AGV K3 SV and K3 SV-S motorcycle helmet review

The AGV K3 SV is the successor to the popular K3, with the SV denoting an integral sun visor and the SV-S having a rear spoiler.

It’s a polycarbonate-shelled crash helmet that takes its design from the latest line of AGVs that includes the Corsa, GT Veloce and Pista GP – meaning it has a sharp, aerodynamcially-shaped chinguard and rear spoiler designed to cuts through the air and reduce buffeting. The K3 SV is priced to be a more entry level helmet though, and one that works on a range of road bikes and for a variety of riding styles.

  • Weight – 1.49Kg
  • Integral sun visor
  • Comfortable but noisy
  • Great ventilation
  • Comes with a Pinlock antifog insert
  • SHARP 4 Star safety rating (out of 5)
  • Micrometric fastener
  • Typical pricing – £170-£190

Differences between the AGV K3 SV and SV-S?

First there was the K3, then there was the K3 SV which was a redesign of the K3 and a Sun Visor was added. Now, there’s the SV-S which is a UK-only model. It’s essentially the same as the SV but with a new rear spoiler to make it look sportier and give added stability and improved aero at speed.

Best places to buy an AGV K3 SV or SV-S?

Please click below to drop straight onto the AGV K3 SV and SV-S helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

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Safety and shell

The AGV K3 SV and SV-S share the overall design with the latest range of AGVs, meaning it has a pointier look to the front and shares an integral spoiler to the rear that’s found on the GT Veloce. Unlike the GT Veloce, the K3 SV is constructed of polycarbonate; a cheaper and heavier material. However, it’s still ECE 22.05 approved in Europe and scored 4/5 stars when tested by SHARP, meaning it’s right up there in terms of safety. It’s also around the same weight as the pricier helmet. All in all, the AGV K3 SV should provide the protection you need and outperforms many much pricier helmets in terms of safety.

AGV have put a great deal of focus on producing an aerodynamic helmet and owners are widely happy with the result. They find there’s very little buffeting and it’s stable at speed.

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Lots of vents equals (in this case) lots of noise

Helmet Noise

Unfortunately, owners of the K3 SV say it’s a pretty noisy lid. The K3 has great ventilation which often means there are more openings in the shell of the helmet to catch the air and make turbulence; and turbulence equals noise. It also means there’s an easy route for noise to enter the helmet and in the K3’s case, that makes for a noisy lid. It’s especially noticeable above 50 mph, so if you’re after a quiet crash helmet, then this probably ain’t the one for you.

Poor noise suppression seems to be a common problem with most helmets in this line, so AGV must be counting on folks preferring good ventilation and light weight over a quiet helmet. That said, most owners point to the fact that they wear ear plugs when riding any distance so it doesn’t bother most owners too much. If having a quiet helmet is particularly important to you, click ‘quietest’ to the right to see only helmets people find particularly quiet.

Size

The AGV K3 SV comes in two shell sizes and XS – XXL fitment sizes, with four different EPS (shock absorbing expanded polystyrene) liners. Like the other helmets in the range, AGV also offer a MS and ML fitment which gives buyers a bit more assurance they can get a size that’s just right.

Ventilation

In common with the latest range of AGVs, the K3 SV has really decent ventilation. It has a pair of chin vents operated by the usual (for AGV) slider inside the chin bar; a pair of forehead vents that open/close with sliders covering the vents; and a vent on the top of the head that’s unique to the K3 SV (presumably as the retractable sun visor gets in the way of the venting from the other vents).

Once you get used to how the different vents open, they’re reasonably simple to operate, even with gloves, and are an improvement on the GT Veloce and Corsa’s fiddly sliders. The top vent pulls in stacks of air and, because the K3 SV has lots of channels through out the polystyrene liner, it keeps your head nice and cool and removes the warm air via the rear vents. One or two riders have complained that the front venting is a little too aggressive with too much air coming up across the visor and into their eyes. But overall, ventilation on the K3 SV is good.

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Guy Martin K3 SV showing visor release and sun visor mechanisms

Visor

The K3 SV has both a clear main visor and a tinted drop-down internal sun visor. The main visor has a quick-release system that is very simple to use – release the visor by pulling down on a tab on each side and the visor pops out. It clicks back into place with a bit of firm pressure on each side and is an excellent system that owners love.

The aperture for the visor is, like the other AGVs in the range, nice and wide and the visor is Pinlock-ready with a Pinlock anti-fog insert included in the box.

In the centre-bottom of the visor is a small slider that you can push upwards to open the visor just a crack and keep it there. It’s called ‘city mode’ and is designed to help with demisting when you’re riding slowly.

The sun visor opens using a lever behind the left hand side visor pivot. It’s easier to close than open, but it works pretty well by all accounts – the only grumbles being that it’s a bit too lightly tinted; but then I guess it’s probably just meeting legal requirements that don’t allow tinted visors to cut out more than 50% of available light (law in the UK at least). Also, a couple of owners have reported that it’s not particularly good quality because it distorts the vision a bit.

