Anyone have crash experience with Bell Star??

[wavrdr]

I think the fit of any "quality" helmet is more important than which flavor you have chosen. I had a low speed fumble in the grass in my Star that fit me well, but not quite perfect and had a mild concussion, with the helmet only showing minor light scratches.

Meanwhile, I had a huge crash at Daytona(100+mph) that not only scuffed the whole front of my Arai, but removed a chunk of material the size of a silver dollar from the left side and I didn't even have a headache!

I attribute the lack of injury in my Arai to the superior fit to my head over the Bell.....

My .02 is whatever helmet fits you best, will protect you best!

[Red October]

Originally Posted by tuscani451

I have both a RF1100 and a Bell Star. I much prefer the bell for various reason, but when i had big crash a RF1100 saved my big dumb head so I'm scared to wear anything else. I wanted to see if anyone has put the Bell through a real life test and walked away ok?

My gf crashed into rocks wearing Icon alliance. Locked up the front while in gravel/rocks and went knees/head first at 30mph. Helmet is toast, there's rock penetration through outer shell.
Walked away (thank you, $15 knee guards!) without a headache.

Right fit first, brand of helmet next.

I'm semi-convinced, just by talking to other junkies, that protection vs. price has heavy diminishing returns. For the sake of numbers, lets say you get linear increase in protection up to 95% with linear increase in price to something like $200, at which point each extra % of protection costs $100. Also, with more expensive helmets, majority of the extra price is in ventilation, noise isolation and weight savings.

[pyroking339]

Originally Posted by MGFChapin

Take for instance my $800 Arai I was wearing last May when I was knocked out. Got short-term amnesia too. Kinda hard to stay conscious when you run over your own head though

Did the same thing with my RX7 and now I'm wearing a Star. Every crash is different and everyone responds to head trauma differently. Bell helmets and SNELL/DOT certified. That means as long as you take care of it, it should take care of you. The new Bells are a solid product and supported by a lot of people, it'll do it fine. With my Arai, I came off around 100 and more-or-less pinwheeled then slid. Had 4 solid impacts to the head all leaving bruises and my memory hazily starts getting different exams in the ER something like 5 or 6 hours after the crash. I was apparently conscious when they picked me off the ground and just don't remember it. I still feel like that helmet performed nearly as well as I could have asked it to. You don't bounce off the ground at speed and expect nothing to happen.

[Papachristou]

For the OP....... i would simply be concerned how the helmet is rated (DOT/SNELL) and that you get the right size even if you have to spring for bigger cheek pads. We can all tell about our wrecks and what helmet we were wearing at the time but there are countless variables to an accident no one can really say how good a job the helmet did. that's why the ratings are important (particularly the SNELL).

i wear a STAR and am very happy with the fit, finish and breathability. really wanted an arai or shoei but the transitions visor is the shizzz.

[MGFChapin]

Originally Posted by Papachristou

For the OP....... i would simply be concerned how the helmet is rated (DOT/SNELL) and that you get the right size even if you have to spring for bigger cheek pads.

By that logic everyone would be wearing an $80 piece of shit Hawk.
http://www.leatherup.com/p/Snell-App...met/52215.html

Real crash data is really ALL that matters. A scientist in a lab can tell you some shitty Chinese helmet (not to name names...) will take X foot-pounds of pressure before it crushes and it's perfectly safe and Snell rated blah blah, but if multiple racers crash in them and end up in comas or with a stutter, you couldn't pay me to use one.

The expensive brands have had decades of real crashes where professional riders sustained minimal head injuries, and that's why they're trusted. Bell Stars have been around long enough now to get some decent real-world data out of them, and the data seems to show that they're pretty damn good for the price. If I wasn't so happy with my Arai I'd probably be willing to try a Bell.

[wavrdr]

The only "real" issue I had with the Star prior to my off was the wind noise...ear plugs are a must!

The Arai is just quiet enough so if you forget them you're not screwed....