Dual Sport and Adventure riders must constantly compromise between off-road performance and on-road comfort, and the AGV AX-8 Dual Evo strikes the optimal balance for the dirt-oriented adventure-touring rider.Based on the success of the AX-8 motocross helmet and the first incarnation of the AX-8 Dual, the AX-8 Dual Evo uses a carbon-aramid fiberglass shell and is one of the lightest helmets in its category, weighing in at a feathery three pounds, 3.2 ounces.AGV AX-8 Dual Evo Helmet Review
Pulling the AX-8 Dual Evo over the head is a very comfortable experience, and despite the lack of ear wells in the interior lining, my rather large auricles fit just fine. The overall shape is optimized for oval to slightly round head shapes.Lightweight helmets are ideal for off-road and technical riding situations where undulating terrain is unavoidable and frequent head movements ratchet up the overall effort expended by the rider. However, the trade off associated with a lightweight helmet is susceptibility to lift and extreme wind noise at freeway speeds, but this is where smartly designed aerodynamics come into play.The visor of the AX-8 Dual Evo is shaped to efficiently exhaust incoming air, while still being long enough to shield the sun as well as dip behind the mud and roost from your riding partner’s rear tire. Moreover, acoustic harmonics or any audible resonance due to wind was non-existent, a common issue with helmet visors when riding at speed on tarmac.AGV AX-8 Dual Evo Helmet Review:The clear polycarbonate face shield has three positions and seals quietly against the eyeport. Fogging was never issue and rain droplets are efficiently whisked away while standing above the motorcycle windscreen. A dime is the only tool needed to quickly remove the face shield and the large eyeport superbly accommodates off-road goggles to the point where I only install the face shield in wet conditions.Air-circulation beneath the shell is generous with two closable intake vents on the front that are cleverly integrated into the visor aerodynamics, as well as the single closable mouth vent in front of the chin guard. Four smaller vents are located above the eyeport and along the jawline; they are not closable, lending to the off-road focus of the AX-8 Dual Evo. The mouth vent is easily articulated with a gloved hand while riding, but the grip on the two top vents is such that they are better adjusted while stopped.The AGV AX-8 Dual Evo comes in three different outer shell sizes to ensure proper fit and balance, while its lightweight and aerodynamic features make it one of the most capable adventure-touring helmets available.
Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Ultimate Motorcycling podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
Motos and Friends is brought to you by the Yamaha YZF-R7—Yamaha’s awesome supersport machine that is as capable on the racetrack as it is on the street. …and it’s comfortable too! Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Senior Editor Nic de Sena rides the BMW K 1600 GT. This is the sporty bagger version of BMW’s K series of machines, those are the models with the awesome 6-cylinder engine. The GT has been given a little makeover for 2023, and Nic gives us his take.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my all time heroes—three-time World Champion racer ‘fast’ Freddie Spencer. I’ll do my best not to come off as too much of a fanboy here, but frankly it’ll be tough!
In my humble opinion, Spencer is a contender for the GOAT—greatest of all time. Sure, his career was a little shorter than some, and his number of championships falls behind the likes of Lawson, Doohan, Rossi, and of course Marquez. But at the time, Freddie literally changed the way motorcycles were ridden. 30 years before Marc Marquez, Freddie was able to push the front wheel into a slide, corner after corner, lap after lap in order to get the bike turned faster than anyone else. Freddie took completely different lines and was able to get on the throttle so early he could out accelerate anyone off a corner.
In the modern era, of course Freddie is the chairman of the FIM MotoGP Stewards panel. This is the panel of referees for all three classes of Grand prix racing. I talked to Freddie about his task there, and although for contractual reasons with Dorna and the FIM he cannot talk about specific riders, teams, or events, nevertheless his explanation of the job makes for interesting listening. It’s a tough job, and frankly I wouldn’t want to do it!
At any rate, Freddie’s new book ‘Feel’ is available on Amazon—I’d highly recommend you reading it whether you’re a fan of Freddie or not, even whether you’re into racing or not; every rider has something to learn from his mental approach.
Actually—Ultimate Motorcycling is giving away five copies of the book—signed by Freddie himself—to the first five listeners who contact us with the correct answer to the question: How many national AMA championships did Freddie win, and which years were they?
Please email your answers to producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we will contact the winners and send you a signed copy of Feel. Those five winners will be announced on a future episode. Unfortunately for legal reasons this offer is ONLY open to US residents.
So, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
