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posted June 24, 2006 09:25 AM
 Edited By: fish_antlers on 24 Jun 2006 11:30
What Really Didn't Work: The SportVue "Heads Up Display"
 We spotted this gadget at more than one motorcycle show and when we were at Laguna we ran into a gent flogging the unit to unsuspecting motorcyclists.
The SportVue is a "heads up" display that you attach to your helmet. It's supposed to give you important data in your field of view like speed, tach, gear position and radar. While at Laguna Seca 2005 we were given a unit to test. We've been biting our lips on saying anything about this product because the people who work there are unbelievably nice, but after reading glowing reviews in some print rags we started to gag and wondered just who was on the payroll?
Click here to download complete article (recommended) including photos and extras
The nail in the coffin for us was when an old riding friend bought one after I warned him not to... He learned an expensive lesson... so to help save members of this site from getting burned in light of the huge marketing campaign SportVue is putting on, here's the skinny...
It takes several hours to graft this unit to your bike. Unlike other units it's not plug and play, so you'll need to splice into a few key wires that drive your ECU. This was our first indication that there was something not quite right with this product. When we asked SportVue why the unit wasn't plug and play, model specific they told us that it would cost "a lot of money" for them to do that. (egad!) After you've finished splicing wires you shouldn't be messing with, they want you to install the speed sensor. This isn't plug and play either. It's a magnet they want you to glue to your rear wheel or rear rotor much like a bicycle speedometer setup. Specifically this little magnet resides in the very small (and on the 10R it is very small... about an 1/8 of an inch) space between the rotor and the swingarm. We thought this was beginning to push the limits of cheesy as, once again the speedo and pretty much everything else on any modern sportbike is driven electronically and digitally.
I got in there and did as they asked, chopping and gluing on my ZX-10R. Then I focused my efforts on trashing my visor on my Arai helmet as per their instructions. With some emery cloth and epoxy supplied in the kit, SportVue has you go to work sanding a spot on your visor to permanently glue their mounting cleat to your helmet. When you're done you end up with the gadget kinda but not sorta blocking your vision. It's bulky and runs off two AAA batteries that last about 6 to 8 hours so you can count on taking lots of spares if you go on a big trip (read = more than a day). SportVue claims it's waterproof, but that simply can't be true because the battery door is held on with a flimsy clip and continuously fell off the unit. It had no gasket or employed any method of keeping water out of the gadget that we could see.
The audio out of your radar detector plugs into the upgraded more expensive version of the SportVue via a cable you'll have to buy from Radio Shack. Once plugged in you need to find that "perfect spot" for the audio level of your radar detector to trigger the word "RADAR" to be displayed by the SportVue.
This was next to useless.
There was no consistency between the 3 detectors (RX65, V1, X50) we tested and the SportVue, or even between each time you plugged the unit in to the radar detector for the volume level to trigger the display. To top it off, during high-speed riding the gadget would start to display "RADAR" all the time, forcing you to twiddle with the detector to reset the audio level. To make matters worse, the SportVue doesn't collect any "rich data" from the detectors; so any and every signal (from the slightest X Band false to a full on laser attack) displayed the same "RADAR" warning on its screen.
Furthermore your audio jack from your detector is now occupied by the cord connecting it to the SportVue. This means that you couldn't listen to the audio signal from your detector in your helmet anymore... Well, I guess you could buy a splitter from the same Radio Shack and wrap your whole body in wires. The SportVue was totally useless for radar alerts.
Utterly and totally.
You'd buy yourself a ticket counting on this thing, guaranteed.
When we brought this to SportVue's attention they told us that the RADAR display wasn't meant to be your primary indicator of radar and that they had in fact experienced some audio recognition problems, but at the time had only really tested it with the V1.
Getting the SportVue to run right is a scary task. They want you to (get this, because it's no joke... if you don't believe me you can read the instructions for yourself at the end of this review) put your bike on a track stand and run it through all the gears up to speed so it can calibrate itself. I had to read it not twice, but thrice to make sure I wasn't out of my mind. Scared (and rightfully so) I called up XL and told him what they wanted me to do. He thought I was nuts, and suggested that I at least ratchet the 10R down to the stand so it wouldn't launch itself. So I strapped down my 10R, blocked the front wheel with several bags of concrete and got on board. Wicking it up through the gears I saw 150mph (and I wasn't moving an inch). I couldn't take it anymore and simply couldn't bear to bring the bike to its top speed.
This was wrong on so many levels. My dog was scared and ran away from the garage and back to his house. He couldn't bear to watch either.
