Bell Bullitt GT review | Retro-style helmet tested

Date reviewed: April 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: From £434.99 | uk.bellhelmets.com

Not everything makes sense. We rarely choose bikes solely on their practicality, comfort and fuel economy – aesthetics are a key part of purchasing decisions when it comes to buying things for our passion – and the Bell Bullitt GT on review here is a good example of that. There are motorcycle helmets that are better in almost every way, and in many cases for less money, but for some this will be something bought from the heart, rather than the head (and yes, I see the irony).

I’ve been using the Bell Bullitt GT for a month now on My 2019 BMW R1250GS and my 1999 Kawasaki Z1000SX, and while it’s unashamedly retro, it’s got some very clever design touches… 

Outer Shell

Let me get this out of the way… I love the look of the Bell Bullitt GT. So does my wife, but my brother-in-law doesn’t. If this style of lid doesn’t appeal then I’d go and check out some of the many other helmets we’ve reviewed as I’m not going to convince you otherwise.

Still here? Good, because the finish on this ‘Wander’ model, which like others with graphics costs £454.99, is superb. The stripes are perfectly and seamlessly applied, and the off-white and solid black sit beautifully under a deep gloss top-coat along with the small Bell logo on the front.

Plain gloss black, blue and green, as well as matt black all cost £434.99, while a plain carbon fibre model is £614.99, and with graphics costs £634.99.

It’s not cheap.

The outer shell is composite fibreglass with a small, narrow silhouette, a subtle exhaust cut-out at the back being the only nod to modernity. The Bullitt GT has three outer shell sizes across the XS to XXL size range, which also helps keep that small form across all head sizes.

The Bell Bullitt GT is certified as a full-face helmet under ECE 22.06.

You can wear the Bell Bullitt GT as an open-face

A pair of plastic covers are supplied to go in place of the visor if you want to wear the Bell Bullitt GT as an open-face lid.

Goggles will of course fit in the aperture, though I found that with mine at least, I had to pitch the helmet up just a fraction due to the position and angle of the forehead lining. The strap also isn’t retained, so make sure you have one with silicone grips on the inside.

Weight

Claimed to be 1,500g, this size large is actually just 1,434g on my scales, which makes it one of the lightest helmets I’ve tested – especially among those complying with the tougher ECE 22.06 standard.

The most important thing to look at with any lid really is its aerodynamics, as that’s far more likely to put a strain on your neck than a ‘heavy’ lid. I’ve had no problems with the Bell Bullitt GT at speed, the smooth shape allowing air to flow easily around it.

Ventilation

One of the key upgrades over the previous Bell Bullitt (which I haven’t tried) is the ability to close the four forehead vents with an easy-to-operate slider on the bottom left of the chin-bar.

This genius mechanism is extremely easy to operate, and once open gives a cooling breeze across the forehead and to the rear, always-open exhaust port. Thanks to wire mesh over the intakes, there’s also no chance of bugs getting in this way.

The brow ventilation isn’t as powerful as I’d like or expected given the position of all four of the ports, and while air does move around the chin due to the large open space there, it doesn’t tend to blow up across the face. When riding towards bright sunlight on a hot day, it can get quite warm behind the visor due to the lack of a chin vent blowing up and helping air move around.

The exhaust vent tends to introduce some wind noise at around 30-40mph. Above that it seems to disappear; it’s not what I’d call a whistling noise – more of a gentle wind buffeting sound. Opening the visor stops it, as does covering the exhaust with your hand. It doesn’t bother me really, and I only found it noticeable once I’d started listening for it.

Visor

The Bell Bullitt GT’s visor can be cracked just open for more airflow, but it does tend to close down from this position at anything above slow urban speeds. If you want a bit more air with the visor down, you can get away with tucking the leathery tab under the visor and closing it down, which maintains more of a cracked position.

The first positive stage of the very smooth mechanism is about 7cm and stays open up to motorway speeds, then from there it’s right up to the positively-locked fully-open position (which stays open at any speed).

Tucking the Bell Bullitt's visor tag in keeps it just cracked open for increased airflow

When in the first stage, the visor tends to shake due to the buffeting from the GS’s screen, which is noticeable with a clean visor, and really obvious when there are flies stuck to it.

Despite an anti-fog coating, the visor does tend to mist up more readily than we’ve come to expect from lids with a Pinlock anti-fog shield fitted, but this is only an issue in colder conditions.

Of course, if there was a Pinlock available it’d need to be huge as the field of view from the Bullitt GT is outstanding. I’ve not had such unrestricted vision in any helmet before (even open-faces, because then I have goggles on), and it really does give a stunning vista of the road and your surroundings. While it’s not a touring helmet for many reasons, that view would make it a great one!

The visor seats itself and doesn’t lock down, and a magnet stops the pull-tab from flapping about. Out of the box there’s a silicone sleeve over the magnet, but I’m sure this must be intended for shipping as it’s knocked off easily in use. I didn’t want there to be any chance of the magnet scratching the helmet’s paint though, so I stuck it on with a little superglue just to be sure.

Another brilliant design touch and upgrade on the Bullitt GT over the previous model is a new quick-release, no-tools visor mechanism. Just press the central button on the side covers then slide them back and the visor is easily removed. Pop it back on and they snap securely back in place… brilliant for cleaning, and for swapping visors.

The new Bell Bullitt GT doesn’t use the same visors as the previous model, and I can’t find any stock globally at the time of writing. In the USA, original Bullitt visors are listed at just $39.95 USD for coloured, clear and smoke flat visors, and bubble, so I really hope these soon become available for the GT– this is one helmet that definitely needs a dark visor. I’ll update this review as soon as I can get more info.

