AGV Miglia II

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AGV Miglia II Helmet Review

The new AGV Miglia II is very similar to the original AGV Miglia flip-up (review), which was reviewed on webBikeWorld in 2006.

Other than the list price rising by a reasonable ten dollars, the Miglia II now comes with an accessory dark visor that can be installed over the face shield.

But much has changed in the world of motorcycle helmets in the last 5 years in terms of quality, performance, features and value.

The Miglia II still competes fairly well in the sub-$200 flip-up helmet price range and with a little more effort, it has the potential to be a leader.

This could have been the world’s shortest motorcycle helmet review.

All I’d have to do is tell you to read the webBikeWorld AGV Miglia flip-up helmet review and note that the Miglia II now comes with an accessory dark visor and be done with it.

That’s because Miglia II hasn’t changed much, if any, from the original Miglia.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the original AGV Miglia (Italian for “Miles”) around for a direct comparison, so we’re compelled to plumb the depths of the ol’ memory banks and reference the photos in the Miglia review.

I didn’t write the Miglia review but I do remember the helmet and from looking at the photos, not much has changed, at least that I can detect.

In fact, I don’t see any differences at all, but I don’t know that for a fact.

Now this isn’t always a bad thing and change for change’s sake is usually a mistake.

There’s that old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but my feeling is that there’s always room for improvement, especially when it comes to flip-up motorcycle helmets.

The Miglia II is still probably one of the more solid offerings in the sub-$200 flip-up helmet price range, but that’s really a condemnation of the competition, no?

Another way of looking at it is this: a helmet design that remains competitive over a five-year time span is a good indicator that the design was pretty good to begin with.

So let’s take a run through the new AGV Miglia II and see what’s to like.

The AGV Miglia II: Paint, Graphics and Overall Quality

There’s going to be a lot of repetition in this review because the Miglia II is nearly identical to the original Miglia. The original was praised for its solid paint and finish; ditto for the Miglia II.

While the silver metallic paint on the Miglia II isn’t fancy and the helmet does not come in a graphic pattern, the paint is very nicely applied and the helmet feels like it has a thicker clear coat than expected in this price range.

The overall structural finish is also good and the helmet definitely has less of the creaking and groaning sounds typically heard in a flip-up helmet. If I recall, the Miglia was a groaner, but the Miglia II feels tight. Or tighter, anyway.

The color choices for the Miglia II are even more limited than they were for the Miglia: black, flat black, silver and white covers the range, so the blue and red of the original Miglia are no longer an option.

Too bad — you’d think at least AGV would have caught on to the high-viz craze and offered a yellow, orange or Ducati red version?

Overall fit of the moving parts is also very good, but it’s not like there are any revolutionary features to describe.

The top vent assembly is the same as it was on the Miglia and I wonder how well it would hold up if the helmet was bumped at the top, but AGV apparently has parts readily available if it does.

The Miglia has a one year warranty (or three years from the date of manufacture), which is a bit short considering that some helmet manufacturers are moving to a five-year “lifetime” warranty.

The chin vent slider works well and feels solid and — most important — the rotating visor also feels relatively solid as it rotates and it locks in place with metal hooks to metal posts on the side of the helmet. It also has a stiff detent to hold it open in the fully raised position.

Score: I’ll give the AGV Mgilia II an “Excellent” rating for its paint and thick clear coat. See the Summary Table at the bottom of the page for a description of our rating system.

The internal shape of the Miglia II hasn’t changed either, and that’s a good thing. I’d describe it as a neutral to slightly round shape that fits to size and should work for a majority of owners.

It has just a smidgen of room at the forehead, which brings it to the neutral side of slightly round, so I’ll classify it as “Neutral” in our internal shape rating scheme.

The removable liner is comfortable and I can even say that it’s more comfortable than average in this price range. There are no hard parts pushing through the padding and the liner material is slightly more plush than average for this price range.

I’ve worn the Miglia II in a range of weather from very hot to slightly cool and the liner remains comfortable.

In fact, I’m surprised that it seems to perform better than average when it comes to moisture control.

The helmet shown here is a size large and it fits to size as expected, for a neutral to slightly round or even round shaped head of approximately 59 to 60.5 cm, just like the AGV size chart states. The Miglia II is available in sizes ranging from XS to XXL.

The Miglia II also has the same shorter-than-average front-to-back internal dimensions as the Miglia. My chin touches the inside of the chin bar when the helmet is closed.

I don’t know how many shell sizes cover the head size range, but I’d guess two, which is standard for lower-priced helmets. This could mean that the size L is fitted with the smaller shell size, which could account for the shorter front-to-back internal dimensions.

