Soleluna is sun and moon, and it has been Valentino Rossi's design language for most of his career. The 2021 version is the one on this helmet: fluo yellow sun rays across one side, a deep blue and turquoise moon gradient across the other, the 46 laid over the crown, the sun and moon icons on the rear, and orange wedges at the chin bar. AGV has put it on the new Pista GP RR S shell, and it is the most expensive helmet in the range by a clear margin.

What the sun and the moon are actually about

The two halves of the design are not decoration in the usual sense. Rossi's sun-and-moon motif has appeared on his helmets since the late 1990s and refers to his own description of the two sides of his character, the one that performs and the one that doubts. The design has been redrawn many times; the 2021 edition is the version he ran in his final full MotoGP season.

Which side you see depends on where you stand. The left of the helmet carries the yellow radial sun pattern against turquoise; the right carries the blue moon gradient that fades towards white at the temple. That is why a Soleluna looks like two different helmets in photographs and why it is worth looking at both sides before deciding.

What a replica is, and what it is not

This is a replica of a design, on a current production shell. It is not a reproduction of the helmet Rossi actually raced in 2021: that was the previous Pista GP RR, and a factory race helmet is built with a rider's own pad thicknesses, his own visor spec and a homologation package for MotoGP.

What you get instead is the artwork, executed by AGV, on the 2027 Pista GP RR S: the same carbon shell, the same five-density EPS, the same Race 3 MPLK visor and the same accessory pack as every other helmet in the range. Nothing in the specification is different. The premium over a Mono Carbon is paint and licence, and it is fair to say so plainly.

Carbon under the yellow

The shell is carbon fibre, one hundred per cent, moulded in four sizes. Six helmet sizes share those four shells, which keeps the outside of the helmet close to the head inside it rather than padding out the difference with foam.

The liner is EPS in five densities, produced in four sizes to match the shells. Multiple densities let one liner deal with impacts of different severity: softer zones crush progressively in a lower-energy hit, denser zones prevent a heavy strike from bottoming out. The lower rear edge of the shell is drawn back into what AGV calls a collarbone safe profile, so that a head forced down and back does not drive the shell edge into the collarbone.

The weight, stated as AGV states it

1,500 grams in the first shell size. That is the smallest of the four shells, so the figure understates what an XL weighs, and it is not directly comparable with a rival quoting a mid size or a helmet measured without its visor.

Taken as published it puts this helmet in the middle of the racing field: lighter than an Alpinestars Supertech R10, heavier than an LS2 FF805 Thunder GP Pro or an MT KRE 2 PLUS. Weight on a helmet is experienced as leverage on the neck rather than as mass, and it grows with speed and with head movement, which is why the aerodynamic package matters as much as the number.

Ventilation and the new spoiler

Five metal intakes at the front feed channels cut through the EPS; two metal extractors at the rear pull the air back out. None of the vents closes with a gloved hand on the move, and that is deliberate on a race helmet. Vent covers are supplied so you can blank the intakes off for a cold or wet session in the garage.

The EVO Spoiler at the back is the change that separates the Pista GP RR S from the Pista GP RR. It is detachable, screwed on with plastic fasteners, and supplied by AGV in this helmet's own Soleluna colours as well as in plain finishes. Plastic fasteners are the safety element: a spoiler that shears off in a slide cannot catch on a kerb and twist the head.

Vision

Race 3 MPLK visor, 5 mm thick, optical class 1, 190 degrees horizontal and 85 degrees vertical. Metal mechanism, visor lock, micro-opening detent for demisting, and AGV's patented Extra Quick Release System for a tool-free change. Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision insert included, tear-off posts fitted, tear-off kit in the box.

Because the visor range carries over from the Pista GP RR, every Race 3 tint AGV makes fits this helmet already: clear, smoke, 50 per cent, rainbow, and iridium mirrors in silver, gold, blue, red and electro.

Why this one costs more

It is the licensed replica of a world champion's design, painted by AGV to a considerably more complex process than a two-colour graphic. That is the entire reason. Here is the range in order, so the decision is at least an informed one.

If the design is what you want, nothing else in the range replaces it. If the technology is what you want, the Mono Carbon is the identical helmet for considerably less.

Looking after a complex paint job

A Soleluna carries more airbrushed transitions than any other helmet in the range, and the fluo yellow is the part that ages first. Fluorescent pigments fade under sustained ultraviolet light; that is chemistry, not quality. Keeping the helmet out of a sunlit rear window and in its bag when it is not on your head does more for it than any product you can buy.

Clean with warm water and a soft cloth, always rinsing before wiping so grit does not get dragged across the artwork. Solvents lift airbrush edges. Do not put the helmet down on its side on a tank or a workbench, because the widest point of the shell is exactly where the sun rays are.

What it does not have

No FIM homologation. AGV approves this helmet to ECE 22.06 and DOT, which covers road use and track days but is not the FIM FRHPhe certificate that many licensed championships now demand. If you race under a licence, settle that question with your organiser before ordering.

No drop-down sun visor, no intercom preparation, no glasses channel, and a neck roll cut for a leather suit. Wind noise is high, as it is on any race helmet with permanently open metal intakes and a wide aperture; no measured value exists for this model and we will not invent one. Earplugs are part of the equipment.

Sizing

Measure around the widest part of your head about a centimetre above the eyebrows and compare the result with the chart linked on this page. The fit is a race fit, close on the cheeks at first and settling as the pads compress. The interiors customisation kit supplied with the helmet contains a spare top crown pad, a rear crown pad and cheek pads, which lets you tune the fit rather than change the size.

In the box

• AGV Pista GP RR S helmet, Soleluna 2021
• Race 3 MPLK clear visor, fitted
• Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision insert
• Interiors customisation kit: top crown pad, rear crown pad, cheek pads
• Tear-off kit
• Vent covers
• Removable nose guard and wind protector
• Helmet bag and documentation

Specification

• Model — AGV Pista GP RR S
• Part number — 21183D9017007
• Colour and finish — Soleluna 2021, Valentino Rossi replica livery
• Homologation — ECE 22.06 and DOT (AGV designation E2206 DOT MPLK)
• Helmet type — Full-face racing helmet, road legal
• Shell — 100% carbon fibre, four shell sizes
• Liner — Five-density EPS in four sizes, collarbone safe profile
• Weight — 1,500 g in the first shell size
• Sizes — XS to XXL
• Visor — Race 3 MPLK, 5 mm, optical class 1, 190 degrees horizontal, 85 degrees vertical, metal mechanism, visor lock, micro-opening, Extra Quick Release System
• Anti-fog — Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision included
• Ventilation — Five front intakes, two rear extractors, metal vents
• Retention — Titanium double-D ring

• 1x AGV Pista GP RR S helmet
• 1x Race 3 MPLK clear visor, fitted
• 1x Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision insert
• 1x Interiors customisation kit: top crown pad, rear crown pad, cheek pads
• 1x Tear-off kit
• 1x Set of vent covers