Riding with the now calibrated SportVue was equally pointless. Getting used to your "new" field of vision took some eye training, but the display did end up "floating" in the middle of the road. It doesn't do this with any magic, but simply tricks your eye the same way you need to train yourself to look cross-eyed at those fake 3D blotch pictures that were so cool back in 1988.
Eventually, while on my way to Sportbike West the gadget died. I was running head to head with SilverD on an open stretch.. the speedo clicked past 130 kmh ... 140 kmh.. 140 kmh... 140 kmh... and there it stuck... 140kmh. After about 15 minutes of it displaying 140 kmh it randomly reset itself, and then promptly did it again in about an hour. I changed the batteries... no luck. That night I checked all the connections... it was all fine... still more batteries and still the gadget would work for a while and die. The SportVue lasted all of 3500 miles. A total waste of time, a trashed visor and a hacked up wiring harness was my reward.
I boxed it up and punted it back to them with a polite "thanks but no thanks" letter. Before I sent it away freek begged and pleaded to try it. Since I'm his friend, I didn't cave. That's what friends are for! I couldn't stand by and let him torture himself.
Everyone who saw the SportVue agreed it was a great "concept" but the execution in it's current state is atrocious. We sent them a long list of problems we encountered with the product, and asked if they perhaps had a revised or newer version we could try that didn't suck so much. According to SportVue what we saw was what we got. Pretty sad considering they are such nice people. (Seriously). We hate to have to write this, but members need to know, so sorry SportVue. Until SportVue can come up with a far better version this gadget gets a giant two thumbs down.
If there ever was an example of a way for you to gauge whether or not a rag has been paid off somehow or that they simply don't care to check on the reviews that have been submitted to them, just look for a glowing review of the SportVue. It's today's weathervane for honesty in the industry.
The SportVue heads up display: "N.P.S.P."
"Nice People Shitty Product".
The SportVue MC2 retails for $349.00 and if you don't believe us you can click here to order one and try it for yourself.
Verbatim (without permission) from the Installation Guide for the SportVue Heads Up Display
Gear Ratios
Caution: Training the MSU for gear position is best done on a rear wheel pit stand or center
stand, outside, and with the help of a friend.
1. Place your motorcycle on a flat, smooth surface on a secure rear or center stand with no obstructions in front of you.
2. Turn the motorcycle ignition to the On position.
3. Place the helmet on your head so that you can see the display, and turn the HMD Unit on. Confirm the display shows "0 " and "N." Spin the rear wheel (or sensored wheel) by hand a few revolutions until you confirm "SPEED" in the display.
4. Make sure the motorcycle 's neutral indicator shows N and start the engine. Rev the engine a few times to confirm RPM 's in the bar graph. Shut the motorcycle engine Off. If no RPM, check your connections.
5. You will see both SPEED and RPM in the display and you are now ready to begin to LEARN the gears.
6. With the motorcycle ignition in the 'Off' position, push and hold the B button on the MSU while turning the ignition to the 'On ' position. After a brief moment, release the B button.
IMPORTANT- DO NOT START THE MOTORCYCLE
7. The display will show the word 'SETUP," then it will show the word 'GEAR ' (see figure 28.)
8. Push the B button again. The display will show 'LEARN '(see figure 29.)
Push B again, and the number 1 will begin to flash on the right side of the display. The MSU is now ready to learn your motorcycle's gear ratios, but will not start the learning program until it detects wheel movement.
9. Make sure the motorcycle 's neutral indicator shows N, and start your motorcycle.
IMPORTANT: If the MSU loses power when you start the motorcycle, press and hold the B button during startup. Continue from step 7.
10. The gear indicator should be flashing a "1" on the right side of the display. Pull in the clutch and putyour motorcycle in first gear. Let the clutch out slowly and increase the RPM. You will then see the speed indicator increase.
IMPORTANT: The RPM bar graph will not be visible.
IMPORTANT: The motorcycle should be moderately accelerating from 30%-50% of the maximum RPM during the gear learning program. If the motorcycle is coasting or decelerating when sampling occurs, inaccuracy in the gear indication can occur. If the gear learning does not seem correct, repeat steps 6-14.
11. The gear indicator will flash and then SportVue will begin data sampling to learn this gear.
12. When SportVue has finished learning this gear, the display will indicate the next gear.
13. Now shift up to the next gear. The gear indicator will be flashing "2."
14. This will continue through 6 gears. If your motorcycle only has 5 gears, simply leave it in top gear when you are asked to switch to sixth gear. After a few seconds, it will show the word 'DONE.'
