Ok, the BELL 500 came today. I went with matte black. I was real close to going with the metal flake silver. However, I went with the matte black because there are some amazing painters/pin-stripers that come through the World of Wheels show in Chicago in March. I want to have them throw something on it while browsing the hot rods.

Back to the helmet... Fit and finish is excellent for the price. The liner is top-notch and the cross stitching is a great touch. Would a quick release chin strap be nice? Sure, but what do you expect for a hundred bucks. At least the strap material is soft, pliable, and quite comfortable. Furthermore, it has a convenient little snap so the end of the strap isn't just dangling. It's VERY light weight. As you know, it's DOT approved so is it does make you look a little great gazoo-like. I think that is the price you have to pay to go with a 3/4 helmet that is DOT. It doesn't have the full face portion to balance the parts of helmet that help protect your skull. But, it does give a great old-school helmet look with today's technology. I have a couple other helmets (AGV etc) that are a size Large. I ordered this one in a Large and seems to fit just fine. I like full face helmets on rice burners, but something about a full face on a hog just doesn't work for me. Unless, of course, it's freezing out. I know there is some talk about some of the brands at this price point being of poor quality. I can't say this about the BELL 500. I think it is quite nice for the cost. I must say, my other helmets that cost significantly more didn't come with anything. The BELL came in a nice draw-string helmet bag. I thought that was a very nice touch. Finally, the stickers (brand, DOT credential, etc) come off really easily and don't leave behind any adhesive residue. Don't take that crap off if you go to the racetrack...

Overall, if you're looking for a DOT 3/4 helmet with old-school looks. Don't forget about the BELL. I'm glad I went with it when in comparison to the other popular ones out there. The only "plus" I can think of between the BELL and a Biltwell is, the Biltwell has larger flakes in the metal flake finished helmets.

 

People are always talking about how cool their stuff looks....

 

Agreed...men are visual animals and need to see things...its why we stare at ***** so much.

 

I completely agree. I, too, have a Bell 500, and everything about it is top-notch. It's far superior in fit/finish to other helmets I have that cost twice as much.

 

So wait. Do you want to see my ***** or my helmet?

http://heckyesproductions.com/bellsp...500420pmz.html

 

I havea bell 500. Awesome helmet and the quality is really good. For those wanting pics there is a thread from awhile ago that a bunch put pics up of them so I'm sure if you search it will come up.

 

It does look pretty comfy. I wanna stick my head in there and take a nap. Oh, I got confused, we talking about the helmet or ***** here?

 

I too dig the Bell 500 but they don't dig my dome. That being said I just picked of a SparX Pearl 3/4 helmet in a black (looks more like graphite) flake finish. I dig it. Another perk... they come with goggles.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...le-Helmet.aspx

 

What if you found some ***** that had sparkly metal flakes? Hard to look away from that I suppose.

 

The peppermint model looks pretty sweet. No pun intended.