As usual, the sun visor is anti scratch but it’s not anti-fog, so unlike the main visor, it can steam up. It’s easy to remove to clean and replacements are available from AGV – including a high-vis yellow version for improved vision in low light.

Comfort

No problems reported with the comfort of the K3 SV. Once you’ve got the right size – helped by the intermediate MS and ML fitments, owners reckon it’s a comfortable helmet. The interior is the usual removable/washable liner that’s anti-microbial and moisture-wicking. There’s also glasses grooves cut into the liner to help glasses wearers slot their glasses into the helmet and prevent the stems of the glasses from digging in. All good here.

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Rossi AGV K3 SV Imola 98 – one of four Rossi paint schemes

Looks & Graphics

Because the AGV K3 SV sits towards the foot of the range at an attractive price point, it’ll probably be one of AGVs biggest sellers – so there are heaps of graphics available. That includes the usual plain whites/blacks/ but also several Rossi reps and a Guy Martin/Simoncelli replica or two. You can see the current range and prices by clicking one of the links below.

Best places to buy an AGV K3 SV or SV-S helmet?

Please click below to drop straight onto the AGV K3 SV and SV-S helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Buy from SportsBikeShop

Video

Here’s some dude at AGV UK fondling his K3 SV Simoncelli rep.

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The K3 SV Vulcan – comes in a range of colours

Other stuff

The K3 SV comes with a micrometric chin strap fastener (easy to use and as safe as they come). It has internal cut-aways for AGVs own Share communicator speakers – but they’re not that big so either you might want to check that yours fit before buying – or be prepared to do a bit of trimming yourself (not too much mind as you don’t want to compromise side-impact resistance).

Crash Helmet Buying Guides & Top 10s

For (hopefully!) other useful information to help you when buying your next helmet, check our various Motorcycle Helmet Buying Guides - or have a look at our Top 10 best helmet lists where we've got the top 10 best rated helmets overall along with Top 10 Best Budget/Top 10 Safest/Top 10 Best Full Face/Top 10 Best Modular/Flip-up/ Top 10 Best Sportsbike/Track helmets.

Overall

The AGV is a great performing helmet – it scores well in SHARP safety tests, is comfortable and has some great features including fantastic ventilation and a drop down visor, not to mention its streamlined shape that reduces buffeting and lifting (especially with the sportier SV-S version). It’s a looker too. It’s only the noise that lets it down. If you can live with that (and/or wear some quality ear plugs) it’s a great helmet at a good price.

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AGV K3 SV Rookie

Best places to buy an AGV K3 SV or SV-S?

Please click below to drop straight onto the AGV K3 SV and SV-S helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Buy from SportsBikeShop

Definitely want an AGV?

Here you'll find all our AGV crash helmet reviews and previews including full face, flip-up and open face helmets.

Star Ratings

MCN K3 SV-S: Quality 3/5, Value 4/5

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Safety
Comfort
Noise
Features
Value
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agv-k3-sv-motorcycle-helmet-reviewThe AGV K3 SV/SVS is a solid performer: very safe and comfortable with some great features only let down by being noisy. If this doesn't bother you, then the K3 SV is a great helmet for the money.

8 COMMENTS

  1. I bought it for the SHARP rating. Over time it has become a physical pain to wear. noisy! I’ve learnt not to scrimp on a helmet. Looking at Arai as replacement.

  2. don’t like the helmet, not sure how to describe this but the vertical vision is really bad, constantly have to tilt my head higher just so i can see where i’m going. maybe this a an issue for me only, but i have never had a helmet with so poor vision before.

  3. Recently was in a crash and I was wearing the Rossi rep version. My head impacted the car at around 30mph. The helmet hadn’t so much as a blemish on it and I barely felt the impact. I cant argue with the noise levels but I found a double bubble screen helped with that. Comfort, looks, weight and aerodynamics are flawless in my opinion. I rate it personally as one of the best lids I have ever owned. I put it before shoei and arai but thats a matter of preference. Well done AGV keep up the great work.

    • Not sure if you really owned a Shoei helmet before. My Shoei RYD ( cheapest from Shoei lineup) is miles ahead of my AGV K3 SV in everything: noise, visor, ventilation, quality in general, I mean everything is superior to that overpriced junk that AGV helmet actually is. Gathering dust for nearly 3 years now. Want a toothache? Ride with AGV in Irish winter lol

  4. Nice looking and comfortable helmet.
    Unfortunately I found it not to be worth the price. The helmet is quite delicate, especially the paint job and the visor (both damaged by the impact with BUGS).
    The sun visor tends to come down slightly and the cut for the nose is in a weird position so that it’s just in front of the eyes.
    The worst thing though is the customer service. My helmet came with a rusted baseplate screw and they think is no big deal: “just clean it”

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