I bought this helmet one winter night . It was full of frozen rat poop . I washed it out at the guys outside hydrant. Tossed it in the back of a buddies Tahoe . We were going about 6 miles to a friends upholstery shop to check out some cars he was working on. At mile 3 the helmet got warmed up and the smell from the rat poop had us gagging. We rolled down all the windows and shut off the heater . We get to Aron’s shop . I open up all the doors , grab the helmet and left it on a pile of wood . I later returned and got the helmet in my pickup . When I got it home I removed the liner and put the shell in a bucket of bleach and water mix . I left it in the bucket for a day before washing it off .
Bell TX 500 1960 The photo shows our initial darkened face shield for our Bell 500TX Helmet in 1963. Our left over Wynns Friction Proofing Jacket, perfect for the hot desert climate and our normal attire, Levis and motorcycle high top lace up boots for thorny protection in those scrub brush courses. As we ventured into the real enclosed European Scrambles races on certified tracks of So Cal, we changed face shields to the clear bubble versions. Clarity was necessary for the whole course and track. Then as we got better in all aspects of motorcycle racing, we ventured back out to the desert courses with the cooler, wind blown effect of eye goggles with tear off shields. Using the same white Bell 500TX helmets… YRMV 1958 Hello, In late 1959, my brother and I both bought the latest safety helmets for our drag racing needs. He had his own White Bell 500TX Helmet without a shield and I bought one similar but with a bubble shield. I liked the look of the shield. He used goggles over his glasses before he put on the helmet for his needs when driving. My whole family wore glasses and I was fortunate not to need them until retirement. Ha! The cost was relative as we used our speed shop discount price list to get a lower price for both. They were a great fit and served their purpose well in drag racing. The Impala class did not require helmets, but when we built the 283 SBC motor in the 40 Willys Coupe, it was a requirement to wear a helmet in the Gas Coupe and Sedan Class. So, we were prepared. At the time, we thought a street legal hot rod did not need a helmet when racing. It was like driving on the Cherry Avenue Drags location under full acceleration, as we normally did in those days. That “one thing” may have saved my brother’s “noggin” when he had to jump out of a flaming interior fire in our 1940 Willys Coupe, after the clutch exploded and the interior Moon Gas Tank also caught on fire. The extinguisher did nothing, so my brother jumped out after the traps and was witnessed by the return road racers, estimated going about 60 mph. My brother told me later that he remembers hitting the gravel and dirt. Then rolling over and over until the ambulance driver was loading him into the rolling cart. That is when I arrived and he said to meet him at the hospital. Jnaki That was the last time a helmet was used in drag racing. My Bell TX 500 Helmet did not get used for another year or so when we started racing our 250cc motorcycles at some European Scrambles events. Then after more experience, long distance, desert motorcycle racing drew us in for the next adventure. At the So Cal early, Lake Elsinore Race Track, we were racing all day long and during our last race in the 250cc class, I was coming around a curve and heading for the jump. Luckily, I had no damage to anything except for an 80 % scratched bubble shield. We threw the scratched clear shield away before we got home. We all had to have the white Bell 500 Snell Foundation approved helmet for any competition, drags, motocross, desert hare and hound racing and they all had full shell protection around + below the ears. Those Snell approved helmets did not come with built in sun visors. But one could get them to snap on to the snaps. These helmet snaps also could use half and full bubble shields for protection, if goggles were not worn. The one thing full bubble shield was good for was protection for your face from flying debris, rocks, pebbles, dirt and whatever the guy in front of you was blasting at your face. Also, I found out first hand that the full bubble shield had other things in mind. The snaps held it on pretty well. I flew over the handle bars in a late afternoon race that had two 5 miles course laps at an hour + each. By the time I came over the jump in front of the stands/pits, I flew up, had the rear tire low for the landing and my brother said the next thing was surprising. As I was up in the air, my handlebars seem to go wiggly and the front tire flopped slightly. My head started to fall forward and in the next instant, I landed on the front wheel and got pitched over the top of the handlebars. They all came out to the track to get others to go around and saw me laying there face down. When my brother rolled me over, the bubble shield was still on and half of it was so scratched from sliding on the dirt course that my face was not seen underneath that section. Finally, the track doctor came over and now, I was awake and groggy. In our pits area, my brother said it looked like I fell asleep while I was soaring in the air. Right