BIKE HUD

$485+

Motorcycle lovers have enough safety concerns on their hands as it is – oncoming trucks with heavy load falling off, poorly patched or potholed roads, bent or partially illegible traffic signs, a flock of careless and tired drivers and random diesel spills, not to mention constantly shrinking speed limits. To meet the increasing demands for a reliable motorcycling helmet with an integrated heads-up display (HUD), a range of headpiece solutions have been offered to date such as the Scully AR-1 we featured on our website a while ago. Today we bring you another piece of biking gear that aims to revolutionize and improve road safety for keen motorcyclists: designed by motorbike fan Dave Vout, Bike HUD is an integrated helmet-mounted display resembling Google Glass that shows all the crucial motorbike info, such as engine revs, gear selection, time and speed to make sure you always stay safe and sound during your rides.

Built to fit almost any helmet size and type out there, this innovative monitoring system consists of Bike HUD ECU which wires into the motorcycle ignition circuit, a GPS sensor which doubles as a four-button control interface when mounted to the handlebars and a monocle attached to a flexible arm and bracket that goes into your lid. The Bike HUD monitors the speed through its own GPS system, reads the engine tacho by means of a sensor fixed to one of the spark plugs and monitors indicator signals and neutral light through the bike’s wiring system, while the GPS sat-nav Wi-Fi device attaches to the USB cable supplied with the main ECU and the Bike HUD wiring for power supply (there’s an extra USB socket for simple on-the-fly smartphone charges). Once you set the main ECU and the GPS sensor onto your motorbike ignition and handles respectively, all you have to do is insert and adjust the Bike HUD monocle to sit just a fraction of space below your left eye, barely touching your cheekbone so that your vision would not be blocked, thus causing an accident. Then, you simply plug the cord with the pendant into an HDMI port located at the main ECU and you’re almost good to go: as you look down to the dashboard and instruments, Bike HUD will give you get all the ride updates you need without obstructing your view of the road ahead. The vital bits of information including rev counts, gear, turn indicators, temperature, RPM, speed and time are presented by text, graphics, colors and sound so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road and risk getting hit by an oncoming vehicle.

The Bike HUD configuration is divided into several steps, such as the ride route and maps, mile/kilometer monitor, ignition adjustments and speed band settings (speed is displayed in three different colors, i.e. white, blue and red for easy on-the-go visual recognition), as well as gear number and ratio selection (there are four riding modes, including commuting, leisure riding, touring and track day racing). Once you’ve configured your HUD system and decide to hit the road, Bike HUD display will always keep you updated on three different parameters – one of them is speed and the other two are gear position and tacho, but you can customize them easily to suit your needs best. As for the route reading and map tracks, the navigation system is still in the beta release stage and you can view street names, distance warnings and turn directions with the help of MapQuest mapping, while BikeGPS software will deliver timely alerts and navigation tips by audio signals (audio can be streamed either to your phone via Bluetooth connection or to your headphones connected to the 3.5 mm headphone jack found at the Bike HUD pendant).

Comprising a motorbike-mounted computer, handlebar switchgear and lid audiovisual display, Bike HUD can be easily taken out of the helmet and placed inside another headpiece in a matter of minutes so you need not worry about portability, lengthy installation procedures and helmet/Bike HUD replacements. Also, the Bike HUD designer announced that a handful of upgrades and add-ons for the main platform should become available in the near future, such as the Android BikeGPS application, Bike HUD application, transparent monocle, onboard battery pack, integrated camera with forward and rear view, video recording option and Wi-Fi file transfer. Set to premiere at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham market in late November where first orders will be taken, Bike HUD should be available in two different versions – the regular Bike HUD system ($485) and the Bike HUD with GPS navigation and speed camera warning system upgrades ($549).

Go wherever the road may take you – just make sure you have your Bike HUD on for a good measure of safety. watch the video below

Available in Europe here