Click here to download complete article (recommended) including photos and extras
Source: Bikeland.org
   
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zx10 guy
Novice Class
Posts: 72
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posted June 24, 2006 10:33 AM
Edited By: zx10 guy on 24 Jun 2006 11:37
Thanks for doing the review. And it's actually pretty sobering to see a negative review despite all the other glowing reviews I've seen on the web. With that said, I have a few comments of my own.
First, I can't say anything about the radar detector feature. I know it's there in the MC2 unit.
The comments you've made about plug and play are interesting. The only two wires that required a "splice" were the crank position sensor wire and a power lead which they recommended be on a switched circuit (I followed their recommendation and wired the power lead to the head lights.) The splice being talked about here is a vampire tap that just pierces the wire insulation so that it can make contact to the wires underneath. The wire is not severed in any way by using their supplied taps. Could they have provided a harness that T's off at the sensor? Sure. But I don't know if that'll buy you anything. I haven't traced the pigtail from the crank position sensor to where it connects to the main harness for the bike. So I don't know if clearance or access is going to be an issue or not. If you have a shop manual, you'll have no problems locating the correct wire. I've already done so and have posted up the exact wire you should look for to connect the wire tap.
I didn't have the problems that you did with the battery compartment of the HUD or HMD unit. The battery compartment door has stayed solid and hasn't ever fallen off on it's own on me. I went out to look at the HMD to see about your point concerning whether it was water proof or not. I can see some of your concerns on that issue. But at the angle the HMD is sitting on your helmet and how the compartment is set up, I don't think water penetration would be too much of a concern.
The complaint about scratching up your visor was also a concern for me as well. Until, they posted up a response to someone on their forums about this exact issue. Someone had asked how come they couldn't have a unit that was inside of the helmet. This was their response to the poster, "Unfortunately DOT and SNELL prohibit anything inside the helmet that can become a projectile or puncture wound to the rider." Other than that, I now see why they set up the mounting system the way they did to both secure the HMD and allow full functionality of the visor. Also the clip is supposed to be a break away type design to help in crash surviveability of the HMD. Battery life so far hasn't been an issue with my unit. I'm still running the included batteries with a few hundred miles on the clock with it and one time where I forgot I left it on and didn't turn it off. You can also extend battery life by adjusting the brightness of the HMD. I've been riding with the HMD set at the brightest level.
The speedometer sensor uses a hall effect type pickup. Without requiring a timing disk of some sort the magnet solution is the only other viable solution. The set up of the speedometer only requires you to program in the outer circumference of the tire. With that information, the sensor is pretty dead accurate. I've verified the speed reading of the MC1 with a road side speed radar unit. As we all know, the stock speedometer of the 10 is anything but accurate. Hence the availability of aftermarket speed correctors like the Speedhealer. The only grip I have with the sensor setup is that there wasn't enough mounting variations to allow me to glue the magnet to another part of the bike except the rear rotor. My concern was that if I had to replace the rotor, I would lose the magent along with it. I contacted Sport Vue about this and they sent me two extra magnets and the mounting epoxy for free.
I also agree with you on the calibration procedure for the gear indicator. I was very hessitent on doing this. I never got up to the speeds you listed in the article. I was only turning an indicated 80-85 MPH in 6th gear. I've done enough calibration runs in troubleshooting my problem that I'm a bit more comfortable with doing it now. In addition, I have a stretch of road where I can do an actual road run in relative safety. Something Dave at Sport Vue pointed out to me about the calibration procedure. The MSU is only sampling at a specific time when your in any particular gear. He said it's not thoroughly explained in the install manual because they were affraid of adding any confusion concerning the calibration. In a nutshell, when the MSU tells you to shift into the next gear, the MSU is only sampling when either the gear indicator is flashing or when there is no momentary display of the gear indicator. When the gear indicator goes solid, the MSU is no longer sampling. So you don't have to keep applying throttle during the wait till you see the indication to shift into the next gear for calibration. Dave did mention that they are hearing feedback concerning the calibration procedure. He said they have a revision in the works that allows the MSU to just learn the gears by just having the rider ride the bike. Dave said the key to a proper calibration is to provide steady throttle input where the RPM and speed are increasing. It took some doing to get the finesse needed to do this on the bike stand. So far the gear indicator is dead on for gears 1-5. For some reason, the MSU is having a hard time picking up that I'm in 6th. No big deal. I'll recalibrate it when I get around to feeling like doing it. I didn't buy the MC1 for the gear indicator. I wanted the ability to see my speed and the engine RPMs without having to look down. The ability to see engine RPM is key as I'm 6'5" and have a hard time seeing the top half of the tach without scrunching down behind the windscreen.
