Well after nearly a year of riding with the ill fitting Nolan N102, I decided that a new helmet was in order. My helmet history has presented the dark side, with my quick to buy uneducated purchases, so this time I was determined to buy with an enlightened perspective and to buy from a local dealer that I know would support me if I had helmet issues.

Helmet history

After an in depth research session of helmet reviews from webbikeworld and the discovery that I have an oval shaped head, I decided that I would go and try some on. Sadly the helmet that I was most interested in the GMAX could not be found locally. In fact I couldn’t find a dealer that sold them other then ebay businesses in Canada or the East Coast. But the GMAX is know as being a “round” helmet, so I was afraid to simply buy online and then have to return if it did not work. Scrolling down the list of Helmet Weights, I discovered a shape section and proceeded to find and try on those from that list.

Long story short, I bought a AGV Stealth helmet from GoMoto a local woman’s gear shop, certain that the mere purchase of Valentino Rossi’s helmet brand would make me a faster and better rider.

OK…first off I got a screaming deal! She had only a couple of last years discontinued color and offered them at half off. It was a color I could definitely live with.

Now, how could I beat that if the helmet fit properly. I placed it on my head and spent the next 30 minutes hanging in the store helmet modeling. The fit is excellent, no hot spots, and seemed light as a feather after wearing the Nolan. This helmet out of 109 helmets weighted is number 20 for being lightest weight. It has a SSL Carbon-Kevlar construction which keeps the weight down and the aerodynamic shape is supposed to enhance my “aggressive” racing style.

I took a 3 hour ride to test my new AGV Stealth.

The venting on this helmet is remarkable. Although the review on webbikeworld was less than stellar, he does give it an outstanding rating for ventilation. The visor is clear and flaw/distortion free and give good top to bottom and side to side visibility. I agree with the reviewer in that is seems a bit fussy to remove and change the visor, which will probably lead me to buying a tinted visor for most riding saving the clear for nigh riding.

I wear ear plugs always, so noise is never a problem with any helmet, although I did read this helmet is noiser than some. I did try blocking the chin area where much of the wind is directed by my windscreen (which is why I need a new one) and I didn’t notice much difference in the noise levels. So for me it was fine.

Overall, this helmet should work out nicely. I’ll keep you posted.