2009 Bell Star

Some of you may already know about this but MotorcycleCloseouts.com had the 2009 model Bell Star at pretty great pricing. They run as little as $199.99 for Gloss Black but you can still get the fancy paint jobs for $299 or less (for example the Contra paint is just $199. this week.

I pick up a black one and I'm really impressed with the Star. I've had couple of Shoei helmets and have currently been riding an Arai Profile but the Star is now my go to helmet. The first reason is the venting. Why can't we have venting like this in a helmet that is less than $600? (At this closeout price we can). The second is the fit. The Star has the super easy to change pads that made my helmet feel custom. Additional reasons why I like this helmet is the weight, the super easy visor change and finally it comes with a bag that you would expect to pay $50 for. As you might see online it is a little noisy at speed but all helmets with good venting are loud. I'll take the noise and the venting over quiet and no air any day.

As for motorcyclecloseouts.com, they shipped super quickly. As for their return policy, they will change you 10% to restock unworn items but the pricing makes that seem fair. I actually bought two helmets for sizing purposes and returned one knowing that I would have to pay for that. They are supposed to credit me back within two weeks. If they don't, you all will definitely hear about it. Until then they get the benefit of the doubt for being a fast shipper with a high end helmet at base level price.

Cool.

How is the fit/sizing compared to other well-known helmets; say a Shoei RF? Fatter? Skinnier? Smaller? Larger?

[image: View Post]carlitos92, on 18 October 2010 - 01:04 PM, said:

Cool.

How is the fit/sizing compared to other well-known helmets; say a Shoei RF? Fatter? Skinnier? Smaller? Larger?



I find the fit to be pretty neutral. Yes, I do have an Arai Profile too which is thinner and longer but in all fairness it doesn't fit me a little tight side to side. I just like the front to back length. I think the Bell Star fits a bit like the Shoei. I got my Star in a large but I ended up buying cheek pads that were 45mm (instead of the stock 40mm) for slightly tighter fit in the side of the face and behind the ears. I tried 40mm as well but this was I tiny bit tight. What that told me was that the adjustability was very functional.

I used to wear a Shoei RF-1000 in large but it felt a little bit big. I have an Arai Profile in Large but it was a little bit tight. The Bell Star is a large and it was a tiny bit big but after the cheek pad change it is just right.

Note: The M and the L helmets are the same shell. The large has 40mm pads while the medium has 50mm pads. I decided to split the difference.

Revzilla has a good explanation about the fit on one of their videos. (I know it sucks to use their videos and buy from someone else but I'm going to use R-Z for something else this week.

I had my Bell Star about a week when the tab that holds the face mask closed broke. And when you open the mask all the way the mask hits the upper vents and opens them. Also one of the upper vents no longer closes at all and the other sometimes "rattles" in the wind. Oh, and the air deflector thing on the back broke off when it fell off of my passenger peg (6 inch drop?)

Other than that it's pretty a nice helmet, just keep in mind that there are a lot of moving plastic parts to break.

[image: View Post]Ryanme17, on 18 October 2010 - 09:01 PM, said:

I had my Bell Star about a week when the tab that holds the face mask closed broke. And when you open the mask all the way the mask hits the upper vents and opens them. Also one of the upper vents no longer closes at all and the other sometimes "rattles" in the wind. Oh, and the air deflector thing on the back broke off when it fell off of my passenger peg (6 inch drop?)

Other than that it's pretty a nice helmet, just keep in mind that there are a lot of moving plastic parts to break.


I would check with Bell about that. They have good customer service and has taken care of me gratis on both bicycle and motorcycle helmets. As for the upper vents my visor clears them easily. Could the visor tab and vent hitting be related. Finally the spoiler on the back of my $500 Arai came off in my hand on a hot day when I reached back to check to make sure that it was open. (Arai sent me fresh double stick tape to put it back).

[image: View Post]AvalonRacing, on 18 October 2010 - 10:02 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Ryanme17, on 18 October 2010 - 09:01 PM, said:

I had my Bell Star about a week when the tab that holds the face mask closed broke. And when you open the mask all the way the mask hits the upper vents and opens them. Also one of the upper vents no longer closes at all and the other sometimes "rattles" in the wind. Oh, and the air deflector thing on the back broke off when it fell off of my passenger peg (6 inch drop?)

