Bell Custom 500 Helmet Review
Posted by Hon | May 24th, 2010 | Filed under Parts
Had quite a few people ask me for my opinion on the new Bell Custom 500 helmets. So here goes, I got a silver flake Large size. I really didn’t need another helmet but wanted a nice looking DOT open face. I first saw these online when it was posted by Stretch on the Nostalgia on Wheels blog some time ago. Was at the a local bike shop with a friend and they had one on display. Couldn’t resist since I could try on for size, ordered a large right away.
Here is a size comparison to an old Bell Super Magnum that I picked up at a swap meet last year. The Bell Custom 500 fits pretty good. I usually wear a Medium that fits really tight or a Large. In this case the Bell in Large fit well.
The inside lining has a cool pattern sewn in. A little too flashy for me personally but you can’t see it anyway when you are wearing it. The material is comfortable and smooth. Feels cooling rather than warm and is o.k. in hot weather. The helmet fit well on me and doesn’t move around even at 60 miles / 100km. Didn’t go any quicker than that.
The Bell Custom 500 is light compared to old school buckets, I have a Shoei Teal Metalflake with Snell sticker 1968, that’s pretty heavy. The chin strap is pretty comfortable. The “mini” Art Fulmer chrome trim looks good. Mine didn’t line up so well at the back so it looked a little cheap but still cool.
Not so much padding in the ears, so it’s loud but not to the point of being annoying. You can really hear your bike, traffic and what’s going on so that’s alright.
Finish is nice, nothing crazy, small flake. Here’s a comparison with my old Shoei. Shoei has bigger flake and more depth.
Key thing for me was to get the DOT rating so I don’t get hassled while on the street. Nice big sticker for you on the back.
Overall, I think it’s a great helmet. Can’t really say anything about how long it will last and I never want to comment on how well it works!
That’s it for my review of the Bell Custom 500.
< back3 Responses to “Bell Custom 500 Helmet Review”
-
Michael in LA Says:
May 26th, 2010 at 10:07 amThanks for the review sir!
-
Ken Says:
June 13th, 2010 at 8:19 amThanks for your time to review, the photos were an added benefit.
I will now plan to purchase this helmet.
I have the new Bell Star and feel it is the best helmet in it’s class and perhaps one of the best over all out there.
I think this 500 will suite my needs fine. -
Kyle Says:
July 9th, 2010 at 2:28 pmI just bought a size large bell custom 500. My hat size is 7 1/4 and this helmet fits great. It’s very low profile and is exactly what I was looking for.
