vents shut. No wonder, the air vents are big, that's where the noise seems to be coming from. That alone is a reason to get another one, if this one wears out. With all vents open the Bell Star almost feels like an open face helmet. The J is not a real full face helmet either, it has a chin-crash-bar, and is not DOT approved. I've seen the Schuberth "J" in Europe and could imagine that it is even cooler, but it cost little short of 600 Euros (850 bucks!!), so walked the other way. Nothing I've tried comes even close to this helmet, neither Shoei, nor Arai, nor Schuberth. In Florida good ventilation is elementary, and the Bell Star is, so far, the best vented full-face helmet I've ever used. There are parallel vents in the forehead area, and exhaust vents on the back side. Ventilation: Sophisticated ventilation system. My GS isn't going that fast, that this ever would be an issue. I didn't even bother to attach the "track strip" a high speed enhancing part, that comes with the helmet.
Comparing Schuberth S, Shoei, and Bell, the latter is way ahead of the game, as far as aerodynamics goes. It is evident, the designers had high speeds and race tracks in mind. It took it all the way up to 130 mph, and it still felt weightless. No weird aerodynamic forces either, trying to jerk your head around.
Even at high speeds it is extremely well-balanced and shows virtually no buffeting. The star feels extremely comfortable, it's like sitting in a Cadillac, after driving Chevy for years. Even a size smaller doesn't feel as snug as the Shoeis. Spacious, lush interior, no problems with chin-room. Very pleasant, it feels almost weightless. So the shell is bigger, but it runs smaller. I needed a Medium, even though my Shoeis are both "L". Size/Fit: The shell of the Bell Star is slightly bigger than my Shoeis, but it doesn't feel that way when wearing it. Hell, that bag is lush, like a Paris whore-house, all lined in red in velvet. So why not try something different?įirst impression: The Star is overall very well made helmet, comes with a fancy bag, and harder exchange-interior pads. Since Schuberth withdrew from the US market, I'd be damned if Id' spend that kind of money on a helmet with no parts supply line. The liners are my main issue, I probably could get 4 years out of a helmet, but after 2 years of daily wear in tropical weather conditions, these helmets start feeling yuck. My Shoeis are great helmets, but they have their down-sides, especially in Florida's head-sauna environment: The RF-1000 fogs up like a SOB, and there is only a mediocre ventilation-system on the 900. Who cares?Īfter two Shoeis I wanted something with easily removable and washable liners. It came in blue sports bike graphics with a little monster on the top, they didn't have solid colors in my size any more, at least not for that price. Since they offered me a $ 250-deal (including a second visor) on the $ 560.- Bell Star, I thought I'd give it a shot. That, and the scary idea of dropping another 500-600 bucks on a new Arai. I have to admit, it was rather nostalgia that got me into buying a Bell Star, than raionale. Hence, younger riders don't associate anything with this brand any more, even though it was Bell, who invented the full face helmet in the 60ies. The company supposedly got taken over by Bieffe, and concentrated on NASCAR and the bicycle-helmet market. These were the big-guy helmets back then, the Arais of the 70ies, that every little punk wanted, but couldn't afford. I remember Bell helmets from the late 70ies.
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