Not really the info everyone is hoping for but I just picked up a Rockhard in flat black on Saturday. Overall very pleased with the fit and finish but have never seen a Bell 500. For $89 I couldnt pass it up, even ordered a red metal flake for the better half.

On a seperate note I hate helmet sizing, every brand is different and they all "break in" in their own way...I hope I didnt waste my money and end up needing a different size.

 

bump to hopefully still see those comparison pics...

 

Check out the new colors www.thebellstore.com/Helmets/custom500.html

 

I picked up a Bell Speed Soul basically off of klf33's comments. In my opinion it is an AWESOME helmet. You wouldn't believe the comments I get on it. I sit it behind my desk at work and just about everybody who has walked by in the past week has commented and just had to touch it. My wife love's the look, which coming from her is something in itself. The only bad thing I could say about the helmet is that it leaves a cross pattern on my forehead for about 20 minutes after I take it off from the stitching on the padding. Other than that it's a freakin' sweet lid.

 

Man, I am glad you loved it ... I am dying to buy the black one and the white one .. but getting married means I must save every penny .

It will loosen a bit, and the stitching thingy should disappear..
I am with ya on the comments, it is a conversation starter for sure !

 

Still no pics of the RockHard vs the Custom 500? I am in no market for another helmet, but will prob get the new black one when it is available since black goes with everything

 

Well I had been waiting patiently for some pictures of the two helmets and just decided to order both from MotorcycleSuperstore.com and return the one I liked the least. I ordered Matte Black in both. This is my first posting and my first review, so here goes.

I have have a big melon, and I have problems getting helmets to fit. My head measures at 25 inches. According to the size chart for both companies I should be able to wear both (size XXL). I was surprised the both did fit. Usually the size charts are just a big tease for me. Anybody with a big head knows what I am talking about. It took a while to decide which one actually felt better, but the winner was the Rockhard. The Bell seemed to have a little more pressure in the forehead area, but not so much that I would need to eliminate it. I just feel that the Rockhard fit a little bit bigger.

I took a brief ride with both (20 min) and both seemed the same as far as wind noise and what not. As expected they offered a lot less wind noise than my half helmet, but not as much as my full face. I found that I was able to hear traffic and my bike well enough. It was muffled, but not muted for both. It was a wash with the two.

The color is slightly different between the two. The Rockhard seems to be a standard matte black like you would expect. It very much matches the finish on my denim black fat bob. The bell is kind of a weird matte black. It has a certain reflective quality to it. To the touch, the Bell feels kind of rubbery. This texture is both cool and annoying to me. The Bell seems like it may scratch or peal off (just an impression). Cleanup of the Bell is kind of a pain because the towel wants to stick to the helmet when you wipe it down. The Rockhard feel like normal paint and things wipe off very easily.

The D-ring connector on the two are identical. The Rockhard does have a little more padding in the area that touches your chin. I couldn't really notice a difference when wearing both.

The Rockhard emblem on the front and DOT on the back are painted. They're not coming off. The Bell uses sticker for everything, so you could remove them if you wanted a clean look. One concern here is if the DOT sticker falls off.

The Rockhard tapers in towards the cheeks and has more padding in this area. However, I found that it had less pressure against my face than the Bell.

The Rockhard has 5 chrome snaps for accessories and the Bell has 3 blackish snaps. The bell has a chrome trim ring around the opening of the helmet and the Rockhard is trimmed in black. The Rockhard does have a goggle strap in the back.

Well, choice was the the Rockhard. I think it looks better, feels better, has 5 snaps, a goggle strap, and is $10 cheaper. Nothing against the Bell. If the Rockhard did not exist, I would own the Bell and would be happy about it. Someone has to win, and the Rockhard just edged out the Bell.

Here's some pics. Sorry my face is in them.

 

I have these pics and some others in my photo album.

 

Im liking that helmet more and more... I may have to get the black one with metalflake.

 

Thanks for the review Matteblack, that was just what a lot of us were looking for. Those helmets are very similar side by side. I think the next time I buy it will be the one with the colour I'm looking for. Thanks again