With all that said, did I have problems? Sure I did. The first MSU I received didn't work. It wasn't picking up the signal from the crank position sensor properly. The techs at Sport Vue had me tap off of the wire from the alternator to the rectifier to rule out a signal strength/quality problem. It didn't work. So they sent me a new MSU which cured the problem. The other issue I've had was intermittent drop outs of connection between the HMD and the MSU. It doesn't happen all too often and doesn't last that long before signal is reacquired. Dave suggested I try re-routing the wire harness and also to isolate the MSU from any hard shocks or vibrations. I may mount some rubber feet under the MSU to help dampen the vibrations to see if this fixes the signal loss problem.
I agree that installing this system could be easier. Cycle World even mentions this. But so far in my circumstance, the unit delivers what it promises. Again, I don't have the MC2 with the radar detector port. So I can't comment on that. But if you're somewhat mechanically inclined, you should have no problems doing this install. The fearsome gear indicator calibration isn't even necessary. If you don't even care about having the gear indicator, the system functions just as well without the calibration. Just ignore the indicated gear. They're working on some other updates to include turn signal indicator and a low fuel light. I have one other thing to do now which is to program the shift light indicator of the system. But overall despite some of the hassles and headaches, I'm still thoroughly pleased with the system and with the excellent support I've received from Sport Vue.
This is just my experience and my opinion.
Edit: Also wanted to add, that I had one of the clips break on me before even mounting it to the visor. I contacted Sport Vue about this and they sent me a couple of spare clips without any hassles.
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fish_antlers
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posted June 24, 2006 10:45 AM
Edited By: fish_antlers on 24 Jun 2006 11:55
quote:
Thanks for doing the review. And it's actually pretty sobering to see a negative review despite all the other glowing reviews I've seen on the web.
I personally installed the unit, and I own the factory manual however "Joe Average" would most likely NOT have the factory manual... you need to keep that in mind... the review is based on following their instructions ....
The wire they wanted me to tap into in the ECU harness was the wrong wire and described incorrecty... the tap actually crushes the wire and I wasnt pleased with the end result..a squashed and pierced wire that controlled who knows what, but most likely something important.
Pretty much everything you're saying is spot on. The installation process sucked. The mounting system sucks. The unit is bulky and BTW the reason they told us (and this is from the CEO) that it has to be on the outside of the helmet was that the optics required a certain "volume" of space to function correctly and that they couldnt fit it inside a helmet... to top it off they could find (at the time) no helmet OEMs who would work with them to build the unit in.
Also forgot to mention that with the unit on your visor you could no longer "crack it open" for air etc cuz if you did it would put the unit off axis.
As for losing signal, well.. yep .. had that too.. before the thing died altogether (in the story) would constantly get "NO SIGNAL" in the display...
As mentioned... it is unreasonable in this time and age that they cannot make a unit that is plug and play into the bike.... the "magnet" thing is not needed... they could easily plug into the speedo feed and get an output... their reasoning for not making it plug and play was made very clear to us: It would cost them MONEY so it's easier for them to get you to tear your hair out and butcher your bike.
to be honest it's all really over the top, esp. when you consider the pricepoint and the end result.
-dats all!
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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zx10 guy
Novice Class
Posts: 72
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posted June 24, 2006 10:59 AM
Having played around a lot with automotive electronics when I was hot rodding my ECU equipped cars, I can comfortably say it's not so easy to just tap into a speedometer sensor. Every manufacturer has their standard and variances. I was just glad I was able to just tap into the crank angle position sensor. Vice when I was looking to mod one of my cars. I was considering going to a fully programmable DIS system. The manufacturer of the system said they couldn't use the GM crank position trigger. I had to mount a timing disk on the crank and then figure out a way to mount their pickup. I do see your concerns about piercing and crushing the wire. But if you don't have to crank down on the tap so hard to choke the living day lights out of the wire. In any event, I left enough distance between the tap and the harness end to allow me to splice in a repair if the tap happens to cause me problems in the future.
What you're saying about the HMD is also correct. It has to be outside of the helmet based on the current design of the HMD. And as far as cracking the visor killing the view of the HMD, you're correct. But you always have your stock guage for backup when needed.
I'm not trying to be argumentative. Just giving another point of view. I'm also NOT on Sport Vue's payroll and bought the thing with my own hard earned cash.
