Bell Helmets are making a helmet for a crowd of motorcycle riders that are normally ignored with the Bell Custom 500 Helmet. This crowd is the old school cafe racers, the Harley riders, the rat bikers, the scooter jockeys, and of course, the crowd who saw the movie Easy Rider and want to look like Captain America (Peter Fonda). If you're bombing the back-roads on a '79 CB900 that's been chopped, cut, and painted black then this is the helmet for you. If you're tearing up the streets on an aluminum-body Vespa or riding a big twin cruiser, this lid has you name all over it.
Old school style is what you're buying when you pick up this helmet. This lid has that classic round open shell shape iconic with 60s and 70s helmets. The shell is a fiberglass construction, lightweight and strong. The internals of this helmet are made with modern foam materials and padding to protect your skull in the event of a wreck. The quilted liner also has a ton of retro style to it via the stitching details but is still very comfortable. Bell even put a chrome piece of trim which adds nicely to the vintage styling. There are three chrome snaps for fastening the Bell Custom 500 Retro 3 Snap Shield if you want additional protection from debris.
Does this helmet offer the same amount of protection as the Bell RS-1 Helmet? Of course not, but this is DOT approved and nothing can touch this helmet's style. It is a great combination of style and protection and it will also work in states with helmet laws in effect. As with all Bell lids, the solid colors and graphic schemes are expertly crafted. From bold solids to a Roland Sands Designs edition to retro-racer schemes, they all look amazing. There's even an Evel Knievel style. Sizing goes from XS to 2XL so there should be a helmet size to fit almost every head out there. Like all Bell Helmets, the Custom 500 has a 5 year warranty.
After 90 days of riding in the Arai RX-Q Helmet, Anthony gives his opinion of the features and functionality of the helmet. It seems that Arai has delivered on all fronts with this helmet as Anthony has nothing but good words for it, considering it one of his favorite motorcycle helmets in the RevZilla lineup. Check out the full video below!
The Arai RX-Q Helmet is essentially the apex of premium sport touring helmets. It is Snell 2010 certified and offers great balance and aerodynamics for long rides. It is also very lightweight and designed in a way that distributes its mass in a way that maintains serious comfort. For the last month we've (finally) had full inventory on this helmet; it was very spotty since its introduction early this year. But now it's in our warehouse, and we have a ton of them in all sizes, solid colors and graphics. It is also now available in a hi-vis option as the Arai RX-Q Hi-Viz Neon Helmet.
Joe Rocket's offering in the Dual Sport Enduro world is the Hybrid DS Helmet, a $145 crossover helmet with multifunctional versatility. We put it through the RevZilla wringer so you can see the specs on this guy.
We think that Joe Rocket did a great job with this mid-range Enduro helmet. It offers great versatility: visor on or off, shield on or off, and it even can fit a pair of goggles under the shield for added protection. The interior is removable and washable, constructed of a moisture-wicking and odor-eliminating material. Utilizing Joe Rocket's ACS (Advanced Channeling System) Flow-Through Ventilation, your head is never going to overheat in this helmet on those hotter-than-mercury adventure rides.
We've done a lot of reviews on the array of Dual Sport helmets in our lineup. Stay tuned for the next in the series.
A newcomer to the motorcycle helmet game, especially in the American market, Nexx Helmets has exploded onto the scene with some head-turning products. RevZilla started carrying the X60, their impressive retro-styled open face helmet, and the X30, their futuristically versatile modular helmet, last year.
And now we're pleased to introduce the latest and greatest from these forward-thinking Portuguese developers: the Nexx XR1R Helmet.
At first glance, you might be thinking this helmet looks like a lot of the other everyday sport touring helmets out there. You might be thinking we're jerks for making a big deal about it. That's because you haven't picked it up yet. The weight of this helmet is absolutely mind-blowing. Weighing between 1200-1400 grams, depending on the size and the graphics, this is second only to the Akuma Phantom as the lightest helmet we've ever carried at RevZilla. And they haven't even dropped the carbon fiber version yet (it's coming soon). How is it so lightweight? The Nexx Tricomposite shell, made up of carbon fiber, kevlar and fiberglass. Nexx Helmets developers combined these materials to create a helmet that is not only lean, but super rigid and resilient.
Beyond the weight, the XR1R also features an incredibly wide and tall eyeport for exceptional peripheral view. The liner utilizes CoolMax fabric which is anti-sweat and anti-allergic, and also removable and washable. Another feature that really stuck out to us is the Ergo Padding System, which is a set of pads including with the helmet that have adhesives for easy-install to customize the fit of the helmet to your head shape. That's next-level.
The helmet flows a ton of air and is also super-quiet thanks to the velcro folding flap that fits between your ear and the helmet to muffle ambient outside sounds.
As you can see, there are some cool graphic options (five total) in addition to the six solid colors available.
Check out the full detailed video review of this helmet up top. We bet you'll be impressed.
If you want to compare and contrast, check out our selection of motorcycle helmets over at RevZilla.com.
Wow. Shoei has just created arguably the best sport-touring helmet on the planet as the Shoei RF1100 Helmet replaces the super popular RF1000. RevZilla can get behind this helmet for sure.
Shoei brings 50 years of experience to the construction of this helmet, which they rolled out with the brand new Snell M2010 certification. The RF1100 boasts countless features that were native to the RF1000 but loads even more into an already top-of-class helmet.
I'm not gonna go too deep in this post, but there are a couple upgrades I'd like to touch on. The rear spoiler is now streamlined into the actual helmet construction, rather than bolted on as was the RF1000's. The RF1100 comes in five shell sizes as opposed to three for its predecessor which means that as you go up in size, rather than simply making cheekpads bigger, the size of the entire helmet is changing. This means it's going to fit snugly and very comfortably.
The exhaust vents are improved as well: the built-in spoiler now allows for a total of four top exhausts. In other words, this helmet flows serious air. It also has a taller and wider shield, the CW1, which features the QRSA (Quick Release Self-Adjusting) spring-loaded base plate system. Spring-loaded essentially ensures even contact with the window beading for complete wind and waterproofing.
Man. I said I wasn't gonna talk too much about it. I lied. I guess that shows how obviously amped-up we are about this helmet.
The RF1100 is game-changing. If you want more details, make sure you check out the video at the top of this post.
