Bell basically invented the modern motorcycle helmet. In 1954 the founder, Roy Richter, created the RT500. He later created the first full face motorcycle helmet. The latest Custom 500 is a re-imagining of Roy's original. Almost identical in looks to Bell’s open face helmet from the 1950s, it does the same job. The modern helmet has a shell made from fibreglass, but the appeal of the Custom 500, apart from its brand heritage and its funky colourways, is the fact that it comes in four different shell sizes. This means that it has less of a tendency to look like a bowling ball on the head. But if there is a downside it is that Bell has perhaps skimped on the padding, making it a helmet that needs to fit perfectly for it to be comfortable. Some people simply cannot make it work for them.