The visor seals well along the top when closed, preventing water running down the inside.

Lining

I described the visor tab as ‘leathery’ as though Bell says the lining is ‘17% fabric/foam/leather’, it’s certainly not the thickest, full-grain hide. Looking under a microscope, at best it’s just a very thin split of leather bonded to fabric. It looks great, and while long-term wear remains to be seen, I couldn’t find any complaints about the previous model, which was also listed as having leather trim.

The ‘leather’ is just around the inside of the visor aperture and the bottom of the helmet – the rest is a soft, comfortable fabric that can be removed easily and is hand-washable.

Fastening

The Bell Bullitt GT fastens with a traditional double-D strap in keeping with the retro nature.  A good-sized soft red leather thumb tab makes it easy to open and a metal popper stops the end of the strap from flapping about.

Fit

Like with the Bell Lithium I reviewed here – I had to go up to a large from my usual size medium. I’m typically a 58, which should be a medium going by Bell’s sizing, but I wouldn’t suggest automatically going up a size if you buy one – as with any helmet, it’s really important to try it for yourself.

The cheek pads are available in 45mm or 35mm-thick sizes, with my large having a pair of 35mm as standard. It would be possible then to go for the thicker 45mm if I needed to, with them costing £22.99, though talk to your dealer nicely at the time of purchase if you need them and they might do a deal. If the helmet size you choose has 35mm cheek pads, you can't go thinner, and if it has 45mm as standard you can't go thicker.

I found the Bullitt GT works well with spectacles (something I used to have a problem with in Bells), and for me at least it’s a very comfortable helmet.

Bell Bullitt GT - Noise

The Bell Bullitt GT is noisier than other helmets I’ve used due to that big opening around the chin, but not horrifically so. Again, it’s not a touring lid, and most owners will probably be riding more gently in urban environments, but I love the huge view from the visor so much that I find myself wearing this helmet a surprising amount.

Some users reported whistling on the previous model, and a review on the USA site suggested this was still present, but I found it to be more of a light buffeting sound, and only around 30-40mph.

As with any helmet, most noise tends to be caused by the bike’s fairing and screen, as well as how any buffeting reaches you so your height and riding position – not to mention the fit of the lid – will make it almost impossible to say if any helmet will be quiet for one rider or another.

For more information on why earplugs are vital with any helmet, and advice on which are the best, click here.

Can I fit my own intercom to the Bell Bullitt GT?

I love listening to music on some rides, but the idea of fitting an intercom to the Bell Bullitt GT just doesn’t sit right with me – I want to keep those classic lines, and I’m also less likely to be riding in it on motorway blasts.

Still, with 52mm diameter, 12mm deep recesses for speakers and plenty of space on the side to stick it, you shouldn’t have much of a problem besides the bonded-in neck skirt meaning that the cable will have to run over it, or run forward and tuck in just in front before going under the cheek pad.

As with other brands, if you buy an intercom at the same time as the helmet from most stores, you’ll not pay VAT on the comms system, saving 16.66%.

Five alternatives to the Bell Bullitt GT

Retro-style helmets are in some ways rather niche, but there are a fair few to choose from now. Here are some to consider…

• Shoei Glamster 06, from £429.99 | Not quite as retro as the Bullitt GT, the Glamster combines some old-school looks with more modern convenience. RRP is about the same as the Bell, and while we haven’t reviewed the new model, our tester liked the old one, except for its visor mechanism. Read the full review of the Shoei Glamster here.

• Shoei Ex-Zero, From £399.99 | One of my favourite retro-style helmets, the Ex-Zero is far from practical. The wind whipping around the drop-down sunshield makes my eyes water at higher speeds (so I tend to use goggles), and it’s definitely not an all-weather lid. But I love it! Read the full review of the Shoei Ex-Zero here.

• Arai Rapide, from £449.99 | Retro styling and the usual high Arai quality makes this an attractive helmet, but the visor’s a bit of a fiddle to remove and really it’s not much different to a modern Arai – it just has less venting. The Rapida HA design is cool if you know your Arai history though… Read the full review of the Arai Rapide here.

• Biltwell Gringo SV 06, from £239.00 | A popular retro-style brand, we haven’t yet tested a Biltwell at Bennetts BikeSocial.

• Bycity Roadster III, from £172.00 | Mention the Bell Bullitt GT and the Bycity brand soon comes up. It’s another helmet we haven’t been able to test, but it seems very good value and is arguably the closest in style to the Bell.

These are just five of many alternatives – you can find all the helmets we’ve tested here  and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Bell Bullitt GT Review: Verdict

There can be no argument that you can get a more versatile helmet for less money than the Bell, but those are decisions made with the head… my heart says the Bell has the proportions nailed perfectly.

And that visor… as I write this I’m looking forward to an evening out on the GS. Perhaps not the typical bike to wear a helmet like this with, but the massive field of view makes me forget I’ve got a lid on, and able to enjoy the scenery around me.

Long story short, if you love the look of this helmet and understand the limitations, it fits you and you can afford it, then it’s recommended.

If you’d like to chat about this article or anything else biking related, join us and thousands of other riders at the Bennetts BikeSocial Facebook page.

Do you own this helmet? Tell us what they’re like, or ask us questions about them at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk.

Bell Bullitt GT mini-review

Check out Urban Rider’s great first look at the Bell Bullitt GT