Other than that it's pretty a nice helmet, just keep in mind that there are a lot of moving plastic parts to break.


I would check with Bell about that. They have good customer service and has taken care of me gratis on both bicycle and motorcycle helmets. As for the upper vents my visor clears them easily. Could the visor tab and vent hitting be related. Finally the spoiler on the back of my $500 Arai came off in my hand on a hot day when I reached back to check to make sure that it was open. (Arai sent me fresh double stick tape to put it back).


I was going to, but never got around to it. Once I realized that the lockdown tab thingy doesn't really make a tighter seal or keep it quieter I didn't bother not having it.

I've heard from a few other people that their shields don't open their visors--might depend on the size of the helmet. In any case, it's easy enough to just shut them.

Same thing with the air deflector thingy. I just don't really miss it.

The only bothersome part is the top vent that kind of clicks in the wind and the one that doesn't fully close-- but those happened well after a year of hard use. I haven't had any hard drops, but it gets kind of bounced around, shoved in my tank bag, etc. If I had kept it in the bag it came with I'm sure I wouldn't have the problems. FWIW, the bag it comes with is seriously nice.

I probably should have clarified that better, and I Bell probably would've taken care of the visor tab at the very least, had I bothered with it.

All just something to keep in mind.

I got one on sale too, about a year ago and I would say that it is a well made helmet. I haven't had any problems with parts falling off like Ryanne17, but I do tend to baby y helmets more than most people. My visor does not hit the vent controls on top either, but it might be a problem with specific sizes as mentioned. I do think that the visor material is a bit thin and more flexible compared to my other helmets and I do have to warn people considering the helmet that it's pretty loud because of the side vents behind the ear. Definitely will require earplugs if you are concerned about protecting your hearing. The best thing about the helmet though is that it s very stable at speed, so the aero features do work! Paintjob and graphics (Silver/Red/Black model) is close to perfect on my example.
Interior padding material is OK but the padding in general is a bit thin feeling compared to Arais and Shoeis. The fit is a bit looser than most other brands of the same size. Bell suppplied two sets of cheek pads with the helmet and I had to use the stiffer one to make it feel snug enough to what I am used to. If you want your fit to be very snug, I suggest you get a size smaller than ususal to start with, but just be sure you have the option to return it if the smaler size gets too tight for your particular head shape. The shell design is a bit rounder/bigger than most other helmets and the round front shape and the boxy back makes it look quite big in larger sizes compared to my other helmets. The sale prices mentioned is similar to what i got it for last year and is a bargain for this helmet, but frankly, the helmet was priced a bit too high to start with.
I started riding in the 70's as a kid with hand-me-down Bell helmets from my dad and brother and used to be so impressed with how the Bell Star II looked and felt so advanced compared to other helmets we had, but the brand's quality mostly dissapointed me in the 80's till before I got this new Bell Star. I think that the new Star is a very good effort for Bell to get back in the fight with other big helmet brands again, but they have to tune up the design just a bit more if they are gonna continue the fight to the top.
JMOs

Beck
95 VFR

Cool transition shield for it.

http://www.motorcycl...+vortex+helmets

Got one of these in the "Contra" paint job for $199 last week. It is impressive. My wife takes a Large in Scorpion EXO400, and I wear an XL in the Scorpion EXO 700.
The Bell is Quieter than my Scorp. I can fit in my wife's Medium, strangely. I did go to an XL Scorp from an Arai signet (it must have been 15 years old!!) that was a medium. I recall wearing a medium in Shoei RF700s as well...how long ago were those???
The interior lining is much nicer than the Scorp, as well. It just feels nicer, more plush...
The Bell also has better aerodynamics, as far as I can tell. Turning your head for blind spot checks doesn't result in neck jerk, or whistling, either. This thing feels a lot lighter than the EXO 700, that's for sure. I am hoping to catch one still at the $199 price when tax returns come.
I like this lid. There are still some of the 199 deals left, too. Well worth it, in my opinion.