Took my 11 year old to his school prom on the 1098, in all the excitement he managed to drop my helmet onto tarmac. I decided i had two options 1) kill him 2) buy another helmet. After much soul searching i chose option 2. It would be fair to say i'm probably at the skint end of the Ducati owner profile, so i had a look for a bargain. Found a couple of colourways of the Bell Race Star being sold by HelmetCity for £330 (RRP £600) plus £70 for the dark visor. It has a carbon shell with a 3 layer flex lining with a visor aperture claimed to give a wider field of vision and is supplied with a quality helmet bag. Fit wise it is a snugger fit than my same size Arai and HJC helmets, especially from ear to ear. Took it for a 30 mile try out yesterday. Initial impressions are that its very stable and quieter than both my previous helmets. Venting works well and no suggestion of visor steaming up (hot dry day), glasses mist free also and sit firmly in place in an aperture for your glasses arms. The field of vision is broader as claimed, it was a pleasant surprise to actually be able to see behind when doing a life saver! The only gripe i have so far is the visor mechanism. It only locks in position in the fully open or down positions, it doesn't ratchet like most helmets. The visor change mechanism is by far the quickest and easiest i've used. That's it for my introduction into the unfashionable world of Bell Helmets. I'll update with any feedback once i get some miles on it.
Bell on amazon usually do clearance sales regularly. And you can get loads of decent kit for over 50% off.
Just watch out for the practical jokers in life & their magic white markers adding a extra 3 letter word alongside Bell
