Skully Electronically Integrated Helmets (start at $1.4k)

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 2:51 am

Skully Helmet Advert

I dunno what to think! HUD has been a dream for a while, but I could see it being really distracting.

-Seb

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 3:11 am

Way cool. I can see how the rearview camera is a valuable addition to typical gear. Everything else I can do without; music, phone, GPS, etc. Getting lost is usually enjoyable on a bike. And I definitely don't want any freaking phone calls while riding!

The next logical step is stuff to track you while you ride, even adjust your insurance rates based on your behavior. No thanks!

A HUD tach would be good. Or how about infrared night vision like on the more expensive land yachts?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 12:18 pm

Skully has been emailing me regularly lately, probably because I signed up to be a beta tester a couple years ago. $1400+? No thanks. The technology isn't that new and the cost will come way down in short order once a couple competitors enter into the mix.

I agree with Seb that it could be distracting. That's something we can't afford to have on two wheels.

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 2:36 pm

The GPS and rear view are the only features I would be interested in. At $1400, I'll pass.

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:40 pm

BlueThunder wrote:

The GPS and rear view are the only features I would be interested in. At $1400, I'll pass.

I'm thinking the same.
I don't like the position of the speed display either, too small and too far out of your sight line.
You have to LOOK at it, so your normal speedo dial is less distracting to read.
It needs to be just above or just below your normal sight line, big and clear, easy to see, no need to look for it. I'm in the UK. We have fixed GATSO speed cameras all over the place as well as speed camera vans which can park up where-ever they like. So an easily read speed display is an important consideration.

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:42 pm

Not that big of an expense for weekend posers that go out and buy $30,000 bikes. It's all about the show.

CB1100F Joined: Feb 17, 2009 Posts: 2105 Location: Oz

Skully have closed their doors. http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/skully-ar-1-helmet-closing/

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2016 1:17 am

Not surprising. How many $1,400 helmets can one sell?

MB-5 Joined: Jul 11, 2016 Posts: 5 Location: Corona, Ca

$1400 is waaay too much for a lid. I don't care what it does, aside from its main job of protecting your head. Smile

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:38 pm

Making a HUD that works properly is not such a simple task. For it to work correctly, the image must be focussed at infinity and the brightness adjusted to match the surroundings. I fly a commercial airliner for a living that has a HUD. The flight instruments are projected onto a 'combiner' that is made of a special curved glass that reflects the green image of the cathode ray tube back to your eye, while being transparent to other wavelengths. You see a holographic image focussed at infinity, but it is only monochrome green, projected over the 'real world'. That combiner, apparently, costs six figures alone.

I realise these helmet systems are not as sophisticated, and probably have limitations regarding focal length etc, but $1400 for a helmet with some of this technology is actually not that expensive. Obviously, the market is not there for a product at this price point, however.

Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2016 3:43 pm

OK, looks like it's official:

Bike Bandit Article

Too bad for all the poor suckers who put the money on the table.

I found the whole Skully advertising campaign a bit arrogant and pretentious. Not to mention $1400 helmets don't line up too well with my bike budget.

Toonces

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:41 am

Bone, its not about whether the technology is worth it or not, but the price point which the motorcycling public is willing to spend on a helmet. $1,400 is most likely beyond what motorcyclists are willing to pay for a helmet.

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:50 am

Quote:

No official statement has been released from Skully about the shutdown, but sources say that customers who ordered and paid for Skully helmets should not expect to receive them, or a refund on their purchase.

Now that's a real bummer. There's nothing like getting stiffed by a company that's out of business and has no money left after taking yours and many others'.

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:37 am

There's a sucker born every minute. _{- P. T. Barnum}

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:46 pm

Crap, now how am I going to play Pokemon Go while riding?

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:53 pm

swiftnick wrote:

Crap, now how am I going to play Pokemon Go while riding?

Here you go, it shouldn't be too hard to make this work.........

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If you need to make calls too, I once saw a Harley rider with a nifty solution. I watched him pull into a gas station and after finishing his call, he undid the chinstrap on the cute little brain pan he was wearing and pulled his phone out from under the strap where it was tucked in. The person he was talking to was probably catching a ton of wind noise but that's their problem.