- Joined
- May 31, 2012
- Messages
- 5,516
- Location
- South Florida
i recently purchased the bell pro star ratchet and here is my review on the product. I must state i have always been a bell fan (quality and price for the old carbon stars) but they never fit me just as good as shoei or suomy. my favorite all time helmet was the suomy spec 1r extreme. it was light and fit me like it was custom. suomy doesnt fit me the same so i no longer buy them. my go to track helmet is the x12. i also have an rf1200 which i believe is basically an x12 with different vents now that the x14 is out. anyway lets get started
Fit and finish. as i stated ive always been a bell fan and have had i believe 5 of them. i had the tricolore (non carbon) cota, laguna seca, black beauty, (all those were carbon) and the born free (rs1). As stated each was slightly off with fit. at speed the helmet would either push in toward your face a little bit or have some buffeting at speed. this is why i used them as street helmets not track helmets.
the pro star is beautiful. the huge GLOSS carbon squares just looks fantastic. the paint job is terrific i just cant say how good this helmet looks in person.
fit my head i wear a medium spot on. as good as my x12. i was very impressed and satisfied.
inside the helmet stands out. i dont know about the cooling liner but i have no complaints the magnet system worked flawlessly. pads were great and the new safety mechanism i can only assume works thank goodness i didnt have that part tested but the liners are all different and they move.
ventilation as bell is known for the ventilation of this helmet is second to none. sitting upright or 3/4 tuck its on par with every other race helmet. in the tuck is where this beauty shines. you can actually feel the air going across your forehead from the brow vents. bell has outdone themselves where they were the leader in the first place.
the plug and so called fog relief.- i live in florida so fogging i dont think will be much of an issue for me but i use to live in ny and the bells use to fog like crazy. i cant see that being much different here. there is a plug in the chin area. the plug directs the chin vent onto the visor to stop fogging. you can take this out and have it blow right onto your chin. you can barely feel it and if you wear a baclava you wont feel anything. in nyc on a brisk morning i can see you having the plug in the visor fogging and a hot ride home and still having the plug in. IMO just have no plug and have a damn pin lock visor. stop the nonsense and get pinlock. bell only offers pinlock on the clear lens makes no sense to me.
vison bell made a huge field of vision the visor is crystal clear. you dont even see the tops or sides of where you are looking out of. visibility for every aspect nothing obstructing the view.
weight i did not notice this helmet being lighter than any of my other helmets (My suomy seemed to be the lightest) but i also had no problems on a 2 plus hour ride. no head or neck fatigue nothing.
IMO this helmet is spectacular. its a pure race helmet that seems to do everything it states it does. Its comfortable, nice looking, superior venting, fit and finish. Add the transition shield and i dont think you can ask for anything more EXCEPT PINLOCK.
you basically have the arai carbon helmet quality at significantly less cost and you dont have to go through that shield change crap.
its at least on par in fit and performance to my marquez x12 which i love. only thing left for me to do is get an x14
and compare
ps i ride with custom headphones with music playing very low so i cannot comment on if this helmet is loud. all the other bells were so i suspect this one is too but not as loud as the previous ones (bell has said they worked on it but if you have great ventilation you will have noise) but i always ride with ear protection. the headphones are just like earplugs and the music i keep on is very low.
Fit and finish. as i stated ive always been a bell fan and have had i believe 5 of them. i had the tricolore (non carbon) cota, laguna seca, black beauty, (all those were carbon) and the born free (rs1). As stated each was slightly off with fit. at speed the helmet would either push in toward your face a little bit or have some buffeting at speed. this is why i used them as street helmets not track helmets.
the pro star is beautiful. the huge GLOSS carbon squares just looks fantastic. the paint job is terrific i just cant say how good this helmet looks in person.
fit my head i wear a medium spot on. as good as my x12. i was very impressed and satisfied.
inside the helmet stands out. i dont know about the cooling liner but i have no complaints the magnet system worked flawlessly. pads were great and the new safety mechanism i can only assume works thank goodness i didnt have that part tested but the liners are all different and they move.
ventilation as bell is known for the ventilation of this helmet is second to none. sitting upright or 3/4 tuck its on par with every other race helmet. in the tuck is where this beauty shines. you can actually feel the air going across your forehead from the brow vents. bell has outdone themselves where they were the leader in the first place.
the plug and so called fog relief.- i live in florida so fogging i dont think will be much of an issue for me but i use to live in ny and the bells use to fog like crazy. i cant see that being much different here. there is a plug in the chin area. the plug directs the chin vent onto the visor to stop fogging. you can take this out and have it blow right onto your chin. you can barely feel it and if you wear a baclava you wont feel anything. in nyc on a brisk morning i can see you having the plug in the visor fogging and a hot ride home and still having the plug in. IMO just have no plug and have a damn pin lock visor. stop the nonsense and get pinlock. bell only offers pinlock on the clear lens makes no sense to me.
vison bell made a huge field of vision the visor is crystal clear. you dont even see the tops or sides of where you are looking out of. visibility for every aspect nothing obstructing the view.
weight i did not notice this helmet being lighter than any of my other helmets (My suomy seemed to be the lightest) but i also had no problems on a 2 plus hour ride. no head or neck fatigue nothing.
IMO this helmet is spectacular. its a pure race helmet that seems to do everything it states it does. Its comfortable, nice looking, superior venting, fit and finish. Add the transition shield and i dont think you can ask for anything more EXCEPT PINLOCK.
you basically have the arai carbon helmet quality at significantly less cost and you dont have to go through that shield change crap.
its at least on par in fit and performance to my marquez x12 which i love. only thing left for me to do is get an x14
and compareps i ride with custom headphones with music playing very low so i cannot comment on if this helmet is loud. all the other bells were so i suspect this one is too but not as loud as the previous ones (bell has said they worked on it but if you have great ventilation you will have noise) but i always ride with ear protection. the headphones are just like earplugs and the music i keep on is very low.
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