One evaluator said the helmet shell feels slightly shorter than average in the vertical plane but I’m not sure I agree. I think the chin touching the bottom part of the chin bar makes it feel that way but otherwise the shell height feels normal to me.

Also, the cheek pads feel slightly short in the vertical plane, so they can touch the face just above the jaw line, making the helmet feel slightly shallow on some riders. They also allow some noise to leak in around the bottom of the helmet.

The ear pockets feel slightly larger than average, as they did on the original Miglia, so this may be a good candidate for speakers.

More information on helmet fit can be found in the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet FAQ page, along with the chart that lists the helmet weights of webBikeWorld reviewed helmets and also by shape on the webBikeWorld Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.

Score: I’ll give the AGV Miglia II an “Excellent” rating for shape, comfort and padding with a very nice liner and padding that works well in hot weather.

AGV Miglia II Face Shield, Eye Port, Visibility and Rotating Visor

The face shield on the Miglia II is very similar to the face shield used on the original Miglia. It does not have a quick release, but instead uses plastic “T” screw inserts that can be removed with a coin.

The face shield rotates through four positions but the first position is too wide for slight defogging.

A defogging position may be missed also; in spite of AGV’s claims that the face shield is treated with an anti-fog coating, this one seems prone to fogging in warm but moist weather. Easily solved though with a coating of Clarity DeFog It (review).

The biggest difference between the Miglia and the Miglia II is that the latter comes with an external sun shade that can be installed over the clear face shield. We’ve seen something like this before, used on the Nolan N-102 (review).

It’s fairly easy to install and the procedure is illustrated in the video below.

The dark sun visor can be rotated independently from the clear face shield and the shield can be lifted with the visor in place. It has a nice, even lower edge that remains just below my line of sight.

The dark visor is not homologated for street use, according to an insert in the package. This could be because it seems slightly darker than the acceptable standards allow.

Ironically, this may mean that it is more useful for motorcycle riders because the internal sun visors that are installed in some helmets are not dark enough to do much anyway, due to various local laws.

Other than the fact that the external sun visor must be installed with the side screws and not snapped on and off, it’s a simple and lightweight solution that actually works well.

I don’t suggest riding at higher speeds with the sun visor raised, but otherwise, it’s easy to use and can be quickly flipped out of the way when necessary.

The rotating flip-up visor mechanism feels more solid than is usually the case in flip-up helmets in this price range. It has one detent to hold it open in the raised position, although it can’t be locked there like some other flip-ups.

I didn’t take it apart but there are metal hooks holding the visor closed against metal posts on the helmet shell and the system feels fairly secure.

It also closes with a solid “snap”, giving a feeling of security and I immediately noticed the same solid feeling noted in the original Miglia review when riding with the Miglia II — it doesn’t feel like a flip-up when riding, but more like a full-face helmet.

Ironically, the shape of the liner and cheek pads make it difficult for me to wear sunglasses or eyeglasses with this helmet. It’s ironic because many riders buy a flip-up because they think the helmet type may be easier to wear with eyeglasses.

You may have to cut down a pair of old eyeglasses anyway, as described in this article.

Visibility out the eye port is about average to slightly better than average along the top. The eye port gasket is different than the type usually found on motorcycle helmets; this one is made of a sort of foam-like material.

It does not seal tight enough along the top of the face shield, so some water can leak through in the rain.

Score: The AGV Miglia II has better than average side-to-side visibility and visibility out the top of the eye port. I’ll give it an “Excellent” rating overall.

AGV Miglia II Ventilation and Air Flow

Not much has changed with the ventilation from the Miglia either. The vents appear to be identical, based on the photos.

The top vent is a simple slider that uncovers a hole in the shell. There is no direct vent passage down through the EPS and on to the rider’s head, however.

An EPS cap sits above the liner, with a narrow gap between it and the EPS in the helmet shell. The air apparently flows through this passage and out along the back of the EPS cap.

I can’t tell if there’s a difference in air flow whether the top vent is open or closed, but this is typical in most flip-up helmets.

The chin vent lever operates with a firm feel. When the lever is in the center position, it opens a slider along the top of the chin bar and air flows up on to the back of the face shield.

There are no direct air vents through the chin bar, as is usually the case in a flip-up helmet due to the locking mechanism hiding behind the padding on the inside.

Two small exhaust vents are located along the bottom of the shell at the rear, identical to the Miglia.

Overall, I can’t say that the Miglia II has improved air flow and it’s below average for this type of helmet, although some air flows up under the chin bar, which helps, although it can’t be controlled and is the same in warm weather as it is when the weather is cooler.