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fish_antlers
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posted June 24, 2006 11:03 AM
Edited By: fish_antlers on 24 Jun 2006 12:15
No... I understand... and dont be offended! We certainly aren't...
but you do touch on an important point...
one of the reasons you catch "glowing reviews" all over the web is because they have an extremely agressive marketing campaign where they give product to people in forums in return for writeups and they encourage group buys etc... In other words they're "workin it"...
Every single person I have talked to has experienced ALL of the problems both you and I listed...
- Enough is enough though! We're calling them on it until they get it together and release a new problem free version we simply cannot recommend it!
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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zx10 guy
Novice Class
Posts: 72
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posted June 24, 2006 11:09 AM
Fair enough.
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted June 24, 2006 02:00 PM
Guys...tapping into the VSS wire (Vehicle speed sense) is a fucking snap...I've done many bikes and cars myself...the problem on some newer cars/trucks, is that the VSS wire is NON-EXISTENT (data only) ...but on bikes, it's a breeze and is always located at the same place (usually in a 3-wire harness exiting the transmission). Garmin sells a GPS called the 2650 and another one called the 7500...both have a connection to the VSS wire. I installed a 2650 on my FJR, my Busa and most recently on my 10R. In each case, I grabbed the VSS wire at the transmission on the lower left side...took 2 minutes on each bike, so I don't buy their bullshit about the expense...sorry. Would also be real easy to calibrate proper speed on the Sportvue module...no more difficult than a Speedo healer...so there! 
Talk to me if you want to know about automotive electronics...it's my business...so I know what I'm talking about.
Any product like this that requires a magnet, should be shoved up someone's ass...the technology to get around that is so fucking easy and available...it's a joke...Now don't go fucking flaming me...
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FYYFF!!!
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dubious
Needs a life
Needs more time to ride!
Posts: 8442
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posted June 24, 2006 02:13 PM
Thanks for the write up fish!
Good to see someone who hasn't been bought !
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natural selection.....
destiny will overcome intervention.
Some are not worthy of the effort.
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted June 24, 2006 02:19 PM
Edited By: fastestbusaaround on 24 Jun 2006 15:19
Fish is  ...he's on their payroll...it's some kind of reverse "sickology" conspiracy...:P
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FYYFF!!!
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bovinespongiformencephalo
Pro
variant Kreutzfeldt-Jakob
Posts: 1060
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posted June 24, 2006 03:20 PM
He's a shill for their competition is all. As for his sexual orientation, he doesn't look gay but if you know from personal experience, please don't share.
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TJ
Zone Head
Posts: 604
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posted June 24, 2006 07:00 PM
I personally would buy anything that involves hanging a giant silver unit on the front of my helmet.
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TJ
Zone Head
Posts: 604
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posted June 24, 2006 07:07 PM
And props to "Editor" for not misusing "ergonomics" again
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fish_antlers
Administrator
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posted June 24, 2006 08:45 PM
wasn't misued the first time...
try not to be so "literal".
-cheers!
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted June 25, 2006 10:45 PM
as fish touches on in the article, i was really quite excited about testing this product. at the time I had no guages and this would have been an excellent solution. unfortunately i never got to try it out due it no longer working. i remember seeing the product a few years ago at a motorcycle show and already being very excited about the concept back then (can't say the optics appear to have changed since then). i still am very enthusiastic about the concept for that matter, not only in it's current immature form, but in its future, more evolved form too. however, this product definitely needs some work. does it deliver on all it promises as zx10r guy says? perhaps (besides the aparent reliability issues), but it doesn't promise much.
on the bright side, i'm betting this thing is just one major revision from being a real solid product. improve reliability/quality, use the bike's existing speed sensor, and use at least a partly plug n play harness, and it's good to go. give it 2 major revisions, and we may have a killer product here. combine the headsup display with a chatterbox and a GPS, have a high resolution colour display (can't be on all the time of course), and build it into a helmet, and i'd give my left nut to get my hands on one (you'de probably have to too, with all those goodies included). i can virtually guarantee we'll see that some day (i know ferrari F1 was testing something similar), i just wish it would be sooner.
quote:
their reasoning for not making it plug and play was made very clear to us: It would cost them MONEY so it's easier for them to get you to tear your hair out and butcher your bike.
let's word this a little less accusingly: the additional cost of making the unit plug n play per model would drive the retail price up, and they're likely concerned that it would get to a point where people wouldn't buy it at all. I imagine they don't sell all that many units to begin with. If this WAS a popular accessory, i'm sure they'd cost half as much and would plug right into your factory wiring harness, requiring no calibration or anything.
