SportVue MC2 heads-up display for motorcycles

Bikers who want to keep track of their speed, gears and even avoid radar traps can now do so without having to glance down, thanks to the SportVue MC2 heads-up display. Mike Werner of Bikes in the Fast Lane picked one up, and provides a thorough installation walkthrough and review of the $389 device. While you may need a mechanic to help you set it up, once it's up and running, it gets the job done. Werner reports that he was able to easily and accurately keep track of his speed via the display, and that it was readable under all lighting conditions. Now if we could only get one of these to work with a bike-mounted GPS, we'd be sold (if, that is, we owned a motorcycle).

[Martin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Bullshit. Where's the health/armor/ammo meters? Then we're talkin' ... haha!

[Scott @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Does it come with a compliementary frag grenade?

[JT @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

What I hate about Engadget writers is that they always say "Oooh this device is nice, but we'd buy it if it had only ONE MORE FEATURE. JUST ONE MORE and we'd buy it/approve of it/love it. Guys, innovation comes in small steps - if anyone, you Engadget writers should be aware of that. Give the proper credit where it's due instead of finding excuses to make your entry longer an "more interesting" at the expense of a product's seeming innovation. K thx.

JT

[arthur @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Such a simple concept. A brilliant idea.

[random @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

#3 , it was a joke, there allways joking, deal with it

[Joat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Most bikers I know don't care about the speed (unless it's to see how fast they can go).

[Pacey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

I wouldn't mind this just because there are some times that I need a reminder right in front of me. It's pretty easy to get going fast on a bike and not realise it.

Couple that with the radar detector light that I saw somewhere else and you'd be all set.

[Pacey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

wait, it does that too... i'm sold

[Pat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Yeah, I had this idea around when the Xbox came out. Never though I could make one though...let alone market them...so I didnt. Lol.

#3 Its a joke. Notice how they always seem to say it? Thats cause its their joke and they keep running it. Deal with it or leave.

[GLN @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Right - I reckon that's on Ryan's bike AND he's doing well over the speed limit on a country backroad - State Troopers are on there way to Engadget HQ as you read, evidence is on screen and no-one at Engadget can deny it or they should not promote the products acuracy.

#3 I agree, they also promote breaking the law and endangering the lives of others - ha..

Nice peice of Moto tech!

[n8 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

It's a pretty clever device. Perhaps a bit on the pricey side. I can see the RPM being pretty useful too.

I used to have one of those Eyetop displays which has a very similar size to the display used for this device, and I thought about rigging it to a rear view camera. Never got around to it, but I don't think it would have been that hard a project.

[Topmounter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

I wonder if it is compatible with the Honda Spree...

[pregunta @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Just to comment about the GPS portion. TomTom should be releasing a weather resistant motorcycle/scooter GPS with a bluetooth headset (for hands free calling and voice nav) soon. I hope it pairs with the scala rider I just bought.

[pregunta @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Just to comment about the GPS portion. TomTom should be releasing a weather resistant motorcycle/scooter GPS with a bluetooth headset (for hands free calling and voice nav) soon. I hope it pairs with the scala rider I just bought.

[Andrew Stone @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Heads up display to moto enthusiasts is welcome news. Hooking it up to a rear viewing camera, as n8 mentions, is key as well.

It should also be noted that you can program it to recognize the gear you are in by "training the device". This is a useful option to sportbike riders as many bikes do not display gearing on the instrument cluster.

[Daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

would be much nicer is they also have HUD for cars

[fistpittingnork @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

3. Posted Nov 8, 2005, 1:26 PM ET by JT
What I hate about Engadget writers is that they always say "Oooh this device is nice, but we'd buy it if it had only ONE MORE FEATURE. JUST ONE MORE and we'd buy it/approve of it/love it. Guys, innovation comes in small steps - if anyone, you Engadget writers should be aware of that. Give the proper credit where it's due instead of finding excuses to make your entry longer an "more interesting" at the expense of a product's seeming innovation. K thx.

JT
-------------------

What I hate about engadget posters is that some of them come here for their daily dose of nerd info, then argue they can do a better job.

I imagine if I punch in www.JT.com I'll be enlightened with hordes of gadgetry info, detailed to the very last spec, without an ounce of personal opinion, suggestion, or humor, right?

[gt2378b @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

As I read the guy's writeup, you could do this for a car.

You'd need to wear a helmet, though; so it would be for SCCA type stuff; club racing &c.

The speed sensor is mounted on a wheel, & you have to give the control unit the wheel diameter, so that should be easy enough.

The RPM part of the display apparently reads a feed off the engine computer, so that might get tricky (but not impossible).

But dropping $400 for an experiment that hopefully will get you accurate speed & maybe accurate tach doesn't sound worth it... Would be pretty nice to have a HUD tach for racing, though.

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

This thing is seriously cool... I wonder how hard it is to install.

[Paulo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

Is this the possible begining of the revival of the 80's TV show StreetHawk, it must be due for a movie release: http://www.streethawk.tvheaven.com/

[Whizmo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:37AM]

On the "how hard to install" question, I've done a couple and installation is actually pretty simple, especially if the Sportvue guys have your bike in their installation notes.

You basically need to find a spot on the bike for a small box about the size of a pack of cigarettes (typically under the seat), wire up power, and wire a couple sensors (wheel speed and crankshaft position). Gear position is inferred from speed and RPM after going though the setup process.

The display attaches to one's visor - you position it, prep the visor surface, and press on an adhesive clip.

An hour or two at most and they have the connectors and instructions well sorted.

They're having a sale right now:

www.sportvue.com

Cheers,

- Whizmo