I’m a changed man. As some of you probably know, I recently bought a mint Yamaha XSR900. It’s my first ever retro-inspired "big bike," and having owned more than a dozen bikes prior, all of which were modern sport and naked bikes, you just know that I had to give my gear wardrobe a makeover.
Just a few days after I got the bike, I immediately went shopping for a helmet that would do the XSR’s neo-retro aesthetic justice. Of course, retro-themed helmets, at least those worth buying, are in essence, modern-day helmets stylized to look like they’re from the ‘70s or ‘80s. And so beneath the surface, they shouldn’t be much different from the sport and sport-touring helmets I also own.
Well luckily, I found what I thought would be the perfect lid fairly quickly—a brand new Bell Eliminator, which, for the record, I purchased with my own money. So no, neither I nor RideApart are sponsored by Bell. But hey, if someone from Bell just so happens to be reading this and wants to sponsor us, you know how to get in touch (wink, wink).
With that said, I was pretty stoked to have the Bell Eliminator as part of my collection. For reference, I have a pretty big collection of helmets which has grown to around 15 lids over the years. So yeah, you could say that I have quite a lot of helmets to compare it to.
To that end, I was soon going to find out that the Bell Eliminator sits on a class all its own—despite it being kinda long in the tooth.
My first impressions were pretty straightforward: it’s a darn good-lookin’ helmet, and that’s exactly the reason why I bought it. Bell has always had a proven track record, and my Bell MX-9 literally saved me from a concussion back when I took a spill on my dirtbike. So I have no doubts about this helmet’s capability of keeping me safe in the event things go sideways.
Luckily, I never had the chance to test how safe it actually was, unlike Robbie who had to sacrifice his Alpinestars Supertech R10 in the name of science.
Nevertheless, I can say that the Bell Eliminator is extremely well put together. I’d dare say that it’s even better in terms of build quality than one of my other favorite helmets, my Bell Qualifier. On top of that, I’d even go as far as saying that I think the Eliminator is better in terms of fit and finish than my AGV K3 SV, and maybe even my Shark Spartan RS—but that’s stretching it a bit, isn’t it?
Plus, it’s ergonomically very well designed, with a solid notch that keeps the visor down at speed and a tab that lets you flip it up with ease, even if you’re wearing some pretty thick gloves (odd that they thought of putting that on the Eliminator but not on the MX-9 Adventure DLX that executive editor Jonathon Klein has been trying out).
Oh, and the magnetic clasp at the end of the strap? Chef’s kiss. It’s literally a game-changer—a minute detail, but a game-changer nonetheless. Why don’t all double-D ring helmets come with this?
Of course, like most other retro helmets, practicality and convenience take a back seat in favor of style and character. For instance, the Eliminator doesn’t get a tool-less replaceable visor. You’ll need to whip out a set of allen keys to get the visor out, turning an otherwise 30-second job into a five-minute job. No big deal really, given how slick this thing looks.
So with all that being said, it’s clear that Bell did something right with the Eliminator. It’s hard to nitpick on a helmet that’s really just so simple. Along with the Bullit and Moto 3, the Eliminator is probably the most iconic lid in Bell’s lineup, and it looks like it’s still well up to par with newer helmets in the market.
And so, I think that the Bell Eliminator is the perfect embodiment of the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s one of the best all-around helmets I’ve had in a while (both in terms of form and function), and it’s surely going to have a place in my regular gear rotation.
