AGV Street Modular review | Lower-price flip-front helmet

Date reviewed: February 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: From £239.00 | www.agv.com

The AGV Street Modular on review here is a relatively budget flip-front helmet that’s fairly good for the money, though it does have some room for improvement. I’ve been using it on a BMW R1250GS and Zontes ZT-350T to find out if it’s the right choice for those looking for a more affordable modular design…

Outer Shell

Starting at £239.00 for plain black or white, with other colours costing £249.00 and graphics (like this ‘Resia matt grey/silver/red) topping out at £279.00, the AGV Street Modular is at the cheaper end of the market for flip-fronts, and is significantly less than the AGV Tourmodular reviewed here. The AGV Sport Modular has a higher RRP, but it’s often available cheaper than the Street Modular. However, I wasn’t impressed with that helmet when I reviewed it here.

This more budget-friendly helmet has a thermoplastic outer shell, instead of a carbon/aramid/fibreglass mix, but it’s still of course certified to the tougher ECE 22.06 standard.

The matt finish here has an attractive metallic sheen with the graphics well applied under the top-coat. The plastic trim parts look good, with only the exposed chin-bar screw giving a slight hint of the relatively budget nature.

The lower price does show in the feel of the chin-bar though, with a distinct movement in the front when locked down. It locks securely, and isn’t a safety issue, but compared with more premium helmets it’s noticable.

My biggest problem with the chin bar – and my main complaint with this helmet – is the difficulty in opening and closing it. With anything other than thin, well-fitted gloves, I find it very hard to get my thumb into the tab to open the front up. There is a knack to it, but it remains a fiddle, and with thicker winter gloves it can be difficult, especially if there’s any slack material at the end of the digit.

The visor closes as the chin bar opens, and has to remain shut to close the chin bar back down, which isn’t a problem if you hold it by the bottom edge, but I have a habit of wanting to check it by pressing along the inside of the visor aperture. Still, the chin locks down securely with no problems. Strangely, the visor can be opened when the chin bar is fully up, but closing the front down in this state requires a lot of force, and feels like something could break.

The Street Modular is certified as both P (Protective full face) and J (Jet open face), with a lock on the side to prevent the chin bar from dropping, though I can’t see anybody using it. The first stage of the chin bar holds well, but it needs pushing back further for the lock to operate, and in that position it’s very secure as it is.

The AGV has a QR code on the box that needs scanning to take you to a link confirming that it’s not a fake helmet (yes, sadly  they’re out there on online marketplaces), then to the user manual, which can be found here.

Weight

On my scales, this medium-sized AGV Street Modular weighs 1,863g, which is a little heavier than the Tourmodular and the Shoei Neotec 3.

Despite issues with my neck, I’ve never found any helmet to be too heavy, and I don’t have any problems with the Street Modular. The aerodynamics also seem good, not causing any noticeable drag, which is what’s far more likely to cause neck strain.

Ventilation

Out of the box, the AGV Street Modular doesn’t have the supplied chin skirt fitted, which makes it very drafty around the upper face. Once fitted (it clips in very securely), there’s still a small amount of air movement around the back of the jaw, but overall it’s a lot better. In winter you’ll perhaps want to wear a neck tube, but it’s not a bad place to be.

The chin vent feeds up across the fixed nose guard to your brow, and while not that powerful, does help with airflow across the face. The vent’s a little loose feeling, so is easy to knock open and quite tricky to feel the two stages.

The top vent is either open or closed, and can be a little tougher to get a good purchase on when wearing gloves, but it’s effective, feeding two holes in the EPS (expanded polystyrene) liner, along channels across the top of the head to the pair of always-open exhaust vents.

I found that it is possible for some water to find its way into the rear exhaust vents in heavy rain, and when shut, the top vent can also let some through when riding in bad conditions.

Visor

The AGV Street Modular is supplied with a Pinlock MaxVision 70 anti-fog insert, which gives good peripheral vision and is the mid-level of performance (120 is the highest, 30 is the lowest).

The visor’s extremely easy to remove and refit for cleaning, and has a smooth five-stage ratchet mechanism. It closes firmly with no additional lock, and is easily freed with the central thumb-tab, which can be operated with either hand.

A just-cracked-open setting can allow for additional venting, though it’s either a bit too closed or pops open to about an inch. If riding with the visor fully open it tends to stay in place until you tip your head down, at which point it closes itself.