at the peak of the arch. The only thing I remember was that I was so tired and missed my, “in between the rounds nap, from the practice rounds to the main event. So, I must have fallen asleep. The track doctor said it could be done, but it was the strangest thing he had seen in quite some time. Physically, I was ok, no sprains, no open cuts/bruising and my face was still in one piece. All the way home, my brother and I agreed that we would not tell our mom about the flying sleep mode accident that I did that day. Otherwise, those bikes would be gone in an instant. Speaking of goggles, there were a bunch of them for competition and all needed safety glass or plastic lenses. The old aircraft pilot’s goggles were popular, but were limited to small glass openings. The larger one piece glass/plastic full lens models were the best for overall wide vision. As the years progressed, someone invented tear-off thin plastic lenses. Most of us got stuck behind the leaders and tons of debris and mud got slung onto our clothes/faces. With a full bubble shield, a small towel tied to your wrist made cleaning the dirt/mud off. But, if we wore the full one piece opening goggles, then it was a little harder to clean off just the lens. Plus, your face got blasted with mud and debris. So, someone invented “tear-off” sheets of the shaped lenses. When one got dirty, rip the sucker off and a clean one was underneath. But we still got blasted in the face with rocks and mud. So, go figure… After the Bell helmet/bubble face shield incident, we opted for goggles and just a Bell helmet white bill that snapped onto our white approved helmets. We figured out that as good as the bubble shield does in full face protection, the chances of that happening was due to not being able to breathe well in full competition. So, we got some comfortable classic two piece goggles, but that also restricted our peripheral vision. The best one was multiple versions of the one piece full face/eye lens as shown on the lower left side of the old ad, above. So, as nice as the long bill on the European helmet is/was, they were not competition approved in So Cal. We knew the possibilities of a similar accident, but decided to take our teenage-20 something chances in our adventures. The full coverage Bell 500 Helmet saved my young noggin from any damage… or so I think so. HA! Thank you Bell Helmet Company for an excellent BELL TX 500 Helmet and the great Bubble Shield. My wife also thanks you, too… Note: The perils of desert motorcycle racing: There were three of us going up the same trail on this 8 foot wide soft sand/dirt hill. I was close to the lead and on the left side. The power guy was in the middle and was doing his best. But, in an instant, we started to drift into each other and the left side of my trail was a sharp drop off, back down hill. So, as he approached the top, he drifted over and just before we collided, he kicked me slightly off course and my bike hit the softest sand and started sliding back down hill, with me being flung off of the bike and landing on a bush. My bike several feet away in another bush. It was not just a bush, but a Manzanita Bush with strong branches and spiky thorns. Well, as I got up, I felt a pain in my neck. Even though I was wearing my Bell 500 helmet with full face coverage, somehow a branch of the Manzanita Bush went under my helmet and poked me in the neck. By the time I got back to the pits, my friend was almost falling over with laughter and wonderment. How did I get shot with an arrow in the neck? The branch was strong and sharp. It made a short 6 inch stick coming out of my neck like a broken arrow from those old cowboy movies. Of course we packed up and instantly went to the nearby desert hospital. There were humorous nurses and a chuckling doctor that asked if I was in trouble with a band of Indians. Ha! They took out the long stick and luckily it did not go in too far. I was given stitches and sent on our way. It was a good thing the Bell Helmet was sturdy and safe? The hill climb fall backwards was probably the place where I got a dent in my aluminum gas tank, too. YRMV
Just an old Bell with visor drilled for ventilation. Used for Kart Racing, Snowmobiles and Drag Racing.
I have two. A Buco in metalflake blue, used in my yard art Halloween decoration "Left Turn Louie" FED archaeological discovery, and an old Bell Star, aka "The Nose Breaker" acquired in the late '60s.
I still wear this style “ Buco “ daily . Probably offers not much protection , just makes me feel protected , kind like a rubber !
Funny story a coworker was always late to work . He had gotten 2 warnings , next was time off . He was on the brink of number 3 and suspension . Driving his daily to work , he gets noticing the time and in the front seat floor is “ Captain America “ rollin around . He grabs it straps it on and balls out opened it up I 75 to not be late . Well he wasn’t late but had 2 Police cars in a hot chase as he entered the parkin lot . I about split a gut laughing seeing him sitting in the rear of the police car , with the helmet on signing his ticket . Speed was not posted on the ticket , it stated in excess of 100 mph ! We all look back and ask ourselves how did we survive .
The Jalopy Journal
