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AGV Horizon Helmet

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Jan 30, 2011
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My Shoei RF-1000 was getting a little long in the tooth and so I found myself in the market for a new hat.

The criteria for the choice included good ventilation and one of those nifty internal drop-down sun shields. After riding into the sun in the mornings between the coffee shop and work in the brutal Bastrop traffic :roll: for the past fifteen years the sun visor was particularly appealing.

Using WebBikeWorld.com's extensive review library I quickly narrowed down my choices to the Shoei GT-Air (~$500-600) and the AGV Horizon ($350-400).

Feature-wise these helmets compare well. Both have good optical quality in the shields, removable liners, exemplary ventilation, adjustable shield positions and a nice finish.

Trying on the GT-Air at Lone Star Cycles I found the L to be a little tight and the XL was too loose. I wore an XL in the RF-1000 and the RF-900 before it. Oh well, brand loyalty isn't worth being uncomfortable over.

So, next trip to the big city I went by Ducati Austin, the listed AGV dealer, and took a gander at the Horizon. The fit was good, it was feature rich and the reviews compared it favorably to the GT-Air. So, I pulled the trigger and had them order me one in XL and the Racer Gunmetal finish.

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After a couple of weeks and over a thousand miles in this lid I am left very impressed with the value. The Dry-Lex lining is particularly comfy and slides on and off easily. More comfy to me than the micro-fiber like lining in the RF-1000, which was plush.

The face shield comes with three choices of detents, Race (2 position), Touring (3 position) and Urban (4 position w/small opening detent). These are easy to change out for personal preference. I went with the Urban. The shields also have anti-scratch and anti-fog coatings and are rated as Class 1 Optical Quality.

Riding in the the 100+ degree weather I had only noticed the venting from the chin vents, and they do let a lot of airflow in. More than any other helmet I have worn. Behind a wind screen I mostly noticed the airflow on the face when there is a cross wind. This past weekend riding in cooler temps I noticed the airflow cooling the top of my head as well. Something I had never felt in the RF-1000. Overall the front and top ventilation is the best I've experienced in any helmet I've worn.

The helmet flows through the air smoothly, with no buffeting or other aerodynamic issues. Even cross winds seem to affect this helmet less than my previous one.

The internal sun visor is wonderful. When used with the Transitions lenses in my glasses it makes an efficient filter for riding into direct sun a few degrees over the treeline. It is still difficult to see, but not completely blinding like it had been without. I may opt for one of the reflective coated internal visors in the future for better filtering when riding into a sunrise/sunset. On otherwise sunny days I can leave the internal visor down and it keeps the sun off my face and provides good forward vision. The optical quality is excellent through either or both shields.

I was able to install a Sena BT Intercom with little trouble. There are molded in places for the speakers and the mic for an AGV intercom and these worked well to fit the Sena bits and made the mic more comfortable by getting it further away from my skin. Using the headset for tunes highlighted how this helmet seems to be quieter than my RF-1000 as I now listen to music at a little lower volume level (wearing earplugs) than I was able to in the past. A slight, but welcome difference.

Last Monday I had the good fortune to ride in heavy downpour on the way home from work and the shield sealed very well. It stayed clear of water on the inside. I did get a little spray through the chin vents, but it wasn't an issue and I could have closed them if it became a problem. I didn't notice any water coming through the top vents. (Just to give some idea of the amount of rain, with no rain liner in the mesh suit my clothes were completely drenched when I got home, there was standing water that had run down my legs into my waterproof boots. The true definition of "waterproof" is that once water gets in, it can't get out. :lol2:)

The only bits I've found only slight faults with are the removable chin and nose curtains which can be dislodged on their ends fairly easily when handling the helmet. This isn't any different than most others I've worn. As I use it more I'll develop a technique around this. The chin curtain has an access flap that allows a finger through it to open/close the chin vents. A nice touch.

Overall I am very happy with the choice, the value, and with the experience inside this helmet and look forward to many miles over the next several years. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a mid-range helmet with high-end features. Plus, there's a little Valentino Rossi aura in every AGV. :trust:
 
AGV makes good stuff. I had an older helmet that was nice. A leather jacket lasted a long time. I went with two Bell Arrow Helmets for $50/ea. I like them so much (1.5 yrs of usage) I am buying another on clearance. Comfortable and nice venting for TX heat.
 
Thanks for the timely review. I too wear an increasingly funky RF-1K. Have just started thinking about replacing it. About all I've learned is the RF-1100 is shaped just differently enough that it's not an automatic fit. That and I the difference between the GT-Air, Qwest, RF-1100, and X-12 isn't readily apparent. Lots of model proliferation going on over at Shoei.

Since so many folks do/did wear the RF-1000, I'll start a thread to discuss what they are replacing it with.
 
I was looking forward to upgrading to the AGV Horizon as well after my Scorpion EX-700 was wearing out. The visor would no longer stay in the "just cracked" position without blowing closed and I was suffocating in there, not to mention it was noisy.

So, on to Ducati Austin we went to try on the Horizons. They had a Small and I was sure I had lucked out. It had a slick paint job too. :trust: "Italia" to go with my bike!

But there was a pressure point right at the top of my head I could feel immediately. :tears:

I tried on the Shoei, perfect fit...like they used my head as the model to make the helmet. I have a Shoei RF-1100 head.

So, the point is.....try it on. Ducati Austin has a good selection of sizes, and you can even try on the Rossi ones! Hee haw!
 
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