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fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
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posted June 26, 2006 07:43 AM
quote:
let's word this a little less accusingly: the additional cost of making the unit plug n play per model would drive the retail price up, and they're likely concerned that it would get to a point where people wouldn't buy it at all. I imagine they don't sell all that many units to begin with. If this WAS a popular accessory, i'm sure they'd cost half as much and would plug right into your factory wiring harness, requiring no calibration or anything.
- No... You're wrong. I spoke with them personally... you didnt.... it was made VERY clear to me that they felt it would cost far too much money for them to make the unit plug and play/;model specific and that it was far more cost effective (for them) to deliver it in its current form requiring you to hack into your back like it was 1988 all over again.
As for the rest of what you said, I think everyone who has seen it agrees that the concept is amazing, but in it's current form it leaves lots and lots and lots to be desired.
They'd hit a home run if (as you mentioned they'd
a) Build it into a helmet
b) Give it a proper full color display with more data
c) Make it rechargeable
d) make it plug and play
e) make it so that it actually worked/ was reliable
And ya... I'd give it two more revisions.... As the truth gets out about this product and the word spreads hopefully (for the riding community) they will pay attention and fix what's wrong with the SportVue... the only other choice is to go out of business... simply cant see how long they can keep selling it in its current form.
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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Wideout
Expert Class
Posts: 300
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posted June 26, 2006 11:59 AM
quote:
This was wrong on so many levels. My dog was scared and ran away from the garage and back to his house. He couldn't bear to watch either.
LMAO. Good review, thanks. Mag reviews make the unit look quite appealing.
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fish_antlers
Administrator
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posted June 26, 2006 12:19 PM
Edited By: fish_antlers on 26 Jun 2006 13:21
actually I'm kinda surprised SportVue hasnt logged in with some response accusing us of not knowing what we're doing or something along those lines... although I suspect it will be coming...
BTW here's the comments online at our local forum from the guy I warned not to buy it.... Hey... I told him so! DOh! 
quote:
Tattoodles
Registered User
Tattoodles's Avatar
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Vancouver
Real Name: Adam
Sportbike: '06 BMW K1200R
DO NOT DO THE HEADS UP DISPLAY!!!! I made this mistake and wasted my money. Visual cues will not alert you in time for radar warnings. Plus the SportVue, which I'm asuming you're talking about as your HUD, is complete crap.
I know that I'm sounding like a broken record on this thread about the Radar Screamer but if you're sick of the ear piece, check out http://www.motorcycleradar.com/radar_screamer.htm
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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frEEk
Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660
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posted June 26, 2006 12:31 PM
Edited By: frEEk on 26 Jun 2006 13:31
quote:
it was made VERY clear to me that they felt it would cost far too much money for them to make the unit plug and play/;model specific and that it was far more cost effective (for them) to deliver it in its current form requiring you to hack into your back like it was 1988 all over again.
maybe i'm arguing an academic point, but there are 2 options when your costs increase:
1. reduce your profit margins
2. increase the price
you're talking as if #1 was their only option. probably what they mean when they say it's more cost effective not to do it, is they believe the increased price necessary to cover the added cost would result in less sales, and therefore less profit.
as to surprise over the lack of accusations from sportvue, why would that surprise you? they were after all nice people by your description. probably they are aware of the products shortcomings and don't feel there's much they can say. or maybe they just haven't gotten to it yet.
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fish_antlers
Administrator
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posted June 28, 2006 07:01 PM
I do agree that if this product was developed it would be great.. I just wish they'd hurry up and get to it!
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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htosado
Zone Head
Posts: 949
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posted September 04, 2006 10:44 PM
I like the digital displays in the mirrors. They show all of the same info, and you look there quite frequently anyway. I saw a cop in my mirror, and my speed was just above him on the mirror.
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zx14_1965
Zone Head
Posts: 505
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posted September 29, 2006 09:03 PM
Would've been cool if it was successful
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nightmare
Pro
ACP Racing
Posts: 1797
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posted October 04, 2006 01:17 AM
Well I am glad that I can save some money now!
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2006 ZX14 Ninja "SWINE FLU"
60ft 1.23
8th Mile 5.16
ACP Racing
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Vegasdude
Zone Head
Posts: 821
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posted October 04, 2006 10:15 AM
the damn thing is too big anyway. At speed your neck will be killing you with all that air pressure..................
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