Rennie Scaysbrook | April 30, 2020
The touring market for full face helmets has never been more competitive, with a new manufacturer seemingly every week and more and more made from carbon fiber that are competitively priced.
AGV K6 Full Face Helmet Review
The AGV K6 is the latest model to join this ever-growing section of the helmet market and can be thought of as the Italian company’s reply to the ultra-successful Shoei RF1200. The K6 uses many of the lessons learned from race helmets like the Corsa R and Pista GP R and GP RR and uses a carbon aramid construction and five level EPS liner, with the whole thing weighing just 2.1 pounds, making it the lightest helmet in its class.
Inside the K6, AGV has lined it in the breathable Ritmo fabric, a fabric that’s often used in cycling gear. There’s five adjustable air vents with two rear air extractors (at the rear of the helmet in line with your eyes), and AGV claims it has a wide 190° peripheral vision and 85° vertical vision from the eyeport.
As expected, you can fit a pin lock anti-fog lens to the Optical Class 1 visor, which, thankfully, is on the old-school ratchet system for opening and closing. The Pista, on the other hand, has a system where you can only open or close the visor with no locking points in between.
The visor mechanism at the side of the helmet has been reduced compared to the Pista, which saves a touch of weight.
A nice touch is the sides of the helmet at the base is curved so it doesn’t make contact with your collarbone in the event of a fall.
It’s offered in sizes XS-XXL
VIDEO | AGV K6
AGV K6 Full Face Helmet Rider Analysis
I keep falling in and out of love with AGV helmets. The race series helmets like the carbon-fiber Pista GP RR I love (that’s the helmet I wore when I won Pikes Peak last year), but the street helmets never seemed to fit me correctly.
It’s the same with the K6, although before I go on, I will say that helmets are the most personal piece of safety gear you wear, and what does/doesn’t fit me may be the opposite for you. So, if you are going to buy a helmet—any helmet—try it on before handing over your cash. Now, back to the K6.
The fit, for me, isn’t as bad as some of the previous AGV helmets I’ve tried, and it’s actually pretty comfy during shorter rides of under an hour. Longer ones seem to pinch my ears at the top, but again, my head shape is different than yours.
At speed, the K6 is extremely stable. Much like the Pista cuts through the air, so too does the K6. Plus, it lets me crack the visor open and hold it there without it slamming down like the Pista.
The K6 is incredibly light, more so than any street helmet I’ve worn (I think the 6D ATS-1R is not far off in terms of weight). This translates to much less fatigue over a long ride, save for the fact it pinches my ears after a while. The airflow is excellent, as is the overall vison you get from the eye port.
AGV helmets seem to always hate having my intercom system attached to them. They don’t leave a cut out on the inner liner for the speaker wire to come through, so fitting any brand of com system will be a pain (I actually made a small cut on the bottom plastic liner that sits between the padding and the shell for the wires to travel through).
Sound-wise, the K6 is pretty good. I generally wear ear plugs but at low speed the wind noise isn’t too bad (not as good as an Arai Regent X, mind you).
At $549 for the K6 tested here ($499 for a base color), it is priced competitively, the same price as a Shoei RF1200, while the Arai Regent X is $189 more.
Again, your head size will determine if this is the right helmet for you, but specs-wise, the K6 has the goods. CN
AGV K6 Full Face Helmet Lowdown
••• Light weight
••• Great color selection, including a Marco Lucchinelli-style paint scheme
••• Finally. A ratchet system on a top AGV
•••Not ideally suited for com systems
Standout Feature: Super light weight
MSRP: $499.95-$549.95 (as tested)
