Bell Moto III?

1sttimer

Over 1,000 Posts
I was doing my usual, prancing around Goodwill for a bargain when I saw this sweet article sitting on the shelf. It caught my eye, because I spend half of my life reading this forum and it just cried out "vintage motocross."

Can anyone tell me about these? What era are they from? Am I asking stupid questions I should know the answer to?

As you can see the outside is just scuffed, no major cracks or anything. The inside is trashed. I looked on Ebay and they are going for HUGE money but they are all Buy It Now sales so I figure no one is paying those high prices. I kinda like her. I may try to find someone to reupholster the padding and wear the hell out of it.

Thoughts??

7uzajuqu.jpg


e8epapez.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
there should be a date of manufacturer and certification under the hard foam liner. Reline it yourself. It's easy.
 
I've had this since 1978 when I was racing a 78 YZ400. It was probably the newest model then. It shouldn't be to hard to replace the foam yourself.
 

Attachments

  • MOTO III.jpg
    MOTO III.jpg
    119.6 KB · Views: 383
You can also buy a replacement liner directly from bell. That's what I did when I got my moto III. It was maybe $25 for the liner and easy to install.
 
7aliveatlast7 said:
You can also buy a replacement liner directly from bell. That's what I did when I got my moto III. It was maybe $25 for the liner and easy to install.

Did you just contact them directly and order one? Unfortunately the mouth padding and everything is shot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I removed the inner hard foam shell and discovered there is a 4" crack in the foam. I contacted hellmutts and they can repair the shell and re-line it in any material for $100. Sounds like a winner! $108 bucks for a vintage helmet! I think I can get a white visor off eBay for $18 as well.
ypapaves.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I miss my Moto III. Cool lid. Kinda sucks over 25mph due to noise/wind but nice for around town.
 
VonYinzer said:
I miss my Moto III. Cool lid. Kinda sucks over 25mph due to noise/wind but nice for around town.

I bet it's loud. I contacted bell and they said there is nothing available for them anymore. I'll either be making the padding or farming it out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
all you need to re-line it is some black nylon fabric and a can of spray tac. If the polystyrene foam is busted up it can be glued back together with white glue. I don't usually wear my vintage helmets once I recondition them. The material is usually too degraded. But they make kickass shop decor.
 
Haha that's true. It's not a bad crack. I mean it's deep but it's definitely fixable. I'll try to post a pic of that soon. I'm thinking glue will fix it. Is there any padding in the lining at all? All that was in mine was a nasty felt-type stuff. Seems like that would be uncomfortable without padding between the lining and foam.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SWEET SCORE!!!! I have been looking for one cheaply enough to find it feasible to have hellmutts restore the inside for me... Forever.. I'll have to keep an eye out there now ;)
 
mark13018 said:
SWEET SCORE!!!! I have been looking for one cheaply enough to find it feasible to have hellmutts restore the inside for me... Forever.. I'll have to keep an eye out there now ;)

Well I feel bad for being the one to pick it up without knowing its history! It's a 1975 model apparently. And the foam is a 7.5 and I wear a 7.125. Close enough for Hellmutts to pad it and make it work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
1sttimer said:
Well I feel bad for being the one to pick it up without knowing its history!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Never feel bad for making an awesome deal. Its all a learning process and you lucked out on this one... Now you know and will learn... Same goes for anything, sometimes you don't realize how rare or desirable certain things are until you learn more about them... I am, as well as others, super jealous ;)

Personally I would send it to hellmutts and have a perfect helmet, professionally done. Your helmet, your call.
 
mark13018 said:
Never feel bad for making an awesome deal. Its all a learning process and you lucked out on this one... Now you know and will learn... Same goes for anything, sometimes you don't realize how rare or desirable certain things are until you learn more about them... I am, as well as others, super jealous ;)

Personally I would send it to hellmutts and have a perfect helmet, professionally done. Your helmet, your call.

Thanks for being kind about it!! :)

I definitely plan on letting them do the interior of the helmet. I'm not sure what I want to do about the outside. Are they fiberglass?? Looking at the inside makes me think they are. I work in injection molding and the shape isn't conducive for that.

I guess the standard sanding, bondo for dings and paint works for helmets too? Whether I paint or not depends on whether I can get reproduction decals...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Checko, that's a sweet lid.

I have been doing some reading about the safety of these old things. I'm not feeling too secure about spending the dough to have a nice hat....at this point in time at least.

I think I'm going to use the cash instead to get the 175 running :)

I'll keep it around and try to restore it over time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
1sttimer said:
I was doing my usual, prancing around Goodwill for a bargain when I saw this sweet article sitting on the shelf. It caught my eye, because I spend half of my life reading this forum and it just cried out "vintage motocross."

Can anyone tell me about these? What era are they from? Am I asking stupid questions I should know the answer to?

As you can see the outside is just scuffed, no major cracks or anything. The inside is trashed. I looked on Ebay and they are going for HUGE money but they are all Buy It Now sales so I figure no one is paying those high prices. I kinda like her. I may try to find someone to reupholster the padding and wear the hell out of it.

Thoughts??

7uzajuqu.jpg


e8epapez.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Manufacture date is right there on the chin strap in bottom picture, 4-80 (April, 1980). Cool score!
 
Back
Top Bottom