Bell, Roland Sands Design collaborate on pair of stylish helmets

Click HERE for 360 degree view of this helmet

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Bell Powersports has teamed up with visionary racer-turned-designer Roland Sands for two special edition helmets hitting store shelves this week to coincide with their display at the Dealer Expo Motorcycle Show in Indianapolis. The RSD C-Note Bell Star is a high-end street helmet featuring Sands’ graphic homage to the one hundred dollar bill, while the open face RSD Skulls Drifter is a hell-and-brimstone treatment aimed at the cruiser crowd.

“Roland is well-known for producing mind-blowing custom motorcycles that are as stylish as they are fierce,” said Bell Creative Director Casey Potter. “ Whether he’s facing off against other custom builders on television or re-envisioning the latest-and-greatest from industry OEMs, nobody does it quite like Roland.”

Under the banner of his company—Roland Sands Design—the prolific designer continues to impress with an expanding array of output that includes not only custom bikes, but conversion kits, parts, accessories and even events. Throughout all of it you can see Sands’ signature aesthetic of artfully blending seemingly incongruous design elements into a cohesive new whole. Whether it’s turning motocross bikes into spec racing street machines (450 SuperSingle), dropping a Moto-GP motor into a custom boardtracker (KRV-5), or running an all-comers dirt track race (“The Good, The Bad and The Dirty”), Sands and company thrive on the magical balance between what’s now, what’s next, and what’s come before.

It’s that same kind of knowledge and respect for the past with an eye to the future that’s brought Sands and Bell together. A longtime Bell Rider, Sands won his 1998 AMA 250GP championship in a Bell and was drawn to the company’s new Star helmet, which—like Sands’ designs—blends classic elements of style with new, performance-based, technology.

After initially working with him as a design sounding board and skunk rider on Star prototypes, Bell turned over the reigns and let Sands loose on graphics for both the Star and the outlaw-style Drifter half helmet. The results were just what you’d expect—the unexpected.

Bell Star Special Edition RSD C-Note

It’s fairly common for artists to be stingy about their inspiration for a given work. And though it’s obvious Sands took some inspiration from the hundred-dollar bill on this one, there’s still a fair bit of mystery surrounding the RSD C-Note Special Edition Star. Is it a commentary on bling culture? Maybe an homage to capitalism? A reference to the Star’s lofty (yet worth it) price tag? Perhaps it’s a warning to the bareheaded about the cost of medical care. Whatever the case, it’s distinctive design, ornate filigree and multiple layers give the C-Note a finish that would do Benjamin Franklin proud.

The C-Note comes in a special edition metallic print box that resembles a safe. Inside is a custom, cloth lined RSD money bag made by Ogio.

Bell Drifter RSD Skulls

Click HERE for 360 degree view of this helmet.

When it comes to chopper helmet graphics, there are only two certainties—skulls and flames. And why not? They represent passion, energy, rebirth and purification…power, mortality, immortality; the living and the dead…the open road and the stairway to heaven. The RSD Skulls Special Edition Drifter is a take on these two powerful symbols in a way only Roland can deliver.

The RDS C-Note Bell Star has an MSRP of $699.95 and the Bell Drifter RSD Skulls has an MSRP of $119.95.