The integral sunshield is dropped using a slider on the lower left of the helmet’s base. AGV says that you can set the position to suit yourself in the last 5mm of travel, but this means you just don’t push the slider all the way to the end. Unfortunately, even with the shield dropped all the way down, I find the cut-out at the nose is much too large, leading to a distracting bright point. This is a shame, though not that uncommon – of all the helmets I’ve tested it’s only been the Shoei Neotec 3 and GT-Air 3 that have got it pretty much perfect.

Lining

The AGV’s lining is fully removable for cleaning, and while nothing particularly special stands out about it, it is soft and comfortable.

The front of the top lining is held in with three clips, but they’re not all that strong and AGV seems to have done a last-minute workaround with some sticky-backed Velcro tape that pulls off rather easily. I haven’t had problems with the lining coming out, but it’s not as secure as it should be.

Fastening

The Street Modular is secured with a micrometric ratchet-type fastener with a metal tongue. This is quicker and easier to use than a double-D ring, and still very secure. Once the strap’s adjusted, you have four clicks of adjustment to ensure a snug fit every ride after the first locking point. The final click takes a bit of an extra push, but there’s a useful 15mm range in total.

Fit

The AGV Street Modular has two outer shell sizes – rather than the three of the pricier Tourmodular – across a size range of XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL, with two alternative cheek pad thicknesses listed on the AGV website, to refine the fit, at £41.99 a pair. Standard fit on the XS, M and XL helmets is 35mm, and I found these to be fine. Small and large helmets come with 40mm pads, and XXL with 30mm. While these aren’t in stock at the time of writing, if you do struggle with the fit, talk to your dealer before buying as the three thicknesses of pads appear to be the same size for all shell sizes, and some stores might be willing to change them at time of purchase.

Comfort is of course entirely subjective, but I found the AGV to feel great from first use, with no pressure points or slack. As with any helmet, always try for yourself first, but one thing to note is that the fit around the chin is quite tight, which some people might not like.

I wear glasses and have no problem with fitting them into the Street Modular.

AGV Street Modular Noise

The Street Modular does seem to be a fraction noisier than some other helmets I’ve tested, but I’d not say it’s bad and it does depend a lot on your height, the fit around your head and neck, and the shape of your bike’s fairing and screen. There’s no unusual whistling or wailing, so as with any helmet, it’s important to wear earplugs.

For more information on why earplugs are vital with any helmet, and advice on which are the best, click here.

Can I fit my own intercom to the AGV Street Modular?

I fitted the new Sena 60S to the AGV Street Modular with no problems, the speakers tucking into the 48mm diameter, 12mm deep recesses well. There’s room to stick the comms unit just behind the hinge too, though do check the movement before securing.

The close-fitting chin bar does make the boom mic press against my mouth while riding. I’ve now set it further back, so the end just pokes out of the cheek pad, though of course this can affect the clarity of your voice,

As with other brands, if you buy an intercom at the same time as the helmet from most stores, you’ll not pay VAT on the comms system, saving 16.66%.

Three alternatives to the AGV Street Modular

The Street Modular is a relatively affordable flip-front helmet, but here are some others to consider…

• HJC i100 Beis, £249.99 | Another relatively affordable flip-front, the i100 Beis has been proving very comfortable day-in-day-out for our riding instructor tester. Expect a full review very shortly…

• LS2 Advant X, £299.99 | A bit more expensive than the AGV, this LS2 flips all the way over to the back of the helmet, which can make it more aerodynamic when riding with it open. We’ve got a review due shortly from a riding instructor.

• Schuberth C5, £519.99 | While a very significant step up in price, the Schuberth has become the benchmark in flip-front helmets, closely followed by the Shoei Neotec 3. When trying any helmet on, do push past your budget just to see if the extra expense is worth it to you over the roughly five years you’ll use it. Read the full review of the Schuberth C5 here.

These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the motorcycle helmets we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership

AGV Street Modular review - Verdict

The AGV Street Modular is a good lid for the money, let down mainly by an annoying visor catch. If you’re riding in all weathers, the slight tendency for some water to get in during particularly bad weather could be a problem, but for more fair-weather riding – especially on a budget – it’s worth considering. And it’s great to see how easy it is to fit your own intercom.

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