Is it time to replace your race suit? Let’s get you track-ready. Customer Question: Is The Bell RS7 Right For GX-UK Karting?
Customer question, kart helmets
A customer rang this week asking about the Bell RS7 for karting in the GX-UK series. It is a sensible question and it has a slightly awkward answer, because there are three Bell helmets in this conversation whose names look almost identical and which are built for three different people.
The short version. The RS7 is a car helmet. The RS7-K is the karting one. The KC7-CMR is the youth karting one, and Bell say so themselves. Getting the letters wrong costs you either a helmet you cannot use or one that does not come in your size.
Here is how to tell them apart, and the one question about your class that decides which of them you want.
- The Bell RS7 is a car helmet: SA2020 and FIA 8859-2024, with a fire retardant lining
- The Bell RS7-K is the karting version, made in 57 to 61+cm
- Bell describe the KC7-CMR as a youth helmet for drivers under 18, and it stops at 59cm
- A CMR helmet is mandatory for the youngest drivers, not a straight upgrade for everyone
- GX-UK runs Senior and Junior classes, so your class decides the helmet before the badge does
- GX-UK is an IKR series, not Motorsport UK, so ask Access Karting in writing
Three Bells, three different drivers
This is the part that catches people, and it is not their fault. Bell use the same numbers across car and kart ranges, so an RS7 and an RS7-K look like the same helmet with a letter added. They are not.
The RS7 is a car helmet. It carries Snell SA2020 and FIA 8859-2024, and it has a fire retardant lining because a car can catch fire around you. The RS7-K is the kart version of the same shell family. Bell describe it as purpose built for the kart racer and fit it with what they call a non fireproof lining for extra durability, because a kart driver is not sitting in a fuel fire risk but is climbing in and out of a seat all day.
Then there is the KC7-CMR, which is the one most people get pointed at, and it is a different animal again.
| Helmet | Built for | Approval | Sizes made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell RS7 and RS7 Pro | Cars. Fire retardant lining | Snell SA2020, FIA 8859-2024 | 54 to 61+cm |
| Bell RS7-K | Karting. Non fireproof, harder wearing lining | Snell K2020 on ours, K2025 current | 57 to 61+cm |
| Bell KC7-CMR | Youth karting. Bell say under 18 | Snell-FIA CMR 2016 | 54 to 59cm only |
The sizing is the giveaway
If you want one practical test that cuts through the letters, measure your head. A CMR helmet has a weight limit written into the standard, because it exists to keep mass off a young neck. Bell quote 1,185g in the small sizes and 1,230g in the larger ones. You cannot build a 61cm shell to that weight, so nobody does.
The result is simple. If you measure 60cm or more, the KC7-CMR is not made in your size and the conversation is over. If you measure 57 to 59cm you are in the overlap, and both would physically fit, which is exactly where people buy the wrong one.
If you have not measured properly, do that first. It takes a minute and it decides everything else on this page.
The question that actually decides it
GX-UK is not one class. It runs a Senior class and a Junior class, and the split is by age. Reading the series regulations, a junior stays a junior through the year they turn 16 and must race as a senior from the year they turn 17. A driver can elect to move up at 15 if they turn 16 in that calendar year, and once they have started a senior race they cannot go back.
So the honest answer to the original question is another question. Which class are you entering?
If it is Junior, a CMR helmet is the right buy and for the youngest drivers it is the required one. If it is Senior and you are an adult, the RS7-K is the helmet you were describing when you asked about the RS7.
If you are racing Senior
These are the adult kart helmets we list, on the Snell K and FIA karting approvals, not CMR. The RS7-K is the direct answer to the original question, and the Stilo ST6 KRT is the one carrying the newest karting approval if you want the longest runway on paper.
The RS7-K also comes in a carbon shell if you want the weight down, and that version starts at 54cm so it opens the range up at the bottom as well. It is close to double the money for a difference you feel across a long meeting more than in a single race, so for club karting the composite is the sensible buy. Ask us and we will price the carbon for you.
Prices are ex VAT, the way the listings show them.
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If you are racing Junior
If the driver is a junior, CMR is the right family and the choice is about weight and finish, not approval, because all of these carry exactly the same Snell-FIA CMR 2016 homologation. A lighter shell on a young neck is worth real money.
We have written that comparison out in full separately, so this is just the shortlist.
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What if you already own an RS7?
If you have a car helmet already and you are wondering whether to just use it, the answer depends entirely on what your series accepts, which is why the paragraph above matters more than anything we think. Some karting rulebooks do accept the car standards and some name the karting ones only.
What we would say is that the two helmets are built for different jobs. The fire retardant lining you are paying for in a car helmet does nothing for you in a kart, and the kart lining is the more durable of the two for getting in and out all day. If you are buying new for karting, buy the kart one.
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The standards, in one place
The alphabet soup is genuinely confusing, and it deserves more room than a paragraph here. The short version is that CMR and CMS are the children’s karting standards with weight limits attached, the Snell K numbers are the adult karting standards, and FIA 8878-2024 is the newest karting approval. SA and 8859 are car standards.
We have a full explainer coming that sets out which list applies where, including the Motorsport UK position and the 1,550g check for the youngest drivers.
Is the Bell RS7 banned for karting?
We would not put it that way, because it depends on your series and not on the helmet. The RS7 is a car helmet on car standards. Some karting rulebooks accept car approvals and some list only the karting ones. Ask your organiser which approvals they accept, and if you are buying new for karting, buy the karting helmet.
Can an adult wear a CMR helmet?
Physically, if it comes in your size, yes, and some series do ask for CMR from everyone. The practical catch is that CMR helmets are built to a weight limit for young necks and are made only up to 59cm. If you measure larger than that, no manufacturer makes one to fit you.
What is the difference between the RS7 and the RS7-K?
The K is the karting version. Same family, but Bell fit it with a non fireproof lining chosen for durability instead of the fire retardant lining a car helmet needs, and it carries karting approvals in place of the car ones.
My child is 16 and racing GX-UK Junior. CMR or not?
CMR is the right family for a junior. Confirm with Access Karting which approvals they accept for the class, because GX-UK runs under IKR and the class regulations themselves do not name a helmet standard.
Do I need a different visor for karting?
The visor comes with the helmet and the kart helmets here are all full face. Tinted visors are generally fine in daylight, and most rulebooks want a clear one available for poor light. Check with your organiser and we can supply the spares for these families.
Those two answers settle this in about a minute. Send us the class you are entering and the measurement round the fullest part of your head, and we will tell you which of the three helmets you actually want, or tell you to go back to your organiser first if the class rules are not clear. We would rather do that than sell you a helmet you cannot use.
Those two answers settle this in about a minute. Garreth and Cameron will tell you which of the three helmets you actually want, or tell you to go back to your organiser first if the class rules are not clear.