Score: I’ll give the ventilation system of the AGV Miglia II a “Neutral” rating for ventilation.

Again, the Miglia II is not much different from the original Miglia when it comes to noise levels. That’s not a surprise, given that the two helmets appear identical.

The Miglia II is relatively quiet actually, with low noise levels at the top and, depending on the rider’s head shape and match to the internal fit, louder along the bottom.

The padding along the bottom is about average for thickness, so there is some wind noise coming from that area that is dependent upon the usual list of factors, including the type of clothing the rider is wearing, windscreen and helmet fit.

Probably the internal EPS cap system mutes some of the wind noise that might be generated by the top vent, which is a plus.

Note that our helmet evaluations are a combined effort of several riders over time on different types of motorcycles with and without windscreens.

Evaluators wear correctly fitted, high quality ear plugs (even when evaluating motorcycle intercom systems).

Always protect your hearing when riding a motorcycle. See the wBW Earplug Reviews for more information on choosing and wearing earplugs.

Note also that perceived noise levels will vary, depending on the individual.

Noise can be caused by many factors, including helmet fit, the type of motorcycle and windscreen, wind speed and direction and even the rider’s clothing.

For more information on helmet noise, visit the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Noise page.

Score: I’ll give the AGV Miglia II a “Very Good” rating for slightly better than average noise control.

Helmet Weight

The original Miglia we reviewed in size XL weighed 1666 grams (3 lbs., 10-3/4 oz.), which made it one of the lightest flip-up helmets reviewed at that time.

It’s interesting then that the size large Miglia II shown here weighs 1707 grams without the sun visor installed (which weighs 82 grams).

It is possible that AGV has improved or revised some of the internal fittings on the helmet since it was first developed in 2004 or 2005. Again, we don’t have the original Miglia for comparison.

The slight weight increase isn’t really noticeable and, if it comes as a result of more metal or improvements in the rotating visor locking mechanism, it would be well worth it.

The internal shape, liner comfort and fit, along with the smaller-feeling shell size, gives the Miglia II good balance and better-than-average resistance to crosswinds.

The helmet shell is a polycarbonate construction and it seems to have about average resistance to flex when the rotating visor is in the locked position.

We do notice some flex in the side plates or “ears” that hold the face shield on the sides of the rotating visor however; this is illustrated in the video. This problem also may affect the slightly loose fit between the face shield and the eye port gasket.

The weight of the Miglia II is comparable to the SCHUBERTH C3 (review) in size XL at 1709 grams; the Caberg Konda (review) flip-up at 1755 grams; the HJC Sy-Max II (review) at 1762 grams; theCaberg Sintesi 2 (review) at 1772 grams or the Nolan N90 (review) at 1784 grams.

Note also that all of the helmets reviewed on webBikeWorld have been weighed and the weights are available on the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Weights page, along with a chart that lists the helmets by weight and shape on the wBW Motorcycle Helmet Shapes page.

Score: I’ll give the AGV Miglia II an “Excellent” rating for its weight and good fit and balance.

Miscellaneous

The Miglia II uses a slightly fussy micro-lock chin strap system. This is probably a carryover from the European AGV Longway but I’d rather see a simple D-ring system used, which I think would be more comfortable.

The Miglia II gets kudos for longer than average chin strap cushion sections, which help.

The Miglia II meets the DOT safety standard in the U.S.A. and the AGV Longway, which I’d have to assume is identical, meets ECE safety standards when sold in Europe.

Warranty

AGV provides a one-year warranty on the helmet, or three years from the date of manufacture (so check those dates!).

While my review may seem like a lukewarm endorsement of the Miglia II, it’s actually one of the better flip-up helmets to be found in the under-$200.00 price range.

It would be nice if helmet manufacturers could offer something a bit more, but apparently this drives up the price.

It’s difficult to say if the Miglia II is improved over the original; I don’t think so.

The low-end flip-up market hasn’t seem much evolution in 5 years and the fact that the Miglia II is probably one of the better offerings is telling in more ways than one.

So I guess the bottom line here is that if the Miglia II fits your head shape and you’re looking for a fairly average, relatively inexpensive flip-up, this may be the way to go.

I’d probably spend the extra $20.00 and get the Bell Revolver (review) though, although it isn’t without faults either.

There just isn’t a heck of a lot here that I can say otherwise; the Miglia II doesn’t really have any knockout features that make it really stand out from the crowd, although that in itself may be a marketing strategy.

It does feel a bit more solid and secure than many of the other low-end flip-up helmets, many/most of which I won’t even wear.

So if your budget demands a less expensive flip-up, and you’re willing to put up with a few compromises, the Miglia II is a solid choice.

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