Most helmet listings tell you what the helmet is. This one starts with what arrives in the carton, because on a racing helmet at this level the contents are a significant part of the value and almost nobody itemises them. The helmet itself is the Intrepido in matt carbon and graphite with fluo red accents on the front intakes, the rear extractors, the chin vent and the AGV shield.

Everything that comes in the carton

The helmet ships with a clear Race 3 MPLK visor already fitted, a Pinlock 120XLT MaxVision insert, an interiors customisation kit containing a top crown pad, a rear crown pad and a set of cheek pads, a tear-off kit, a set of vent covers, the removable nose guard and the removable wind protector, plus the bag and the paperwork.

Price those separately at AGV list and the customisation kit, the tear-offs, the vent covers and the Pinlock together account for a meaningful fraction of the difference between this helmet and a cheaper race lid. It does not close the gap entirely, and we would not claim it does, but it explains part of it.

The customisation kit, and what you do with it

Three parts, three different jobs.

The top crown pad changes how high the helmet sits on your head. Swap it for the thinner or thicker alternative and the brow line moves, which is the fix for a helmet that presses on the forehead or sits so high that the aperture is in the wrong place when you tuck.

The rear crown pad changes the fore-and-aft position. If the helmet rocks back under acceleration or the chin bar sits too close to your nose, this is the part to change.

The cheek pads change the clamp on the jaw, which is the part most riders think of as fit. Between the three you can usually resolve a helmet that is almost right without moving a size, and you can do it on the evening it arrives rather than through a returns process.

Tear-offs and vent covers

Tear-off posts are fitted to this visor as standard and a kit of films comes in the box. They are a track item: on a wet or dusty session, pulling a layer off restores vision instantly where wiping a visor with a glove would only smear it. AGV's tear-offs for this visor are shared with the Race 3 and Race 4 range, so the consumable stays easy to source.

The vent covers answer a question people ask about race helmets: what do you do when it is five degrees and raining, and none of the vents close? You blank them off. The covers clip over the front intakes and stay there until you take them out. It is a garage operation, not something to attempt at speed, and it is the racing answer rather than a compromise slider.

The Intrepido in grey and red

Matt carbon with a graphite chevron pattern running from the crown down over the cheeks, and fluo red on the functional parts: the front intakes, the chin vent, the rear extractors and the shield on the crown. The red is confined to the hardware, which is what stops the design from reading as a two-colour paint job.

Matt clear coat takes a lighter touch than gloss. Skin oil and sun cream sit on the surface rather than beading, and scrubbing burnishes satin into a permanent shiny mark. Warm water, mild soap, a soft cloth, no pressure, no polish, no solvent.

How the air actually moves

Five intakes at the front, two extractors at the rear, and both sets made from metal alloy rather than plastic. A plastic scoop on the leading edge of a helmet flexes at track speed, and a flexing scoop loses air and makes noise. The intakes feed channels cut into the EPS liner, which is what turns openings in a shell into a flow across the scalp.

Two extractors for five intakes sounds lopsided until you remember that extraction is driven by the low-pressure region behind the helmet, which is large, and that the EVO Spoiler shapes exactly that region. Intake area and exhaust area are not the same problem.

Shell and liner

One hundred per cent carbon fibre, moulded in four shell sizes, with a five-density EPS liner also produced in four sizes and a collarbone safe profile along the lower rear edge of the shell.

Four shells across six helmet sizes is a number worth checking whenever you compare race helmets, because it is expensive to tool and therefore the first thing a manufacturer economises on. The alternative is padding the size difference out with foam, which leaves smaller riders wearing a larger helmet than they need and larger riders with a liner that has been thinned to make room.

Weight

AGV publishes 1,500 grams in the first shell size, which is the smallest shell. It is a middling figure for the class rather than a headline one, and it is quoted here the way AGV quotes it rather than converted into something more flattering.

The price in context

The Pista is the most expensive helmet in that list and the only one without an FIM certificate. What sits on its side of the ledger is the shell material, the four-size shell and liner programme, the 5 mm optical class 1 visor, the titanium double-D ring and the box contents described above.

Homologation, and the one gap in it

AGV designates the helmet E2206 DOT MPLK: ECE 22.06 for Europe, DOT for the United States, MPLK for the MaxPinlock-prepared visor. ECE 22.06 has been mandatory for new helmets in the EU since January 2024 and tests up to eighteen impact points at several speeds, including an oblique strike against an abrasive anvil that measures rotational acceleration.

What it does not carry is FIM FRHPhe homologation. That is a separate racing certificate, and a growing number of licensed series require it. For road use and track days it makes no difference; for a race licence it may decide the question entirely, so check your series regulations before ordering.

The other things it does not do

No drop-down sun visor: use a tinted Race 3 visor instead. No speaker pockets or cable routing for an intercom. No groove in the cheek pads for spectacle arms. The neck roll is cut for a one-piece leather suit and feels tight over a jacket collar. And the helmet is loud, because permanently open metal intakes and a 190 degree aperture make it so. No decibel figure has been measured for this model and we are not going to publish one that does not exist. Wear earplugs.

Spare parts

Visor mechanism kit, visor hook repair kit, breath deflector, wind protector, crown pads, cheek pads, fit customisation kit and hydration system are all listed by AGV for the Pista GP RR S, and nearly all of them are shared with the Pista GP RR and the Corsa R. That shared catalogue is the reason a helmet launched this year already has a full accessory shelf behind it.

Sizing

Measure the widest circumference of your head, roughly a centimetre above the eyebrows, and compare it with the chart linked on this page. The fit is close at the cheeks when new and eases as the pads bed in. If the measurement falls between two sizes, the smaller one generally suits circuit use and the larger one longer road rides, and the customisation kit in the box gives you room to adjust either way.

In the box

• AGV Pista GP RR S helmet, Intrepido Matt Carbon/Grey/Red
• 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 — 21183D9017008
• Colour and finish — Intrepido Matt Carbon/Grey/Red
• 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
• Included accessories — Interiors customisation kit, tear-off kit, vent covers
• 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