Vintage re-issue helmets?? NOT 3/4.

hi there.
anyone know of a company making full-face helmets similar to the one pictured? lots of people re-making 3/4 helmets, but no full face like this it seems. any help much appreciated. and would prefer not to re-line a vintage one.
thanks!

haven't seen any replica's of the old Bell yet. Bell makes a Bandit still, but not the older round styles. Would be cool if they did, but they'd be bigger than they used to be just like the open face ones are.

There is a modern replica that's very close to the original. But it's from Japan or somewhere else. I posted a link a couple years back but can't recall, maybe somewhere in the helmet forum.

Bell Europe in Belgium has a new Star racing helmet but it's for auto racing and obscenely expensive.




http://www.bellracing.info/page_contenu/helmets/starclassic.php

Joe king's "bubba z". Sweet looking full face, but it's not DOT.

meningitis said:

hi there.
anyone know of a company making full-face helmets similar to the one pictured? lots of people re-making 3/4 helmets, but no full face like this it seems. any help much appreciated. and would prefer not to re-line a vintage one.
thanks!

Click to expand...

That gives me a headache, just looking at the picture. I swear that they used Charlie Brown for a head-model.
Tim you know that Simpson makes the Bandit, they were historically Bell's arch nemesis.

thanks guys. those star classics look nice but yeah, damn pricey. found some pyrotect helmets that look alright too during my search. seems like race helmets come the closest in look. if you can find that link on the japanese re-issue let me know! thanks again.

I'd love to have a Simpson Bandit in black. Those things are the balls!

There's a few options that are actually available unlike the Bubba-Z. Bandit Helmets makes the Integral. Bandit is a German company but the helmets are made in Asia. You can get it in the US here http://www.alienhelmets.com/Alien-Integral.htm There are several Japanese companies that are making reproductions:

Retro Racing makes 3 versions the Tracker, Road Racer, and Road Racer 2. They have limited availability. You just have to check often to see when they are available http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/retroracing/

Tachibana makes 2 versions of the Custom GT750 http://www.tachibana-helmet.com/

The Buco Racer is really expensive http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/auc-masmotor/item/smileracer03/

Another brand from Japan is Dammtrax. They make a moto cross retro helmet called the Blaster http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/burny/item/10004886/

There's also the troop moto that is available in the US http://www.eternalcombustion.com/products/Troop-MOTO-Helmet.html

There are options. The US available ones are not DOT approved. MOst of the Japanese helmets do meet the SG standard which is Japan's DOT approval

Scott

I wonder how comparable SG standard is to DOT.

I really like the wide view of some these classics and the fact that the chin guard is one piece with the helmet I would think project your face considerably more than a 3/4 with removable chin guard.

Man, those Alien helmets are GREAT! I know what my next helmet will be!

RoadRash said:

Man, those Alien helmets are GREAT! I know what my next helmet will be!

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The Intergral is cool looking I just don't understand why they couldn't make it DOT certified. I get the impression that their non-certified helmets are for display only.

The reason most of those helmets are not DOT is becuase the EPS liner is not thick enough to pass DOT or ECE testing. The old style helmets look so cool becuase they are smaller around than the newer helmets. To make them DOT they would have to be just as big around the crown of the head. They would look like a space helmet. I think all those helmets are "for display only" but that doesn't equate with wearing a bandana. They all offer some protection.

I think Japan has 2 helmet specs: one for small cc bikes and mopeds/scooters and one for larger displacement bikes 450cc and up. As I understand it SG is the spec that covers both standards. I believe the helmet manufacturers are liable for their products if an SG rated helmet fails in future tests. I think SG is right up there with ECE and a step above DOT. I could be wrong but this is how it was explained to me.

Scott

I did some looking around and I found that JIS Certification was needed for helmets to be used on track in Japan.

That tells me that JIS is more stringent than SG, but it may be Snell vs DOT in the States.

Another thing was that SG was also Singapore's standard as well...

So are the Japanese helmets able to be imported to the US?

Sure. Biltwell and others produce not DOT helmets that are surely not made in America. The issue with the Japanese helmets is contact with the sellers. I tried to contact Retro Racing directly to buy one of their helmets through an intermediary in Japan. They simply ignored the request which doesn't give me alot of confidence if I send $200 their way. I don't think it is deliberate but simply a major communication gap. The only reason Yamiya (CB750 parts) deals with US customers is becuase one of the people who work their speaks english. One of the members on the SOHC4 board actually visited Yamiya a few years ago and they humored him and let him take pictures but he said it was very hard to communicate in person. There are alot of people in the market for a retro full face. At some point someone will import them here in quantity.

Scott

Rookster said:

Sure. Biltwell and others produce not DOT helmets that are surely not made in America. The issue with the Japanese helmets is contact with the sellers. I tried to contact Retro Racing directly to buy one of their helmets through an intermediary in Japan. They simply ignored the request which doesn't give me alot of confidence if I send $200 their way. I don't think it is deliberate but simply a major communication gap. The only reason Yamiya (CB750 parts) deals with US customers is becuase one of the people who work their speaks english. One of the members on the SOHC4 board actually visited Yamiya a few years ago and they humored him and let him take pictures but he said it was very hard to communicate in person. There are alot of people in the market for a retro full face. At some point someone will import them here in quantity.

Scott

Click to expand...

Sorry that's not what I meant, very few helmets are made here, especially any carbon fiber ones. The Japanese websites you posted don't seem to be US market friendly, that's what I was asking about.