A Star is re-born
The legendary Bell Star, the world’s first full-faced helmet, is back, though so changed that Evel Knievel- who credited the original with saving his life during his infamous rag-doll episode at Caesars Palace in 1968 – wouldn’t recognize it. The new design was born from a custom racing helmet developed for four-time world champion Eddie Lawson, and the result is impressive: 3.4 pounds, massive ventilation, 75 custom parts.
Bell invited the media to its Santa Cruz, California, headquarters to explore the Star’s birthplace and meet the team behind the project. It’s taken three years to bring the new Star to market and an impressive battery of tests, including wind- and water-tunnel sessions, thermal scans and state-of-the-art impact analysis that included the use of cadavers. Yikes! The complex shield system alone, with its three toggle-actuated modes (locked, friction and cracked), took over a year to refine.
Being a helmet snob I was, of course, impressed with the Star’s light weight and engineering pedigree. But we all know a helmet can have every bell and whistle imaginable yet still not work on a bike. My first test ride came in the snaky Santa Cruz Mountains, where a nasty-cold day simplified vent testing. Bell utilized its profound bicycle helmet know-how, along with cues from its excellent Moto-8 motocross lid, to perfect the design. No doubt you get amazing airflow form the breezy network of conduits, and what I liked best about Star’s Velocity Flow Ventilation system is how precise and adjustable it is. Nice, big switches, no fumbling.
On the road, the Star feels light and comfortable, especially if you’ve chosen the correct-sized cheek pads. Note almost all the journalists fitted wore a size down from their regular helmet size. It isn’t the quietest helmet, partly because the little chin-tonneau thingy fell off every time I touched it even- after the engineers clipped it in.
The Star’s shield mechanism is also slick, although not as easy to get the hang of. At first, the tiny lever that locks the shield into “closed” or “crack” mode is difficult to locate with thick riding gloves. But happily, it will unlock itself under the pressure of a panicky yank, and I’m told with no damage- a good thing since I’m still yanking several rides later. Shield friction and range is very nice, and man, what an easy removal system! Just pull the tiny levers on each side and the visor drops like a rose petal. (Just don’t pull one while you’re riding like I did.) Overall, the Star’s complex systems took some getting used to, but are very cool and useful. I do worry about the durability of so many complex internal gizmos, however, even though I witness a barrage of longevity tests. The chin vent alone has 10 moving parts!
The Star is Snell-approved, and when asked about the choice of certification, Bell VP Thom Parks expressed a wait-and-see approach, implying future research will make the best choice of standards clear. It’s also logical that the company, in playing this helmet against the high-end brands like Arai and Shoei, prefers a like benchmark.
Bell is certainly making a showy reappearance on the streetbike scene. Racer Aaron Gobert recently signed to ride in a Star, and this spring you can too- though you’ll have to pay for it. Plain colors costs $525 and the love/hate graphics run all the way to $600 for the ghetto Viper (shown). Soon, former AMA 250cc GP champ and custom-bike coolster Roland Sands will add some trick graphic options. Sizes run from XS to XXL and include cheek-pad options.
Verdict: **** (four out of five stars)
The coolness factor will ring your Bell, though so many small parts make us nervous.
-Jamie Elvidge
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